Tori Rolston

SW 4710
Dr. Martin
Due: 11/18/2014

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment

Act (CAPTA) provides funding to states so that
they can engage in prevention, assessment,
investigation, and treatment activities related
to child maltreatment (Child Welfare
Information Gateway, 2011).
This policy also provides various agencies with
grants for programs and projects related to this
topic and sets forth a common definition of
child abuse and neglect (Child Welfare
Information Gateway, 2011).

The Childrens Protection Act 1999 from Queensland,

Australia is a policy similar to the Child Abuse Prevention
and Treatment Act implemented here in the United States.
This Australian policy provides the legal framework that
guides the protection of children within this area (The State
of Queensland, 2014a).
This policy also provides guidelines for mandatory
reporters, identifying groups of individuals who are
required by law to report suspicion of child abuse (The State
of Queensland, 2014b).
Although this Australian policy is a bit different than the
United States CAPTA policy, which provides funding to
local states, it is similar in the way that both policies provide
guidelines for individuals to follow in their efforts to combat
child maltreatment and ensure the safety of children within
the community.

I believe that CAPTA is fulfilling its goals of increasing

knowledge about child maltreatment and ensuring that
states have the proper funding to implement treatment
programs and engage in additional assessment,
investigation, and prevention.
According to Childrens Bureau (2012), there were an
estimated 2.6 million referrals of child abuse, two-thirds of
which underwent investigation and treatment.
While this is an alarmingly high number of cases, I believe
that what is important to recognize is the high percentage of
cases which are being investigated and offered treatment
options. This shows that CAPTA is making progress in
raising awareness of child maltreatment and ensuring states
are able to effectively provide proper services for
assessment, investigation, and prevention of child
maltreatment cases.

Due to my perceived success of the Child Abuse Prevention

and Treatment Act, I do not feel it is necessary to suggest a
policy alternative, but rather to suggest an additional policy
that may further support CAPTA.
I would like to suggest that another policy be implemented
which will ensure that a portion of state funding be used to
provide treatment services to all abusers, children, and
families who have been involved in child maltreatment
cases.
This new policy will be called the Family Reunification and
Treatment Act and will aim to provide all individuals
involved in child maltreatment cases with proper treatment
and counseling. The goal of this policy will be to make
reunification of families possible and lower the likelihood
that these individuals will become involved in maltreatment
cases in the future.

This new policy will be an extension of the Promoting

Safe and Stable Families Act, which provided
additional funding for family services; reunification;
and adoption services (First Star, 2009).
While it is a good starting point to provide additional
funding, I think it is important to take the next step and
ensure that all individuals involved in maltreatment
cases are required to take part in treatment services.
From my experience, it does not seem that all
individuals who experience cases with Child Protective
Services are required to take part in treatment services
following the case and I believe that this is one of the
main reasons that maltreatment cases are still
occurring at high rates.

The goals of the new policy, Family Reunification

and Treatment Act, will be as follows:
To provide all individuals and families involved in
maltreatment cases with the proper treatment services.
To reduce the likelihood of repeat offending by ensuring
treatment is provided for all individuals involved.
To increase the likelihood that reunification can occur by
providing individuals with treatment and counseling
designed to alter the home environment in a positive
manner.
To ensure that all individuals receive the proper
treatment in order to help them live happy and successful
lives following the maltreatment experience.

This new policy seems to be feasible from an economic

perspective as there is already additional funding being provided
for these types of treatment, according to the Promoting Safe and
Stable Families Act (First Star, 2009).
The policy may be less feasible from an administrative stance. This
new policy may require additional staff to keep records and
ensure that all individuals have taken part in these treatment
programs. In addition to this, there may be a need for additional
staff to administer the treatments. The state may find it difficult to
recruit additional staff for these tasks.
Politically, I feel that this new policy will be feasible. It will have
to be enacted by state level government; however, aside from the
possible need for additional staff there are not any significant
problems with this new policy. Given the present success of the
similar policy, Promoting Safe and Stable Families, it does not
seem that state officials will have any reason to oppose this new
policy.

The implementation of this policy will involve

requiring states to monitor the cases of maltreatment
occurring and ensure that all individuals involved in
such cases receive the necessary treatment. In order to
ensure equality for all involved, this policy will require
that all individuals undergo ten (10) weeks of
treatment at which point they will be assessed by a
licensed and qualified worker, chosen by the state. It
will be required that each individuals treatment be
documented and presented to the local DHS to ensure
that all individuals are completing their treatment. It
will take additional work from state employees;
however, the implementation of this policy will
hopefully yield the desired results and aid in reducing
the rate of maltreatment cases occurring.

It is my belief that this policy will help to ensure that individuals

are gaining effective treatment in hopes of eliminating further
maltreatment cases and helping them to lead effective lives
following the case involvement.
I have encountered abuse cases where children are removed from
the home and reunified after a short investigation and no
involvement in treatment. I feel that this lack of involvement in
treatment often results in a lack of positive change within the
household.
My goal as a social worker is to help children live the most
effective and successful lives that they possibly can, especially
after encountering trauma such as child maltreatment.
Because of this goal, I am suggesting the implementation of this
new policy, with the hopes that this required treatment will aid
individuals in ending future abuse and leading successful lives in
the future.

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2011). About CAPTA: A legislative

history. Retrieved from:
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/about.pdf#page=1&vie
w=Introduction.
Childrens Bureau. (2012). Child abuse prevention and treatment act (CAPTA)
state grants. Retrieved from:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/capta-state-grants.

First Star, Inc. (2009). Federal child welfare policy. Retrieved from:
http://www.firststar.org/policy-legislation/federal-child-welfarepolicy.aspx
The State of Queensland. (2014a). Child protection legislation. Retrieved
from: http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/childsafety/protectingchildren/about-child-protection/child-protection-legislation.
The State of Queensland. (2014b). Mandatory notifiers and reporting.
Retrieved from:
http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/childsafety/protectingchildren/about-child-protection/mandatory-notifiers-and-reporting.