HSSW 504 JUVENILE JUSTICE AND CHILD PROTECTION
TAKE HOME EXAMINATION: TRIMESTER 1 2018
INSTRUCTIONS
Answer BOTH questions. Each question is worth 25 marks. The paper is worth 50% of the total assessment in this unit.
The total word limit for this examination is 2500 words. Submit your responses to the questions in one document. Referencing is necessary and the word count does not include your reference list. Only one reference list is required at the end of the document.
The work you present for the examination must be your own work.
Question 1
Rachael (5 y/o) and Mary (2 y/o) live in a small rural town in NSW with their mother, Sophie who is 24 years old. Sophie is a local in the town and she works in one of the hotels at night. Sophie’s parents and her sister help look after Rachael and Mary when she is at work. The children’s father is not in contact with the family.
Sophie has lots of friends and some nights she stays out drinking all night with them. Again, her family help her out by looking after the children when she wants to go out. About six months ago she got together with Joe, who moved into her house, and she is now three months pregnant. Also about three months ago, Joe’s
other, Ron, moved into Sophie’s house.
Mary has Down Syndrome. She requires special medical attention and also receives a service from an NGO who specialises in assisting families to care for children with a disability. Sophie and her family have, for the most part, worked together in order to meet Mary’s care needs.
Since this time, the Department of Family and Community Services have received several reports in relation to Rachael and Mary’s safety and wellbeing. a neighbour reported she was wo
ied the children were being left alone in the house some nights, . A second report was made by a healthcare professional who works for the organisation delivering disability support for Mary. It stated Mary was continually being found in soiled nappies; had severe thrush, and despite several discussions, Sophie had taken no action.
The same professional in a further report, stated: ‘Sophie had disclosed that, a few nights ago, Ron had come home drunk late one evening and had woken the children up and they both began to cry. Ron went into their bedroom, picked Mary up and shook her whilst shouting ‘shut up you freak or you will get what’s coming to you’.
You are the case worker in the Department of Family and Community Services and have statutory authority regarding the children’s protection. You conduct a home visit and complete a safety assessment, which indicates that, in the cu
ent situation, the children are at risk of significant harm. You now need to determine the best course of action to take.
How would you go about deciding this? In your answer, use the DECIDE model for ethical decision-making (Lonne, et al., 2016) and explain how this model would guide your decision-making process.
(marks out of 25)
Question 2
Deidre is a young single mum with three children, Jai (3y/o), Kevin (5y/o) & Steven (7y/o). She lives in a modest rental house in a small rural town about 100kms from Manfred Ha
our.
Diedre has a history of drug use and the children’s father, Tom, is cu
ently serving a custodial sentence for
eaching an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order. The order was taken with the assistance of statutory child protection workers to protect Diedre and her children from Tom’s violent behaviour. Tom
eached this order when he was high on Ice one night and smashed Diedre’s front door trying to get inside.
Even though Diedre knows she can’t be with Tom because of his violence, she still misses him and finds it difficult to cope with the children on her own. She has been getting by with assistance from Tom’s mother, Lo
isa, who also lives in the same town. Lorissa has been assisting by taking the children to child care/school, helping her do the shopping and sometimes looking after the children when Diedre wants to go out with her friends.
About three months ago, Lorissa was diagnosed with
east cancer. She is now undergoing chemotherapy and is feeling too unwell to assist her. Diedre is finding it very difficult to cope without Lorissa’s assistance. Her house is a mess with unwashed linen on the beds, dirty clothes on the bedroom floors an plates piled high in the kitchen sink. Kevin,Steven and Jai have not been attending school or child care.
In addition to this, Diedre herself has mental health concerns – particularly anxiety.  She’s wo
ied about what will happen when Tom gets out of jail. Her anxiety means that the children are ‘playing up’ and she is finding it increasingly difficult to manage their behaviour.
Diedre goes to see her mental health worker (Mark) to talk about her problems, and, with her permission, Mark makes a report to The Department seeking assistance for Diedre. The Department of Family and Community Services responds to this request by making a refe
al to the local Early Intervention Service that provides a service to families in the town where she lives.
Why would The Department refer Diedre to an Early Intervention Service? And what might this mean for Diedre and her children? You might want to look at the legislative principles in s. 9 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 and the relational approach in Lonne et al XXXXXXXXXXto inform your response.
(marks out of 25)
Marking Criteria HSSW 504 Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Trimester 1 2018 Assignment 2
1. demonstrate a foundational knowledge of legal issues in the context of social work practice in the fields of child protection and juvenile justice; 2. utilise a practical knowledge of law relevant to child protection and juvenile justice social work; 3. recognise and analyse policy issues raised by child protection and juvenile justice law; and 4. synthesise skills in research, comprehension, reasoning and writing regarding legal doctrine and policy questions in juvenile justice and child protection.
Assignment Grades
Criteria
85+ %
High Distinction
75 - 84%
Distinction
65 -74%
Credit
50 - 64%
Pass
XXXXXXXXXX %
Bare Fail
20 - 39 %
Fail
0 - 19 %
Bad fail
Question 1
The student answers the question, the response is well written and a good knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is well researched and sources are referenced co
ectly.
(Out of 25)
The student answers the question, the response is very well written and an excellent knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is well researched and sources are referenced co
ectly.
The student answers the question, the response is well written and a very good knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is well researched and sources are referenced co
ectly.
The student answers the question, the response is well written and a good knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is researched and sources are referenced co
ectly.
The student answers the question, the essay is reasonably well written and a sound knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is researched and most sources are referenced co
ectly.
The student attempts to answer the question and some knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is at times incoherent. There is evidence of some research but referencing is inco
ect.
The student does not answer the question, the response is incoherent with little or no knowledge demonstrated references are omitted.
The student does not answer the question and no attempt has been made to reference.
Question 2
The student answers the question, the response is well written and a good knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is well researched and sources are referenced co
ectly.
(Out of 25)
The student answers the question, the response is very well written and an excellent knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is well researched and sources are referenced co
ectly.
The student answers the question, the response is well written and a very good knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is well researched and sources are referenced co
ectly.
The student answers the question, the response is well written and a good knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is researched and sources are referenced co
ectly.
The student answers the question, the essay is reasonably well written and a sound knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is researched and most sources are referenced co
ectly.
The student attempts to answer the question and some knowledge and analysis is demonstrated. The response is at times incoherent. There is evidence of some research but referencing is inco
ect.
The student does not answer the question, the response is incoherent with little or no knowledge demonstrated references are omitted.
The student does not answer the question and no attempt has been made to reference.