Social Work Ch. 9 – Flashcards

is a primary group whose members assume certain obligations for each other (responsibility and commitment)

people who are intimate and have frequent contact, have norms, expectations on how one should behave, and share influences

the nuclear family as well as those nontraditional alternatives to nuclear family which are adopted by persons in committed relationships and the people they consider to be family

the United States consisted of two married parents who had never been divorced living together in one household with their own birth children

are family units in which only one of the parents, usually the mother, is present in the household

are family structures in which one or both members of a married couple bring a child or children from a prior marriage or relationship to the family unit. Children may be biologically a combination of his or hers from past relationships, and possibly theirs together

is any nontraditional configuration of people who live together, are committed to each other, and perform functions traditionally assumed by families. Such relationships may not involve biological or legal linkages. The important thing is that such groups function as families Stepfamilies are a type of blended family

are those in which family members include persons spanning at least three generations(e.g., grandparents living under the same roof and caring for grandchildren while the parents work)

is the traditional term for the network of policies and programs designed to empower families, promote a healthy environment, protect children, and meet children's needs

Meeting vulnerable children's unmet emotional, behavioral, and health needs. Providing adequate resources to address external conditions such as poverty and inadequate health care so children can develop and thrive in a healthy, nurturing social environment. Empowering families by building on strengths so parents can effectively provide for and protect their children. Improving internal family conditions involving interpersonal dynamics, communication, substance abuse, and conflict. Safeguarding children from various forms of neglect and abuse. When necessary, making permanent family living conditions available through adoption or transfer of guardianship.

Historical areas of service [include] foster care and adoptions, in-home family-centered services, child protective services, and residential services—where social work has a legitimate, long-standing, and important mission and role.... Readers also should be conscious of the many other fields of practice in which child and family services are provided or that involve substantial numbers of social work programs, such as services to adolescent parents, child mental health, health, education, special education, and juvenile justice agencies. In recent years the emphasis concerning children and families has shifted from a focus on the child to one on the family and social environment. Children are now viewed in the context of their families and other people around them. The idea is that this environment must be strengthened to provide a nurturant, supportive setting in which children can grow and thrive

support, reinforce, and strengthen the ability of parents and children to meet the responsibilities of their respective statuses The intent is simply toprovide external support to enhance family functioning while children remain in the home. Services include basic financial and other resource assistance various types of mental health treatment such as family therapy, individual counseling, and group therapy which focuses on social work and mental health); child protective services; intensive family preservation services; day care; family life education; and respite care.

is the umbrella term for physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, neglect, and psychological maltreatment

a child younger than 18 years of age has experienced an injury ... or risk of an injury ... as a result of having been hit with a hand or other object or having been kicked, shaken, thrown, burned, stabbed, or choked by a parent or parent-surrogate

bruises, lacerations, fractures, burns, head injuries, and internal injuries. Often the injuries don't make sense. For example, they might occur in odd patterns or places Physically abused children can also exhibit behavioral indicators such as extreme passivity and submissiveness in order to avoid provoking an abusive parent or other caregiver. Other children will express themselves with marked aggression and hostility, modeling the behavior of a violent parent.

any sexual activity with a child where consent is not or cannot be given.... This includes sexual contact that is accomplished by force or threat of force, regardless of the age of the participants, and all sexual contact between an adult and a child, regardless of whether there is deception or the child understands the sexual nature of the activity. Sexual contact between an older and a younger child also can be abusive if there is a significant disparity in age, development, or size, rendering the younger child incapable of giving informed consent. The sexually abusive acts may include sexual penetration, sexual touching, or non-contact sexual acts such as exposure or voyeurism.

sexual intercourse between people too closely related to legally marry (usually interpreted to mean father-daughter, mother-son, or brother-sister combinations Physical symptoms of sexual abuse include physical damage to or bleeding in the genital or anal areas. Emotional indicators are depression, low self-esteem, and thoughts of suicide. Other clues include compulsive masturbation and sexual behavior or knowledge inappropriate to a child's age.

