Cause of the Month: Break the Cycle

So the lovely SocialWrkr24/7 gave me this awesome idea. I am blatantly stealing it from her, but something tells me she won't mind. We are both social workers and therefore want to rid the world of injustice. Ok, maybe I sound a bit idealistic, but my ideals are what keep me going. SocialWrkr24/7 started a monthly meme featuring a Cause a Month, where she speaks about a cause that represents her work in the field (child welfare) or something she is passionate about, so be sure to check out her blog! I've learned a lot from her.

While I'm still a student, I do know that children, adolescents and women are my focus (big focus, right!) and I have lots of different interests, job-wise. I experienced the field during my first field placement in private adoptions, and look forward to my next field placement in domestic violence. Because of that, and my interest in working with adolescents, my first Cause of the Month is Break The Cycle. I've even put a little blog button on the top right of my blog to house the Cause of the Month. >:)

Break the Cycle is the leading, national non-profit agency that focus on dating violence among teenagers. As sad as it is to admit, violence in adolescent relationships is raising at a rapid rate. And it is a silent epidemic. According to Break the Cycle, "One in three teens will experience abuse in a dating relationship and more than two-thirds of them will never report it to anyone."

Break the Cycle works toward this endeavor in a myriad of ways. They realize that education is the key to empowerment, and empowering adolescents to stand up for their rights and well-being is the best way to end dating violence. They work with schools to provide teens with the tools and knowledge necessary to develop essential life skills and transition successfully into adulthood. Let's face it: not all children receive this knowledge at home.

Break the Cycle has developed specific curriculum to be used in school settings. They also provide in-person education through the Girl Scouts and the Boys & Girls Clubs.They're also dedicated to empowering youth to become advocates for the cause, which I just love! They've created Speak. Act. Change., a special advocacy project aimed at adolescents and includes service learning activities, such as legislative advocacy and community involvement.

Not all teenagers have access to these programs and/or specialists, so Break the Cycle has created an online network called The Safe Space. This website is a comprehensive resource center on dating violence. There is an "Ask Anything" page, which allows teens to ask questions anonymously. If you know anything about relationship violence, we definitely understand the important of anonymity.

As if that wasn't enough (and sadly, it will never be enough), Break the Cycle provides training and support for adults who want to work in a variety of professional fields that work with adolescents (social workers, school professionals, lawyers, health care professionals, etc). All in all, this is a fantastic national agency that really has a grasp on the problem of teen dating violence and is working very efficiently to stop it.

How can you help?

There are always ways to help, and this agency actually offers some really awesome opportunities for all types of lifestyles and time requirements.

• Take Action: Join HOPE, Break the Cycle's national membership program comprised of people all over the country united to take action against teen dating violence.


• Intern with Break the Cycle: Become an intern and gain valuable, hands-on experience. Opportunities engage a range of skills and are available in Los Angeles and Washington, DC.


• Help Teens in Crisis: Become an Ask Anything Volunteer and respond to help emails from teens in need.


• Join our Young Professionals Committee: Take on a leadership role as a part of this auxiliary group that raises friends and funds for Break the Cycle.


• Spread the Word: Become a trained speaker on dating violence and table at community fairs.


• Lend Us Your Expertise: Join a committee, improve our services and learn new skills.


• Host a Party: Find out how you can have Valentine’s Anytime and raise awareness about teen dating violence.


• Youth in Action: Visit thesafespace.org if you are a teen who wants to take action

I hope you've enjoyed my first Cause of the Month!

Child Abuse: What are we doing wrong?

Tonight's class was a toughie. We watched a Dateline investigative report on the death of Kayla McKean in 1998. I have yet to work directly with abused children so I have no personal experience in this area. These are opinions based on my education, and I am quite aware that things are very different in the field.

Disclaimer: My facts and details aren't exact, so don't blast me for that. There are plenty of resources (see below) to find the exact details.

In 1998, Kayla McKean was a 6 year old girl in the 1st grade. She lived in central FL (why the hell is it always FL?) with her mother, who soon gave up on parenting her. I don't remember any details about her mother, but something tells me she wasn't parenting Kayla in a healthy fashion). Her father, Richard, was married and had a small child. At some point, Richard took in Kayla.

Kayla showed up to school with 2 black eyes. Her guidance counselor or teacher made a call to Richard, who says she fell off her bike. Kayla confirms the story. Richard is urged to take Kayla to a doctor immediately, so he takes her to the emergency room. The doctor came to the conclusion that her injuries (a broke nose, which causes black eyes, a broken knuckle and some bruising) is conclusive to falling off a bike. It can happen. She took Kayla aside to see if she would admit to anything, but Kayla stuck to the story. While the doctor believed the story, her instincts still persisted, so she called the abuse hotline, and a child protective investigator was sent to the hospital. The doctor told the social worker that Kayla's injuries were conclusive to the accident, but didn't share her instincts about anything else. She believed the abuse call was proof she thought something was awry. The SW interviewed all parties, all had the same story. She concluded that abuse was unfounded.

