Contact a child welfare social worker and interview them about their experiences in their field of practice. Include these areas in your interview: cultural factors in assessment; legal and policy implications and challenges in practice; and ethical considerations in practice. Your initial posting should summarize the key points from your interview and discuss how the experiences of the person you interviewed is similar or different to what you expected, and similar or different to the readings and videos thus far in this course.

 

 

 

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Interview Summary: A Child Welfare Social Worker’s Perspective

I recently had the opportunity to interview “Sarah,” a seasoned child welfare social worker with eight years of experience in a large urban county. Her insights provided a valuable glimpse into the complexities of her field.

Cultural Factors in Assessment:

  • Sarah emphasized that cultural competence is not just a buzzword, but a daily necessity. She described how she must constantly be aware of her own biases and assumptions, as well as the cultural norms and values of the families she works with.
  • She stated that “You can’t apply a one-size-fits-all approach. What might be considered neglect in one culture could be a normative practice in another.”
  • She provided an example of how differing views on corporal punishment, or how extended families care for children, can cause misunderstandings.
  • She stressed the importance of building trust and establishing rapport with families from diverse backgrounds, which often requires spending extra time and effort. She said that understanding the role of community leaders, and religious leaders, is very important.

Legal and Policy Implications and Challenges in Practice:

  • Sarah highlighted the constant balancing act between protecting children and respecting parental rights. She mentioned that “The legal framework is there for a reason, but it can be frustratingly rigid at times.”
  • She discussed the challenges of navigating complex legal processes, such as court hearings and custody evaluations.
  • She expressed frustration with the lack of resources and support for families, which often leads to children being removed from their homes unnecessarily.
  • She said that changes in policy, can drastically change her day to day work. She talked about the challenges of keeping up with ever changing policies.
  • She discussed the large caseloads, and how they make it difficult to provide adequate support to each family.

Ethical Considerations in Practice:

  • Sarah stated that ethical dilemmas are a regular occurrence in her work. She stressed the importance of maintaining confidentiality, even when faced with pressure from others.
  • She discussed the challenges of making difficult decisions, such as whether to remove a child from their home, and how those decisions can have lasting effects.
  • She talked about the emotional toll of the work, and the importance of self-care.
  • She mentioned the importance of advocating for the child’s best interests, even when it conflicts with the wishes of the parents or other parties.
  • She discussed the difficulty of dealing with mandated reporting, and how to balance that with building trust with families.

Comparison to Expectations and Course Content:

  • Sarah’s experiences largely aligned with my expectations, given the readings and videos in this course. The emphasis on cultural competence, legal complexities, and ethical dilemmas was consistent with what I had learned.
  • However, I was struck by the sheer emotional toll of the work, which was more pronounced in the interview than in some of the course materials.
  • The level of bureaucracy and the constant struggle for resources were also more vivid in Sarah’s account than I had anticipated.
  • The interview reinforced the importance of the NASW code of ethics.
  • The information that Sarah provided, helped to provide real world context to the theories that were learned in the course.
  • The interview helped to show how important it is to be an advocate for the children, and families that a social worker serves.

In conclusion, Sarah’s interview provided a valuable and sobering look into the realities of child welfare social work. Her insights reinforced the importance of cultural competence, ethical practice, and advocacy, while also highlighting the challenges and emotional demands of the field.

Interview Summary: A Child Welfare Social Worker’s Perspective

I recently had the opportunity to interview “Sarah,” a seasoned child welfare social worker with eight years of experience in a large urban county. Her insights provided a valuable glimpse into the complexities of her field.

Cultural Factors in Assessment:

  • Sarah emphasized that cultural competence is not just a buzzword, but a daily necessity. She described how she must constantly be aware of her own biases and assumptions, as well as the cultural norms and values of the families she works with.
  • She stated that “You can’t apply a one-size-fits-all approach. What might be considered neglect in one culture could be a normative practice in another.”
  • She provided an example of how differing views on corporal punishment, or how extended families care for children, can cause misunderstandings.
  • She stressed the importance of building trust and establishing rapport with families from diverse backgrounds, which often requires spending extra time and effort. She said that understanding the role of community leaders, and religious leaders, is very important.

Legal and Policy Implications and Challenges in Practice:

  • Sarah highlighted the constant balancing act between protecting children and respecting parental rights. She mentioned that “The legal framework is there for a reason, but it can be frustratingly rigid at times.”
  • She discussed the challenges of navigating complex legal processes, such as court hearings and custody evaluations.
  • She expressed frustration with the lack of resources and support for families, which often leads to children being removed from their homes unnecessarily.
  • She said that changes in policy, can drastically change her day to day work. She talked about the challenges of keeping up with ever changing policies.
  • She discussed the large caseloads, and how they make it difficult to provide adequate support to each family.

Ethical Considerations in Practice:

  • Sarah stated that ethical dilemmas are a regular occurrence in her work. She stressed the importance of maintaining confidentiality, even when faced with pressure from others.
  • She discussed the challenges of making difficult decisions, such as whether to remove a child from their home, and how those decisions can have lasting effects.
  • She talked about the emotional toll of the work, and the importance of self-care.
  • She mentioned the importance of advocating for the child’s best interests, even when it conflicts with the wishes of the parents or other parties.
  • She discussed the difficulty of dealing with mandated reporting, and how to balance that with building trust with families.

Comparison to Expectations and Course Content:

  • Sarah’s experiences largely aligned with my expectations, given the readings and videos in this course. The emphasis on cultural competence, legal complexities, and ethical dilemmas was consistent with what I had learned.
  • However, I was struck by the sheer emotional toll of the work, which was more pronounced in the interview than in some of the course materials.
  • The level of bureaucracy and the constant struggle for resources were also more vivid in Sarah’s account than I had anticipated.
  • The interview reinforced the importance of the NASW code of ethics.
  • The information that Sarah provided, helped to provide real world context to the theories that were learned in the course.
  • The interview helped to show how important it is to be an advocate for the children, and families that a social worker serves.

In conclusion, Sarah’s interview provided a valuable and sobering look into the realities of child welfare social work. Her insights reinforced the importance of cultural competence, ethical practice, and advocacy, while also highlighting the challenges and emotional demands of the field.

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