Social Policy Analysis

Midterm Assignment- Social Work and Welfare 1010

Salt Lake Community College

Policy:

Child welfare policies: CAPTA, is The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.

CAPTA establishes national definitions regarding child abuse and neglect. It also authorizes

funding to public agencies and nonprofits to assess, investigate, prosecute, prevent and treat child

abuse and neglect. States also are required to have policies and procedures in place for

allegations of abuse or neglect to ensure the Childrens safety. Child welfare are practices, and

services that promote the wellbeing of the child and safety. UNCRC, United Nation Convention

on the Rights of the Child is international, and a complete statement of children’s rights from

civil, social and cultural rights, even political rights that children no matter their location are

entitled to. The UNCRC has 54 articles that lay out children rights.

Policies history:

Prior to 1875, many children went without protection from maltreatment and abuse

(Myers, J.E.B 2008). The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was first signed and

enacted in 1974 by President Nixon, which made states define child abuse and neglect in ways

that were consistent with CAPTA. CAPTA defines their terms as “at a minimum, any recent act

or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or

emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an

imminent risk of serious harm.” (The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA):

Background, Programs, and Funding, 2009). It was reauthorized by President Obama in 2010. In

the 1970’s, and to this day, parents have the primary responsibility of their children and how they

are raised. By 1976 all states had laws requiring professionals of any type to report sexual abuse.
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An effort to preserve families was one of the main goals in the 1980’s when it came to child

safety. With CAPTA, it was amended by multiple acts such as, The Child Abuse, Domestic

Violence, Adoption and Family Services Act. By 2015, CAPTA was amended by the Justice for

Victim s of Trafficking Act, where states are required to have in place a requirement to identify

and assess all reports involving children known or suspected to be victims, and to train child

protective services about identifying, assessing, and providing services to children who are sex

trafficking victims. UNCRC, was adopted by the General Assembly of the United States in 1989.

There were alarming accounts of children being abused and exploited, and the drafting of the

convention was set up by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, and it was

unanimously adopted and within less than a year of 1990, 20 states legally endorsed the

convention into force (OHCHR | Background to the Convention, n.d.). Within UNCRC there are

four general principles, 1) Non-Discrimination, 2) Best interests of the child, 3) The right to life,

survival and development, and 4) The views of the child.

Pros of Policies:

Children are vulnerable, they are fragile. The first 8 years of a child’s life is building a

foundation for future learning success. Having policies in place to protect children when they

have a limited voice in the government and their decisions, helps immensely. When it comes to

reforming the Acts there are good things and bad things. For the pros of CAPTA, it is a bill that

acknowledges the biggest problems in the child protection system and calls for them to be

corrected if need be (CAPTA Reform: Good or Bad?, 2021). Such pros are recognizing the racial

bias in the system and calling for better definitions of ‘Neglect’. Another good side of CAPTA is

that it also protects and includes Indian tribes and tribal organizations (Evaluation of the Child
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Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), 2018). The fact that the system is composed of

multiple entities that work together for the safety of children, that help with housing projects,

abuse counseling and other programs helps provide resources to those that are in need. As

CAPTA says, child maltreatment is serious harm to a child by parents or a caregiver in all forms

of abuse. Not just stating physical or emotional, but also including sexual abuse and exploitation.

Child abuse happens to 700,000 children in America every year (Reynolds, 2021). Texas

lawmakers after local story regarding a child’s fall, proposed stronger safeguards against the

unnecessary taking children from their parents. Accidents do happen, and being able to have law

and safeguards in place for those accidents helps those children from ending up in foster homes

when their parents were not abusive, and it was simply a bad fall. The UNCRC provides children

with affirmative rights. Rights to be heard and make decisions on personal matters, rights to

important benefits including health and education, and the rights to protection against

maltreatment (Biderman & Reiss, 2019).

Cons of Policies

One of the biggest downfalls of CAPTA is that it has limited funds. It is very

underfunded. Having enough funds is essential, especially to help with training professionals that

work in the industry such as social workers. If they were able to have more funds they would be

able to give out more grants to the states, and expand their services to those populations that are

most in need (Evaluation of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), 2018).

