FIELD ATTACHMENT REPORT

NAME OF THE ORGANISATION: DEPARTMENT OF CHILRENDS

SERVICE GATUNDU SOUTH

PERIOD : 31ST JANUARY 2022 TO 23RD APRIL 2022

SUBMITTED TO : MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY

ADM NO : BAS/2018/35973

SUPERVISOR : DR SARAH KIMARU

FIELD SUPERVISOR : MR JAMES IRUNGU

COURSE TITLE : BACHELORS OF ARTS IN SOCIOLOGY

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 DECLARATION.
this field attachment Report is my original work and has not been presented for a bachelor’s
degree in any other study programme in any institution.
NAME: BETSY KIPYEGO
SIGNATURE___________
DATE: ________________

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am sincerely grateful to God Almighty for everything and opportunities bestowed upon me.
I thank all those who have enabled me join the sociology cadre.
Special thanks to all my lecturers and field supervisor MR James Irungu, for your tireless
prompts to enable me reach my optimal goals.
My special gratitude to Madam Grace Mwangi children’s officer section.
Thanks to my family and friends for the support they gave me.
God bless you all.

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 DEDICATION.

I dedicate this research to my family and friends for their continued moral and financial
support.

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 ABSTRACT.

The report entails information of what was happening during the attachment period that was
supposed to be a period of three months and to be supervised by the school supervisor.
The attachment took place in Gatundu south Children’s office. It involved offering
counselling to clients who were referred to the facility either from the private or within the
facility. Learning from the supervisors on the ground to learn more on the skills, theories and
the techniques that we should use to carry out the daily activities of the institution.
Throughout the attachment period, I worked as a sociologist, coach and team builder. The
most groups that we interacted with includes, the children and adults between the age of 25 to
50 years respectfully.

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 ABBREVIATION AND ACRONYMS

S.C.C.O- SUBCOUNTY CHILDRENS OFFICER

C.P.I.M.S-CHILD PROTECTION INFORMATION SYSTEM
J.A.P-JOINT PARENTAL AGREEMENT
O.V.C-CASH TRANSFER FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN
C.C.I- CHARITABLE CHILDREN INSTITUTE
A.C.O-ASSISTANT CHILDRENS OFFICER

Table of Contents

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DECLARATION.............................................................................................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..............................................................................................................iii
DEDICATION................................................................................................................................iv
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................v
ABBREVIATION AND ACRONYMS..........................................................................................vi
CHAPTER ONE..............................................................................................................................1
1.0 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................1
1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORGANISATION.................................1
1.2 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND DESCRIPTION.................................................1
1.2.1 Description of organizational structure................................................................................2
1.3 POLICIES, CORE-VALUES AND OBJECTIVIES OF THE ORGANISATIONAL.........3
1.3.1 organizational policies............................................................................................................3
1.3.2 core values of the organization..............................................................................................3
1.3.3 objectives of the organization.................................................................................................4
CHAPTER TWO.............................................................................................................................6
2.1 Description of activities during the attachment period...........................................................6
2.2 CASE STUDY............................................................................................................................6
2.2.1 Neglect.....................................................................................................................................6
2.2.2 custody.....................................................................................................................................7
2.2.3 Truancy...................................................................................................................................8
2.3 Description of skills learnt during the attachment period......................................................9
CHAPTER THREE: CHALLENGES.........................................................................................11
3.0 Introduction.............................................................................................................................11
3.1 organization challenges...........................................................................................................11
3.2 community challenges.............................................................................................................11
3.3 individual challenges...............................................................................................................11
CHAPTER FOUR: RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................12
4.0 Introduction.............................................................................................................................12
4.1 Department of children’s service Gatundu south..................................................................12
4.2 To Mount Kenya university....................................................................................................12
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION..............................................................................................13

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 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the field attachment was to help promote classroom studies, promote practical
learning to develop critical thinking, help acquaint with the various social agency settings, get
a chance to explore urban settings, widen understanding about society and social problems
and application in reallife scenarios.
This enabled me learn how communities’ function, conduct needs assessment, make referrals
to resources, drum up support where traditional structures failed and learn varied
organizational structure besides my prior knowledge.