the failure of a parent, guardian, or other caregiver to provide for a child's basic needs

Physical (e.g., failure to provide necessary food or shelter, or lack of appropriate supervision) Medical (e.g., failure to provide necessary medical or mental health treatment) Educational (e.g., failure to educate a child or attend to special education needs) Emotional (e.g., inattention to a child's emotional needs, failure to provide psychological care, or permitting the child to use alcohol or other drugs)

a repeated pattern of behavior that conveys to a child that he or she is unwanted, worthless, valued only to the extent that he or she can meet others' needs, or is threatened with physical or psychological attack Such maltreatment can involve withdrawal of support, attention, and encouragement. It may also entail active criticism, disapproval, and censure of children and their feelings and behavior.

spurning terrorizing isolating exploiting/corrupting Denying emotional responsiveness

belittling, degrading, shaming, ridiculing; singling out one child to do most of the household chores or to criticize and punish; and publicly humiliating refusing to help a child who asks for or needs help

verbally assaults the child, creates a climate of fear, bullies and frightens the child, and makes the child believe that the world is hostile and unsafe cause "extreme fear and/or anxiety in a child threatening to harm the child him- or herself or threatening to commit suicide

when the caregiver cuts the child off from "normal social experiences, prevents the child from forming friendships, and makes the child believe that he or she is alone in the world" involves strapping a baby in a portable car seat all day to keep her from being underfoot involves " locking a child in a closet or room"

"modeling, permitting, or encouraging such antisocial behavior as prostitution, performance in pornography, criminal activity, or substance abuse; [and] encouraging developmentally inappropriate behavior such as parentification [expecting the child to act like a parent] or infantilization [treating an older child like an infant]"

"being detached and uninvolved, interacting only when absolutely necessary, and failing to express love and affection to the child"

Psychological maltreatment is related to other forms of maltreatment; it is the psychological dimension of abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. Terrorizing may be embedded in physical abuse; denying emotional responsiveness may be the psychological aspect of physical neglect. However, psychological maltreatment may also exist by itself, without other forms of maltreatment.

In 2008 there were almost 2 million reported and investigated acts of child maltreatment in the United States, almost 774,000 of which were substantiated ( U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). This, of course, doesn't reflect other cases not reported or investigated. "Recent findings suggest that the incidence of childmaltreatment is increasing dramatically"; one study found that the incidence had doubled over a decade (Petr, 2004, p. 20). Of substantiated cases, 71% involved neglect, 16.3% physical abuse, 9.2% sexual abuse, 7.1% emotional maltreatment, and 2.2% medical neglect

A need for personal support and nurturance. A need to overcome isolation and establish social contacts. A need to learn appropriate parenting skills. A need to improve self-esteem.

It is generally agreed that parents who abuse their children usually have a dearth of coping mechanisms. They may not have achieved the degree of social competence of nonabusive parents and lack their problem-solving abilities. Some authors see these parents as less flexible and more easily overwhelmed.... Although some studies do not find a history of abuse or dysfunctional childhoods, others suggest that they might be in evidence.... This may lead them to less appropriate disciplinary standards.... A number of abusive parents are inconsistent and approach child rearing with negativity.... Their attitude leads them to feel less effective and overwhelmed, and as a result, they tend toward more aggressive models of discipline.

"a lack of understanding of the emotional complexity of human relationships, especially the parent-child relationship" and "have difficulty seeing things from the child's perspective" . Such parents "often have unresolved issues of trust, dependency, and autonomy (reflecting their own childhood history) and may seek to meet their own needs through the parent-child relationship" . There is evidence that they are more likely to be depressed or have other mood disturbances. Other primary "risk factors include violence in the marital relationship, parental unemployment, other stressful life events, and the absence of a helpful, supportive social network" . Neglectful parents may not have had their own needs met in their own childhoods.

