An estimated 800,000 Canadian children are exposed to domestic violence in their homes every year. Families experiencing domestic violence use various community and government agencies along with the criminal and civil court systems. Unfortunately, collaboration between these agencies and the courts is described by professionals in Montreal as being problematic and strained. Elsewhere in Canada and the United States, some cities and communities have made progress in working through the complex obstacles inherent in the coordination of services in the area of domestic violence. This thesis will examine 14 inter-agency programs and coordinated models of intervention that have been initiated outside the province of Quebec to respond to the needs of children exposed to domestic violence. The history of these programs, their objectives and along with coordination mechanisms will be examined. A discussion regarding the implications of these findings for practice in regards to coordination of services in Montreal will also be presented.

Good governance is the only mechanism available to provide for the basic social needs of communities within a normative and ethical paradigm. Good governance in South Africa is based on the tenets of the Batho Pele (People First) principles and practices. The primary aim of this study is to determine the factors impacting on good governance utilizing a case study of service delivery in child abuse in the eThekwini Municipal District of the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, the Bill of Rights in Chapter 2, provides for the protection of all children from abuse in South Africa. There have been several policies that were developed to realize this constitutional commitment. Despite these developments, and South Africa achieving a democratic order since 1994, the abuse of children continues to occur in the eThekwini Municipal District, in large numbers as has been revealed in this research study. This research study has illustrated that the barriers to good governance in the delivery of services to children who are abused are several. They stem from structural, strategic and operational gaps that are prevalent and that have an adverse impact on the accessibility and quality of service delivery to all communities, at the coalface. The researcher is of the believe therefore that turnarounds to address these challenges of achieving good governance practices in service delivery in child abuse, will only be met from a wide range of actions involving all spheres of government at the strategic helm and the various government and nongovernmental sectors at an operational level. The processes of governance in the delivery of services in child abuse in the eThekwini Municipal District is riddled with problems and anomalies that emanate from the barrierladen structural positioning and the ineffective leadership role of provincial strategic governance structures in so far as strategic direction in this priority area of child protection, is concerned. The outcome of any service delivery program through the processes of good governance, according to current policy mandates, is that beneficiaries of services achieve sustainable development and this could only be achieved if there is a holistic services delivered to the client system. This has not happened in service delivery in child abuse in the eThekwini Municipal District. Services were fragmented and duplication occurred as the different state sectors responsible for service delivery were in the main, operating in silos. Governance in service delivery seemed to lack direction due to the absence of an intersectoral strategic planning process. There was no strategic plan to inform operations on the ground and which it is proposed, would have facilitated child protection organizations to acquire separate budgets for resource acquisition, to facilitate and support efficient, effective, economical and sustainable service delivery. In actual fact, there were no separate budgets to fund services in child abuse by the different sectors. There were therefore very limited programs available for services to child abuse victims. There was no service delivery improvement plan for child protection which is the priority area within which services in child abuse is provided for. This according to the National Policy Framework and Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Management of Child Abuse, (2004), was supposed to be the strategic core function of the Provincial Department of Social Development. There is a clear indication that this strategic governance structure has not complied with the mandate of the Public Service Regulation, 2001 by ensuring that there was a service delivery improvement plan in place for child abuse services that was well known to service providers for the period of this study. One can then from this prevailing situation conclude, that the public service policies and legislation had not been complied with in this regard at a provincial level. This had led to the lack of leadership that existed in service delivery in child abuse at the local community level. A consequence of this shortcoming was that each state department developed its own sectoral operational plans and rendered services according to these sectoral plans that were geared to meet the sectoral need which in a manner, entrenched fragmented service delivery and had resulted in victims of child abuse being exposed to secondary abuse by service providers. The present constitutional provision is that service delivery in child abuse be managed as a national and provincial responsibility under the umbrella of child care and protection services. The Public Works Department is responsible for infrastructure development