1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORGANISATION

The attachment took place in Gatundu children’s service department, the department
safeguard and protect the rights and welfare of children for national prosperity as per the
children’s Act 2001. Lead, oversee, plan and co-ordinate child protection programmes and
service in Kenya. The children’s act of parliament that makes provisions for the following.

 Parental responsibility
 Child protection service
 Administrative duties

1.2 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND DESCRIPTION

Ministry of labour and social protection

State department of social protection

Director of children service

Sub county office (S.C.C.O)

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1.2.1 Description of organizational structure

The child protection officer leads the implementation of SCIs activities under joining force
alliance. Implements activities addressing violence against children, by strengthening child
protection system at national, county and community level. Work specifically with families,
communities and institution to improve child protection capabilities, attitude and behavior’s,
increase the capacity of the children themselves to prevent and respond to violence against
them and increase learning and generate best practices related to child protection approaches.
The children’s officer is responsible for maintaining standards of service provision of
leadership to ensure an appropriately skilled workforce in his subcounty office. He or she
must have experience in providing psychosocial support, counselling mentorship and
problem-solving skills to help him in case such as physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual
etc.

 Experience in providing positive parenting

 Experience in mental health and psychosocial support will be and added
advantage
 Provide support to community-based child protection structure including
children’s group and community child protection committee/ networks
through monitoring, problem solving and producing community-led plan
 Identifying the needs of facilitating capacity building sessions for partners,
staff, local authorities and religious leaders and other community leaders
particularly in the area of child protection, children’s rights and disability.
 With support from program managers, the child protection officer will take the
lead role for the planning and implementation of all project activities while
ensuring compliance with both save the children and donor guidelines.
 With support from program manager and advocacy coordinator, the child
protection officer will establish. Improve and maintain regular relationships
between save the children, county authorities, department of children’s
service, police, ministry of education. Representatives of other organization
(NGOs, CBOs, FBOs), child rights networks, community leaders and
community members.

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1.3 POLICIES, CORE-VALUES AND OBJECTIVIES OF THE ORGANISATIONAL

1.3.1 organizational policies

I. The institution has various policies put in place to ensure the smooth running of the
organization. These policies include;

I. Rules of conduct
These are formed to maintain integrity and uphold the dignity of the public office to which
one is designated.

II. Conduct of civil servant

Every child servant occupies a position within the civil service and ought to be proud of that
position and hence ensure that his/her conduct both in public and private life does not bring
the organizational service into disrepute

III. Personal interests

It is a requirement that all offices disclose their personal interest for the purpose of this
regulation. Personal interests include the interest of spouse, relative or business associate
which may conflict with one’s official duties.

IV. Abuse of office

A civil servant who uses his or her office to enrich themselves or confer benefits to a third
party shall be guilty of an offense, and hence face the full force of the law.

V. Sexual harassment
It is an offense for an office to harass another officer sexually through direct or indirect
request for sexual favors, use of language, spoken, visual or written material, or any physical
behavior of a sexual nature that is unwelcoming and offensive, disciplinary action will be
taken against an officer for discriminating against sexually harassing another officer

1.3.2 core values of the organization

 Responsiveness

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Includes valuing all stakeholders and always seeking to ensure that all their services are
informed by the needs of their clients

 Team work
This includes valuing everyone’s contribution, blending the skills of individual staff members
in unsurpassed collaboration

 Responsibility and accountability

This include being accountable for one’s decision and actions and understanding that
everyone is responsible for delivering outcome that improve the lives of patients and
contributes towards the achievement of the hospitals vision.
 excellence
this includes seeking to deliver the best outcome and highest quality services through team-
dedicated efforts.

Respect and integrity

This involves treating everybody in this diverse community with respect and dignity, and the
highest standards of ethics, professionalism and personal responsibility.

 compassion
this involves providing the best care, treating both patients and their family members with
sensitivity and empathy.

1.3.3 objectives of the organization

The overall purpose of any child protection system is to promote the wellbeing of children
through prevention of and response of violence, discrimination, abuse and exploitation.