Parents who physically abuse their children are actively lashing out. In contrast, neglectful parents are withdrawing and failing to provide adequately for their children.

Many are likely to have poor interpersonal and sexual relations with other adults, and may feel socially inadequate and inferior.... However, it is not uncommon to encounter [offenders].... outside the legal system who are well educated, socially adept, civic-minded, and financially successful characteristics include "alcoholism, severe marital problems, sexual difficulties, and poor emotional adjustment"

exhibit more difficulties with interpersonal and social interactions, problem solving, and psychiatric adjustment.... Emotionally abusive parents had more difficulty building relationships, exhibited poor coping skills, and displayed deficits in child management techniques. In addition, emotionally abusive mothers demonstrated a lack of support networks (both personal andcommunity) as well as greater levels of perceived stress, marital discord, and alcohol and drug use.

are interventions aimed at protecting children at risk of maltreatment. CPS social workers are usually employed by state or county public agencies whose designated task is to protect children from harm

protecting children in four ways: (a) by investigating reports of maltreatment, (b) by providing treatment services, (c) by coordinating the services offered by other agencies in the community to child victims and their families, and (d) by implementing preventive services.... Ideally, the goal of CPS in all cases is to prevent child abuse and neglect in children's own homes through the provision of various services.

receipt of the initial referral; gathering information about the case through a social study; assessment of the situation; case planning including goal setting; provision of treatment; evaluation of the effects of treatment; and termination of the case

is developed providing direction for how to proceed "include increasing self-esteem, decreasing feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, decreasing aggressive behaviors, and decreasing negative behaviors such as lying, suicide attempts, running away, promiscuity, and drug or alcohol abuse" . These can be achieved through individual counseling, group therapy, or family therapy.

focus on strengthening their " coping skills, parenting skills, and child management techniques" Intervention may involve individual counseling or family therapy. Many believe that group therapy, including self-help groups such as Parents Anonymous, is often the most effective Through such groups, parents learn that they are not alone and can discover how others are experiencing stress and frustration. They can share coping ideas with each other, suggest new child management techniques, provide mutual support, and improve their communication skills.

temporary provision of care so that the regular caregivers, in this case parents, have some time away from child care responsibilities

the regular provision of care for children or others dependent on help when regular caregivers must work or be away from the home. This is another way of providing alternative child care for children so parents can attend to their own needs, go to work, and practice newly learned skills.

involve a wide range of assistance in helping parents undertake their daily tasks and assume their responsibilities; examples include "parent educational services, employment counseling and training services, budget management, legal services, homemaker services, ... referrals to food banks, and transportation"

are trained paraprofessionals, sometimes volunteers, who go into the home, serve as positive role models for behavior management and parent-child relationships, and provide someone for the parents to talk to

can let children form a special relationship with a supportive adult role model or mentor. Volunteers are paired with a child and, under supervision, offer that child guidance and friendship.

are "short-term, family-based services designed to assist families in crisis by improving parenting and family functioning while keeping children safe" based on the idea that children can be protected safely in their own homes when families are strengthened. This is done by giving parents the resources and services they need to function effectively. Family preservation stresses that it is in children's best interests to help them remain in their own homes. Removing them can traumatize them and result in permanent harmful consequences. The concept of family preservation has become a major thrust in agencies throughout the country. It involves doing everything possible to keep the child in the home and provide treatment for the family. Family preservation services are also referred to as family-based services, "home-based services, or in-home treatment"

"(1) to protect children, (2) to maintain and strengthen family bonds, (3) to stabilize the crisis situation, (4) to increase the family's skills and competencies, (5) to facilitate the family's use of a variety of formal and informal helping resources, and (6) to prevent unnecessary out-of-home placement of children"

Crisis orientation: Family preservation is based on intervention when a crisis is taking place within the home. Workers can then take advantage of the family's motivation to alleviate the stress it's experiencing.

