Exam 1

Question 1

Abandonment

Answer 1

Relinquishing one’s rights, obligations, or possessions voluntarily, with no intention of subsequently reclaiming them. Used as grounds for divorce or loss of child custody in most states.

Question 2

Adjudication

Answer 2

Court decision and the process of reaching that decision through a legal hearing or trial.

Question 3

Adoption

Answer 3

Taking a person, child or infant, into one’s home and treating him or her as though born into the family. Legal process involves changing court records to show the legal transfer from birth parents to adopting parents.

Question 4

Appeal

Answer 4

Request of a higher court to review and reverse a lower court decision or grant a new trial. The higher court is called an appellate court and the function is limited to determining if judgements made in accordance with the law. Court reviews only written briefs and oral arguments about how the previous judgement came to be made and do no review new testimony or evidence.

Question 5

Attachment

Answer 5

Court ordered lien against property, obtained before a final judgment is made. After the judgement is made, it is executed.

Question 6

Abduction

Answer 6

Transporting someone, often by force, coercion, or deception, against that person’s will for; or, if the person is a child or mentally incompetent, doing so without consent of the parent or legal guardian.

Question 7

Care and Protection

Answer 7

Legal intervention on behalf of a dependent whose parents or guardians no longer seem willing or able to provide for the dependent’s needs.

Question 8

Character Witness

Answer 8

person who testifies in a trial on behalf of a person (usually a criminal defendant) as to that person’s good ethical qualities and morality both by the personal knowledge of the witness and the person’s reputation in the community. Such testimony is primarily relevant when the party’s honesty or morality is an issue, particularly in most criminal cases and civil cases such as fraud.

Question 9

Child Abuse

Answer 9

Inflicting physical abuse or emotional injury on a dependent minor through intentional beatings, uncontrolled corporal punishments, persistent ridicule and degradation, or sexual abuse, usually committed by parents or others in charge of the child’s care.

Question 10

Child Neglect

Answer 10

The failure of those responsible for the care of a minor to provide the resources needed for healthy physical, emotional, and social development. Examples: inadequate nutrition, improper supervision, deficient health care, and not providing for educational requirements.

Question 11

Child Molestation

Answer 11

Form of child abuse involving forcing a child to participate in some sexual activity. Behaviors include: rape, incest, erotic fondling, or compelling the child to behave in a way that erotically stimulates the perpetrator.

Question 12

Child Protective Services

Answer 12

Human Services: medical, legal, residential, and custodial care, which are provided to children whose caregiver is not providing for their needs. Social Workers who work in units of government agencies often help legal authorities with investigations to determine if children are in need of such services, help children obtain services when needed, and may provide such services themselves.

Question 13

Code of Ethics

Answer 13

Explicit statement of the values, principles, and rules of a profession that regulate the conducts of its members.

Question 14

Confidentiality

Answer 14

The principle of ethics according to which the professional may not disclose information about a client without the client’s consent. Includes: identity of client, content of overt verbalizations, professionals opinions about the client, and material from records.

Question 15

Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor

Answer 15

The crime by parents, legal guardians, or others who have influence with a child of facilitating unlawful behavior in that child through neglect, coercion, example, or encouragement. Includes: permitting the child to avoid school, to stay out late at night, to consume alcohol and drugs, and to be exposed to unlawful activities by the parents.

Question 16

Contempt of Court

Answer 16

Behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the court. Contempt charges may be brought against parties to proceedings; lawyers or other court officers or personnel; jurors; witnesses; or people who insert themselves in a case, such as protesters outside a courtroom. Courts have great leeway in making contempt charges, and thus confusion sometimes exists about the distinctions between types of contempt. Generally, however, contempt proceedings are categorized as civil or criminal, and direct or indirect.

Question 17

Plagiarism

Answer 17

Appropriating the scientific or literary writings of another person and presenting it as one’s own work.

