Interview

In the State of Nebraska, everyone is a mandatory reporter in the case of child abuse  All direction below are very important and this professor is very particular that all questions and additional questions must be ask, answer, and written in a formal way.

Please follow all directions and instruction below and answer professionally

Your assignment is to interview a person who works closely with children (either through their employment or as a volunteer – for example a teacher, health care provider, child care worker, coach, church group leader, etc.) about their knowledge and experience in regard to child maltreatment and mandatory reporting.  Your interviewee should not be a close family member, but can be someone you already know (must be age 19 or over). During the interview you should record their responses to the following questions (as you deem appropriate, based on their responses) as well as any additional questions you may come up with on your own (including any relevant follow-up questions to information they provide).  Some questions will involve simple yes/no responses, but most should involve some elaboration or explanation.  (Feel free to create an interview schedule by copying the questions into a document that allows you to write or type responses during the interview and to add questions of your own. OR You can just take notes, numbering the responses and then type the information in later.) Following the interview, you will need to hand in a typed copy of the questions you asked and your interviewee’s responses along with your own responses to items 12 and 13 listed on the following page.  .

In research terms, this is a qualitative form of collecting data – meaning you should be prepared to be flexible in ordering the questions, adding follow-up questions, and basically going where the information takes you. Your final interview document should include the following information (at a minimum), but may include any additional relevant information you obtain.

Please:  As if it is you:    All of the following questions and additional questions must be answer and  Written professionally.

1.    Have you ever received any formal training in recognizing child abuse or neglect?  If yes – please describe the training you received.  Was the training required for your employment/volunteer position? If no – do you feel you should or would like to receive training?
2.    In the course of your employment or volunteer position, have you ever suspected that a child had been abused or neglected?  If yes – please elaborate on the experience(s).
3.    Does your workplace or organization have a protocol or policy regarding what to do if you suspect a child has been abused or neglected?  If yes, please describe the protocol/policy.
4.    In the absence of a formal protocol or policy, to whom would you report a situation of suspected child abuse or neglect?
5.    Have you ever formally reported suspected abuse or neglect of a child?  If yes – to whom did you report, how many reports have you made, what was the outcome of the report(s), etc.?
6.    What factors do you (or would you) consider in deciding whether or not to report suspected child abuse or neglect?
7.    Do you consider yourself to be a mandated reporter of suspected child abuse and neglect?
8.    What is your understanding of Nebraska’s laws regarding mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect?  (If your interviewee does not have correct information about Nebraska law, and it seems appropriate to do so, you should educate them.)
9.    Do you agree with Nebraska’s law, which requires any person who suspects that a child has been abused or neglected to report it to the proper law enforcement agency or the department of health and human services? (Why or why not?)
10.    Please describe what you like best and least about working with children.
11.    Finally, do you have any advice for me as I prepare to begin my career as a social worker?

Please: Respond to this as if you had this interview.
The following items are for you, the student, to respond to:
12.    Student Interviewer:  Briefly describe your own comfort level as well as that of your interviewee during the interview.
13.    Student Interviewer:  What was most surprising to you about the interview experience and/or the information you obtained?