for these sectors at the local level. The study has revealed that the biggest challenge to accessibility of services in rural areas was the lack of basic infrastructure of roads, electricity, telephones and safe environments, the constitutional responsibility of which is the core function of local government. The local sphere of governance does not play a role in ensuring that structural barriers to good governance in service delivery in child abuse are included in their Intergrated Development Plans (IDP), for the simple reason that it is not a constitutional functionality of this sphere of government. There is in practice, no plan in place, to address the structural barriers to improve accessibility of services in child abuse in rural areas, due to the exclusion of local government structures in this process. This arrangement is an anomalie which exacerbates the problem of poor governance in service delivery in child abuse. The attempts of decentralizing social service delivery was not achieving the purpose of taking services to the community, as the decentralized service points were still not within reach of people because of the great distances between communities and service points. Furthermore, these services only operated in the day and not after hours when it is presumed that more abuse happens, and the employed members of communities are able to assist child victims and their support systems to seek help. The study has revealed that some best practice policies such as the KwaZulu-Natal Multidisciplinary Protocol on Child Abuse and Neglect, has come into disuse in the province. The best practice model of the Thuthuzela Care Centre, was currently being piloted in two different hospitals. Communities serviced by the two hospitals running this programme, benefitted from a multi-disciplinary service provided by intersectoral roleplayers. This program is led by the National Prosecuting Authority whose aim was to improve the conviction rate of perpetrators of abuse. It has been established that funding for this programme was obtained through international donor funding. Two very significant factors emerged in this research study with regard to policy development in child abuse, and they are worth noting. The first was a reliance on international donor funding for policy development by individual government and non-governmental sectors. This has compelled policy developers then to comply with meeting the requirements of donor agencies, instead of that of the community. There was a lack of a participative governance approach through the inclusion of the local communities in these initiatives. It does appear as though policy development in child abuse service delivery was heavily influenced by global partners in governance, instead. Secondly, while good governance policies were developed such as the KwaZulu-Natal Multi-disciplinary Protocol on Child Abuse and Neglect, its implementation was not supported nor monitored by the responsible strategic governance structure and this resulted in such policies being ineffective. The policy review process as well was not fully participative and did not promote local community input. While politicians have focused on policy development in response to an externally identified need other than that of the affected community, there has been no provision for the required resources and strategic leadership for ensuring coordinated holistic accessible service delivery. Neither has there been provision for oversight and support services to ensure that implementation happens at a community level. While the Department of Social Development is mandated to be the lead department in matters of child abuse, it seems not to have strongly positioned itself in this regard. This department assumed a weak position in so far as taking on responsibility for leading and directing services to children who are abused. There are too many different policies that are developed by the national department and handed to the province for implementation in local communities. Some of these policies address a similar aspect of service except that it comes from a different sector. This has caused a great deal of confusion on the ground as to which was the relevant policy to implement. There appears to be a rigorous attempt at policy formulation and development with very little regard to the support resources such as additional staff, equipment and the required intensity of training for key personnel. It has led to frustrations felt by intersectoral service providers at grassroots. Child abuse is a phenomenon of living and that requires crisis intervention by significant role-players at a grassroots level when it occurs. The study has revealed that important sectors who impact on the daily lives of people have been excluded from the governance processes. These structures are local government, the house of traditional affairs, business, cultural and religious organizations and the local community. The researcher proposes the utilization of the Governance Model in public administration which should be primarily community based and include all local governance structures. It therefore supports the bottom-up intersectoral approach in its modis operandi. Furthermore, service delivery should be provided from a one-stop centre under the leadership of a project manager. The model embraces ethical and normative theoretical practices within a democratic and developmental paradigm. This model repositions the strategic planning responsibility to local governance structures and proposes that the provincial structures assume a monitoring and oversight role which should be participative and which should include community representation. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

