Effects of Viewpoints on Childcare Health Practice

Effects of Viewpoints on Childcare Health Practice Naela Mahboob How do ideas about childhood and families influence practice? When looking at ideas of childhood and families we bring in various views of how practitioners and professionals can help in supporting their needs in living a good and healthy lifestyle. The main aim is to ensure that development is being promoted and that every child is included within our society. The studies give information for human/childhood behaviour, attitudes, thought patterns, predictions, age range, gender and even cultural data; which in return allow programmes to be developed towards certain age group, gender, culture and ethnicity. The study of childhood behaviour and family is the baseline study from which theorists develop their theory. One of the main theoretical frameworks used to identify childhood and family behaviour is the social constructionism theory. Through social constructionism we are able to analyse our understanding of children and families in order to help, use and create an in depth knowledge in our work with children. It is stated that ‘Social constructionism provides us with a theoretical tool that can help us look at concepts like ‘childhood’ and how these concepts inform thinking, shapes our institutions and inform policy and practice’ (K218, Learning Guide 4, Section 4.3). It is a framework that helps us to understand ideas about childhood and families and in ways in which we can improve practices with them. With frameworks as such a more positive view is taken and the importance of families and children is taken at a high standard, tackling all issues and influe ncing practices deeply. Socially constructed views can have a huge effect on practice as it allows practitioners to be able to identify in depth any arising issues and to be able to find various methods and techniques to resolve them. In order to provide good practice it is necessary to ensure that the child’s needs are put first and are met to the highest ability. In order to put the children’s needs first, practitioners need to provide scaffolding for them ensuring they fully understand the child and are aware in detail of the support that is required. Many emotional strings are attached when working with children as they are vulnerable and unaware of life situations and these ideas give practitioners stronger connections in the way they work with them. It is stated, (K218, Learning Guide 4, Section 4.3) that ‘these social constructions of children are powerful – as many of us feel very strongly when we see images of children and young people in positions of vulnerabilityâ€℠¢. Working in an environment with children creates a raft of new ideas as day to day issues may arise, which in time help in overcoming barriers, developing a better working environment. As well as this due to the lack of resources within families, many of them struggle with stress and poor mental health. Therefore practitioners should prioritise children’s health and wealth being and also guide parents by working with them to access outside support and make use of resources that are accessible to them. The involvement of parents in their child’s education is vital as they have the responsibility to influence there learning by showing support at home and taking part in educational needs. Children with no support from families are vulnerable of becoming a part of the communities’ dangerous socialites. Clearly indicting, ‘A social constructionist argument here is that, the language we use actively constructs and produces the social world in which we live’(K218, Learning Guide 4, Section 4.3). The idea now of bringing agencies to support the home and child in achieving an education has increased. Further guidelines and procedures have been put in place to reach out to parents as well as to influence children in working towards leading a good life and successful future, ensuring now that the child becomes a vital member of society. With this in place, parents are trained to contribute fully, in creating a safe environment for their children, by attending works hops, open days and parent’s evenings. Working alongside families is a crucial aspect when dealing with and taking care of children. Parents, guardians and carers play a vital role in the wellbeing of their children and they must be included within every aspect and decision making any practitioners make, with regards to their children. Practitioners have a duty of providing ongoing support to families when needed in difficult situations. It is specified that, ‘it is important that practitioners are able to assess families where there are difficulties and respond appropriately’ (K218, Learning Guide 5, Section 5.5). Thus, good practice such as observing the interactions between children and parents and also observing they live and work in. must be portrayed by practitioners to influence children’s development, so that, parents are able to take good care of the upbringing of their children. This also helps pupils develop and exceed in their own educational attainments and future wellbeing. However, the main challenges for practitioners are working and dealing with parents who are difficult or unwilling to engage with services. In many situations