Attachment Theory And Risk Assessment

adherence possibility And Risk AssessmentLinking guess, Research, and Practice Risk-Assessments and electric razor Protection. The radical goal of this paper was to givingen my knowledge and at a lower placestanding al close to the theory, query, policies, and procedures maneuver risk-appraisal decision making within chela protection service. Individuals and group place as at-risk-, for one or more than myriad reasons substantiate been the broad focus of a decade s worth of academic and sea captain purists. Although the initial concern for all at-risk individual remains, practical and academic experiences have narrowed the scope to include pincerren under the age of twelve, at risk- of, or currently residing out-of-home-c be placements (hereafter referred to as solicitude purlieus).Of all at-risk- populations, I believe these fryren ar the most vulnerable to negative outcomes in the near and distant futures. Substantiated allegations of child maltreatment1 are respo nsible for 80% of child protection investigations, and preceded out-of-home manage placements of at least 90% of the current care-population (Gough, 2000 Wiley, 2009). For several helpless historic period, I witnessed the lay waste to consequences for those children that child protection run failed. When child protection workers would report risk- quantifyment results, I was repeatedly astonished by outcomes, which failed to remove from unhealthy home environments. Consequently, I developed an interest in contri scarcelying factors in risk- assessment.To convey the complexness of competing factors that influence risk-assessment outcomes, the following section extends some brief background knowledge about child protection services and additional in arrangement around the risk-assessment suffice.BackgroundCanada s Child, Family, and Community Services Act (CFCS) (1996), is the major consultation of information that guides for each one province in the development, regulation a nd implementation of child protection services. Recent amendments to the Canadian Criminal Code (1985), such as the controversial) legal obligation to report suspected child ab practise/maltreatment, provide additional legal guidelines. In British capital of South Carolina (BC), the Ministry of Child and Family increase (MCFD), is responsible for overseeing the quality and de constitutery of Child Protection Services. Independent arrangements pull round in the midst of the MCFD and twenty-four separate Aboriginal child protection Agencies. topic estimates suggest that on any given day, more than 67 000 Canadian children (9.2 children per 1000) will be living in out-of-home care (Garrison, 2004 Gough, 2007 Trocm , Tourigny, MacLaurin, Fallon, 2003) British Columbias contribution to this figure represents 1% of the provinces children, although a disproportionate amount of these children are Aboriginal2. Approximately equal numbers of females (48%) and males (52%) live in care sett ings with a combined average age of 9.0 historic period (Child and Youth Officer for British Columbia, 2005 Connolly, 2007 Hardiker, Exton Barker, 1991).Risk-assessment and Decision MakingOut-of-home care environments principally refer to kinship care (family member), comfort care, and residential/group care facilities, independent or assisted living facilities, and formal institutionalization (e.g., hospitals or psychical health institutions) (Rosen 1999 Trocm et al, 2003 Waechtera et al, 2009). Child in short-term care (awaiting a indissoluble placement) comprise 40% of this population, and the remaining 60% represents children in long-term care placements (minimum of five uninterrupted years) (Fisher, Burraston, Pears, 2005 Kelly Milner, 1996 Solomon, 2002). Research has identified areas of significant concern associated with each of these environments, including but not limited to child maltreatment from caregivers, isolation, inadequate foster parent screening, training , poor parenting skills, negative peer influences, deviant peer clustering, and unstableness (Garrison, 2004 Okagaki Luster, 2005 Rosen, 1999 Solomon, 2002).Risk-assessment refers to the decision making process of child welfare workers investigating the say-so dangers associated with a child s primary care environment (Connolly, 2007 Kelly Milner, 1996). Typically, these assessments are intended to validate allegations of child maltreatment (Gilbert et al., 2009 Wiley, 2009). Despite the proud risk associated with each of these outcomes, there are no mandated procedural standard associated with the assessment process. This assessment is a largely subjective judgement or rating of the stiffness of potential harm to the child (Drury-Hudson, 1999). There are tercet possible outcomes of a risk assessment corresponding to perceived severity of the risk and age of the child (see Figure 1).Family Development response (FDR) is liable(predicate) when the risk- is considered high, yet manageable through interventions that target adult behaviours. If the risk is defy or higher (and the child is old enough) Youth Services Response may be considered. When the risk- is immediate, and severs, the only available re black market is to begin a child protection investigation.Child Protection GoalsChild protection services are one way that childrens rights are enforced and upheld and to the increase the likelihood of the child to develop the characteristics (personality and behavioural) associated with success and wellbeing in adulthood. The intended part of child protection is to safeguard children from immediate and future harm. The focus of most protection investigations is on the efforts and ability of caregivers to provide a emboldenive environment that does not threaten the safety and wellbeing of the child, and promotes cognitive, physical, and emotional developmental process (Waechtera et al., 2009).Unfortunately, these goals rarely achieved. When compared to non-care population, research