Public opinion, media and literature describe refugees as generally suffering, traumatised, dependent, helpless victims without power, in need of constant guidance and support in order to find solutions to their predicament. Humanitarian assistance may be accused of perpetuating this dependency and disempowerment. To me this may be true of refugees in encampment. The perception portrayed in the various media is unfitting and a sharp contrast to the perceptions and experiences of refugees learners encountered in this study. I questioned for myself the potential image of refugee learners being powerless and helpless and felt that if all refugees shared that view outlined above, it would worsen their situation instead of empowering their aspirations, history and capacities. So I chose to ask the refugee learners. This led to the purpose and core area of consideration of this study entitled "Perceptions and experiences of integration for refugee learners." In this study I focused on refugee learners from African countries Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Kenya. It offers them a voice and makes them actors in their own stories. My study is intended to inform the reader of the personal experiences of refugees within a South African context shedding light on the specifics of access to and support from social services and other institutional and informal actors. It was necessary to employ multiple research instruments to analyse the experiences of refugees who attend the site where I am currently based as an educator. Preliminary questionnaires completed by refugee learners revealed themes integral to their experience and perception of integration: living arrangements, social resources, and education. These themes were further explored one-on-one interviews, focus group discussion and a snap survey. It is my view that institutional resources already in place by stakeholders are not fully utilised as refugee learners are often an after-thought in the service provision for citizen children. Refugee learners encounter difficulties in accessing education facilities and living arrangements do not consistently meet protection requirements. As a result, refugee learners frequently experience isolation and confusion regarding their present and future stakes in South Africa. Based on these findings, this study will make recommendations for policy design and development of programme for refugee integration within the broader South African society. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

This study investigated the relationship between student scores on the Behavioral Objective Sequence (BOS) and student placement, the relationship of BOS scores to teacher variables, and the relationship of BOS scores to student variables. Participants in the study were 47 special education teachers serving students with Emotional Disabilities (ED). The teachers reported BOS total and subscale scores for 141 ED students. Student and teacher demographic data was collected. A significant relationship was identified between BOS total scores and student placement. A significant relationship was found between five of the six BOS subscale scores and placement. Student variables, with the exception of socioeconomic status, were not found to have a significant relationship to BOS scores or placement. Teacher variables were not found to have a significant relationship to BOS scores. The results of this investigation indicate that the BOS may be a useful tool for IEP team use in determining appropriate placement for students withED. / Department of Special Education

This dissertation proposes the development of an identification verification model that can be implemented within the context of the Eastern Cape, South Africa in order to ensure that vulnerable children are provided with the requisite care that they deserve from the state. The dissertation provides both a developed and developing world perspective on the identification verification needs of vulnerable children by providing an overview of relevant South African policy with regard to caring for vulnerable children and presenting an international perspective with specific reference to current legislative developments in the United Kingdom and Malaysia. Chapter 1 provides a motivation for a framework to be used for the identification verification of children in developing countries by emphasising that the provision of basic social services to children is an urgent requirement for poverty eradication and is a necessity as documented in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A background to the needs of vulnerable children in South Africa is given and the scope, limitations and research methodology used in the dissertation is presented. Chapter 2 provides an overview of child related policy in the South African Context both from a National Government and Eastern Cape perspective. Although extensive progress has been made in the development of policies aimed at protecting vulnerable children, the practical implementation of these policies has been hampered by numerous issues including the lack of coordination between key entities. Chapter 3 provides an introduction to several noteworthy international developments with regard to the identity verification of vulnerable children. Lessons learnt from identity verification systems from the United Kingdom and Malaysia are analyzed for applicability to the South African context. In addition to this, the use of biometric technology in identity verification systems and a number of biometric identification methodologies available are discussed. Chapter 4 proposes the development and implementation of a biometric identity verification model in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa based on lessons learnt from the assessment of South African policy and international best practice. The system should be piloted in the Eastern Cape and, if successful, be implemented throughout South Africa with a possible view to future implementation on the African continent. The scope of the system, the technological requirements and a high level implementation plan together with the need to further research certain key aspects e.g. the cost implications are discussed. It is clear that the development of such a model and the implementation of such a system will ensure that vulnerable children are provided with the requisite care that they are constitutionally entitled to. Significant follow up research is required during the development of the model to ensure that all aspects of the model are well documented and during the implementation of the system to ensure that the requirements of the users both within the government and the general public are met.