Question 18

Slander

Answer 18

Spoken False statements that damage reputation of another person

Question 19

Defendant

Answer 19

One who is charged with a crime or sued in a civil action.

Question 20

Due Process

Answer 20

Adherence to all the rules, procedures, protections, opportunities, and considerations of fairness legally available when a person accused of a crime or offense is bright to trial or hearing involving possible deprivation of life, liberty, or property.

Question 21

Dual Relationship

Answer 21

The unethical practice of a social worker’s assuming a second role with a client, in addition to that of professional helper. Roles: friend, business associate, family member, or sex partner. Dual relationships tend to exploit clients or have long-tern negative consequences for them. SW who engages in these relationships are liable to legal as well as professional sanctions and probably should seek help.

Question 22

Duty to Warn Laws

Answer 22

Legislation and court judgement obliging professionals to disclose their client’s future intentions to do harm to a specific person, specified organization, or anyone who belongs to an identified group. Beginning with the 1976 Tarasoff ruling, various states have passed laws, and courts have issued decrees defining the conditions under which these warning should be made.

Question 23

Emancipation

Answer 23

Freeing an individual or members of a social groups from the control of another or others. Example: minor child becoming emancipated from parental control ( and from the right to parental support or maintenance on getting married.)

Question 24

Evidence

Answer 24

Proof of the allegations at issue; any written or verbal statement or object that is used to induce belief in the minds or jurors or the court.

Question 25

Ex Parte Process

Answer 25

Legal proceeding in which, because of urgent concerns involving the welfare of child or likelihood of irreparable damage to a person or property, a court grants relief after hearing only one side of the dispute.

Question 26

Expert Witness

Answer 26

One who testifies before a court or lawmaking group based on special knowledge of the subject in question, which can result in a better assessment of the evidence or merits of the case.

Question 27

Family Court

Answer 27

Court of law that hears cases pertaining to conflicts among family members, such as divorce, custody, adoption, or support matters. Juvenile delinquency cases are heard in family court.

Question 28

Guardian

Answer 28

One who has the legal responsibility for the are and management of a child or incompetent adult. Guardian ad litem refers to a temporary guardian, an officer of the court appointed by the court to manage the affairs of another for a specified time.

Question 29

Hearsay Evidence

Answer 29

Statements made by witnesses in courts of law based, not on their direct observation, but on what they heard others say; it is offered to prove the truth of the matter stated.

Question 30

Implied Consent

Answer 30

An agreement to participate as expressed by gestures signs, nonresisting silence, or inaction. Often used as a defense in rape trials in which the defendant claims to have acted in the belief that the victim consented by his advances.

Question 31

Juvenile Court

Answer 31

A special court or department of a trial court which deals with under-age defendants charged with crimes or who are neglected or out of the control of their parents. The normal age of these defendants is under 18, but juvenile court does not have jurisdiction in cases in which minors are charged as adults. The procedure in juvenile court is not always adversarial (although the minor is entitled to legal representation by a lawyer). It can be an attempt to involve parents or social workers and probation officers in the process to achieve positive results and save the minor from involvement in further crimes. However, serious crimes and repeated offenses can result in sentencing juvenile offenders to prison, with transfer to state prison upon reaching adulthood with limited maximum sentences. Where parental neglect or loss of control is a problem, the juvenile court may seek out foster homes for the juvenile, treating the child as a ward of the court.

Question 32

Litigation

Answer 32

Disputes contested in courts of law. A litigant is one who is actively involved in a lawsuit either as a defendant or plaintiff. An accused agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge and forgoes a jury trial. The advantage to the accused is that the case is resolved sooner and at less risk of serious penalty. The advantages to the public are that court dockets are less backlogged and cases can be resolved with less cost.

Question 33

Mediation

Answer 33

Intervention in disputes between parties to help them reconcile differences, find compromises, or reach mutually satisfactory agreements.

