Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 1
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January 2015 Module 3: Child Development Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 1 January 2015 Module 3: Child Development Display Slide 3.0.1 Time: 6 hours Module Purpose: In this module, participants will learn about child maturation; the child’s developmental stages; the child’s need for protection, nurturing and well-being. Display Slide 3.0.2 Agenda: Unit 3.1: How Children Develop (6 hours, 30 minutes) Unit 3.2: Protection, Nurturing and Well-Being (4 hours) Review the agenda with the participants. Materials: • Trainer’s Guide (TG) • Participant’s Guide (PG) (participants should bring their own) • PowerPoint slide deck Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 2 • Flip chart paper • Highlighters/Markers (at least three per participant) • Videos: o Still Face (YouTube) - 49 Activities: Unit 3.1: 0-36 months - 38 Unit 3.1: 3-6 Year Olds – 46 Unit 3.1: 6-11 Year Olds – 52 Unit 3.1: 13-18 Year Olds – 57 Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 3 Unit 3.1: How Children Develop Display Slide 3.1.1 Time: x hours, x minutes Unit Overview: The purpose of this unit is to provide participants with a strong understanding of the stages of child development and to provide participants with the ability to evaluate children based on the developmental stages. It also introduces the child functioning domain, how to assess a child’s functioning, and how to write adequate content about a child’s functioning. Display Slide 3.1.2 Learning Objectives: 1. Define the term ‘child,’ and explain the child’s role in the family. 2. Explain the maturation process of the child from cognitive, emotional, psychological and behavioral points of view. 3. Explain each stage of child development from social, cognitive, emotional, psychological, behavioral and academic perspectives. 4. Analyze child development stages. Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 4 Trainer Notes: Participants may have varying degrees of exposure to child development and developmental stages. They may also have children in any one of the developmental stages that may or may not be exhibiting the milestones you present. Be sure to address this in the beginning of class. Display Slide 3.1.3 We are going to start this module with a discussion on how children develop. One of the more challenging concepts to grasp in child welfare practice is an understanding of how child development relates to abuse and neglect. This is often because our experiences, knowledge and perspectives are diverse and/or limited. We tend to infuse our beliefs, without the science to back it up. Let’s start with talking about your comfort level in working with different age groups. In your small groups, I would like you to discuss your personal, educational and professional experiences with each of the age groups listed on the slide. I would also like you to talk about your comfort level with the varied age groups. You can think about comfort level as a 1-to-3 scale with 1 being ‘not comfortable at all,’ 2 being ‘somewhat comfortable’ and 3 being ‘very comfortable.’ Make sure that one person has made a tally of the comfort level of each member of the group and is ready to report out their findings to all participants. Use small table groups or randomly assign participants to small groups. Allow no more than 10 minutes for this preliminary discussion. This exercise may Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 5 take longer based on the size of the class. Now that you have exchanged information, please have one person from your table share your results with all participants. Please present the experience level of everyone at your table, and present the age groups that you were collectively ‘very comfortable’ with and ‘not comfortable at all’ with. Allow for an exchange of information. Record on an easel pad the age groups where there is a low comfort level. This will assist you with knowing the age group(s) that you will need to spend more time on. Display Slide 3.1.4 (PG 3) How would you define “child”? Allow for responses and point out the differences. We use the term ‘child’ a lot in child welfare. It is important that we understand that the term has a legal definition as well as a cultural definition. The legal definition is clear, but the cultural definition is far less clear. As a result, this lack of clarity can sometimes impact our perspective on how parents interact with their children and roles they (the children) assume as they develop into adulthood. First, let’s talk about the legal definition of ‘child.’ Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 6 Who can read for us the definition of child that is presented in Chapter 39 of the Florida Statues? (subsection 39.01(12), F.S.) Allow for a response. Be sure that someone uses the following definition and, if it is not presented, state the following: Chapter 39, F.S., uses the term ‘child’ and ‘youth’ interchangeably and defines a child as “any unmarried person under the age of 18 years who has not been emancipated by order of the court.” The legal definition of ‘child’ is very clear. It is the definition you as child welfare professionals will utilize in practice. What is important to remember is that a child’s chronological age is sometimes not congruent with a child’s developmental age. For example, a 10-year-old child with a very low IQ may be functioning only on a developmental level of a 4-year-old. As you will learn later, a child who has been abused or neglected can be one chronological age, but because of the abuse and neglect could developmentally be far younger. How might this example impact how you view the ‘child’ in your practice as a child welfare professional? It is also important to recognize that the concept of ‘child’ changes over a lifespan, as the child grows and develops to embrace new roles within the family structure. The legal definition remains the same for every child, but the developmental and functioning expectations are individualized. What factors may influence child development other than chronological age? List the responses on an easel pad or post notes on the wall. Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 7 Who in the group would like to share factors from their own experience that affected their development either positively or negatively? If you are comfortable with starting the conversation with your own examples, do so now. Allow ample time for participants to share, as a segue into the importance of family culture and roles impacting development. You can use prompts such as military families, affluent families, families living in poverty, female-headed households, single-parent-headed households, African-American families, Asian-American families, etc. to elicit responses. As you can see there are multiple variables that can impact development. Each child’s family dynamics contribute to how the child develops and the current child functioning. To understand the child separate from the maltreatment, it is essential to understand who the child is in the context of these general milestones in concert with who the child is in relation to his or her role in the family; the impact of the child’s parenting and discipline; and the effect of how the adults and family function as a whole. All of these factors contribute to the child’s overall functioning. Display Slide 3.1.5 Let’s watch a brief video about the “science” of child development, what has been learned about how children develop and the lifelong impacts of child development. See PG: 4 for a brief on this topic. Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 8 Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 9 Based on your experience so far in Core, why do you need to know about development as a child welfare professional? Take a few minutes at your table to come up with some reasons for why you need to know about development. Allow ample time for discussion but do not collect responses. This is the foundation for the next slide’s discussion. Display Slide 3.1.6 (PG 5) This information comes from the Florida State University Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy. Why Should Child Welfare Professionals Know About Child Development? 1. To understand why young children are the most vulnerable to maltreatment 2. To assess child functioning, including the impact of maltreatment 3. To identify problems early and make appropriate referrals 4. To dispel myths about young children 5. To do no further harm 6. To help make better-informed decisions. Trainer Notes: Florida Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy http://cpeip.fsu.edu Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum | Module 3-TG 10 Display Slide 3.1.7 (PG 5) When we are talking about the maturation process, we are really talking about ‘normal development.’ It is important to understand that ‘normal’ means that timeframes and skills are what is ‘typical’ or ‘average’ for a specific age or age range. For example, we would say that children learn to walk unassisted on average between the ages of 11-14 months. Does this mean some ‘normal’ children walk earlier than 11 months and after 14 months? Of course! Remember that the term ‘normal’ or ‘typical’ has boundaries. If a child is reaching the upper boundary of that range or exceeds it, then it is imperative to ask, “Why?” Consider an 18-month-old who is not walking.