1. Running head: Social Learning Mid Term<br />Social Learning <br />Patricia Pryor<br />Kaplan University <br /> The recent policies from The Department of Job and Family Services regarding the issue of child endangerment places would place the endangered child in foster care while the parents deal with their behavioral issues and problems. Substance abuse and domestic violence have a direct impact on a child’s behavior. These domestic problems may also lead to child abuse, which will jeopardize the welfare of the child in question. Although Children are resilient to behavior changes, the child should be taken out of these situations because they learn behavior through their environment. Behavior and standards of conduct are internalized by children as they grow older and they base it on their moral models, primarily, their parents (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). It is therefore important to understand the huge impact a parent has on the outcome of their children as they grow in to adulthood. Social learning theory states that moral habits are formed from the expectations and reinforcements that have been set on a child. These habits can be internalized as they grow older, and it may influence their primary environment and situational influences. It is also important to consider that social learning is influenced by the social cognitive theory, which recognizes the importance of the capacity of the human mind to understand and modify human behavior according to their experiences and future goals. <br />With this, the new policy of the Department of Job and Family Services serves to ensure that the children will have the proper role models that will reinforce and encourage good moral behavior. Children with abusive and problematic behavior tend to show patterns of undesired conduct that may eventually lead to the children imbibing these problematic behaviors as they grow older. The more they are exposed to these models, the higher the chances that they will exhibit the same aggressiveness and abusive behavior. Although the new policy has a good aim in protecting these children, there is also a question of ethics that may arise with this policy. <br />The new policy insists that children be taken from their households even with only two incidences of problematic behavior, then the parents will have to undergo treatment, therapy or counseling before the children can be given back to their care. There is an issue of what exactly is a serve enough incident or problematic behavior that would validate the removal of a child from their home. This method actually severs family ties and changes developmental needs of children significantly (DePanfilis & Salus, 1992). Maintaining the family as complete and intact ensures that the children will have the connection and bond with their families, even it may be dysfunctional. It is, then, important to guarantee their safety while protecting the family as a unit. The new policy may protect them from harm, but it does not protect them from the disadvantages of being disconnected from their families. The new policy should, then, recognize the needs of empowering the parents with problem behaviors to continue correcting their behavior while their children is living with them to be able to provide them their developmental needs, as well as, a positive environment that will enforce good and positive behavior. <br />The Department of Job and Family Services may have the best intentions in their minds when they created this policy. However, they forgot to take account the importance of family connections and the primary developmental needs of children when they imposed that children should be taken away from their families if there is a case of problematic behavior in the family (Peterson & Hann, 1999). Taking children away from their parents should be the last resort, unless they are the direct victims of their parent’s abusive behavior, for instance, in the case of child abuse, child neglect, or child molestation. One documented case of a domestic problem should not be enough to sever the ties between the child and his parents, as this will pose even more uncertainty, insecurity and problematic behaviors with the child. It may begin feelings of guilt, anger and other negative feelings towards the severance of their ties with their parents, either blaming themselves or blaming their parents. Point taken that children should be protected from the influences of their parent’s problematic behavior but a positive learning outcome may arise for both children and parents when the parents undergo counseling, treatment or therapy with the support of the family.<br />References<br />DePanfilis, D., & Salus, M. (1992). A Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect: A Basic Manual. VA: The Circle, Inc.<br />Peterson, G., & Hann, D. (1999). Socializing Children and Parents in Families. In M. eds. Sussman, S. Steinmetz, & G. Peterson, Handbopok of Marriage and the Family, 2nd ed. (pp. pp.327-370). NY: Plenum Press.<br />Siegal, Larry J. (2009). Criminology, the Core, University of Massachusetts, Lowell,<br />Zastrow, C., & Kirst-Ashman, K. (2010). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment, 8th ed. CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.<br />