parents disagree with the support them or their children are being given, leading to conflicting issues. There are many reasons as to why families refuse to participate with the services, which can cause several problems for practitioners in helping them maintain their lifestyles and resolving any issues they may be facing. It is identified (K218, Learning Guide 5, Section 5) ‘working with children, young people and families inevitably involves working with families who are experiencing difficulties, and practitioners need to develop the knowledge and skills to work with these families’. A number of families may feel that they know what is best for their children and therefore are not in need of any help. As well as this many have a lack of trust in the ‘systems’ put in place, which may be due to previ ously bad experiences. To influence practices these issues need to be taken into consideration by practitioners and the knowledge of these situations needs to be a key principle. Over the years, there have been many labels attached to the concepts of childhood and families. The most common label attached to children is disability. The idea of labelling influences practice vastly when working with children and families, as being labelled as disabled often leaves children feeling separated and being looked upon differently within the society, meaning parents needing extra support it taking care of their children. ‘Supporting families where there is an identified need means working with the family as a whole rather than focusing on the needs of one member as opposed to another, although practitioners still have an obligation to assess the needs of the child’ (K218, Learning Guide 5, Section 5.4). In certain circumstances a lot of responsibility comes on the practitioners as they have to work closely alongside the family and a lot of other professionals to ensure the children are developing both mentally and physically. Those with disabilities are in need of extra attention and the need to feel included in order for them to cope. The impact this has on the child’s life can be minimised and improved through resources and professional support from practitioner agencies. The surveillance of children, young people and families has a huge impact on influencing practice. There are many advantages of the use of surveillance, through surveillance we are able to monitor families and children and identify problems they may be facing. One of the main advantages is being able to observe in detail the development of children ensuring that they are protected from any harm. Garret, 2004 ‘links the increased surveillance of children not only to the belief that children need to be protected, but also to the belief that young people need to properly prepared for the world of work, so that they can function in the ‘flexible’ labour market’ (Arai, 2011) As well as this families health and wellbeing can also be closely monitored and with the information given, sufficient amount of support can be provided. With this idea there are also some implications which families go through. One of the main issues is the pressure practitioners, families a nd children face in being looked upon continuously. If a family has been assessed as being in need of monitoring they then have to go through a lot of procedures and regular visits being observed thoroughly. With the use of social constructivist frameworks and through intense studies, programmes are piloted and when deemed successful it is then used in all institutions, via insets/training. Piloted scheme are used quite often base from studies conducted from different childhood experiences and a variety of families situations. Recently, awareness has been raised with the major changes families and children face. ‘These changes in society, family structure, attitudes and practice mean that children and young people have diverse experiences of family life’ (K218, Learning Guide 5, Section 5.2). With this board pictures and feedback from surveys, it is tailor made and created into programmes from life cases studies. Without ideas/cases studies from those areas the programmes are not reliable and success isn’t certain. One of the key challenges is responding to diversity in parenting within practice and assessment. Diversity is sometimes a difficult concept for practitioners to deal with. It is stated ‘Practitioners need to think carefully about the assumptions they make about people to make sure they treat everyone with respect and work to promote equality in the treatment and opportunities offered to all children, young people and families’ (K218, Learning Guide 6, Section 6.1). To influence practice it is necessary that practitioners promote equality and diversity within the working environment. In the Leith example we saw how, due to the social and economic changes, a more diverse community had been created in which children and young people were growing up in. The media as we know plays a huge part in exposing information and opinions on children and young people. The way in which they are seen, often has a huge impact on the way they are treated and taken care of, when working with them. To be able to work effectively with them practitioners need to adapt a positive approach and can influence the decisions taken on