Given the increase in litigation against human service agencies, administrators and staff need to be aware of the process and what might be expected of them. One they may encounter is a deposition. With out proper preparation, it can be an unsettling experience. A deposition is a sworn oral or written statement or testimony requested of a witness who may be unable or unavailable to appear in court, due to illness or limitations on the courts jurisdiction.
Read MoreWe look to courts a lot these days. It seems that not a single day goes by when courts are not featured on the national newscast. By habit”and, one hopes, still with awe”we cling to courts as a last refuge for justice. Perhaps we grasp too tightly. Courts cannot solve our problems for us. Most often, they mediate interpretations of our own indecisiveness. This is especially true regarding human services.
Read MoreLawyers are increasingly calling upon social workers to serve as expert witnesses in cases involving children and families. Roles for social workers are emerging in the courtroom as expert witnesses in such areas as wrongful death, foster care, guardianship, forensic issues, child abuse and neglect, commitment hearings, education, and family custody evaluation.
Read MoreThe cost of retaining social workers can vary considerably. They are usually paid by the hour. The hourly fee typically covers reviewing documents, interviewing key people in the case, travel expenses, and any other time spent working on the case. Rates for being deposed or testifying in court are usually higher than for other kinds of preparatory work. Conclusion
Read MoreWho can be an expert witness and what is required to become an expert witness? Expert witnesses are usually expert consultants who testify under oath about the specifics of a case. They relate their conclusions and opinions about the actions in question. More than ever, social work issues in litigation require the services of expert witnesses.
Read MoreFollowing the recent devastating earthquake, and concerned about the potential for child trafficking, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, ordered that all earthquake orphans be registered and taken into government care. None of them would be put up for adoption.
Read MoreSupervisors are often named as defendants in lawsuits even though they have no direct involvement in the event itself. Individuals alleging discrimination or other wrongful behavior in the workplace frequently sue both the agency and their supervisors. Such allegations may be made because plaintiffs seek to impute the supervisors actions to the agency.
Read MoreThe January 5, 2005 CNN headline read, Trafficking a threat to tsunami orphans. Within days after the tsunami hit, Indonesia had begun putting into place policies which prohibited any child under age 16 from leaving the country. Why? The Indonesian Embassys press secretary in Washington explained that “the government would like to protect the children from potential traffickers. It had cause for concern “
Read Moren the decade between 1990 and 2000, 11% of the American population was foreign born. Many of our newest residents have endured extreme trauma just to get here. The increase in immigrants is testing our health care and social service institutions goal of providing quality care and access for all. Human services workers in organizations involved with resettlement represent these new immigrants, sometimes even before they actually arrive.
Certain ethical concerns recur when an immigrant is assisted by a worker:
How do race and ethnicity factor into adoptive and foster care placements today? Congress initially began work on MEPA in 1994 in order to concretize the principle that a child’s placement should not be denied or delayed because of race or ethnicity. Simultaneously, there was a genuine concern that MEPA could lead to a discounting of the importance that race and culture play in a child’s life. There was further concern that MEPA might inadvertently lead to a deceleration in recruitment efforts of persons of color to be foster and adoptive parents.
Read MoreOverview
The information revolution continues to unfold and the contemporary human services world is daily being changed by it. This heralds the alteration of previous relationships between agencies and clients and among agencies themselves. Perhaps the single most important outcome of this process is the emergence of a more transparent human service world. Aggregated personal information about clients is becoming more public, while simultaneously we attach great significance to information privacy, especially from government institutions.