The Department Of Children And Families - 1210 Words

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is a strength-based agency that works with several different types of families and situations. The department works diligently to ensure that children are protected from neglect and/or abuse. As an intern at the Cape and island’s office, a majority of our cases involve substance use issues. When parents are using substances, this is a form of neglect as well as abuse depending on the scenario. One particular case of mine came to the attention of the department when a mother overdosed on Percocet’s and heroin with her child present. The child was 3 months old, alleging neglect from the mother. The department also charged father with alleging neglect as well since father denied mother having an†¦show more content†¦Mother needs to gain an understanding of how substance use affects her ability to parent. Father needs to support mother’s recovery, as well as cooperate with the department. The family’s stre ngths are their support system and ability to work diligently as a family. Mother has a natural nurturing trait to her baby and the parents have a strong bond tied to their daughter. Parents and foster parent (grandmother) have worked very well with the department. Grandmother has maintained excellent boundaries and has reported to us weekly on how well visits have been. Parents have been very cooperative and both parents receive two drug screens weekly. The department asked that father received weekly drug screens as well, even though father has no drug issue to our knowledge he still cooperated with the department. The department’s intervention plan was to remove the child from the home and place her in a safer environment. My client’s response to this intervention at first was very angry and resentful towards the department. Father especially angry with the department and did not understand why he couldn’t keep his daughter since mother had the drug issue. I realized how difficult it would be to build rapport with them after removing their child. I ensured them that I was there to help; I was very empathic and showed them that I cared about their case. I worked with the parents and helped them to