Writing Homework Help

Your responses should answer the questions and reply to your classmates’ postings in a meaningful way. A meaningful response states your thoughts on the question backed up with the reasoning for your position. For example, responding with “me too” or “I agree” is not meaningful. Responding with “Me too, because of this or that experience…” is meaningful.

There are a few other discussion board rules:

1. Don’t say anything on the discussion board that you wouldn’t say to the person face-to-face. You are free to disagree, as long as it is done in a manner that is respectful of the person to whom you are responding.

2. Neatness counts. Your discussion board posts should be grammatically correct and free of spelling and punctuation errors. When a posting contains errors, it is not only difficult to read, but the errors detract from the credibility of your message and may cause the reader to question the credibility of the person posting the message.

3. Say what you need to say, but stay “on point” and try to avoid digressions. If there is something you want to say to the group using the discussion board, please let me know and we can discuss how your idea may be used in the class.

(Note: You do not need to respond to the discussion question, it is included for your reference so you are aware of what questions the students are replying to) I posted my colleagues’ responses to the discussion question below, please respond to their post. Begin the response with Hi Tiffany/Leslie/Miriam) (I need at least a half page response for each person) Please include references and provide the url link to all journal articles you use as references. Use current (meaning within the past 2 years) scholarly journal articles as references. Please use APA 6th edition format. Thanks)

Discussion Question:

Read the following materials before answering the questions below.

• Delaware Mandatory Reporting Law (Links to an external site.)
• Review the crimes of child abuse in the Delaware Code (Links to an external site.) 1103 Child abuse in the third degree; class A misdemeanor, § 1103A Child abuse in the second degree; class G felony, § 1103B Child abuse in the first degree; class B felony
• Definitions relating to state of mind (Links to an external site.) at Section 231 “Recklessly, intentionally, negligently”
• Chapter 4. Defenses to Criminal Liability (Links to an external site.): Scroll down to 11 Del. C. Section 468 and read “Justification — Use of force by persons with special responsibility for care, discipline or safety of others”

You are a social worker. On your way home from work, you stop at the grocery store to pick up dinner. While shopping you observe a young mother berating her 2 year old for opening a box of cookies and she slaps him across the face. The sobbing child has a red partial outline of a hand on his cheek.

• Is this abuse? Why or why not and what law governs? Based on the assigned readings, what, if anything, are you mandated to do and how would you do it?
• What are the possible civil and criminal consequences that the mother may face?

Tiffany’s Post:

According to the Delaware Code, this is considered child abuse because the child is under 3 years of age. Delaware Code 1103A states if “the person intentionally or recklessly causes physical injury to a child who is 3 years of age or younger” a person is guilty of child abuse in the second degree. This is considered a Class G Felony. “Class G felonies are the least serious felonies in Delaware, punishable by up to two years imprisonment.” The state of Delaware treats child endangerment as a misdemeanor, however, allegations of child abuse can result in criminal charges and/or the initiation of a case in civil court. If the mother’s actions had resulted in serious injury to the child, emotionally or physically, the parent could face felony charges and fines, along with the mentioned two years imprisonment.

Delaware law mandates any person, agency, organization, or entity to report any known or suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. This is stated under Chapter 9 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code. To report child abuse or neglect, I would call the 24-hour hotline at (800) 292-9582 or make a report online using the Delaware Division of Family Services Reporter Portal. The department will then notify the Division of Professional Regulation of child abuse allegations.

References

Mandatory Reports Related to Child Abuse and Neglect – Division of Professional Regulation – State of Delaware (Links to an external site.)(link)

Delaware Criminal Code. (2021). http://delcode.delaware.gov/title11/c005/sc05/index.html

Leslie’s Post:

A young mother berating and slapping hard her 2-year-old son for the simple act of opening a box of cookies points to an incident of abuse. Berating a child is an unhealthy practice because it leads to emotional abuse. In addition, the young mother slaps the son in a manner that causes a mark on his face, indicating that there was the use of force. As a social worker, I would approach the mother and introduce myself and inquire as to why she behaved like so to a child. I would expect either a positive response or a negative retort. In the former, I would explain to the mother that it is an offense to abuse a child by use of mental distress and physical force, especially owing to his young age. In such a case, I would ask her not to do that again because it is unhealthy. If she is arrogant, it shows that she abuses the child frequently, and needs further legal action taken against her.

Under the Delaware code, this offense can be either categorized as child abuse in the third degree (class A misdemeanor) or child abuse in the second degree (class G felony). It will depend on either based on an evaluation to see whether the habit has been repetitive or a single incidence. It would be a class A misdemeanor when the mother has caused this intentional/reckless physical abuse in addition to other repeated instances of abuse. It could be a class G felony because the mother causes intentional/reckless physical harm to a child below three years. Either way, she is can be charged by the codes on child abuse. However, intent matters because she could have done so to discipline or punish the child. Her response matters.

Reference

Delaware.gov. (2020, July 24). Mandatory Reports Related to Child Abuse and Neglect. Division of Professional Regulation – State of Delaware. https://dpr.delaware.gov/boards/investigativeunit/mandatorychild/

Miriam’s Post:

Under Chapter 9 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code, any person, agency, organization, or entity is mandated to make an oral report to the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families when they are aware of or suspect child abuse or neglect (Delaware Gov, n.d.). Therefore, as a social worker, had I witnessed the mother berating and slapping the two-year-old, I would be mandated to report the mother for child abuse. Also, under 1103A Child abuse in the second degree; class G felony, of the Delaware Code, an individual is guilty of child abuse in the second degree when “the person intentionally or recklessly causes physical injury to a child who is three years of age or younger” (Delaware Code Online, n.d.). Although the Delaware law allows guardians and parents to use reasonable or moderate force when preventing misconduct, the law also states how parents must not cause physical injury, defined as “impairment of physical condition or pain” (Delaware Code Online, n.d.). Overall, because the boy is two years old and his mother left her hand mark on his face, the situation was enough to be reported to the Department of Services for Children.

When reporting the case, I would call the Division of Family Services (DFS). During the call, I would describe the incident, including any known information on the mother, or the child, demographics, was medical attention needed for injuries, or if there was any presence of alcohol, drugs, or weapons during the incident (Department of Services for Children, 2020). Following the call, DFS will either accept the report and begin an investigation, refer the case to law enforcement or document the case and not pursue a further investigation (Department of Services for Children, 2020).

In Delaware, a civil consequence an individual might face is being on the Child Protection Registry. The Child Protection Registry is a list with all the names of people substantiated for incidents of abuse or neglect since August 1, 1994 (Child Protection Registry, 2010). Although names on the list are not accessible to the public, the Division of Family Services can provide information to employers in child care, health care, and public schools needing a Child Protection Registry background check on prospective employees (Child Protection Registry, 2010). Depending on if she is convicted, the mother may face criminal charges based on § 1103A. Child abuse in the second degree; class G felony and §1103B Child abuse in the first degree; class B felony because of her actions that may lead to felony charges, fines, and even a prison sentence.

Child Protection Registry. (2010). A guide to understanding the child protection registry. Retrieved from http://www.kids.delaware.gov (Links to an external site.)

Delaware Code Online. (n.d.). Delaware criminal code. Retrieved from http://delcode.delaware.gov/title11/c005/sc05/inde…

Department of Services for Children. (2020). Information on reporting child abuse and neglect. Retrieved from https://kids.delaware.gov/pdfs/ists_MakingaReportforSuspectedChildAbuse.pdf