Richard had an anger problem, and admitted this throughout his casework, so the SW sent them to a contracted family services program to receive assistance with parenting and his anger problem. She also ordered a psychological eval, which she never followed up on. Why didn't she ask to see this bike? Or where the accident happened? She was new to the job (big surprise!), maybe experience and the stress of too many cases for one person to handle where clouding her judgement. Maybe she really did believe the story.

The SW assigned to the case was on a leave of absence when another abuse report was made a few weeks later. Kayla again showed up to school with the same injuries and the same story. Again, she was asked to be medically evaluated, and we taken to a pediatrician. The pediatrician concluded abuse on sight, and after examining Kayla, made the abuse report. A new SW was sent to investigate, and abuse was unfounded (I can't remember the details).

A friend of Richard took notice of Kayla's condition and tried to pry info from Richard and Kayla. Neither ever let on to abuse. When Summer came, Richard called up said friend and told him he couldn't handle Kayla anymore (he said she was evil) and would the friend take her indefinitely. The friend did, and for 3 weeks, Kayla had a very happy and healthy existence. However, Richard called the friend up to say he wanted Kayla back to prepare her for school. The friend was very reluctant to give Kayla back, but he had no legal grounds to keep her.

Some time into the first half of the school year, Kayla comes to school with different injuries and a new story (of which I can't remember). This time, the Guidance Counselor made the abuse report. Because time had passed and no abuse had occurred, the case was closed. When the new report came in, a new case was opened and a 3rd SW was assigned to the case. For whatever reason (details I can't remember), abuse was unfounded.

Thanksgiving comes and Richard files a missing child report. Kayla is gone. A search party is sent out immediately, on Thanksgiving Day! The FBI investigate Richard and his wife, Marcie. After a few days and no body, Marcie breaks down and tells the truth. Richard beat the life out of Kayla when she soiled her underpants. After Richard threatens to take their baby and run, he talks Marcie into driving to the Ocala National Forest to bury Kayla's body. Both are arrested, Marcie later gets out, but Richard is served with a life sentence. I do believe he was eventually given the death penalty and executed by lethal injection.

My first reaction is "Why did Marcie allow this to happen?" I assume it is because Richard threatened her and their child, and she complied out of fear. I will not judge her, although I have so much I'd like to say! As far as the system side, I have not worked in this field, so I think it allows me to see both sides. I definitely believe there was ample evidence and enough professionals involved with this family, that Kayla should and could have been saved. However, we watched an investigative report, so what we heard was a hell of a lot more information than what each of the workers involved knew. I am also very aware of the severe amount of work the case managers and investigators deal with, and unfortunately, these workers are human, and humans aren't perfect. There was also a severe communication issue between entities and a serious lack of follow up. The teacher said that there is so much paperwork involved that a lot of focus has turned away from protecting the child to CYA (covering your own ass). This obviously didn't occur in Kayla's case, as workers did not follow up when they should have (first step in CYA, people!) and a lot of reportable evidence was not properly documented.

The SWs involved all had the same story:

• new to the job
• no social service background
• little training
• few workers, which meant major caseloads
• pressure to close cases ASAP
• little follow-up

These complaints sound very familiar! They are the same complaints made in the mid-1800's by social workers who investigated the Orphan Train children. That was over 150 years ago! Are you seriously telling me that we are still experiencing the same exact problems? Yes, I know that the importance and action in child welfare has improved LEAPS AND BOUNDS since then, but the system itself seems to be stuck in limbo. What the heck are we doing wrong, and how can we change it for the better? Unfortunately, I don't excel at this type of problem solving, but I'm sure many people have suggested different types of reform, but how do you fix a problem that is nothing but a big cycle of problems?

Resources:

http://www.childrens-angels.org/kayla-mckean/

http://kaylaslaw.blogspot.com/?zx=917eb70dc7ec524a

http://www.mcjackie.com/galcrisis.html

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://laws.flrules.org/files/Ch_1999-168.pdf

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=20000723&id=Ep8sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Zf0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6493,1507481

R.I.P Kayla McKean

Success!

I'm in!

I met with my field placement supervisor at the family violence agency. She was great and I know I will enjoy working with her. She is the head therapist of the small program, which is housed in an agency that provides a myriad of services (forensic interviewing for sexually abused children, residential treatment center, etc). She has been with the agency for 9 years and also has a private practice. She runs the adult groups, and does individual therapy, as well.

The child therapist will most likely be my task supervisor. She uses play and sand therapy. I will be working closely with her, and really can't wait to see these techniques in action. M is a Victim's Advocate. I will have the opportunity to shadow her, which is beyond amazing. I would absolutely love such a job, but I really have no legal knowledge. Lots to learn! G. asked me to familiarize myself with the cycle of violence of the Summer.

