Introduction
The goal of the child welfare system is to strengthen families, provide safety, and achieve permanency to improve children’s well-being. Although the states ultimately provide child welfare services, the Federal Government assists them by funding programs and passing legislation. Federal child and family legislation is primarily implemented by the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Pecora et al., 2018). This paper focuses on the divisions of the child welfare system and how they are related.
Divisions of the Child Welfare System
Child Protection Investigation Division
The Child Protection Investigation Division is a part of the United States Department of Justice. It investigates child abuse and neglect cases in all 50 states (Pecora et al., 2018). The division works with federal agencies and state and local law enforcement to protect children’s victims of sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and other crimes against children (Pecora et al., 2018). The division uses various tools to investigate cases of suspected child abuse or neglect, including interviews with witnesses, medical professionals, teachers, or others involved in creating a report about the incident.
Family-Centered Services Division
The Family-Centered Services Division is a program that provides services to children who are victims of abuse and neglect. The division’s mission is to provide “a coordinated, comprehensive, family-based system that meets the needs of children and families” by creating a “more responsive, more focused, and more effective family-centered services system” (Dettlaff et al., 2020, p. 518). These services include home visitation, case management and advocacy, parent education programs, child welfare case review processes and procedures, community advocacy services, court advocacy services, and other family service programs.
Foster Care Division
The United States government uses the Foster Care Division as part of its children’s welfare system. The division comprises foster parents and foster caregivers who are willing to care for children who need a home but cannot return to their birth families (Dettlaff et al., 2020). Foster caregivers typically have much experience with children and have been trained to handle them properly to help them reach their full potential.
Adoption Division
The Adoption Division is a government branch that provides various services to children and families. It oversees the placement of children in foster care, adoptive homes, and other arrangements that allow children to grow up in loving environments. It has two main goals: to ensure that all children are safe and cared for (Pecora et al., 2018). Second, to make sure these services are provided as efficiently as possible.
Role of Social Workers Within each Division
Child Protection Investigation Division
Social workers in this division play a critical role in ensuring that children are protected. They are responsible for assisting families who are going through difficult times and need support. They also work on cases related to child abuse or neglect, when a child is at risk of being harmed due to parental abuse or neglect (Pecora et al., 2018). This division was created by the government in order to keep track of how many children are abused or neglected.
Family-Centered Services Division
Social workers in the Family-Centered Services Division are responsible for assessing the need for services and determining which services are appropriate. They also ensure that clients receive all necessary services, especially those that may be required, to prevent their re-engagement with the child welfare system (Pecora et al., 2018). Social workers help families navigate the system, from understanding their rights as parents and how to access services to finding housing or employment options for themselves and their children.
Foster Care Division
The role of social workers within the Foster Care Division is to provide support and guidance to children and their families and technical assistance when needed. Social workers are responsible for ensuring that children in foster care have access to necessary medical care and educational and receive proper care from their caseworkers (Pecora et al., 2018). They also help families navigate the system by connecting them with other resources, such as medical professionals and educational institutions.
Adoption Division
Social workers in the child welfare system play a critical role in providing an environment that promotes the safety, permanence, and well-being of children in foster care. Social workers help ensure that children’s needs are met through support and services tailored to their needs (Brown & Bailey-Etta, 2018). Social workers work with families and other service providers in various ways, including assessment, case management, advocacy, training, counseling, and family reunification.
Relationships Between the Divisions
The Child Protection Investigation Division investigates child abuse and neglect cases by working closely with other divisions within the child welfare system. The Family-Centered Services Division provides therapy for children who have been abused or neglected. Foster Care Division provides temporary foster care for children who have been abused or neglected until they can return home or until they are adopted into a permanent home (Brown & Bailey-Etta, 2018). It also helps families get ready to adopt through training sessions and workshops on topics such as how to communicate with adoptive parents.
Conclusion
The child welfare system was established to provide safety and ensure the well-being of children was met. The system constitutes adoption, foster care, family-centered and child-protection divisions, each designated to perform a specific function. The adoption division ensured that families that meet the required standards adopt children from orphanages or childcare centers. Similarly, the foster care and family-centered divisions ensure that children acquire proper care through access to basic needs.
References
Brown, A. W., & Bailey-Etta, B. (2018). An out-of-home care system in crisis: Implications for African American children in the child welfare system. Serving African American children, 1(2), 65-84. Web.
Dettlaff, A. J., Weber, K., Pendleton, M., Boyd, R., Bettencourt, B., & Burton, L. (2020). It is not a broken system, it is a system that needs to be broken: The upEND movement to abolish the child welfare system. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 14(5), 500-517. Web.
Pecora, P. J., Whittaker, J. K., Barth, R. P., Borja, S., & Vesneski, W. (2018). The child welfare challenge: Policy, practice, and research, (4th ed.). Routledge.