With more funding, there would be more children’s programs, more experts in child development

and advocacy. The United States is one of the last countries to ratify the convention on the rights

of the child (Hojjat, 2011). Children deserve to be seen just as adults are. Honestly it is a little bit
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of embarrassment to think that the United States is the country that has not ratified this

convention. The United States is falling short on social and environmental determinants of child

health and well-being (Abaya, 2022). In reality it is never too late for the U.S to work on

children’s rights and well-being. Another major con is that children end up in the criminal justice

system, especially children of color and those with disabilities are taken from classrooms and

into prison for childhood behavior (Mehta, 2015). This is unnecessary intervention that puts

these children at harm in juvenile facilities. There are 14 states that have no minimum age that

children can be prosecuted (Mehta, 2015). They grow up in the system for small behaviors they

had as a child and get taken from their family, when there are other things that could be in place

to prevent children from ending up in jail due to behaviors such as rehabilitation centers that are

temporary and once, they complete it they are returned to their family.

My position

I stand strongly for the protection of children. Regardless of if they are almost 18, or if

they are an infant, they all deserve rights. They need to be protected as they cannot protect

themselves. I think CAPTA is a great thing to implement. As stated, children are vulnerable and

need to be protected when sometimes their parents aren’t the ones to protect them. As a parent

myself, I put myself out of the picture and give my whole to my child. I care about my child

more than myself and I feel that is how a parent should feel. They should provide safety and

fulfil the child’s needs. Unfortunately, in this day there are too many cases of neglect and abuse.

Even leaving your child in a soiled diaper for a long period of time is considered neglect. At least

1 in 7 children have experienced child abuse or neglect, and is an underestimate because many

cases are unreported (CDC, 2022). Children do not deserve to be traumatized at such a young
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age let alone any age. Children who are neglected and abused suffer from many psychological

problems that affect them in the future. I believe the United States as well needs to ratify the

UNCRC just like all the other nations that are trying to protect our children. There is not a good

reason for them to not be apart of this.

Recommendations

My biggest recommendation would be to put in more effort to get more funding for

CAPTA. The more funds they can get the more resources the more help there is offered to

children and even to parents who have neglected their child and are trying to correct themselves

to get their child back from foster care. Like in cases of substance abuse, the parent often gets

their child taken from them while they go to rehabilitation centers and find recovery. Once they

find recovery and prove that they can care for their child and provide safety they often times get

their child back into their own custody. Having more funds also gives the states a chance to

expand on their programs and focus on implementing the prevention of child abuse and neglect

before it happens. I would be willing to have my tax money go towards the government funds for

this. I know not everyone would see the same, but child abuse and neglect is a crisis. It is

happening too often and there are too many cases not being reported.
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References

Abaya, M. (2022, March 10). US High-Level Office for Children is Critical for Children’s

Rights. Health and Human Rights Journal. [Link]

level-office-for-children-is-critical-for-childrens-rights/

Biderman, A., & Reiss, A. (2019). On Exploring the “Dark Figure” of Crime. [Link].

[Link]

CAPTA. (n.d.). National CASA/GAL Association for Children. Retrieved October 13, 2023,

from [Link]

CAPTA Reform: Good or Bad? (2021, January 27). Parental Rights.

[Link]

CDC. (2022, April 6). Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. [Link]

Evaluation of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). (2018, November).

[Link]. [Link]

[Link]#:~:text=A%20weakness%20of

%20CAPTA%20is

Hojjat. (2011, February 23). Elizabeth Bartholet: Should the U.S. Ratify the CRC? A look at the

Pros and Cons. AAPSS. [Link]

ratify-the-crc-a-look-at-the-pros-and-cons/

Mehta, S. (2015, November 20). There’s Only One Country That Hasn’t Ratified the Convention

on Children’s Rights: US | News & Commentary. American Civil Liberties Union.

[Link]

convention-childrens

OHCHR | Background to the Convention. (n.d.). OHCHR. Retrieved October 21, 2023, from

[Link]

Reynolds, J. (2021, February 24). The Pros and Cons of the Child Welfare System. Cafe

Progressive. [Link]

the-bad/

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA): Background, Programs, and Funding.

(2009, November 4). [Link].

[Link]