About Me
My name is Renee Small and I am a Human Service Major pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree at the New York City College of Technology. I am expected to graduate in June, 2015. After earning my degree my plans are to begin working for six months to a year before returning to school and pursuing my Master’s Degree in Social Work. The population that I am interested in working with is children either through the Board of Education or with the Administration for Children Services (ACS) as a Child Protective Specialist (CPS).
When I first began pursuing my Bachelor’s degree I was eager to work as a CPS worker because I wanted to help children especially those who are experiencing abuse and neglect. As a CPS worker I will have the opportunity to work with parents/guardians to ensure that they are able to provide for their children in a positive and nurturing environment. However if they are not willing to take the necessary steps needed to care for their children I can step in and advocate for these children by removing them from the household and placing them in foster care; until their parent(s) gets back on their feet or they are possibly placed with a foster parent that can provide them with the care, love, and appreciation that they deserve. However, the transition of removing children from their homes and placing them in foster care is emotionally challenging. Based on a study conducted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), “Youth in foster care and adults who formerly were placed in care (foster care alumni) have disproportionately high rates of emotional and behavioral disorders. Among the areas of concern has been lack of comprehensive mental health screening of all children entering out of home care, the need for more, and the need for more thorough identification of youth with emotional and behavioral disorders, and insufficient youth access to high-quality mental health services.” In addition as stated in the study children experience Post Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) brought on by their constant exposure to sexual abuse and neglect as well as being separated from their families and being placed in foster care. I feel that by being employed as a CPS worker I would be able to make a difference in children’s lives and in extreme situations possibly save their lives.
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Furthermore, The New York Times covered a story entitled, “After 2 Deaths, New York City Adopts Strategy to Protect Homeless Children” by Winni Hu. The article was about the sudden death of 3 year old Jaida Torres at the hands of her stepfather because she soiled herself. Jaida’s family are one of many families that are homeless. As a result of her death New York City implemented new strategies that focus on homeless families that are “considered high risk for abuse and neglect.” The Administration for Children Services and the Department of Homeless Services are providing assistance regarding the issue by determining what families to target as high risk for abuse. In my opinion it was unfortunate that a child had to lose her life before City Officials put new approaches into effect; certain laws are passed and actions are taken only after a tragedy occurs. As stated in the article, “Gilbert Taylor, the commissioner of the city’s homeless services agency who had previously been an executive deputy commissioner at the Administration for Children’s Services, said he had been working to expand the department’s focus on families and children at the shelter’s even before the girls’ death.”
