Benefits of Adult Foster Care (AFC)

Benefits of Adult Foster Care (AFC) Types of Community-Based Long Term Care Services Crystal Mullen What did you learn this week that you did not know before or that you found interesting? What outside resources did you use this week? Your submission should be 1 page APA formatted paper, not including your title page. Although I was blessed to grow up in a home with a mom who loved me and provided for all my needs, I knew not all children were as blessed. I remember watching television shows like â€Å"MacGyver† and talk shows like â€Å"Donahue† and â€Å"Oprah† that spoke about foster children who grew up in various homes until their 18th birthday. Then, almost without warning they are dropped out of the foster care system because they are now legally considered an â€Å"adult†. I always thought that once a person turns 18 there is basically no long term assistance for individuals who are unable to care for themselves and I always found that premise to be so cruel because there are adults who need to be cared for. Well, I’m happy to report that for those who need it the most, there is such a thing as Adult Foster Care (AFC). AFC offers physically or mentally impaired, frail senior citizens or simply ailing adults around the clock assistance that they may not receive from their own family members or caregivers. Often these caregivers are overwhelmed and find themselves unable to continue the necessary care for their loved one. In these cases the only alternative would be to admit them into the AFC system (Boehlke, 2013). Many times AFC homes are large homes that are set up to mimic a traditional, mainstream home that could teach these adults life-skills that will help them interact with society the best of their own ability (Boehlke, 2013). AFC is no substitute for a therapeutic residential facility where an adult would receive services like awake night or nursing care support (Fosterparenting.com, 2013). However, the home does provides 24 hour assistance for up to five adults for those who are simply unable to care for themselves. Adults receive their meals, are supported, supervised, and even receive as sistance with their personal care needs while obtaining necessary training in living skills. Licensed providers are paid by the state that has the home, usually on a monthly basis (Fosterparenting.com, 2013). Reviewing the facts with the various types of AFC homes as well as the duration of stay will help a family member or caregiver determine an informed alternative on where he or she can send their loved one to be cared for long term (Boehlke, 2013). If a person were to develop an AFC home, he or she would require vision, a competent staff, a budget, and the capability of meeting all applicable policies and procedures, regulations and laws. These items can be realized by taking the following steps: 1 A person who is interested in developing an AFC home should research the applicable state laws and regulations where the home is to be founded. States govern AFC through their Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing, Social Services Department, Department of Health, or the state’s Department of Human Services. This is because when an AFC home is being set up, the applicable state office that oversees AFC homes needs be identified. The rules and regulations for creating and establishing an AFC home in each state can be found through Internet research (Rappeport, 2013). 2 Interview people who already manage foster homes. AFC homes may be found through the state office that provides licenses for AFC homes. That are quite a few questions that may arise would be appropriate to discuss when planning to create an AFC. One question to consider would be what type of population does this particular home serve? For example, are they mostly developmentally challenged individuals, emotionally challenged individuals or a mixture of both? Another set of questions to consider would be what is the general age range this AFC home serves? If there is a diversity of ages in the home, how do individuals interact with each other despite the age differences? Finally though certainly not exhaustively I would consider asking the question what does the AFC home schedule look like. For example, does the schedule enable those who can to work outside the home? If so, how are residents able to obtain work (Rappeport, 2013)? Answers to questions like these and many others could prepare an individual for opening an AFC home. 3 Contact the state as well as federal government office that offers grants for the establishment of AFC homes. Periodically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides grants and/or loans for the development of AFC homes. As soon as the home has been approved the appropriate government entities will then allocate the proper compensation that will be allocated toward the eligible AFC individuals to manage the home and care for their residents in a licensed AFC facility (Rappeport, 2013). 4 Licensed assistants and staff need to be recruited and implemented to help maintain the facility. What the home will need to run efficiently will be based on the needs of the residents they house. This includes the severity of their disabilities and the number of residents who live in the home. The state’s regulatory office that governs AFC homes will make available a list of the requirements that state holds for the staff in that home. Information for these requirements can be retrieved from the offices website. Generally, most states require that those desiring a job in a foster care home complete a basic course in AFC followed by continued education hours annually. A criminal background check may also be required (Rappeport, 2013). Conclusion I can now see how AFC can benefit more than the adults who live there. First of all, adults who are unable to take care of themselves have a place to go where they can both receive care while also be enabled to live as independently and autonomously as possible. Furthermore, family members and caregivers who become overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for these adults have an option of ensuring care for their loved one while restoring a sense of normalcy within their own home. Finally, though not exhaustively, I can see how AFC can be a viable business option where licensed personnel can be compensated for caring for those who cannot care for themselves. I don’t know if they are adequately paid for their services, but I still see it as a selfless occupation. Therefore, AFCs give hope to adults to live a fulfilling life without being tossed out by the traditional system. They benefit adults, their families, and those who manage the AFC home. References Boehlke, J. (2013). What Is Adult Foster Care? Retrieved December 31, 2013, from eHow.com: http://www.ehow.com/print/about_4578950_what-adult-foster-care.html Fosterparenting.com. (2013). Adult Foster Care. Retrieved 31 December, 2013, from Fosterparenting.com: http://www.fosterparenting.com/foster-care/adult-foster-care.html Rappeport, L. (2013). How to Start an Adult Foster Care Home. Retrieved December 31, 2013, from eHow.com: http://www.ehow.com/print/how_5625539_start-adult-foster-care-home.html

