Vasha was at the end of her rope. After CPS found that she was being neglectful of Terrance, she didn't know what to do. On the one hand, she felt anger at "the system" -- what did they know about her son? What did they know about her? She resented such interference into her life, and she had half a mind to take Terrance and leave the state - but she knew that would put her in much more trouble than she was already in.
Vasha had limited social support - her friend Sarah was still a close confidant - and she wasn't sure how she was going to deal with the pressure she perceived from the social worker. It was like she was the enemy of this person, even though all she was doing was trying her best to care for her son. Sarah was the only one who understood.
Terrance continued to be a challenge, even after the mandated counseling. The counselor even came to the home. Vasha was both skeptical of this person and rather annoyed. The counselor was a young girl who didn't even have kids of her own! What did she know? How could she help? For Vasha, such a presumption that someone so unlike her could provide assistance was another slap in the face. Terrance seemed to like the counselor, but he didn't do anything differently - in fact, he really threw a tantrum after each time the counselor left the house.
Terrance was able to enjoy himself sometimes - usually when he had some kind of video device nearby. He would sit for hours in front of the TV - and Vasha would let him - and watch reruns of old shows. It wasn't the content that captured him as much as the movement, the colors, and the sounds. He loved it when the TV would just go to static.
Vasha learned from the counselor that Terrance ceased to qualify for the intensive in-home service under which he was being served, so the counselor would have to stop coming to the home after only 6 months. Vasha didn't care - it's not like it was helping anyhow. The social worker set up regular meetings with Vasha to check in on her, and Vasha kept going to see her counselor.
Vasha continued on this way until Terrance was 4. He was old enough to get around, and he was tall enough to get into heaps of trouble around the house. It was one sleepy Sunday morning that proved to be the last straw for Vasha - and for CPS. Terrance got hold of a book of matches and set some paper on fire. By the time Vasha smelled the smoke and ran into the room when Terrance was, the fire was slowly spreading. She grabbed Terrance and got out of the house.
The fire department came and was able to save most of the home. Vasha still had a place to live even though it was in need of great repair. For his part, Terrance didn't seem affected by the incident whatsoever. CPS was called again, and the social worker gave Vasha the choice to place Terrance with a relative or to have him go into the care of the state. Vasha made contact with her mother who begrudgingly agreed to care for Terrance.
* Describe typical developmental milestones for a four year old.
* What is "intensive in-home" as a Medicaid-provided service? Who typically provides this service? What is the level of training required? How ethical is it to cease serving someone because their insurance runs out?
* Hypothesize as to Vasha's various negative responses to her involvement in the child welfare system.
* Describe the manner in which a family transitions from
Part B of IDEA to Part C. What are the major differences between the services
provided under Part B vs Part C?
In addition to the questions above, please also answer the
following questions posed to you by the other groups (not all questions are
included from all groups) :::
From the Lisa Yoo group :::
1) Where can Vasha go/who can she talk to about her concern about the
services Terrance is receiving? Are there any other services that are
available for Terrance, other than those offered in IDEA and if so what
are they?
From the Thomas Mahoney group :::
1) What is Vasha’s relationship with her parents like? With the babies’ father? Can any of these relationships be affecting the way that she is raising Terrance or the way she is reacting to motherhood?
From the Ahmad Nassar group :::
1) Is there any information available about the success rates of
community services overall? Have they actually been proven to be
effective?
2) If CPS suspects that the child is being abused or neglected, why was he not taken out of the home?
