"Main Ideas of Problem-Focused Services by Costello"

     This week's reading was broken up into three sections.  I was assigned the Problem-Focused Services section.  Under problem-focused services is Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice systems.  These two systems "have extensive contacts with children and families and a lot of power over them" (Costello, 211).  This reading by Costello gave a really great background behind the history of Child Welfare and the Juvenile Justice System.  

Child Welfare

     -Began in the last half of the nineteenth century.

-Charitable organizations were developed to take responsibility for children when the care and protection that is provided by families is inadequate.

In a world that was and still is changing economically and socially the size of the population overwhelmed  informal arrangements (Costello, 211).  The creation of these organizations are meant to supplement or substitute for parental care.

Settlement Houses

Around this time, settlement houses were founded and intended to "protect and promote the development of children and the well being of families" (Costello, 211).  These settlement houses offered a range of primary supports as well as problem-focused services.  During the 1960's the prevention of physical abuse to children became a high priority and emphases was placed on the interests of children and their entitlement under the civil rights legislation in the 1960's.

Juvenile Justice Systems

In the 1970's youth became subject to court supervision and incarceration for behaviors like truancy and running away from home.  If these youth were adults and committed these "crimes" they would not be held accountable because they are of age.  In 1974 the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act ended incarceration of juveniles for these "offenses."

  My Thoughts

     After I read through all the main ideas of this article the author, Costello, makes a great  point when it is stated that as a community/society children in the child welfare system are viewed as innocent victims because they couldn't help how they ended up with the state.  Essentially, it was out of the children's realm to protect themselves from ending up in state custody because of either a bad family home life or other things going on in their life.  This differs very much from those children in the juvenile justice system because they are viewed as perpetrators because they could have simply not broken the law.  To view these two issues of social services and juvenile justice as one being innocent and the other being perpetrators seems so wrong because all these children need is help and guidance to take the path they need to to live the best life possible.  The youth in these two situations have "unknown adults taking control of their lives (Costello, 214)."  In one situation control is meant for a safe society and in the second  control is used to protect them from further victimization.

     

     Youth work is not just cut and dry.  There are a lot of laws and regulations that any youth worker needs to be briefed on in order to do what is in the best interests for the youths that they work with.  As youth workers we significantly impact children's lives many children do not have the willingness to bond with a youth worker they are working with for fear that they won't be working with them for long and risk becoming close to them.  As youth workers we have to prepare to work with all different types of children from all different types of families.  After reading this article I realized that if more organizations involved youth in decision making such as program development they would be seen  as individuals who have their own mind and are able to figure out the best path for them with a little guidance from a youth worker.

Here is a great website about youth laws and policies click here.  This organization assess the impact of public policies on young people.