I. Given your current employment situation what are the steps that you must take to report suspected child abuse or neglect?
a. Explain the State Laws and procedures.
b. Is this something that you have had to do in your career? If so, do you have any suggestions or thoughts to share with your colleagues? Make sure you share your thoughts in a general context. Do not share specific details that could identify individuals or organizations. Use this opportunity as a way to give your colleagues things to consider when they need to make these types of reporting decisions.
II. Hundreds of thousands of children in Florida receive a high quality, highly individualized education through the state’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program and go on to subsequent success in elementary school. However, about 25% of four-year-olds do not participate, either because they are in another type of child care or are at home with family or relatives. The availability as well as the voluntary nature of Pre-Kindergarten vary from state-to-state and internationally. In your discussion post, answer the following:
a. Explain Florida’s laws regarding VPK.
b. In your opinion, should the program really be “voluntary” or should it be required? And should it be required for some and not others? There is not right or wrong answer to this question, but back up your opinion with data or facts from other sources.