No description available.

The aim of this study is to explore strengths assessments and the participation of parents in assessment of strengths and functioning of their children challenged by serious emotional disorders. The children in this study have a high level of exposure to mental illness, domestic violence and substance abuse in their biological families. These children are living with family members or foster families in the community, with the majority at continuing risk of placement outside of their homes and communities due to serious emotional and behavioral problems. The research questions investigated are the concordance of families and professionals in assessment of strengths, differences in assessment of strengths, problems in specific domains of functioning, and relationships of characteristics of the child with recognition of strengths by the parent and professional. This study uses data collected from families of children with serious emotional disorders receiving services through community-based wraparound services supported by the mental health services program for children #5 HSS SM52297 funded by the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. The dissertation research presents a secondary analysis of a portion of the evaluation data collected for that demonstration. Eighty-five children were assessed by the parent and professional using the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS), the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Child and Adolescent Functioning Scale (CAFAS). It was found that families provided significant and unique information regarding their children. A repeated measures analysis of the strengths scores revealed significant differences in the assessment of strengths by the parent and professional raters in domains of intrapersonal strengths, affective strengths and family involvement. The findings support the use of the strengths measure by multiple informants to provide unique information regarding the child’s strengths and functioning.

No description available.

There is little agreement regarding the identification procedures, characteristics and the definition of emotional disturbances even though the child-serving agencies often share the same clients and the same mandates. Because of these commonalities, a broad range of services are duplicated, lack coordination, and are provided by scarce personnel. The net effect may be no one receives services (LaCour, 1982). Interagency collaboration, touted as a management tool, is a vehicle by which lack of service delivery may be eliminated. According to state and federal mandates, interagency collaboration is to be used, whenever and wherever, services are needed to effectively serve students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed (SED). The purpose of this study was to identify the current level of interagency collaboration available to students within the Commonwealth of Virginia for students labeled seriously emotionally disturbed, ages 5-18, as perceived by special education directors and teachers serving students labeled seriously emotionally disturbed. A School Personnel Perceptions of Interagency Collaboration for Students Identified as Seriously Emotionally Disturbed survey was developed to measure the current level of interagency collaboration for this study. Items included were based on a review of the literature; information generated from informal interviews with special education administrators, special education teachers, and professionals in related fields; and, comments from expert reviewers. Questionnaires were mailed to a sample of thirty six school divisions, which translates into a total of 80 surveys sent to directors of special education and teachers of students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed. The sample was determined by: 1) designating school districts within the Commonwealth according to their Average Daily Membership into large-, medium-, and small- sized districts, and 2) selecting a sample from each size school district. Directors were then contacted and asked for the names of teachers within their school district currently teaching students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests and one way analyses of variance. Post hoc tests were used to determine which means were significantly different from each other. Major findings include: 1) special education directors and teachers of students identified as SED agree that availability of a variety of services is very important to the success of their students. Few significant differences between directors and teachers were found; however, differences did occur with services that focus on the family rather than the child. Teachers found these services to be more important to the success of their students than did directors. 2) While directors and teachers across school district sizes indicated a variety of services were currently available to students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed, there was little agreement between directors and teachers within district sizes as to how much any one service was currently provided. 3) Teachers and directors indicated that, in many cases, they did not know whether or not a certain agency provided a specific service to students identified as in need of services. / Ed. D.