their behalf and how the rest of the community see them. ‘Participation involves sharing images and headlines about children and young people as well as discussing discourses of childhood and youth’(K218, Learning Guide 4, Section 4.4). The media can help in reminding people that children deserve to be respected and are permitted to equal rights as well as raising an awareness of their needs. Through the media, we are able to visualise children in depth, showing a clear understanding and seeking out ways to tackle difficult issues in order to influence practice. To be able to work effectively with them practitioner s need to adapt a positive approach by allowing the opportunity for them to be able to speak up for themselves. Our ideas of childhood and families come across a variety of experiences brought forward throughout the centuries. Working alongside families and their children has now become a central focus in ensuring their needs are being fulfilled. Many codes of practice, frameworks and guidelines have been set out to ensure good practice is being influenced conducted across all institutions to send forth a uniformed approach to the people being serviced. The change in perspective and thought about childhood and families, when designing service plans, the need of the individual, educational programme, and policy and funding decisions. In the delivery of a quality service, practitioners have to put them self aside; their crucial thinking, the way of doing things in order to best understand the people they service. With regards to the cultural differences studied, the practitioners now develop an in depth understanding behind their actions. This eliminates stereotypes and al service providers to e mbrace the diversity of young people’s cultures. References Arai, L. (2011) ‘The Surveillance of children, young people and families’ in O’Dell L. and Leverett S. (eds) Working With Children and Young People, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan/ Milton Keynes, The Open University. Kellett, J. and Apps, J. (2011) ‘Assessments of parenting and parenting support need’; in K218 Reading, Working with Children, Young People and Families, Milton Keynes, The Open University. The Open University (2011) K218 Working with Children, Young People and Families, Learning Guide 4 ‘Children, young people, childhood and youth’, The Open University, https://learn2.open.ac.uk/ mod/oucontent/view.php?id=573719 [Accessed 29 December 2014] The Open University (2011) K218 Working with Children, Young People and Families, Learning Guide 5 ‘Children, young people’s and families’ wellbeing’, The Open University, https://learn2.open.ac.uk/ mod/oucontent/view.php?id=604592 [Accessed 29 December 2014] The Open University (2011) K218 Working with Children, Young People and Families, Learning Guide 6 ‘Diversity, inequalities and rights’, The Open University, https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/ oucontent/view.php?id=580650 [Accessed 29 December 2014]

Analysis of Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Essay

Abstract Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) is a report used by cities, and local governments to provide the public with their financial records each year, while adhering to government accounting standards board (GASB) guidelines. The report presents a comprehensive picture of the reporting entity’s financial condition, it provides how funds are spent and allocated throughout the year. Introduction I will be covering the Carlsbad CAFR for year ended 2011. The Beautiful city of Carlsbad is located along the coast of southern California. Carlsbad is known for its beautiful beaches, and lagoons which cover 1,000 Acres of nature preserves and hiking trails. Its history dates back to 1700, before becoming part of the United States, it was a territory of Spain and then Mexico, the shoreline of Carlsbad’s coastal lagoon was home to the indigenous Luiseno and Diegueà ±os Indians for centuries before the arrival of  the Spaniards (City of Carlsbad, n.d.). The current population of the city is approximately 107,000 residents; total area is 42 Sq. Miles (City of Carlsbad, n.d). The cities top business consists of hospitality, life science, sporting goods and recreation, and telecommunications. The city provides a wide range of services to residents such as; police, fire, infrastructure, and general administration, the CAFR provides detailed information about how these services are funded, and the type of the governmental funds allocated for these services. The city exhibits accountability and honesty by sharing the CAFR with its residents, in turn this builds trust in the residents toward their city, trust in that their hard earn money is being used in the appropriate services, and these funds are put back in to the maintenance and development of their communities. I will be presenting an analysis of Carlsbad’s comprehensive annual financial report for year ended 2011. The report consists of three sections that are introductory, financial, and statistical. Introductory Analysis The introductory for the city Carlsbad’s CAFR begins with a five-year vision statement, it is general vision statement, I find this very encouraging, and reassuring to present it before going into depth with the report. It includes