Assessing Quality of Care in Kinship and Foster Family Care by Jill Assignment

Assessing Quality of Care in Kinship and Foster Family Care by Jill Duerr Berrick (2010) - Assignment Example Kinship care has gained increasing attention from practitioners, policymakers and researchers. The attention has been captivated by the large numbers of children being served in foster care by kin and the scarcity of information available about the rapidly growing arrangement for care† (Berrick, 1997, p.273). According to Mokgosi (1997, p.7), â€Å"placement with extended family or kinship is becoming widely used as an alternative placement. Many child welfare experts believe that children will be better served if their care is provided by family members within the community of origin rather than by strangers.† For, separation from distant family members may lead to the child’s disruption, if unattended. On the other hand, Berrick claims, â€Å"on a number of measures relating to the home environment, non-kin homes were rated as more safe† (1997, p.273). The author describes kin caregivers as â€Å"older than foster family parents and a group heavily repre sented by single women of color who are struggling themselves with limited incomes† (Berrick, 1997, p.273). Whilst foster family providers generally prepare for their new role as parents, kinship foster parents more often fall into older parenthood in response to a pressing family emergency. Trends in this data point to the need for further research in the field, that is, â€Å"the need for changes in policy and practice that might strengthen the kin and non-kin resources currently available to dependent children are also suggested† (Berrick, 1997, p.279). Although the study done by Berrick was designed to assess the quality in kin and non-kin homes, focus herein will be given on its quantitative aspect, that is to say, in terms of the empirical patterns found in the data collected, so as to explain the research phenomena with regards to its numerical data. The primary method used was survey research, which included interviews. The county staff drew a random sample of 1 23 kinship and 97 non-kin homes from their foster care databases. Herein, a simple random sampling method of analysis was implemented. â€Å"Sampling is a technical accounting device to rationalize the collection of information, to choose in an appropriate way the restricted set of objects, persons, events from which the actual information will be drawn† (Bless and Higson-Smith, 1995, p.85). In this study, the sample was restricted to those homes that included a child in care between 5 to 12 years of age. A letter describing the scope and purpose of the study was sent on all kin and non-kin providers. Providers were offered a $20.00 stipend for their participation. However, only fourteen kin (11%) and 11 non-kin (11%) providers responded to the request.  

Accounting theory and practice Speech or Presentation

Accounting theory and practice - Speech or Presentation Example Q1 (I): since the preference share is short-lived (it is to be redeemed in 2013, thus not a permanent source of capital), it can be classified under temporary equity. The following journal entries should be made in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 (Swart 2002, pp. 140-176). Q1 (II): the preference shares are redeemable and the shareholders have exclusive rights to dividends (2%) of the par value. Therefore, it is treated as a debt and would be recorded as below in the financial statements (Swart 2002, pp. 140-176) In the above process of determining the amortized costs, the cash flow = (2%*25M) except for the year 2013, which contains the principal amount (25M) plus the cash flow (500,000). Second, the cash flows are discounted using the presumed interest rate of 10% to get the opening amount (18,659,900). In the row marked 2010, the opening amount is multiplied by 10% to get the interest payable (1,865,990). The difference between interest payable and cash flow for that year is added to the opening for that year, to get the closing amount (20,025,890). The closing amount for 2010 becomes the opening amount for 2011. Follow the same process up to year 2012. Since the shares are redeemed in the year 2013, there will not be a closing amount for the year. Part B: the general accounting rules require that financial items be treated as liabilities if it obligates a company to part with cash or other financial assets. Secondly, if the issuer (a company), has no control over factors that leads to its maturity date. Lastly, if the requirement to pay principal amount may induce a contractual obligation to pay interest on dividends. However, the internal accounting standard has done major reviews on the mentioned regulations to include other emerging issues. The review of the rules regulating the accounting treatment of liabilities paved way