兒童貧窮問題引起香港社會及政策制定者的深切關注。香港特區政府及各非政府組織推出了不同的策略、計劃及方案以舒緩兒童貧窮問題。可是，大部份針對小學生的現行計劃及方案普遍著重提升兒童的學術成果多於其全面發展。本研究旨在探討由企業發起及持續舉辦的校本計劃及社區為本計劃在幫助香港貧窮兒童脫貧及全面發展的成效。 / 本研究採用多重個案研究法，對兩個與企業合作推行持續性兒童扶貧計劃的個案，包括學校一(School-1)及非政府組織一(NGO-1)作深入了解。多種質性數據從這兩個個案的三項計劃中搜集，包括十二節參與式觀察及四十五個半結構性訪談(負責職員、組織者、主持人、義工、兒童參與者及他們的父母)。 / 本研究有四項主要研發現: / 一，連結社會資本及橋樑社會資本是兒童參與者在建立人力資本過程中的催化劑。二，在兒童參與者及義工建立信任關係的過程中連結社會資本及橋樑社會資本是互相依賴而成。三，兒童參與者能夠成為主動的行動者。他們除了能夠在影響他們生命的決定上作出選擇；並藉著把握學習及社交機會，抗拒因生活於不利環境中所產生的負面影響，更能夠改變環境，把希望灌注入父母的生命。四，三項計劃均提供為期九至十個月的服務，讓介入工作在這段較長時間中引發兒童參與者的改變，並把希望灌注入他們的生命。此外，也讓他們的父母、計劃組織者及負責職員觀察兒童參與者的成長及改變。 / 綜合這些研究發現，人力資本的建立、建立連結社會資本及橋樑社會資本所帶來的支援關係、兒童的聲音能否獲得聆聽及作出決定時兒童的意見能否受到尊重，均對計劃能否有正面效果有直接關係。基於這些研究發現，建議扶貧計劃需在貧窮兒童的較早期的生命歷程中推行，並且介入的時期較長，讓兒童參與者的成長及改變能被引發並被觀察出來，把希望灌注入兒童及父母的生命，讓他們能發現彼此的優點、對生命存有盼望、為美好的將來釐訂實際計劃及具信心與社會人士保持接觸。這些均是他們在打破貧窮困局及戰勝社會排斥的過程中不可或缺的原素。 / Children poverty problem has become a main concern of Hong Kong society and the policy makers. Different strategies, programmes and projects have been implemented by the HKSAR government and different NGOs to alleviate the child poverty problem. However, most existing programmes and projects for primary school children emphasize on educational outcomes rather than the holistic child development. / This study aims to understand whether and how the enterprise-initiated and ongoing school-based and community-based programmes may help the poor children in Hong Kong in poverty alleviation and holistic development. / One school (School-1) and one NGO (NGO-1), which implemented ongoing poverty alleviation programmes with enterprises, were selected for this multiple-case study. Based on the analysis of the multiple sources of data collected from the three main programmes, including 12 sessions of participant observation and 45 semi-structured interviews (with responsible staff, organizers, host, volunteers, participating children and their parents), four key findings were obtained to answer the research question. / First, bonding and bridging social capital acted as a catalyst in the process of developing human capital among the participating children. Second, bonding and bridging social capital relied on and built upon each other in the trust building process among the participating children and the volunteers. Third, the participating children could be the active agents, who could exercise their choices in decisions affecting their lives, resist the negative influences of the adverse environment by holding onto the learning and social opportunities, and even change the environment by instilling hope in their parents. Fourth, the three main programmes under this study were organized for the same group of children for about nine to ten months in each cycle, which allowed time for the intervention to generate change and instill hope in the participating children and also enabled the parents, organizers and responsible staff to observe the growth and change in the participating children. / The findings suggest that the development of human capital is directly related to the supportive relationship built during the intervention process through bonding and bridging social capital, and the experiences of being listened, involved and respected in decisions affecting them through child participation. It is recommended that programmes should be organized for the poor children in their early stage of life-course and with a longer period of time for intervention and observation of their growth and change in the participating children. When hope is instilled in the children through joining the programmes, hope is subsequently instilled in the parents as well to acknowledge one’s merits, to feel hopeful to live a life with a wide range of possibilities, to have more confidence in making concrete plan for a better future and getting in touch with the people in the society. All these are indispensable on the road to beat the odds of poverty and conquer social exclusion. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Tang, Mun Yu. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 437-467). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Tang, Mun Yu.