Question 34

Parental Liability

Answer 34

The obligation by parents to pay for the acts, damages incurred by, or debts of, their children.

Question 35

Protective Custody

Answer 35

The placement of an individual by the legal authorities in a facility to prevent the person from danger of harm by others or from self-inflicted injury.

Question 36

Statute of Limitations

Answer 36

A law that prevents the initiation of an action if it is not begun within a specified time.

Question 37

Subpoena

Answer 37

A legal order requiring the individual to appear in court at a specified time. A subpoena duces tecum is one that requires the witness to bring to the court or deposition any relevant documents or materials possessed.

Question 38

Tarasoff Decision

Answer 38

The 1976 ruling by the Supreme Court of California stating that, under certain circumstances, psychotherapists whose clients tell them that they intend to harm someone are obliged to warn the intended victim.

Question 39

DeShaney Decision

Answer 39

The 1988 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that social workers and their agencies could not be held liable for damages for failure to protect an abused child.

Question 40

Jeffee vs Redmond

Answer 40

The 1996 U.S. Supreme Court decision that federal courts must recognize social worker’s right to privileged communication; social workers could no longer be compelled to disclose confidential information in civil lawsuits filed in federal court. This ruling may not extend to certain actions in state courts (many of which do not provide absolute confidentiality for social workers or other mental health professionals.

Question 41

Roe vs. Wade

Answer 41

The 1973 Supreme Court decision that state laws forbidding abortion were unconstitutional under specified circumstances. Court held that, in the first trimester, abortion must be left to medical judgement. In the second trimester, the state may, if it chooses, regulate abortion to protect material health but may not prohibit abortion. In the third trimester, the state may regulate or prohibit abortion except when necessary to preserve the mother’s life.

Question 42

Ramona Decision

Answer 42

The 1994 judgement in a California Court that psychotherapists may be held liable for damages by “indirect victims of the therapy.” In the case a father claimed his career and marriage were destroyed because his daughter’s therapists convinced her in a “false memory syndrome” that the father had sexually abused her.

Question 43

Gault Decision

Answer 43

The 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirmed the right of juveniles to the same legal protections as are given adults in criminal court proceedings, including advance notification of charges, right to counsel, freedom from self-incrimmination and the opportunity to have counsel confront witnesses.

Question 44

Forensic Social Work

Answer 44

A professional specialty that focuses on the interface between society’s legal and human service systems. It includes such activities as providing expert testimony in courts of law, investigating cases of possible criminal conduct, and assisting the legal systems in such issues as child custody disputes, divorce, nonsupport, delinquency, spouse or child abuse, mental hospital commitment and relatives responsibility.

Question 45

What Types of cases involve Forensic Social Work?

Answer 45

Child abuse and neglect (child protection)
Adoptions
Custody disputes
Marital mediation
Parole
Commitment procedures
Mental health
Domestic violence
Rape victimization
Suicide
Victim/witness programs

Question 46

What are the 10 major functions of Forensic Social Workers?

Answer 46

1. They testify in courts of law as expert witnesses
   Information about the human welfare needs of individuals, families, groups and communities
2. They systematically evaluates individuals so that the resulting information can be presented in court
3. They investigate cases where criminal conduct has possibly occurred and presents the result to the judge, juries and other law authorities
4. The recommends to the courts ways to resolve, punish or rehabilitate
5. They can facilitate the court-ordered sentence for the convicted person
   Often serve as probation or parole officers

Question 47

What are the 10 major functions of Forensic Social Workers? Continued

Answer 47

6. Mediates between individuals and groups who are involved in disputes or conflicts that otherwise require extensive intervention in the courtrooms.
   Example: Couples with marital problems
   Mediators must be well versed in the law as well as aspects of human nature
7. They testify about the professional standards of social work to facilitate cases of possible malpractice or unethical conduce
8. They devote considerable attention to educating their colleagues about the influence of law on their profession
9. They facilitate the development and enforcement of licensing laws to regulate professional social practice
10. They maintain their own client relationships that uphold the spirit of the law

