Community Agency Networking and Intervention

The author has rich knowledge regarding legal definitions of sexual abuse among children but still manages to balance such technical knowledge with the corresponding treatment of spiritual, physical, relational behavioral and emotional signs of sexual harassment. Timothy Kearney is an accredited psychologist who has specialized in clinical psychology. One of his competencies is working closely with adult victims of incest and abused young people. He wrote this book to serve as a guideline to church leaders in addressing different issues surrounding child sexual harassment. The book gives facts and definitions of sexual abuse, different stages that people/relatives undergo whenever a sexual abuse is discovered as well as giving instructions to church members and leaders on how to minister to affected families.

The most important contribution of this book is its proper description of how Christian believers should minister to the victims of sexual abuse, their families, professional care providers as well as pastors. The author contrasts behavior toward gossip and labeling in the house of God, encouraging Christian believers to give moral support to people with a coping with guilt and shame of being sexually abused. His work gives an assessment of when some challenges can be handled in church and when there is a need for a therapy referral. According to this book, victims tend to wonder, “Where was God?” and “Why did He allow this?” According to Kearney, “their emotions are so overwhelming that they wonder if even God can handle the way they feel” (Kearney, 2001 p.

The author describes pastoral responsibility in restoring spiritual order through prayers, sacraments, and worship in church. In this case, the only thing that her parents could have done is to report the matter to clergy or a lay leader who, according to the intensity of the matter takes necessary measures. According to this book, “people with professional service related to children are used as reporters such as teachers, doctors, mental health professionals, and dentists” (Kearney, 2001 p. However, in order to enhance the safety of our children, Kearney argues that all staff members are supposed to report child abuse to the relevant authorities so that such as senior clergy or lay leaders who will make the necessary decisions. The calling procedure will involve filled forms from child protective agencies which will be made available to the concerned parties and observe any other protocol so that it can be in line with reporting criteria (Kearney, 2001).

The reporting will be done by calling a hotline number and introducing myself by the names and organization am working for as well as giving a description of the victim, depth of the abuse, and family. In terms of child welfare, the agency aims at supporting young people and families together with other partners in the community by the provision of services that bring family members together as well as fostering care services for young people whose safety is at risk while at home (NYC Administration for Children’s Services, 2012). In the case of Andrea and her parents, this community agency can be beneficial to their life. Andrea has been living in fear that her uncle might keep on abusing her sexually.

However, having the girl enrolled in this community agency will guarantee her safety even when her parents are at work. Also, Andrea will meet with other young people whose cases have been more severe, something that can make her forget about her woes and recover from trauma at long last. Also, her parents who have been struggling with life to come into terms with what happened to their daughter will be taught different ways of accepting and putting up with the present situation of their young one. Ethical Considerations Ethical consideration involves a set of principles of values that determine what is right and wrong while dealing with human affairs (Paproski & Haverkamp, 2000). They are guided by one’s competency as well as professional codes of ethics.