Jerry Rogers Johnson

Annotations
Added Spring 2024

Freely Available Resource

Separating Poverty From Neglect
Author(s): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, Child Welfare Information Gateway
Publication DateApril 19, 2024
Published in: Child Welfare Information Gateway 

This article, dives into the complex relationship between poverty and child neglect within child welfare. It highlights the challenges families facing economic hardships encounter, particularly in their interactions with child protective services for neglect allegations. Although the exact number of participants isn't specified, the article mentions lots of different studies to provide more clarity regarding the issue. Consisting of policy analysis, quantitative analysis, and literature review, the article, created in February 2023, brings new perspectives to ongoing discussions around poverty, neglect, and different societal factors influencing child welfare. It is particularly useful for social workers who are aiming to distinguish between neglect that seems to be rooted in poverty and other forms of neglect.

For social workers, I found this article to be very useful in advancing a better understanding and practice in dealing with families in poverty. It emphasizes the importance of differentiating between neglect and the consequences of “systemic inequality”, which helps to promote a more inclusive approach to child welfare. The article's contence into how poverty-related neglect affects children and families can help strengthen “preventive” and “supportive” strategies, and hopefully work just as well to improve outcomes for vulnerable populations. Additionally, by citing a wide range of sources, including research studies and policy reports, it encourages a versitile view of the issue, urging professionals to consider various perspectives and solutions. This approach not only adds to the knowledge base of social workers but also helps them to address the complexities of neglect in a way that acknowledges and addresses the issue that is poverty.

Freely Available Resource

The Supreme Court will decide the future of Native American foster children

Author(s):  Madeleine C.
Publication Date April 19, 2024
Published in: Time Magazine 

The article makes a commendable effort at really giving a succinct elucidation of what the Indian Child Welfare Act is and consists of. It also explains some of the reasons why the Indian Child Welfare Act was created and how it does its job to help Native children. But it also talks about the arguments that some people may have against the act. The article, gives an example from the other side's perspective, so instead of talking about how we, as social workers, are going to see the effect of this act, it talks about the perspective of a family, to be more specific, Manilan Houle and Michelle Guerrero's family. Sharing their story sheds a little bit more light on the personal perspective of these challenges, which I find very useful as a future social worker who might have a hard time putting themselves into other people's shoes to understand how they are being affected by ICWA. Madeleine Carlisle is a reporter for Time magazine and has worked on many different articles apart from this one from 2022 titled “The Supreme Court Will Decide the Future of Native American Foster Children” and has produced quite an impressive amount of information that is easily accessible to all parties. As we move forward in this ever-changing social structure of the world and navigate our social work profession, it’s important to be able to come back to information like this to put things in perspective. When you’re considering certain families that could be affected by certain acts differently or negatively, the article provides a perspective to be able to find solutions to be able to find solutions and make changes that will benefit the people it’s meant to serve better.