I will do bio-psycho-socials, intake meetings, maybe even help develop treatment plans. I will observe groups for adults and adolescents of domestic violence. I will participate in play/sand therapy with children. I will see court cases surrounding domestic violence. I will most definitely see the effects of domestic violence on all family members, but I am not a stranger to those. I told G. my family has been plagued by violence for many generations. Although my mom stopped the cycle, I have seen the humiliation, torment and pain it has caused most of my family. I am not close to many of my family members, for reasons I can't really explain, but they are the biggest reason I want to pursue a career in Social Work. It has been excruciating to witness the the crap my family has endured. I think I've pushed myself away from them all because of the drama, but I wish now I would've been more hands-on. Maybe I could have helped, even a little.


I plan to rock the hell out of this experience. :) This next (and FINAL) school year will be tough, but I am ready.

My last day in my private adoption internship.

Today was very eventful, to say the least. I went out with bang, as they say.

Firstly, I saw a horrific motorcycle accident on the interstate. I saw the guy laid out on the concrete. He was bloodied up from road rash, and his body was contorted to hell. He was trying to get up, and the policeman ran over to him and told him to lie still. I finally saw his beat up motorcycle about 200 feet away. I was in shock and on the verge of jumping out of the car to go help, somehow. I hope he makes it. (I HATE MOTORCYCLES!)

---

Supervisor and I visited a birth mom in the morning. She is in her early 20's and on her 4th pregnancy. She has 2 babies who are only 5 months apart, had an abortion in December and is 3 months pregnant. Needless to say, this young lady really needs to be educated on how to prevent pregnancy. We talked about those options. She said she was on the pill but always forgot. We discussed the IUD, which might be a good choice for her. We asked about the father, who she said is the father to all her children. They had a "bad break up" in December and doesn't know how to reach him now. I find that hard to believe, but at least we got a name. C. will have to perform a diligent search.

Supervisor went through the intake paperwork and explained the process to her. She seemed very apathetic, disinterested. Kinda sad, actually. She does not work and collects food stamps. She only finished the 11th grade but she's interested in obtaining her GED/college degree and becoming a Dental Hygienist. At least she has some goals for herself, and I hope she follows through on them. Birth mom lives with her 2 children and 7 other relatives. The house was not big enough, and was in terrible condition. Hopefully she can secure a better life for herself and her 2 children in the near future.

--

After lunch, I went to a match staffing for a 2 year old healthy boy. Two amazing, very comparable families were presented. In the end, the family with his same cultural heritage was selected. The lil boy hit the jackpot, I think. :)

---

The end of the day was spent doing a home visit for a couple who adopted a baby boy. He is SO dang cute, and has the cutest, chubbiest cheeks. He is 2 months old and has grown a hell of a lot since I saw him right after birth in the hospital. He smiles a lot too, and has the cutest dimples. He is definitely happy and thriving. It was a great way to end my internship.

I gave Supervisor her card, and we hugged and reminisced. I told her that if my next placement is close, I will stop in for lunch. Either way, we will still remain in touch. She was a mentor for me, and I will never forget all she taught me.

My next field placement

On the bus ride back from Tallahassee, I got a call from one of our field placement staff. She wanted to speak with me about a possible match for my next placement. I mentioned to her that I was interested in working with victims of domestic violence and/or their children (play therapy, etc). She told me about an agency that provides group counseling to victims of family violence, and also provides childcare for the children during meeting times (play therapy). This service provides:

• Crisis Intervention, safety planning and assessment of family needs
  
• Linkages with shelters, relocation and/or other community resources
  
• Therapeutic support groups for adult victims, their teens and young children
  
• Childcare available for children under six during group sessions
  
• Meals for children prior to group and limited transportation available
  
• Individual therapy for adult victims and their children
  
• Support and advocacy in dealing with the criminal justice system - court appearances, restraining orders, etc.

• Assist with Victims’ Compensation claims and Address Confidentiality Program
  
• A program that provides therapeutic art activities to children & teens. The program is working on a film project to promote healthy relationships and keeping kids gang-free.
  
• A program that allows teens to enhance self esteem, team building skills and to promote healthy lifestyles through gardening

• Collaboration with other agencies to promote healthy teen relationships to prevent intimate partner violence.

I would definitely love to work with teens. They hold group sessions on Tues/Weed evenings, so I would definitely be working those nights. Thankfully, my classes are Mon nights and Thursday afternoons. At this time, that is all I know. I am supposed to talk with another field placement staff member early next week, since she works very closely with the agency and knows a lot more about it.

While I am not afraid of learning, I feel completely unprepared to do any sort of group counseling, or individual therapy, for that matter! I feel at a disadvantage because 1) I don't have any therapeutic experience, and 2) My field placement this past year was not clinical in the same way that these types of programs are, and 2) I only had one group experience. I may try to see if I can attend some groups in the community this summer, and do some reading myself...