An understanding of change theory is critical to the success of human and social services professionals. A classic model of change theory consists of three phases: (a) unfreezing, (b) movement, and (c

Child welfare and social change

Foster children who depend on society's largess for their very existence, go largely unseen. Thus, I am terribly concerned we continue to fail the children who are abused, neglected and just plain unwanted. With them being just minor children, they are unable to fund political campaigns, lobby any elected representatives for an opportunity to be heard or even to organize marches to advocate for better services. They have no voice if we do not speak for them. As a future human and social service professional, child welfare is considered to be a social justice issue as the rates of children being at risk is continually rising especially when you have certain children from birth more advantage compared to others. Thus, the Annie E. Casey Foundation a private state organization based in Baltimore and has reached across the country has helped many federal agencies, states, counties, cities, and neighborhoods create more innovative, cost-effective responses to the issues that negatively affect children such as poverty, unnecessary disconnections from family and even due to communities with limited access to opportunity.

I have chosen the Annie E. Casey Foundation to focus on my Capstone Project because for over many decades this foundation has been able to advance the child welfare field’s understanding of neuroscience and brain research in order to encourage implementation of more effective programs and policies. In eliminating the issues of child welfare, this foundation has helped many young people in foster care transition in and from foster care through practice, policy and evaluation tools that seek to improve their opportunities and assets as well as help to build their personal and financial assets by engaging them in self-advocacy and leadership opportunities.

My strategic plan will be developed from the perspective of social change in order to find the balance between our joint responsibilities as a society and our responsibilities as individuals to contribute to a just society. The victimization of kids in many states in foster care in this country is an outrage, but these systems can and must operate humanely and comply with children’s constitutional and human rights. It’s very clear that a lot of more strategies and linkages across sectors are needed to end child abuse and violence against children.

Reference

Child Welfare Strategy Group. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.aecf.org/work/child-welfare/child-welfare-strategy-group//