Tokugawa Japan :: essays research papers

Midterm Question—1 Tokugawa Ieyasu was a great samurai fighter and cunning politician. In battle of Sekigahara Tokugawa defeated his major rivals and established Tokugawa government. His headquarter was established in village of Edo away from the imperial families in Kyoto. Ieyasu and successors choose to rule as shoguns, or feudal lords, demanding loyalty from the daimyo and exercising direct control only over their own territorial domains. The people saw the emperor as divine descent of sun goddess Amatersau, however, established the emperor as the ultimate source of political authority and surrounded the imperial throne with thicket of taboos that protected it from usurpation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tokugawa and his politicians created some policies to keep japan from rebelling and try to control over the society. They divided the feudal lords into three categories: Fudai, Shimpan and Tozama daimyos. The fudai daimyo, descended from members of the original tokugawa vassal band or men who had been made daimyo by Ieyasu and his successors, identified most closely with the interests of bakufu. Their territories frequently abutted Tokugawa lands, protecting their flanks, and the bakufu’s highest officials were drawn from their ranks. The Tozama daimyo were descended from allies of Ieyasu too strong to be considered his direct vassals or from daimyo that submitted to his suzerainty only after battle of Sekigahara. Their domains were large, on average twice the size of the fudai daimyo, and usually located on the periphery of the archipelago. The shimpan daimyo was newly created by the family, their houses were branch houses set up to placate the sons of elderly shoguns who did not inherit the office and to provide collateral successors to the main line.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1615, Tokugawa pass the law for military housing. Ieyasu created Sankin-Kotai or alternate attendance system. This required that each lord of daimyo to spend 6 months year spent in Edo. Policy kept daimyo lords on move and made them financial unstable. Tokugawa basically kept the lords in hostage while they were on move; this kept them from plotting against him. His government established Kyoto deputy. No one could visit the Tokugawa without the deputy’s approval. Marriage between imperial and emperor was to be approved by deputy too. There was class system that divided people into four categories: samurai, farmers, artist and merchants. Only samurai were allowed to carry the swords. When high-ranking officials walked down the street all the peasants had kneel to give him respect. Tokugawa Japan :: essays research papers Midterm Question—1 Tokugawa Ieyasu was a great samurai fighter and cunning politician. In battle of Sekigahara Tokugawa defeated his major rivals and established Tokugawa government. His headquarter was established in village of Edo away from the imperial families in Kyoto. Ieyasu and successors choose to rule as shoguns, or feudal lords, demanding loyalty from the daimyo and exercising direct control only over their own territorial domains. The people saw the emperor as divine descent of sun goddess Amatersau, however, established the emperor as the ultimate source of political authority and surrounded the imperial throne with thicket of taboos that protected it from usurpation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tokugawa and his politicians created some policies to keep japan from rebelling and try to control over the society. They divided the feudal lords into three categories: Fudai, Shimpan and Tozama daimyos. The fudai daimyo, descended from members of the original tokugawa vassal band or men who had been made daimyo by Ieyasu and his successors, identified most closely with the interests of bakufu. Their territories frequently abutted Tokugawa lands, protecting their flanks, and the bakufu’s highest officials were drawn from their ranks. The Tozama daimyo were descended from allies of Ieyasu too strong to be considered his direct vassals or from daimyo that submitted to his suzerainty only after battle of Sekigahara. Their domains were large, on average twice the size of the fudai daimyo, and usually located on the periphery of the archipelago. The shimpan daimyo was newly created by the family, their houses were branch houses set up to placate the sons of elderly shoguns who did not inherit the office and to provide collateral successors to the main line.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1615, Tokugawa pass the law for military housing. Ieyasu created Sankin-Kotai or alternate attendance system. This required that each lord of daimyo to spend 6 months year spent in Edo. Policy kept daimyo lords on move and made them financial unstable. Tokugawa basically kept the lords in hostage while they were on move; this kept them from plotting against him. His government established Kyoto deputy. No one could visit the Tokugawa without the deputy’s approval. Marriage between imperial and emperor was to be approved by deputy too. There was class system that divided people into four categories: samurai, farmers, artist and merchants. Only samurai were allowed to carry the swords. When high-ranking officials walked down the street all the peasants had kneel to give him respect.