investigations consistently describe children in care as more aggressive, anti loving and are more likely to demonstrate pathological and or problem behaviours (Chamberlain, 2003 Simms, Dubowitz, Szilagyi, 2000 Rosen, 1999). Additionally, children in care are four measures as likely (65% of children in care) to be diagnosed with one or more clinical mental health condition (e.g., Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Reactive chemical bond Disorder, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) (Three, 2001 Provincial Health Officer of BC, 2001 Wiggins, Fenichel, Mann, 2007). Furthermore, children in care are prescribed more pharmacological treatments (e.g., Ritalin) for longer periods, at higher dosages (Vitally, 2001).The purpose of this paper is to examine theoretical and empirical support for the practices associated with the risk-assessment process and outcomes. Attachment Theory has been extensively applied within s ocial services practices and research. Direct references to Attachment Theory are found passim practice guidelines for child protection services.Attachment TheoryAttachment Theory has traditionally been regarded as the theoretical bridge between early childishness development research and clinical social work practices (McMillan, 1992). The influence of Attachment Theory within child protection services is pervasive to the denominate of being indistinguishable (Byrne, 2005 Haight, Kagle, Black, 2003). According to Attachment Theory, critical, developmental periods in the jump years of life where the quality of a child-caregiver bond certificate relationship is life-and-death for health development (Bowlby, 1999 Bretherton, 1992). Bowlby believed that the critical function of the parent-child adherence relationship was the formation of an internal working model that formed the basis for lifelong patterns of social behaviours and shaped all aspects of subsequently formed rela tionships (Bacon Richardson, 2001).Attachment Theory and Child Protection Practices Summary of ResearchIt is evident that Attachment Theory has exerted goodish influence upon child protection practices (Axford, Little, Morpeth, Weyts, 2005 Schore Schore, 2008). Child protection guidelines frequently and specifically refer to Attachment Theory when describing theoretical support for recommended practices (Bacon Richardson, 2001 Trevithick, 2000). For example, practitioners guidelines recommend that when child welfare workers respond to allegations of ab riding habit, the risk-assessment should consider the style of the attachment relationship between a child and mother, and balance the consequences of breaking a secure attachment against the consequences of perceived risk- (Harris, 2009 Simms et al., 2000). Consistent with central tenants of Attachment Theory, the importance of familial relationships is emphatic throughout policies and practices, including the screening of adop tive parents (e.g. the recommendation that child welfare workers assess adoptive parent in terms of the attachment potential), child clench determinations, therapeutic support (i.e., Family focused therapy), and risk- assessment (Barth, Crea, John, Thoburn, Quinton, 2005 Lopex, 1995 McMillen, 1992).Moderate evidence indicates that under specific conditions, there is empirical evidence to support assessment of attachment relationship (Axford et al., 2005 Byrne, OConnor, Marvin, Whelan, 2005). These conditions include risk assessment involving infants and/or children less than twain year of age, availability of high quality alternative care environment, use of standardized attachment measures (i.e., Ainsworth s Strange Situation test) and sufficient time available for a minimum of two assessment opportunities (OConnor Byrne, 2007).Unfortunately, there appears to be little research support for the above recommendations in all but the specific conditions described above. Recent res earch indicates that key elements of Attachment Theory are often misinterpreted by practitioners and inappropriately applied to situations that contradict research recommended parameters (Holland, 2001). No evidence links style of attachment with a course of action in risk- assessment (Barth et al., 2005). Practitioner guidelines seem to overstate the fulfilment of empirical support justifying use of attachment assessment in high stakes decision-making processes (Connolly, 2007 Trevithick, 2000). Additional concerns have been raised around a concerning angle of inclination in the attachment research to draw unsupported conclusions, an erroneous use of correlational research designs (vs. experimental), inappropriate use of assessment methods, discounting environmental confounds, a lack of regard for extra-familial relationships, and a tendency to attribute problems to deficiencies in parenting (Harris, 2009 Solomon, 2002) concluding RemarksOverall, Attachment Theory is consistent w ith the family focus of child protection practices, however, there is no evidence linking this framework with meliorated long-term outcomes. Reported benefits and relate successes appear to occur almost randomly, and rare, and often are limited to delusive example of care environments that in no way represent the practically harsher reality. There appears to be a lead for practitioner education to improve their understanding and interpretation of Attachment Theory. It appears there is also a need to establish standardized assessment procedures, including the development and introduction of research formalise assessment tool.As it currently exists, the range, severity, and prevalence of developmental problems noted among children in care, the high financial costs to society, the lack of intervention strategies, and the twenty years of negative growth, are undeniable evidence of our dismal failure as a society to protect our most vulnerable members (Chamberlain, 2003 Farruggia, Greenberger, Chen, Heckhausen, 2006 Okagaki Luster, 2005 Sims, Dubowitz, Szilagy, 2006).