Question 48

Child Welfare and Adoption Assistance Act of 1980

Answer 48

To establish a program of adoption assistance, strengthen the program of foster care assistance for needy and dependent children, and improve the child welfare, social services, and aid to families with dependent children programs

Question 49

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA 1997)

Answer 49

To promote the adoption of children in foster care
Goals:
Promote and protect children from harm
To preserve existing families
To promote the development of children into adults who can live independently

Question 50

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 (CAPTA)

Answer 50

Support of prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution, and treatment activities and also provides grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for demonstration programs and projects. Additionally, CAPTA identifies the Federal role in supporting research, evaluation, technical assistance, and data collection activities; establishes the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect; and mandates the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. CAPTA also sets forth a minimum definition of child abuse and neglect.

Question 51

Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA)

Answer 51

1. Prohibited (State and Federal) agencies from delaying, denying, or otherwise discriminating when making a foster care or adoption placement decision on the basis of the parent or child’s race, color, or national origin
2. Prohibited (State and Federal) agencies from categorically denying any person the opportunity to become a foster or adoptive parent solely on the basis of race, color, or national origin of the parent or the child
3. Required States to develop plans for the recruitment of foster and adoptive families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the State for whom families are needed
4. Allowed an agency or entity to consider the cultural, ethnic, or racial background of a child and the capacity of an adoptive or foster parent to meet the needs of a child with that background when making a placement
5. Had no effect on the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978

Question 52

Interethnic Provisions of 1996 Amends MEPA

Answer 52

1. Placements may not deny any individual the opportunity to become a foster or adoptive parent based upon the race, color, or national origin of the parent or the child
2. May not delay or deny a child’s foster care or adoptive placement based upon the race, color, or national origin of the parent or the child
3. Strengthened MEPA’s diligent recruitment requirement by making it a title IV-B State Plan requirement
4. Established a system of graduated financial penalties for States that do not comply with the title IV-E State Plan requirement established under this law
5. Repealed language in MEPA that allowed States and other entities to consider the cultural, ethnic, or racial background of a child, as well as the capacity of the prospective parent to meet the needs of such a child

Question 53

Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF)

Answer 53

To prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families, improve the quality of care and services to children and their families, and ensure permanency for children by reuniting them with their parents, by adoption or by another permanent living arrangement. States are to spend most of the funding for services that address: family support, family preservation, time-limited family reunification and adoption promotion and support.

Question 54

Fostering Connections

Answer 54

The new law made a number of changes to the child welfare system, which is primarily the responsibility of the states (the Federal government supports the states through funding and legislative initiatives). Major changes include:
•Allowing all states the option to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments, or payments to relative foster parents committed to caring permanently for a child who has been living with them for at least six months. This will help facilitate the transfer of children from state custody to relative guardianship in instances where a return home or adoption is not appropriate.
•Allowing states to provide IV-E funded foster care to children up to age 21, given that such a child is enrolled in school, a vocational program, is employed, or is unable to fulfill these requirements due to a medical condition. This option helps to facilitate a longer period of support for children up to age 21.
•Requiring case plans to ensure that foster care placements are not unduly disruptive of the child’s education.
•Requiring states to develop a case plan for the oversight and coordination of health care services for children in foster care, in conjunction with the state Medicaid agency and other experts.
•Requiring states to make reasonable efforts to keep siblings together in foster care placements.
•Allowing, for the first time, tribes to receive federal funding to directly administer their own child welfare programs (previously, tribes had to negotiate with states to receive IV-E funding).
•Gradually “de-linking” a child’s eligibility for adoption assistance payments from the outdated Aid to Families with Dependent Children standards, which had not been updated for inflation since 1996, as the program no longer existed. Because this provision costs money, the de-linking will occur over a period of nine years.