the city’s economic goal, programs, policies, and decisions to be implemented by the city’s officials; it also lists the type of leadership, the open government policy, and they type of environmental services and how they are managed. Then one can find the Letter of Transmittal presented by the city’s finance department, addressed to the mayor, city council and citizens of Carlsbad. The letter is to explain why the CAFR is prepared, what is included in the CAFR, the guidelines followed such as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and that GASB requirements were preserved in the report; the finance department received an auditing from the independent auditing firm Mayer Hoffman McCann, they also included where the resu lts of the auditing can be located which I will cover in the financial analysis later on. In addition the letter offers an audited governments internal control and compliance with legal requirements were in place. The letter also includes a profile of the city, stating the population, geographical location of the city, a section about the city of  Carlsbad community vision, budget process that explains priority projects for the city, and budgetary controls. Followed by factors affecting financial condition, in this section there are Economic profile, long term financial planning, and cash management. Economic profile covers economic strengths and weakness of the city, the city shows improvement in most of its General fund revenues, and is expecting to increase by $ 2.3 Million or 2.1 percent in fiscal year 2011-12, also weakness in residential housing market affected by property tax and 0.2 percent decrease is anticipated in coming year (City of Carlsbad, n.d.) One of the leading factors to the economic crisis in the United States was the housing market, this had affected Carlsbad negatively, house prices fell like many cities in the country, 8 percent in Carlsbad compare to last year, and the following is a chart showing the trend in housing prices in the city (City of Carlsbad, n.d.) Long term financial planning is states that it is the City’s Council’s goal to ensure that they city remains in good financial health, and the city has taken a number of steps to attain this goal, setting forth Growth Management Plan, the plan was adopted by the citizens, the plan ensures that all the necessary public facilities are either constructed along with development or that a financing plan is in place to pay for the facilities prior to the development of the property ,to ensure this plan is effective, an Infrastructure Replacement Fund was created, this fund sets aside money on a yearly basis for major maintenance and replacement of its infrastructure(City of Carlsbad, n.d.). The creation of this fun is a brilliant idea, so when the time come to make the necessary improvement the city would have the money ready, and it would not have to transfer money from other governmental funds. As the economy expected to slowly recover, and provide to support to the largest aspect of our economy, the housing market. The General fund revenue will continue to cover the ongoing cost as seen in the following graph (City of Carlsbad, n.d). The last part of the letter was informative about cash management, major initiatives and projects. The cash management section covers the investment programs, its procedures as well as its objectives. The major initiatives  and projects section goes in to detail about the upcoming projects, it also provides developments and the maintenance of these projects that are designed to strengthen and improve the community. Followed by the letter of transmittal are the Awards and acknowledgments, the government finance officers association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded the city of Carlsbad the certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting to the city of Carlsbad for its CAFR. (City of Carlsbad, n.d.). A webpage called Carlsbadistan which is dedicated to new, events, and all things Carlsbad, stated that city of Carlsbad had been awarded for the 11th time the GFOA during 2009, with this CAFR dating June, 30 2011, this award would be the 12th award received by the city. The Introductory section concludes with a list of the city’s elected officials, leadership team, chairpersons, commissions and boards, and finally an organization chart of electorate. I found the introductory section and the information presented to be very well put, educational, easy to read and follow, the statistical numbers presented in the economic section, the cash management and investments were informative. This city has earned the 12th GFOA awards received, because they simplified yet very complex information that is presented year after year in the CAFR. Financial Analysis The financial section of the CAFR for the city of Carlsbad lists and analyzes the components of financial information for the city, which helps the reader understand the financial condition of the city for the year ended and the projected budgetary for the following year. This section includes Independent Auditors’ report, Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), and financial analysis of the city’s funds. The Independent Auditors’ report main purpose is to examine the financial information presented in the