School Counselors and Child Abuse

The objective of this research paper is to determine how well school counselors, who are human service providers and mandated reporters of child abuse, know how to detect abuse and whether or not this skill has an effect on them actually making a report. As mandated reporters, school counselors are not prepared to detect signs of child abuse and their lack of preparedness is a directly correlated with their low levels of reporting.Unfortunately, it is a cold fact that child abuse exists all over the world, but fortunately educators and individuals in human services are beginning to open the eyes of many individuals about the power they have in prevention, intervening and changing the lives of those affected by the horrid effect of child abuse. A group of individuals that can have a superb effect in empowering those affected by abuse are school counselors. Because of their interactions with children and their families, they can be influential in recognizing and reporting child abuse. With the right training and tools they can make a world of difference.There is very little research on school counselors and their abilities in recognizing and reporting child abuse. The research that does exist shows a need in extensive training in recognition child abuse and what to do thereafter. School counselors reported knowledge that they are mandated by law to report suspicion of child abuse, but lacked confidence in their ability to detect and report child abuse. Training is necessary in undergraduate/graduate schooling and as a professional in order for a school counselor to be fully effective as a mandated reporters.According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, (NCANDS), which collects and analysis data from child protective services, 3. 3 million child abuse reports were made in 2009 of which three fifths of the reports were made by Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 3 mandated reports such as doctors, teachers, daycare providers, counselor, etc. who because of the nature of their job have contact with these children. 3. 3 million reports were made in United States in the year 2009 and it is unfortunate to say that perhaps millions more abuses occurred but went on unreported.To report or not to report, that is the question that many individuals ask themselves when in a possession were they might hold vital information. There are times when individuals who have vital information right in front of them but see right thought it because of the lack of knowledge and experience. An often happy and extrovert child might begin to show sudden signs of melancholy and introversion due to being sexually abused by a family member, but a professional who works with the child on a day to day basis, for example, a teacher or a school counselor may not be able to detect these changes in character and as a result make no reports.The duration of time that children interact with school officials and administrators often times equal and ev en exceed the amount of time that they spend with family members. At times children and certain school officials form bonds that are fused together by trust and respect and due to the trust that has been formed, often times these officials gain insight about these children’s lives. One school official that needs to build rapport with a child in order to best service that child, is a school counselor.Since rapport is usually built between child and counselor, one would assume that the counselor would be able to detect child abuse right away, but it is evident through my readings that school councilors are in desperate need of guidance themselves. Though they are there to guide others, school counselors lack the confidence and knowledge when it comes to detecting and reporting child abuse cases; weather it be neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or physical abuse physical Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 4 abuse. According to Bryant (2009), 86. % of the 193 par ticipants in his study reported that they gained knowledge about child abuse reporting through experience at work and not necessarily through training. Goldman and Padayachi (2005) study looked at school counselors and their reporting behavior and whether or not they needed any further training. Just as Bryant (2009) study concluded that further education and training was necessary, Goldman and Padayachi (2005) study also reported that 95% of the participants in the study suggested that they needed more training in how to handle and deal with children and sexual abuse.The latter researchers did their study in Australia, where child abuse laws differ from one state to another. For example in New South Wales, it is mandatory by law for school officials to report any suspicion of child abuse. It was not always the case in New South Wales though because reports by school personnel of child abuse greatly increased from 11. 4% to 24% once the new law took into action. In Queensland were t he research study was conducted, school personnel were not mandated by law to report suspicion of child abuse.According to Goldman and Padayachi (2005) school personnel in New South Wales were being trained more intensively about neglect and child abuse because of the mandatory reporting laws. So, could it be possible that school personnel are not trained as intensively and excessively because there is no law indicating that suspicion of child abuse be reported? Would it be fair to say that people are reporting because it is mandated by law? Or are people reporting more because they have more training in dealing with child abuse? Is it an issue of law, ethics or knowledge?In order to determine whether or not school counselors consider certain situations as abuse or not, Goldman and Padayachi (2005) created four hypothetical Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 5 situations where a child is interacting with a counselor and in all four situations the degree of detail the ch ild reveals is different, for example, in one situation a child â€Å"draws a picture of a man and makes vague statements about a bad man, but does not make any specific statements about being sexually abused† (Goodman and Padayachi, 2005), and in another situation, a girl tells her school counselor and her grandmother that she is being sexually abused. School personnel are suppose to rate the degree of suspicion from â€Å"substantial† to â€Å"no reason.According to the results, the degree of suspicion was from substantial to moderate, which indicates that the 122 participants were well aware of what signs to look for in sexual abuse. Majority of participants were able to detect child abuse, but were unlikely to report their suspicions when asked if they would report it if the child denied of being sexually abused. This can indicates that suspecting and reporting do not necessarily go hand in hand, especially in a state were reporting is not mandated by law. Accordi ng to Bryant (2009), the number one reason the participants in his study indicated that they would report suspicion of child abuse was because of law; which goes back to, are people reporting because of law, knowledge, ethics?It seems to me, to be more in favor of the law; but either way, if children’s lives are being saved; would it matter if it’s because of law or ethics? Probably the answer would be no, until people’s perceptions are changed. Being able to recognize signs of abuse in a hypothetical situation can vary greatly with the degree of confidence that a person has of his or her skills in recognizing signs of abuse. In Bryans (2009) study, participants were confident in their ability to recognize signs of physical abuse but were not as certain in their abilities to recognize emotional abuse; perhaps because physical abuse if much more Running Head: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND CHILD ABUSE 6 observable, which indicates that much more training is needed in reco gnizing the more discrete signs of abuse.In Goodman and Padayachi (2005) study, the participants were asked about their confidence level of their knowledge of sexual abuse, and only â€Å"less than 10 per cent of the school counselors in Queensland were completely confident in their knowledge of symptoms to identify sexual abuse, while a considerable portion of them, 47 per cent, had little confidence, and 37 per cent had no confidence† (Goodman and Padayachi, 2005). The literature that was used in this research project proves that school counselors are not prepared to identify signs of child abuse; especially emotional abuse because signs of emotional abuse are a lot more discrete than physical abuse.Some research shows that school counselors are able to detect signs of child abuse but are less likely to report child abuse if a child denies being abused. In order to facilitate better understanding of child abuse in terms of detecting signs of abuse whether it is emotional or physical, colleges need to better prepare students before they start working as school counselors. School districts also need to have mandated training for incoming and ongoing school counselors. In order to help school counselor with becoming more assertive reporters of child abuse, school districts need to have mandatory training and colleges need to have courses that prepare students in how to report and the importance of reporting child abuse.

