Child protection : trends and issues in Alberta
The Honourable Iris Evans, Minister of Children's Services for Alberta, has stated that "Alberta's children deserve to be cherished and cared for in quality childcare settings that contribute to their social and personal development" (Government of Alberta, December 16, 2002). Fortunately, the majority of parents are raising their children in such environments. However, there are families who pose a risk to the safety and security of their children, and child protection services may be involved with these families. The Alberta Response Model is based on the assumption that families who come to the attention of the child protection system are currently handled in a manner that is intrusive and stigmatizing. Instead of being a helpful and proactive service, child protection can become detrimental and potentially harmful to the clientele it serves. The Alberta Response Model is a new departure in child welfare practice and provides an alternative approach. Each of the 18 regional Child and Family Service Authorities is to develop its own initiatives incorporating the activities and philosophy of the Alberta Response Model. In the southern Alberta region, Sun Country Child and Family Services provides child protection services and has developed many innovative and creative projects to keep children safe. This project examines the Alberta Response Model in four sections: the historical context, current practice, Sun Country's response, and concerns and dilemmas.
Behind the colonial wall: the chains that bind resistance
Supervisory Committee Dr. Catherine Richardson, School of Social Work Supervisor Dr. Jeannine Carriere, School of Social Work Departmental Member The “colonial wall” is the analogy drawn between a visible, physical barrier designed to confine, control, and contain a nation and a psychological barrier designed to control, confine, and contain a nation by internalized colonialist subjugation or colonizer domination. This thesis answers the question, “How are colonial policies and ideologies internalized by Indigenous and Settler populations to maintain the relationship of domination and oppression in modern society?” The secondary questions explore how colonialism is perpetuated by both colonizer and colonized and ask if there are situations occurring in society today to indicate a correlation to the Indigenous Seven Prophecies and Eighth Fire Prophecy. Research constitutes a review of literature to explore the questions from thematic categories that emerged from the analysis: economics, epistemology, politics, and patriarchy. There are numerous literary contributions on the colonial phenomenon but few offered explanations about how it affected the psychology of a colonized individual or even how cognitive function is affiliated with acts of domination that affect the psyche of the colonizer. This thesis documents and offers emerging theories on how colonial policies and practices are taken up to influence the dyadic relationship between Settler peoples and Aboriginal populations in Canada today.
Children at risk : an evaluation of factors contributing to child abuse and neglect
I. Introduction.- 1 Research in Child Abuse and Neglect: Current Status and an Agenda for the Future.- II. General Issues.- 2 The Epidemiology of Child Maltreatment.- 3 Trends in Legislation and Case Law on Child Abuse and Neglect.- 4 Research Directions Related to Child Abuse and Neglect.- 5 Social and Emotional Consequences of Child Maltreatment.- III. Risk Factors Associated with Child Abuse and Neglect.- 6 Sociological and Ecological Factors.- 7 Parental Psychopathology and High-Risk Children.- 8 Predisposing Child Factors.- IV. Prevention and Treatment.- 9 Prevention Programs.- 10 Treating the Abused Child.- 11 Treating the Child Abuser.- V. Conclusions.- 12 Future Directions.- Author Index.