Focus on family: The family is all-important; it is considered the optimum place for children to remain. All intervention emphasis is directed toward keeping the family together and strengthening its members.

Home-based services: Services are provided in the home whenever possible. The ongoing thrust is improving the home environment.

Time limits: Because family preservation workers intervene during times of crisis, they work quickly. The intervention process in most models ranges from 4 to 12 weeks, although some extend longer than that. Setting time limits helps workers and their clients evaluate progress regularly.

Limited, focused objectives: All intervention objectives are clearly specified. The primary goal is to alleviate the crisis situation and strengthen the family unit so that a crisis is less likely to erupt again.

Intensive, comprehensive services: Workers' time and attention are concentrated on the families and their progress. Workers may spend as much as 20-25 hours each week arranging for resources and providing services (e.g., problem solving, counseling, and parenting skills education).

Emphasis on education and skill building: The family preservation approach is a positive one. It assumes that people are capable of learning and can improve if they are given appropriate information and support.

Coordination: Because intervention is intensive and numerous resources may be involved, coordination is very important. Sometimes other service providers and specialists are involved with a case, requiring coordination of treatment efforts.

Flexibility: Each family is different, having varying problems and needs. Flexibility enables practitioners to match a wide range of services and resources with the individual family's needs.

Accessibility: Workers in family preservation must be readily accessible to families in crisis. Their work is intensive and time-limited. Workers' caseloads typically are small so they can concentrate their efforts

Accountability: Accountability is the obligation of justifying one's work by accomplishing identified goals. The emphasis on focused objectives and time-limited interventions enhances workers' ability to evaluate their effectiveness.

is expensive because workers have small caseloads; therefore, the ratio of worker salary to number of cases is high. For example, consider a worker being paid $36,000 per year who works with 12 families over the entire year. The cost of her salary is about $3,000 per family. Another worker serving in a more traditional child welfare capacity might have 90 cases in a year. The cost of her salary per case is only about $400

an agency or program that provides supervision and care for children while parents or guardians are at work or otherwise unavailable. It is critical for many families because the majority of women work outside the home almost 59% of married mothers with infants under age 1 year are employed outside the home (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). Almost 68% of single mothers and 61.6% of married mothers who have children under age 6 work outside the home

parents can hire someone such as a baby-sitter or a nanny to come into their home and provide care, which about 5% of working families with preschoolers do. Although most parents prefer this option, it's too expensive to be practical for many families. Second, parents can take their children to the care providers' homes for supervision. This is referred to as family day care and is used by 11% of families with preschoolers. Third, larger, organized day care centers in addition to preschool and Head Start programs can provide care. Over a third of all families use these larger settings. Almost two-thirds of preschoolers and almost 70% of school-aged children are in some type of day care arrangement; school-aged children are in care including that provided "by relatives, day care homes, enrichment activities, and school-based programs"

an serve from 15 to 300 children, although they average about 60. Advantages include being licensed under state supervision, usually having staff trained in child supervision and early education, and being able to provide a wider range of opportunities and activities than what's available in family day care. Disadvantages may include increased impersonality due to size, lack of parental knowledge of their children's individual caregivers, strict and inflexible hours, inconvenient locations, and restrictions regarding care for infants or sick children.

involves group learning experiences for the purpose of increasing people's knowledge, developing skills, or enhancing self-awareness concerning issues and crises relevant at some point during the life span FLE is a group experience. The context usually involves a social worker or other professional providing information for 6 to 12 group members; weekly meetings last from one and a half to two hours and are held over a one- to eight-week period address either normal developmental or specific crisis issues, they may be appropriate for almost anyone, depending on people's learning needs. Four categories of FLE groups are (1) normal development, (2) crisis, (3) personal growth, and (4) life adjustment groups

provide information about various normal life stages. Examples includesexuality, premarital and marital education, and parenting education programs

are oriented toward people facing a serious life turning point or upheaval. Often these people are unprepared for the crisis and require information and help to cope

help people develop specified social skills. They are unlike crisis groups because there's no sudden upheaval involved, and they differ from life adjustment groups because members are not striving to cope with a chronic problem. Rather, group members have in common the interest of improving themselves in some way. Examples are groups focusing on assertiveness training, time management, and communication skills.

