Healthcare consideration: A person who is legally responsible for a child is defined as “parent of, guardian of, or other person eighteen years of age or older legally responsible for, as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 1012 of the Family Court Act, a child reported to the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment who is allegedly responsible for causing injury, abuse or maltreatment to such child or who allegedly allows such injury, abuse or maltreatment to be inflicted on such child; or a director or an operator of, or employee or volunteer in, a home operated or supervised by an authorized agency, the Office of Children and Family Services, or in a family day-care home, a day-care center, a group family day-care home, a school-age child care program or a day-services program who is allegedly responsible for causing injury, abuse or maltreatment to a child who is reported to the statewide central register of child abuse or maltreatment or who allegedly allows such injury, abuse, or maltreatment to be inflicted on such child” (New York State Consolidated Laws, Social Services Law-SOS§412, 2022). Social workers must be aware that this means a wide variety of persons may commit child abuse. Also, according to New York State statutes, it is not only the person who actually harms the child that is responsible for the abuse but also the person who is aware of the abuse and lets it continue. Social workers need to be thorough in evaluating all persons who have contact with or are responsible for the child when child abuse is suspected.
Maltreatment refers to a poor quality of care that children receive from those responsible for them. Maltreatment occurs when a parent or other person legally responsible for the care of children harms or places the children in danger of harm by “failing to exercise the minimum degree of care in providing the child with any of the following: food, clothing, shelter, education, or medical care when financially able to do so" (New York State, Office of Children and Family Services, n.d.d). Maltreatment can also result from the abandonment of a child or from not providing adequate supervision for the child. Maltreatment may also occur if a parent or other legally responsible person engages in excessive
use of drugs or alcohol if doing so interferes with that person’s ability to adequately supervise the child (New York State, Office of Children and Family Services, n.d.d). Healthcare consideration: The abuse of alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs, or illicit drugs can interfere with a caregiver’s judgment and put a child in danger of abuse. In some cases, substance abuse is considered a specific type of abuse (Kings, 2017). Social workers must always know that children whose caretakers have problems with substance abuse are at increased risk for abuse.
RECOGNIZING THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF CHILD ABUSE
Scenario 2 Martin is a social worker. He works at a large community mental health clinic that is affiliated with a major urban mental health agency in New York State. His first client of the day is Amanda, an 8-year-old girl who arrives with her mother, Helen, for an assessment of vague physical symptoms and unusual anxiety. Helen tells Martin that her daughter is complaining of headaches and stomachaches and seems to cry for no reason at all. “She doesn’t want to go to school, and she used to love school. She won’t let me out of her sight and just clings to me. I can’t get her to tell me what’s wrong. At first, I thought she was upset because her second- grade teacher recently resigned after having a baby, and Amanda just loved her. But I met the new teacher, and he seems so nice. He has an excellent reputation, and all of the other children just love him. But Amanda just keeps saying she doesn’t want to go to school, and I’m afraid that all of these stomachaches and headaches could mean she’s really sick.” Amanda sits silently through her mother’s comments but clings to her mother and sucks her thumb. Martin prepares to perform an evaluation, but he is also concerned about the possibility of abuse.
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