Assessing and Addressing Developmental Assets in Children – Insights from the Search Institute
Age Group 3 to 5: Early Childhood
Scenario:
Shakayla is a 4-year-old biracial (African American/Caucasian) female who was born suffering from Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS). Shakayla was placed into foster care at birth, and her mother (age 18) entered a residential substance abuse treatment program. Her biological father’s whereabouts have been unknown since her birth. Shakayla was weaned off opioids, and her mother completed residential treatment. Shakayla was placed back into her mother’s care with the support of the Department of Human Services (DHS) and a safety plan in place. When Shakayla was 36 months old, her mother was arrested for prostitution, possession of a narcotic, and endangering a minor (Shakayla). Shakayla was placed back into foster care. Her mother served a 60-day prison sentence and was then released to the Drug Court Treatment Program for further rehabilitation. During this time, her mother completed her GED. Her mother is now established in an apartment in supportive housing for recovering women and their children.
Shakayla, at the age of 4, has been reunited with her mother. Shakayla’s mother has secured a job working at Walmart as a cashier. Shakayla has been enrolled in Head Start and goes to the YMCA for childcare after her morning Head Start class. At Shakayla’s recent visit with a pediatrician prior to being returned to her mother’s care, she was found to be meeting developmental norms for her age. She is in the 30th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight for her age. Vision and hearing are normal. Shakayla has severe dental erosion.
Shakayla enjoys Head Start and playing with the other children. She loves her teacher and enjoys music. Shakayla enjoys looking at books but walks away if asked a question about the story or what a word is on the page. Shakayla has difficulty with sharing and there have been several incidents at Head Start of her being aggressive with the other children. Shakayla is fearful of authority figures and men. During the parent/teacher conference at Head Start, Shakayla’s mother stated she does not feel confident in her parenting skills. She states she is struggling with just maintaining her sobriety, working, and dealing with the stress of trying to make ends meet. She very much wants to be a good mom and does not want to lose Shakayla back to foster care.
Nursing Process:
Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADPIE)
As the Department of Health Services nurse assigned to review this case, you will complete the ADPIE utilizing the “40 Developmental Assets for Children” resource located in topic Resources. You are required to cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the past 5 years, appropriate for the assignment criteria, and relevant to nursing practice.
| Assessment |
| Summarize the relevant data obtained during your assessment of the patient’s health status, including physical, psychological, sociocultural, spiritual, and economic factors that are affecting the patient. |
| The case presented is of a 4-year-old biracial female who was born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. She was placed in foster care at birth, and her mother entered a substance abuse program then. Her mother was arrested and served 60 days in prison when she was 36 months old, forcing her to be enrolled in foster care. She has, however, reunited with her mother and lives in an apartment in supportive housing for recovering women. Currently, she is meeting her developmental norms and enrolled in Head Start. She has difficulty sharing and has been involved in several incidents of aggression. Her mother notes that she is not confident with her parenting.
The case demonstrates significant physical, psychological, sociocultural, spiritual, and economic interplay in health and wellness. To begin with, her mother has a considerable history of drug use, has been imprisoned, and struggles to maintain sobriety and deal with stress. She is also not confident with her parenting skills. The child, albeit enjoying Head Start education and exhibiting the normative developmental norms for her age, demonstrates some deviant behaviors, such as aggression towards her peers. The patient also lives in an apartment for supportive housing, highlighting the family’s low socioeconomic status. |
| Diagnosis |
| Part 1. Review the “40 Developmental Assets for Children,” located in the topic Resources. Determine two components of the Developmental Assets (Support, Empowerment, Boundaries and Expectations, Constructive Use of Time, Commitment to Learning, Positive Values, Social Competencies, and Positive Identity) that need to be addressed for this patient. |
| The two components that need to be highlighted for the patient in the case presented are support and empowerment. The child in the case presented falls short of meeting the support and empowerment criteria highlighted in the 40 Developmental Assets for Children. As evident in the document, family support, as demonstrated by the existence of a family that provides love and support, positive family communication, caring neighborhoods, a caring school climate, and parental involvement in schooling, is vital for a proper child’ development. However, there is evidence of a poor support system from the family. Also, the child does not meet the empowerment criteria. Empowerment, as demonstrated by safety, service to others, and whether youth are perceived to be useful within society, are equally important in a child’s development. However, there is evidence of a lack of safety for the child in the case presented. Addressing the poor family support and safety concerns for the child is important. In this case, ensuring the child receives love, family support, and an encouraging environment, and that they are safe at home and school can considerably bolster their wellbeing and development. |
| Part 2.
Define the two components selected and describe your rationale. |
| Empowerment and support are thematic areas highlighted by the 40 Developmental Assets for Children document. Empowerment is defined by the prevailing environment for a child that either promotes or suppresses their thriving. The child, in this case, falls short of meeting the safety component of empowerment. While the school system is sufficiently providing safety to the child, the child may not be safe at home. Her mother’s confession of having poor parental skills coupled with her struggles with stress and maintaining sobriety is indicative of her inability to maintain a safe environment for the child. Additionally, the mother has a long history of substance use and prostitution. Substance use and prostitution are likely to place the child in harm’s way. As White et al. (2021) note, substance use is a risk factor for family violence. The child, in this case, may encounter abuse and emotional distress. The safety of the child may also be compromised by the low socioeconomic status of the family. As evidenced in the case presented, the family lives in a supportive housing setup. Martins et al. (2023) note that low income may predispose children to violence. Likewise, the poor are less able to withstand extreme events making them vulnerable to injury.