 Restoring hope and a dignified living

A child protection social worker should be focused on assisting neglected and abused
children. Workers generally perform visits to residences where children may be at risk in
order to determine if intervention is required.
They must complete reports and documentation, interview family members, observe and
record evidence for case files, and ultimately recommend service such a counselling,

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assistance, or even placement of children whose living environments or parents are deemed
unfit. An impactful objective statement is needed to display the skills and qualifications
which make you a candidate for this type of work.
To enable the acquisition and maturation of skills needed to establish effective and
sustainable community partnerships that create a healthy community response to children
maltreatment.
To strive to provide an environment that promotes learning and academic growth through
evidence-based teaching, the 360 evaluation and feedback process and ongoing physician and
fellow’s wellness
Diagnose children who are victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and psychological
and maltreatment
Work with others in the community to advocate for children.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.1 Description of activities during the attachment period

In my attachment period, I was received by the s.c.c.o and oriented on all the activities done
in the organization. Throughout the 12 weeks period of attachment, I held my position as a
sociologist where I met with most of my clients and conducted counselling and helping them
according to their needs.
Every case that is reported in the children’s office has to be recorded, tool for data being case
record sheet. Most of the cases reported are:

 Neglect 70%
 Custody- 14%
 Physical exploitation- 10%
 Abandontment-4%
 Truancy- 4%
 Defilement- 2%

Psychological counselling
I handled many clients who had psychological issues and were in need of intervention. Here,
clients mainly came with various presenting problems including stress, depression,
relationship issues which in turn affected their children with drug and substance related
issues, and disciplinary cases among high school students including theft, disrespect, fighting
etc.
I applied psychosexual theory and Erickson stage of psychosocial development to assess and
understand children’s behavior and how to handle different cases i.e., child truancy. Behavior
theories to understand different factors such influence behaviors

2.2 CASE STUDY

I wish to highlight few cases among others. The field Attachment Record Book contains all
the details.

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2.2.1 Neglect
Neglect refers to failure a person having parental responsibility, custody, charge, or care of a
child to provide adequate food, clothing, education, immunization, shelter and medical care
in a manner likely to cause injury to his health and development. (The children Act 2001)
During my attachment period I encountered many cases concerning neglect like 70% of the
cases reported to children’s office was about neglect. In most cases the children have been
neglected by their own parents leaving them to live in a miserable form of life. According to
my statistics the reason behind the rise of neglect in Gatundu is because of early pregnancies,
use of drug abuse among others.
Most of the clients reported the cases to our office and we had to look for a reasonable
solution in order to help them, first of all we had to record the case and call for a summon
between both parents in order to know how the minors are supposed to be assisted
There are types of neglect that I encounter in the field as follows:

 physical Neglect: the failure to provide necessary food, clothing and shelter
inappropriate or lack of supervision
 medical Neglect: the failure to provide necessary medical or mental health treatment
 educational Neglect: the failure to educate a child or to provide for special education
needs
 emotional Neglect: the failure to meet a child’s emotional and provide psychosocial
support, or permitting the child to use alcohol or other drugs.

2.2.2 Custody

Custody in respect to a child, means much of the parental rights and duties as relate to the
possession of the child.
During the attachment period these are part of the tasks I encountered, the clients report to the
children’s office seeking for the minor’s custody, I find out that most of parents are not
responsible in careering for the basic needs of the minors.
A person may have legal or actual custody of a child or both. Legal custody means the right
to possess a child conferred by a custody order awarded by the court. Actual or physical
custody refers to the actual possession of a child is shared with other people.

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Both parents to a child have the right to exercise parental care and responsibilities over the
child. Including having custody of the child as both parents have equal rights and
responsibilities.

Types of custody arrangements

 joint custody: where custody is shared between the parents/guardians with a

determination on when each parent may have actual custody of the child.
 Sole custody with Access: sole custody granted to one parent and the non-custodial
parent has a right to have the child or may visit the child in their home without taking
custodial possession of the child
 Sole custody- where custody is grated to one parent and no custodial rights
 Custody arrangements- under a parental responsibility agreement this is custody as
determined under the terms of the parental responsibility agreement. This custody
arrangement will need to be adopted as a court order to be binding on either who have
equal parental rights at the onset.
A child’s best interest are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child and
thus the law provides for issues of child custody and maintenance.

