ASSIGNMENT #2
Families in Crisis
Instructor: 
Answer the following questions as thoroughly as possible. Remember to think sociologically as you
write. Answers should be typed and double-spaced. Please upload your answers to the questions in
one document. Be sure to use proper source citation throughout. In addition to in-text citations, cite
all of your sources in a bibliography at the end of the assignment. This assignment is due to the D2L
Dropbox on , november 13 2016 by 11:59 PM. Remember, late assignments will NOT be
accepted. This assignment is worth 130 points.
1. a) Explain the CSI (Culture-Structure-Individual Interaction) paradigm using abuse of older adults, or
abuse of people with disabilities (choose just ONE of these). Be sure to explain how C, S, and I are
connected to each other (i.e. the arrows in the picture), not just how they work on their own. If you
need a refresher on CSI, go back to the “What Are Sociology and CSI?” Lecture and Lecture Notes
from Week #1. I recommend you use the format I did in those lecture notes – explain each of the six
arrows in the paradigm, one by one (e.g. SC, CS, etc.). Your discussion should make ample
reference to data and examples from Chapter 9 of the Family Violence textbook.
This is your final opportunity to demonstrate that you really understand and can explain how the CSI
paradigm works as it applies to families in crisis. Make it count! (35 points)
2. a) Based on your reading of Hines, M-M, & D (Chapters 2, 3, and 4) and the Child Abuse and Neglect
Readings, thoroughly describe the current system for dealing with child abuse and neglect in
Minnesota. Your answer should include a discussion of the screening and intake process, screening
criteria, differences between family investigations and family assessments, and how the CPS system
relates to the foster care system. (25 points)
b) What are the strengths of this system? What are the weaknesses of this system? (10 points)
c) Propose one structural and one cultural change that you think is necessary to better address this type
of family violence, and more importantly, to prevent it from happening in the first place. Make sure to
identify which change is structural and which is cultural. (10 points)
3. a) Based on what you read in Chapters 5, 6, and 8 of the textbook and the Domestic Violence Readings,
briefly describe the legal protections available to survivors of domestic violence, harassment, and
stalking by intimate partners in Minnesota (including the statutes discussed and defined in pp. 28-35 of
the “Crime Victim Rights Information” at https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ojp/formsdocuments/Documents/Crime_Victim_Rights_Information_Guide.pdf).
When you talk about various
court orders, be sure to describe what each is/does. (20 points)
b) Then critically evaluate these protections, based on what you know about the dynamics of intimate
partner violence discussed in the textbook. What is working and why? What is missing and why?
What could be improved and how? Are the punishments severe enough, too severe, or about right, and
why? (20 points)
c) Based on what you learned about intimate partner violence in heterosexual and LGBTQ
relationships, what are the key things law enforcement officers should understand about this kind of
violence, and what human services programs would help to prevent intimate partner violence and
protect victims when this type of violence takes place? (10 points)