city’s financial statements, the independent auditors concluded the city’s governmental activities, business-type activities, and each major fund was represented in a fair matter, also in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles as of June 30, 2011. MD&A part includes an overview of financial statements, with a chart of the statements, it is informative about the type of financial statements such as Government-Wide fina ncial statements (â€Å"which are intended to provide  aggregated overview of a government’s net assets and changes in net assets†) (Wilson, E.R., Reck, J.L., & Kattelus), and fund financial statements, I thought it breaks down and simplifies the purpose of these statements in financial reporting. Particularly in the Changes in net assets, this has general overview revenues and expenses from 2010-2011, with 11.5% decline from previous year, 2011 revenue is 217.2 (Governmental activities 152.4 and Business-type activities), while expenses 26.1 had an increase of 1.4 %( Governmental activities 21.8 and Business activities 4.3). The chart for sources of revenue can be found in this section, the following are the sources of revenue for fiscal year 2010-2011 amounted to $217.2 Million, the breakdown was as followed: Contributions from property owners 11%, property taxes 26%, income from property & investments 5%, other taxes 4%, sales taxes 4% federal aid 4%, and finally the biggest contributor to revenue was charges for services 31%(City of Carlsbad, n.d.) The following is an overview of the Governmental and Business- type activities on page 25. Governmental activities had an increase in net assets of $21.8 Million, the increase was generated by total revenues of governmental activities of $ 152.2 Million ( $42.7 million in program revenues and $109.5 million in general revenues) offset by $130.3 million in total costs of governmental activities and $ 135,000 transfer to the solid waste fun ( City of Carlsbad, n.d.) And for those who are visual learner like me, here is the visual aid to show the breakdown of the Governmental activities program revenues and expenses (City of Carlsbad, n.d.) Business-type Activities components are water, golf course, wastewater, and solid waste, for these program revenues totaled $56.5 million for the year, and functional expenses $60.8 million(City of Carlsbad, n.d.). Financial Analysis of the city’s funds provides information regarding Governmental funds and Proprietary funds. Governmental funds are near-term, inflows, outflows and balances of spendable resources that are essential for assessing the city’s financing requirements. Under the Governmental funds one can find the General fund statement of revenue, expenditures, and changes in fund balance, the city’s revenue and expenditure for 2011 were as followed; Revenues saw an increase of 2.6% from previous year, total $111.6 Million, largest element of the revenue was taxes at $95.5 Million. Whereas  Expenditures largest element was public safety $44.2 Million, total expenses were 102.1 an there was an increase 1.0%. Ending fund balance in the statement was $13 0.4Million (City of Carlsbad, n.d.). As for the purpose Proprietary Funds in addition to operating revenues and expenses, is to provide short and long term financial information about the city’s Business-type activities, the operating revenues were $35.1 Million which exceeded operating expenses that were $747,000, this increase was due to the increase in water sales revenue to rates (City of Carlsbad, n.d.). This increase has a bitter sweet side to it, in one hand in revenue is a sign that the city is doing great under light of this depressive economy, on the other hand citizens of this could use a break from these increasing rates. Before moving on to the statements the city listed the contact information for the city’s financial management for questions about CAFR. Notes to financial Statements begin on page 59 of the report, it includes when the city was incorporated, a description and scopes of the reporting entity which have several components, I consider it a great way of presenting a conclusion for the report, it presents some of the information presents earlier in the report, such as Governmental wide and fund financial statements, the notes states why they reported and how they were reported. Also lists the type of the governmental funds included in the report such as general funds, and redevelopment debt service funds, as a reader I appreciated how each of these funds were defined and actually listed. In addition a list of the enterprise fund were introduced in this section, describing what they are for example Carlsbad municipal water district, golf course, waste water, and so on, and where are those funds allocated. Financial Standing Overview of the city’s financing over the past 10 fiscal years shows that the city has been doing great, and is experiencing a growth considering the tough economic situation the country has been facing, looking at the total net assets supports that growth. In 2002, city of Carlsbad had $740,000 in total net assets, while in 2011 the total net assets were $17Million (Carlsbad CAFR 2011, 120) I think one of the main reasons the economy in this city is holding up relatively well, is due to the housing market, the city location is