2.2.3 Truancy

Child truancy refers to a child who stays away from school without a good reason, or is
falling into bad association according to (sexual offence Act, 2006). Any intentional,
unjustified unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is deliberate
absence by a student own free will sometimes adults or parents will allow.
In some schools, truancy may result in not being able to attain or to receive credit for class
attended. Also, the home factors causing truancy included poor socio-economic of parents,
the type of families the pupils came from which where large/polygamous and parents’ level
of education where parents who had attained low education.
Truancy negatively impacts students in several ways. Students who are truant are more likely
to fall behind academically, drop out of school, use drugs and alcohol, and be involved with
the criminal justice system.
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2.3 Description of skills learnt during the attachment period

The activities learnt in class were applicable during the field, for example counselling skill
was helpful in assuring the client that are confident on expressing their problems to me.
Other skills include:
Focusing, where the counsellor focus is on the client and his/her presenting problem.
Paraphrasing, which was restating what the client says, for clarity purpose
Silence, especially when a client is grieving after a loss, to allow him/her let out their
emotions.
Genuineness, which helped ensure that I’m myself while counselling a client unconditional
positive regard, which involves accepting a client just as they are, with out standing of their
situation.
Active listening, which includes practicing SOLER.
SOLER means
Sitting upright while conducting the counselling session
Maintaining an open posture
Leaning forward while talking to the client
Maintain Eye contact with the client
Relaxed body language.
By using all the above skills, it made the counselling session easier, as interaction with the
client was improved.
Another skill that I learnt during the attachment period was how to conduct a mental state
examination, to ascertain the mental state of a client, by looking at their:
Behavior and appearance, whereby one looks for abnormal things like body scars, tattoos and
piercings, dressing and walking style.
Motor activities, which are either agitated, or normal, tremors, lip smacking, sustained
postures, jitteriness among others.
Speech, whereby focus is on fluency, rate, tone, word difficulties, echolalia, and stammering.

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Mood and affect, its quality, quantity, range, appropriateness and congruence through
process, which describes how thought are, including delusion, paranoia circumstance and
tangential thought processes.
Thought process, which describes how thought are occurring to a client, and can be
obsessional, compulsive, repetitive, and suicidal or homicidal tendencies.
Perception disturbance, including delusions, hallucinations, derealization and
depersonalization
Cognition, which includes the client’s alertness, concentration, orientation and memory.
Insight, which involves a client understanding of their situation, and how their behavior or
actions have contributed to their current tribulations.

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 CHAPTER THREE: CHALLENGES

3.0 Introduction

They will be divided into three for a wider scope of understanding.

3.1 organization challenges

a. Though Department of children service has sociologist, very few residents are willing
to take advantage of their services
b. Department of children’s service does not offer any allowance to intern despite
societal problems and vast of working areas, interns compensate for the deficiency
c. Considering the fact that interns suffer societal problems too e.g., being housed by
relatives (with economic hardships) while undertaking course, department of
children’s service does not offer even a tea to energize them

3.2 community challenges

 The varied age group posed challenges in that some felt I was too young to
handle their issues
 Others only communicated in their mother tongues
 Issue expression by some people is hard, so at some point had to identify the
burning issues and help the client.
3.3 individual challenges

i. There was no Department of children’s office officer where I resided during

the period, thus I incurred expenses to and from.
ii. Compared to where I grew up, the climatic conditions in were harsh leading
to physical, health and nutritional adjustments.

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 iii. Financial constrain barred me from attending workshops/ seminars, making
follow up especially while hungry or fatigued from other duties, too,
achieving planned activities.
iv. Language barrier, especially in the ward, as some clients found it difficult to
communicate in either English or Kiswahili, and so preferred speaking in
their vernacular.

CHAPTER FOUR: RECOMMENDATIONS

4.0 Introduction
The recommendations are to be Department of children’s service Gatundu and Mounty
Kenya university

4.1 Department of children’s service Gatundu south

 Consider some interns for employment

 They should consider an allowance for inters to curb some other their financial
hardship
 Should continuously advertise its services i.e., in churches, schools, chief Barazas etc.
 Compile and consider all the recommendations made by the many interns and look
into the issue raised

4.2 To Mount Kenya university

 Partner with the Department of children’s service to forward interns names towards
start of internship period for smooth transition

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 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

The three months field experience has widened my overall societal outlook and intensified
my studies and passion of being a sociologist
It has provided wider knowledge of linkages and networks through which I can drum up
support for those in need
I will forever be grateful to all involved in my training and transformation of being a team
player in mankind activities

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