Latest developments in child welfare
.... international and domestic happenings.
I’m headed back home from Lithuania and the annual conference of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, which serves as an occasional reminder for me that no matter what nation or culture you’re in, people are going to put a high value on protecting children from abuse but struggle to find the resources and methods to do that work well. As in the US, countries around the world have a wealth of professionals in law, medicine, psychology, law enforcement, and social work with good intentions who struggle with the problem of siloed bureaucracies, poor allocation of resources, and conflicts between what’s ideal and what actually works on the ground.
While there’s universal agreement that children have the rights to be protected from harm and violence, to be raised in family, and to participate in proceedings involving their futures, the unfortunate truth is that these rights are often honored in the breach. In talking with professionals at the conference, it’s clear that although the vast majority of national laws are designed to guarantee these rights to children, they’re too often ignored in practice. Sometimes it’s a lack of resources. Many times, it seems, it’s a lack of will.
Still, it was interesting to see how countries are advancing. In Armenia, for example, they’ve put significant resources into improving child protection and have built multidisciplinary child protection teams that include lawyers, social workers, and psychologists. In Uganda, where there are few attorneys and mental health professionals, they are relying on trained lay volunteers to help child victims. Across the board, there’s a growing understanding of how severe trauma affects children and of the responsibility of governments and NGOs to help children recover from it.
One issue that I heard raised several times at the ISPCAN conference was the question of children’s “autonomy” — their right to make decisions for themselves without parental interference. The vast majority of professionals who work in child protection and child development would agree that children are not autonomous because their brains haven’t reached full maturity. Of course, the older they get, especially as they near adulthood, the more responsibility and independence we give them. As a result, we set legal limits on when a child can get a tattoo, buy cigarettes or alcohol, and vote.
One of the questions I was posed during the presentation I gave at ISPCAN deals directly with this issue of autonomy: should a child be able to declare themselves to be a different gender and receive services (socialization, therapy, medical intervention) designed to aid their desire to live as a different gender from their sex? The issue is, of course, a major one in both Europe and the US. Currently, the European Commission is considering a move that would allow a child of any age to change their “sex” or gender marker without parental consent. Ahead of a US Supreme Court case this week on whether states can prohibit therapists from questioning children about their gender identity, Colorado’s Attorney General argued that children have “autonomy” and that adults, including parents, must not question their gender identity choices. My response? Children aren’t autonomous. Frankly, none of us are, as we have commitments to, responsibilities for, and relationships with others around us. It’s our responsibility to help children grow into (somewhat) autonomous adults who can function independently but in relationship with the community they are part of. Children are constantly developing and changing, and it’s the role of parents and other adults to create healthy boundaries and limits, ask hard questions, and help children navigate the difficult path to adulthood.
In other news:
Congratulations to Alex Adams, who was confirmed this week as the head of the federal government’s Administration for Children and Families.
Veteran child welfare leader Brenda Donald has become the COO of New Mexico’s DCYF, where it looks as if significant changes are afoot.
Following up on the work of the State’s Children’s Ombudsman, Virginia’s Governor is focused on addressing “gaps” in the state’s protection of children who have had system involvement.
Foster care numbers are on the rise in Indiana.
Following concerns of system failures involving a child’s death, it looks as if Kern County, CA’s human services agency has ordered an outside, independent review of its child protection practices.
Georgia recently held a much-needed legislative hearing on complex-needs children who are being abandoned to foster care.