Ethical Dilemmas Faced By Human Service Workers In The Court System

As a human services worker working in an agency that provides diagnostic services and residential placement to youth in the court system, seeing the case about Italian immigrant teenager sexually abused by her father was dismissed by the court, lost funding, and the girl was sent home were very unfortunate to face as a human services worker. The court dismissed the case largely by the results of assessments provided by the agency professional, client’s activity in residential placement, and visitation with her father.
In many cases, ethical standards, expectations, and requirements are consistent with legal standards, expectations, and requirements (Reamer, 2005). Many times, human service workers might come across ethical choices along with
In 1962, Child Protective Services was identified as part of public child welfare (Myers, 2009). Cases over 60,000 were reported in 1974. As times goes by child abuse reports get increased. Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was funded by federal to improve the response to child abuse, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. When children were abuse at home, sometime they were taken to foster care. In 1980, Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act (AACWA) put in effort to avoid removing children from maltreating parents and if children were remove they should be require to reunited with families(Myers, 2009). Also, SSCWA provided some financial assistant to foster parents. In 1997, congress approved the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) which primary focus for the child safety. Also, ASFA have timeline when the child needs to return home or parent lose the rights for the child. Sexual abuse and physical were the case then parent loses the parental rights directly (Myers, 2009). “Every day, averages of 2,400 children are victims of child abuse, and approximately three children die each day as a result of child abuse or neglect” (NASW, 2004, p.
Many professionals tried their best to help vulnerable children, and billions of dollars are devoted to child welfare. Not every case were success or fail in protecting children. As Myers (2009) stated, “the only time child protection makes the front page or the evening news is when something goes terribly wrong” (p. 462). For example, service provider fails to remove an endangered child or remove child who should not. Of course, public know about service providers failure to protect some children, and sometime under values the services of the