Shari (6 years old) and Jonathan (1 year old) live with their mother in a small apartment in the inner city. Their father is currently in prison for assault and burglary and is a repeat offender. The family is African American and the children’s maternal grandmother and aunt are concerned because the children’s mother abuses drugs and alcohol.
Child Protection Services was notified by a neighbor that the mother had not been seen for several days but the children could be heard inside the apartment. An investigation identified that the children were in the apartment alone and had apparently been for a few days. There was no food and the children had apparently eaten bread, milk and chips. Shari had been changing Jonathan’s diaper and giving him milk in a bottle but the milk was gone so she had resorted to water. Shari stated that he cried a lot but she didn’t know what else to do. Aside from being hungry and unsupervised, the children appeared to be healthy. They were removed from the home and placed in emergency foster home. The foster parent took them for a medical check-up at the neighborhood clinic. The only medical recommendations were to place the children on a healthy diet.
The mother contacted CPS two days later (contact information had been left at her apartment) and requested to have her “children back”. She did admit that she did occasionally “party and leaves the children for 2-3 days” but she always goes back home. She states that she is not an addict but likes to have a break from taking care of the kids once in awhile.
1. If you were the social worker what information would you want to gain from the mother?
2. How would you explain the process of having the children returned – what would the mother be expected to do/change?
3. What type of plan should be created for the children?
4. How might this type of early life experience affect the children long term?