Wuthering Heights By Emily Bronte - 1337 Words

Wuthering Heights Essay Edgar Linton is a character in the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontà «. From early life to death, he resides at the cultivated Thrushcross Grange with his family. He becomes entangled with the affairs of the Earnshaws and eventually a target of Heathcliff. His spoiled and comfortable childhood allows his cowardice to continue to adulthood, proving him an ineffective character whose passiveness warrants Heathcliff’s vengeance. As an adolescent, Edgar displays traces of weakness and incapability. He is first introduced when Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff are at Thrushcross Grange spying on the Lintons. In an argument over holding a small dog, he is characterized as fragile, as he is seen â€Å"weeping silently†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦Even though Edgar has no control over his appearance, it does not excuse his powerless behavior. His daughter, despite her resemblance to Edgar, grows to be headstrong, even challenging Heathcliff. Thr ough the motif of cats, Edgar’s feebleness is further explored. Nelly compares his strength to leave Catherine to that of a cat who â€Å"possesses the power to leave a mouse half killed† (71). Unlike the dog motif reserved for more substantial characters, his is a cat to emphasize weakness. To Nelly, his debility burns deeper to that of an incompetent cat and will cause his ill fate and demise. Edgar is also discerned superficially by other characters. Catherine wishes to marry him not out of intense love but because he will make her the â€Å"greatest woman of the neighborhood† (78). He is appealing to Catherine and society because he is the superego part of the Freud’s human psyche theory, meaning he follows societal standards and morals. Since outwardly he has it all, he has no drive to improve himself internally as an adolescent. Hence, he is only valued by others for his appearance and wealth, not his courage or passion. Edgar handles conflicts poo rly, often leaving his power to other characters’ hands. Brontà « characterizes him as malleable when after Catherine’s fit of rage, he still returns after seeing her beauty. His extreme passiveness is demonstrated in the ease it took Edgar to overlook such a major flaw for symmetricality of Catherine’s face. Like Nelly said,