help people who are dealing with some ongoing problematic issue. Most often, group members are coping with a crisis of their own or of someone close to them. This differs from a crisis group because it focuses on long-term issues instead of temporary crises

is supervision of a child by another caregiver, allowing the parent an interval of relief from the responsibilities of child care. In essence, it gives the individual a break, a brief time during which the caregiver is free from stressful responsibilities. It allows an opportunity for parents to run errands or simply to relax. Some agencies use volunteers to provide respite care; others have programs in which parents can drop children off and have them be supervised for a few hours

involves taking an active, directive role on behalf of a client or client group in need of help. One important aspect of child advocacy is the acknowledgment and support of the basic rights of children. The concern for children's rights can be considered on a universal level; that is, every child should have certain specific rights such as the right to adequate food, clothing, shelter, and a decent home environment.

Quality, accessible day care for children of working parents. Improved maternal and child health care in view of the high proportion of low-birth-weight babies Better prevention and treatment programs to address child maltreatment. Welfare reform to raise families' income levels above the poverty line.

a comprehensive care planning process directed toward the goal of a permanent, stable home for a child [placed in substitute care]

Home of parent (rank 1). Home of relative (2). Foster family home (3). Specialized foster family home (4). Group home (5). Private child welfare institution (6). Shelter (7). Mental health facility (8). Correctional facility (9)

One type of out-of-home placement involves relatives or part of the child's family's supportive network may be composed of nuclear family, extended family, blended family, foster family, or adoptive family members or members of tribes or clans. The involvement of kin may stabilize family situations, ensure the protection of children, and prevent the need to separate children from their families and place them in the formal child welfare system. Informal kinship care involves families taking children in without intervention by social service agencies. In formal kinship care, a social services agency gains legal custody of a child and places that child in a kinship home, which it licenses. The agency pays the caregivers and is expected to monitor the home's compliance with standards to oversee the child's well-being.

he provision of substitute care with a family for a planned temporary or extended period when parents or legal guardians are unable to care for a child. Foster care involves a serious placement decision when a family is in such crisis that adequate care for children in their own home is impossible.

purpose is to address the unique needs of children and youth who require more intensive services than a family setting can provide. Either on-site or through links with community programs, residential services provide educational, medical, psychiatric, and clinical/mental health services, as well as case management and recreation....Within residential settings, children and their families are offered a variety of services, such as therapy, counseling, education, recreation, health, nutrition, daily living skills, pre-independent living skills, reunification services, aftercare, and advocacy. provide a treatment milieu (an all-encompassing environmental setting), in which rules for how to behave are more clearly specified than in most families, thus providing greater structure. This, in turn, allows for more consistency and predictability in the children's living environment. Many residents feel safer in this more controlled setting.Second, in most settings children interact with multiple caregivers instead of one or two parents. This allows children to experience less intensive interactions in a less concentrated emotional and interpersonal environment. Third, the treatment milieu provides a "group living experience, where children and youths learn to develop responsibility to the group and to develop and improve relational skills and behavior and where peer pressure can have a positive impact"

First, the child's own family is important to the child, so that home environment should be maintained if at all possible. Therefore, supportive services should be provided to keep the child in the home. If the child still must be removed from the home, efforts should be made to maintain communication between children and parents to support and maintain the parent-child relationship. Second, when the child must be removed from the home, the foster care placement should provide a healthy, nurturing environment until the child is placed in a permanent family setting. Third, the child's own family should be viewed as the client system, with the child's return to a safe, healthy family environment a primary goal. In the event that a return to the family of origin is not viable, a plan for permanent placement should be developed either through adoption by a foster family or for independent living if the child is old enough ( Everett, 2008). Fourth, foster parents or child care staff in group homes are viewed as an important part of the treatment team working together toward the goal of permanent placement. Highlight 9.5 discusses some reasons children require foster family care.

