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Children need and deserve to grow up with a sense of belonging in a family that is committed to providing safety, care, stimulation, continuity, and reciprocity. This environment is required for children to grow into healthy adults who can achieve their full potential. Children have the same basic needs. For the majority of children, these needs are provided by the family into which the child is born. However, for some children, the family either cannot or will not meet these basic needs. In these cases, social workers should remain primarily concerned with safety, but should also be concerned that the other basic needs are met.
Children need care that fulfills their basic needs for physical safety, food, clothing, shelter and the provision of necessary medical treatment. Children need stimulation that includes the emotional and physical interaction that helps the child learn about the world.
Children need continuity that assures that their care will be provided by the same people over time. Children need the reciprocity that comes from a stable, interactive, and mutually trusting relationship with a significant person.
In a reciprocal relationship, the child not only receives love, but also learns to give love. Care plus stimulation equals nurturing, and continuity plus reciprocity equals commitment. A child’s sense of identity and worth grows out of nurturing and commitment. A child is able to form an attachment to an adult when his/her needs for care and stimulation are met and he/she is nurtured by that adult. A child bonds and develops self esteem when he/she is involved in a continuous, reciprocal relationship with an appropriate caretaker and when he/she is able to count on the commitment of that caretaker.
A permanent home gives commitment and continuity to a child’s relationships. To become emotionally stable adults, capable of giving love to others and of making lasting, trusting relationships, children need consistent nurturing by adults who belong to them. When a sense of permanence is lacking, a child experiences doubt, uncertainty, and hesitancy that hinders healthy growth and development.
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For questions or clarification on any of the policy contained in these manuals, please contact your local county office. |
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