the main factor why a lot of home buyers gravitate towards  it. Conclusion The CAFR for the city of Carlsbad was exceptionally interesting, informative, and easy to read and follow. Now wonder this city has earned the GFOA for consecutive 12 years. The introductory, financial and statistical sections had graphs and charts to explain and show how funds for this city was spent, which more so help the visual learners in the public to grasp the complicated accounting components of the report. References 1- The city of Carlsbad CAFR webpage http://www.carlsbadca.gov/services/departments/finance/Documents/2011%20CAFR.pdf 2- Carlsbadistan web page http://www.carlsbadistan.com/?p=5623 3- Accounting for Governmental and Nonprofit Entities(15th edition) 4- APA Reference Guide http://datel200.nu.edu/web/documents/APA.pdf

New Article Reveals the Low Down on Good Topics for Argumentative Essay and Why You Must Take Action Today

New Article Reveals the Low Down on Good Topics for Argumentative Essay and Why You Must Take Action Today Good Topics for Argumentative Essay - Dead or Alive? Planning is critical in any sort of home task, from creating a powerpoint presentation to supplying American Government homework help to your friend. Read the list and stay in mind that interesting topics are a perfect way for an intriguing assignment. Advertising and the media are now nearly inseparable from society for a whole. The reader needs to be impressed by how you defend your ideas. It is crucial to begin with demonstrating the major idea of the entire piece so you and your readers are going to be on the identical page. So, remembering the audience of your essay will be really valuable for you. With our help, you're bound to be successful. Good Topics for Argumentative Essay Features Since it's an argumentative essay, think about the counter argument. When you are requested to select a great topic for your argument, start with something you're familiarized with. Arguments always happen in a particular context. You're probably conscious of the basic arguments. Furthermore, analyze the sources you'll be able to utilize to base your arguments on. Bear in mind you will want to analyze arguments and evidence for your essay to seem good. It's essential not just to supply the evidence to back up your position but also to refute that of your opponents. You have to come across decent evidence to strengthen your ideas and examples to illustrate the evidence. It's only natural that you find it simple to compose the essay on a topic which you are interested in. Examine the list to choose the topic which can help you compose a creative essay for your middle school class. The key to pick a great topic for an argumentative essay is to choose a subject where there's a lot of debates on topics or stances. Choosing very good essay topics for middle school needs to be a careful procedure, where a balance must be struck between topics that could be too simplistic, more acceptable for the main school, and choosing argumentative essay topics that can b e too intricate or controversial. An argumentative essay requires you to choose a topic and have a position on it. Moral argumentative essay topics are a few of the simplest to get carried away with. Choosing topics for argumentative essays is important for your general success. Taking into account that lots of persuasive essays concern controversial topics, before writing, you can want to sit down and think of what your opinion on the topic actually is. Ideas, Formulas and Shortcuts for Good Topics for Argumentative Essay Writing a great persuasive essay is not a simple job, however, it's achievable. After you've got an idea how to cope with an argumentative essay, you can start writing it as you've got all vital facts for your own essay. You don't need to lose grades as a result of incorrect essay format. In this kind of situation, it's more convenient to locate ready-made essays and use them as an example. When you are finished with your essay, you must not simply check it for spelling and grammatical errors, but nevertheless, it also has to be checked for logical fallacies. Only one sentence is sufficient. You should be able to use persuasive language. Definitions of Good Topics for Argumentative Essay Understanding how to compose a strong argumentative paper can help you advance your very own argumentative thinking. Inspiration to make your own advertising or media argumentative essay topics isn't challenging to discover. If you've got to compose your whole essay in 1 day, do your very best to give yourself breaks so you don't burn out. Argumentative writings is a particular sort of a paper. Health care topics result in a terrific research paper because students may concentrate on patient care, the proposed government-run medical care system and ethics. Another reason is to observe how well students argue on various views and demonstrate understanding of the studied subjec t. Thus, the students do not have to devote any energy or time on going through a great deal of topics to select one. For instance, high-school students may not have adequate time or resources necessary to thoroughly cover a topic, including whether soccer benefits Latino communities financially or not.

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