Shelter homes provide a transitory haven for children during assessment and placement. Long-term foster homes offer an ongoing residence for children unable to return to their parents' home and unadoptable for various reasons. One is that parents refuse to give up guardianship Specialized foster homes serve children with special needs, such as intellectual disabilities or conditions such as fetal alcohol syndrome or being infected with HIV. Other specialized homes prepare older children for living independently. Finally, treatment foster care provides specialized treatment for children with serious behavioral and emotional problems. The idea here is that a family setting offers a less restrictive environment than a group home or institution for children requiring more structured behavioral management. Parents in such homes need specialized training to provide children with a therapeutic experience.

is the legal responsibility to care for another person and oversee that person's affairs. A child's guardian assumes decision-making responsibilities, such as giving consent for major surgery. This differs from custody, whereby the custodian is responsible only for daily care

a worker must first carefully assess the risk in the child's own family to determine the necessity of removal from the home. The worker must conclude that supportive services will be unable to sustain the children and their family in the home environment. worker must select the best available foster home. This should be "the least restrictive, most homelike environment possible," one that best meets the child's "particular physical, emotional and social needs" Also, the fewer changes (e.g., a different school or lifestyle) the child is forced to experience, the better. The social worker also must assess the child's needs and "anticipated behavior problems" to place the child with a foster family that can best meet those needs Throughout the foster care preplacement, placement, and postplacement process, the social worker fulfills a third function: case management. Coordinating services might require home visits, contacting schools regarding the child's performance, and dealing with crises such as children running away or natural and foster parents arguing.nvolves counseling and helping the children, naturalparents, and foster parents prepare for changes, adjust to new circumstances, and work toward the children's return to the natural home. The worker should convey clear information about what's happening to all of them and encourage them to ask questions. The worker should also strive to develop "a supportive relationship" with children to help them deal with changes Foster care workers also counsel the birth parents. Sometimes goals involve teaching effective parenting skills and decreasing or controlling stressful life issues (e.g., poverty, substance abuse, social isolation, interpersonal conflict, mental illness). Other times, workers focus on maintaining the parent-child relationshipounsel foster parents. This might involve preparing foster parents for a new foster child by providing information or helping foster parents integrate the child into their own family system. Foster care workers help foster parents develop effective ways of handling foster children and attending to their individual needs. These workers also must help foster parents deal with the grief they experience when foster children to whom they're especially attached return home. Finally, foster care workers can act as mediators between birth parents and foster parents.

provides a substitute settingand family environment for a group of children originating in different families. A small-group context allows residents to benefit from the group experience, yet still receive enough individual attention and treatment. The actual physical structure of a group home is usually a sizable single-family dwelling that blends into a residential neighborhood. Depending on the residents' needs, it can be staffed either by a live-in married couple or by counselors who work various shifts, "including overnight staff who are awake" provides a substitute settingand family environment for a group of children originating in different families. A small-group context allows residents to benefit from the group experience, yet still receive enough individual attention and treatment. The actual physical structure of a group home is usually a sizable single-family dwelling that blends into a residential neighborhood. Depending on the residents' needs, it can be staffed either by a live-in married couple or by counselors who work various shifts, "including overnight staff who are awake"

either larger dormitory settings or a series of smaller units or cottages forming one center. Each has its own supervising staff and assigns juvenile residents according to such variables as age and type of problem. Structured expectations usually revolve around a behavior management system based on behavior modification approaches.