The support system available for the child is also insufficient. Her mother verbalizes her lack of confidence in her parenting skills. Parenting skills are integral to a proper child’s development. Parents with excellent parenting skills are more likely to help their children do better in school. Likewise, effective parenting has been associated with fewer behavioral and developmental challenges in children. Poor support in the case presented is also demonstrated by the narrow support system available for the child, as the child only received support from the mother. Poor parenting may also diminish the mother’s involvement in the child’s schooling. |
| Planning |
| Part 1. Create a plan of care for this patient, taking into account their health problems and needs. |
| The two areas identified to address are empowerment and safety. A comprehensive care plan for the child will integrate approaches to enhance the child’s safety and support. An educational approach that targets both the child and the mother can help improve the safety of the child and empower them. In this respect, the mother should be educated on effective parenting to bolster her parenting skills. This may enable her to be accountable for the protection of her child. Additionally, it may prevent her from indulging in activities that predispose her child to harm. The child should also be educated on effective self-protection strategies (Teela et al., 2023). In this case, she will be educated on how to identify risky situations and evade them. She will also be told how to contact emergency contacts such as the police and child support whenever she is in danger. The child can also be enrolled in a counselor to address her current disruptive behaviors. Through the counseling approach, caregivers can work with the child to understand what is causing her unusual behavior and strategies to address them. |
| Part 2. Describe how each of the two components of the Developmental Assets identified above would be addressed; include specific examples in your recommendations and discussion. |
| The two identified areas are the safety domains under empowerment and support. To enhance the safety of the child and empower her appropriately, the mother will be educated on effective parenting and the significance of empowering the child. This will enhance her accountability in addressing her child’s concerns and availability for the child. Likewise, enrolling the mother in various support groups can also bolster her ability to protect the child. The child’s support systems can be improved by educating the mother on the need to support the child. Her presence in the child’s life can significantly elevate the wellness of the child. |
| Part 3. Provide at least one community resource for each of the selected Developmental Asset components. |
| Several community resources are available for the child. To enhance the child’s safety, the National Children’s Advocacy Center can be helpful. Likewise, to empower the child is Children International. These community resources can help enhance the wellness of the child. |
| Part 4. Discuss how cultural or religious beliefs may impact the plan of care. |
| Cultural and religious beliefs have a significant impact on the plan of care. The mother’s cultural affiliation may influence the communication processes between her and her caregivers. In this respect caregivers managing the case should be keen to tailor the communication processes to her preferences. The mother’s spiritual needs can also impact the patient’s care plan. In this case, the mother’s religious beliefs may influence her decision to either accept or reject therapy. |
| Implementation |
| Discuss how the four metaparadigm concepts (person, environment, health, and nursing) support the implementation of your plan of care.
The mother will be educated on effective parenting and safety assurance. The care plan is supported by the normative nursing metaparadigm concepts. The care plan utilizes an educational approach that is specific to the patient. This is aligned with the metaparadigm of the person. Likewise, the plan seeks to ensure an environment that enables healing as per the provisions of the environment metaparadigm. The plan also aligns with the nursing and health metaparadigms as it seeks to improve the wellness of the child. |
| Evaluation |
| Explain how you would evaluate the implementation of your plan of care to determine if it was effective. |
| The plan will be evaluated against its goal. The main goal of the care plan is to enhance the safety of the child and empower her. The plan will be successful when the mother can effectively verbalize the significance of safety enhancement and support provision for the child. It will be evaluated through an end-of-session questionnaire that interrogates the client’s knowledge of aspects of child protection. |
References
Martins, P. C., Matos, C. D., & Sani, A. I. (2023). Parental stress and risk of child abuse: The role of socioeconomic status. Children and Youth Services Review, 148, 106879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106879
Teela, L., Verhagen, L. E., van Oers, H. A., Kramer, E. E., Daams, J. G., Gruppen, M. P., Santana, M. J., Grootenhuis, M. A., & Haverman, L. (2023). Pediatric patient engagement in clinical care, research, and Intervention Development: A scoping review. Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-023-00566-y
White, G. L., Banks, L., Briggs, H. E., Allen, J. L., & Lowe, T. (2021). The effects of child support payment factors on satisfaction with levels of parental involvement by Noncustodial Fathers. Research on Social Work Practice, 31(8), 851–859. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315211004744
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Question 
This topic will focus on children and how to assess for and address Search Institute a nonprofit organization that conducts and ap youth development. In 1994, the Search Institute published “Wh Developmental Assets for raising children. Please review the 40 located in the topic Resources.
Assessing and Addressing Developmental Assets in Children – Insights from the Search Institute
Based on the first letter of your first name you will create a plan
Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation [ADPIE]) th
A-F: 3 to 5 years – Early childhood
G-M: 5 to 9 years – Children grades K-3
N-S: 9 to 12 years – Middle Childhood
T-Z: 12 to 18 years – Adolescent