The first priority for any child service agent or worker should be the child. As a child service agent, they have responsibilities such as providing counseling and support for the child. Jessica Mendoza, a journalist and author of “California's Two Different Visions for Better Foster Care,” celebrates the fact that “In a push to reform child welfare systems, California and other states continue to move toward placing children with foster families instead of in group homes” (Mendoza par. 6). There are still issues in child service agencies. More than 750 children have died in the last six years, even though, child service agents knew the child was or could be in danger (“Child Abuse: Should Child Services Agents and the General Public Be Held More Accountable for Instances of Child Abuse?” par. 5). Cases of child abuse or neglect that have been brought to the child service agent’s attention are the most concerning. Especially if these cases still result in death of the child.
If cases where children are dying due to abuse in the system are not bad enough, there are even laws that protect all child service agents from punishment of these crime. The workers can and most of the time will continue working (Doheny par. 30). The lack of holding child service agents accountable for these deaths is making the system weak. According to Robin Shakely, the Deputy District Attorney, agencies are changing: “Shakely said she believes the agency has abandoned its promises of the Adrian era--to pull children out of troubled homes first and ask questions later--in favor of more leniency toward the caregivers” (qtd. in Lundstrom par. 17). Allowing children to stay in homes that are dangerous cause deaths, however, agents are not being held responsible for these deaths.Caseworkers and other child service agents argue that the conditions they work in are challenging and unfit for successful working. The article “Child Abuse: Should Child Services Agents and the General Public Be Held More Accountable for Instances of Child Abuse?” explains that the system is understaffed because of budget cuts and critics charges (“Child Abuse: Should Child Services Agents and the General Public Be Held More Accountable for Instances of Child Abuse?” par. 43). These poor circumstances should not be an excuse for children dying. A journalist for The Sacramento Bee by the name of Marjie Lundstrom herself writes, “When a child dies with government workers involved in the case, no one inside the agency is held publicly accountable because of juvenile, employee and patient confidentiality” (Lundstrom par. 18). Allowing service agents to blame the working conditions on failed cases will not put an end to child abuse related deaths in the system (“Child Abuse: Should Child Services Agents and the General Public Be Held More Accountable for Instances of Child Abuse?” par. 9). Some issues and challenges the caseworkers must overcome can be fixed or lessened with more funds.
If cases where children are dying due to abuse in the system are not bad enough, there are even laws that protect all child service agents from punishment of these crime. The workers can and most of the time will continue working (Doheny par. 30). The lack of holding child service agents accountable for these deaths is making the system weak. According to Robin Shakely, the Deputy District Attorney, agencies are changing: “Shakely said she believes the agency has abandoned its promises of the Adrian era--to pull children out of troubled homes first and ask questions later--in favor of more leniency toward the caregivers” (qtd. in Lundstrom par. 17). Allowing children to stay in homes that are dangerous cause deaths, however, agents are not being held responsible for these deaths.Caseworkers and other child service agents argue that the conditions they work in are challenging and unfit for successful working. The article “Child Abuse: Should Child Services Agents and the General Public Be Held More Accountable for Instances of Child Abuse?” explains that the system is understaffed because of budget cuts and critics charges (“Child Abuse: Should Child Services Agents and the General Public Be Held More Accountable for Instances of Child Abuse?” par. 43). These poor circumstances should not be an excuse for children dying. A journalist for The Sacramento Bee by the name of Marjie Lundstrom herself writes, “When a child dies with government workers involved in the case, no one inside the agency is held publicly accountable because of juvenile, employee and patient confidentiality” (Lundstrom par. 18). Allowing service agents to blame the working conditions on failed cases will not put an end to child abuse related deaths in the system (“Child Abuse: Should Child Services Agents and the General Public Be Held More Accountable for Instances of Child Abuse?” par. 9). Some issues and challenges the caseworkers must overcome can be fixed or lessened with more funds.