available to older adolescents fast approaching adulthood is independent living services. These serve as a transitional residence between out-of-home placement and entrance into adulthood with its onerous responsibilities. Independent living services aim to prepare young people to function independently in society. Services focus on helping them develop skills they can use in their personal and work worlds. These include decision—making, budgeting, and planning skills to organize their lives; educational, vocational, and job search skills to establish a career; and interpersonal skills to develop and maintain relationships.

the legal act of taking in a child born to other parents and formally making that child a full member of the family. Adoptive parents take on all the rights and responsibilities given to birth parents or other former legal guardians, who relinquish all rights concerning that child.

are initiated and conducted independently by the adoptive and birth parents, without agency involvement.

are conducted through a public or private social service organization, with the agency contracting with the adoptive parents, providing counseling, assessing the placement, and overseeing the entire adoption process.

step 1, a child is identified as being in need of adoption. For example, children may have been removed from an extremely abusive environment, or the parents may have abandoned them or died step 2, the child must be legally freed so that adoption can take place. Assistance should be given to children to ease the trauma of separation from birth parents or guardians. Similarly, they may require help in adjusting and becoming attached to the new adoptive parents. Guardianship rights of the birth parents must be formally terminated. step 3, adoptive parents are selected. Here the social worker conducts a home study in which potential adoptive parents are evaluated on a number of variables. These include "motivation," "stability of the relationship," "age," "physical and emotional health," and "financial stability" step 4, after the potential adoptive parents have been approved, the agency places the child with them. The agency social worker helps the adoptive family integrate the child into the family system. step 5, " adoptive families undergo stresses and adjustments unique to the adoptive experience and lasting throughout the family life cycle whether the child is adopted in infancy or later" . At least four types of agency services may be provided after placement. First, education on such issues as child behavior management can be helpful. Second, therapy may be necessary to deal with issues such as the child's grief at the loss of his or her family of origin or readjustment issues experienced by the entire adoptive family. Third, ongoing support groups may help both parents and adopted children handle emotional and relationship issues. Fourth, adoptive families may need help linking up with necessary resources (e.g., programs offering financial assistance, special education services, and therapy for children requiring special help). step 6, the adoption is formally legalized, and the birth parents' legal rights are terminated.

advocating for children and serving children's best interests. They may help women with unwanted pregnancies evaluate their alternatives and determine the best course of action. Social workers may assess the readiness of a child for adoptive placement, especially if that child is older and has conflicting feelings about permanently leaving birth parents. Social workers may be in the position of helping children cope with their grief at bidding a final farewell to their birth family conduct extensive home studies of the appropriateness of potential adoptive families. Finally, social workers may help birth parents, adopted children, and adoptive parents evaluate their situations and choices realistically, make decisions, and cope with issues.

Lack of control: Adoptive parents may experience feelings of inadequacy and lack of control because of their infertility. They may have been at the agency's mercy for years, patiently waiting for a child to become available. The integration of the child into the family system may be more difficult than they had anticipated. Something wrong with the kid: Adoptive family members may worry that the adopted child has negative genetic traits or behavioral problems related to past treatment. Strains on the adoptive mother and marriage: Adopted children may manifest extreme needs that place pressure on the adoptive mother and, consequently, on the adoptive parents' marriage. Quest for identity: Adoptive children often ask themselves who they really are. Born to one set of parents and living with another, what does that make them? How should they think of themselves? How can they be positive about themselves and confident? Counseling is often needed to help them address these concerns. Behavioral acting out: It's logical that children who have been uprooted from their birth families experience various degrees of insecurity, apprehension about the future, and pressure to establish their own identities. As a result, as many other children do, some adopted children act out. They may be seeking to establish some control over their lives. They may find that acting out gets them the attention they crave. Or they may use negative actions as a means of keeping themselves emotionally isolated from other people because they re terrified of getting close. They may believe that maintaining emotional distance keeps them from being vulnerable to rejection. Acting-out behaviors may include lying, stealing, committing acts of vandalism, engaging in sexual activity, wetting or soiling, and stockpiling food