Imagine that a 5-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy have lived their entire lives in an apartment with their mother, father, and grandfather, and their father has just been sentenced to 3 years in prison. The little girl may not understand very much about the criminal justice system, but she is very aware that her father used to be a daily presence in her home and he no longer is. The loss of her father's presence may make her feel both sad and confused. She may even notice that there is something about her father's absence that the adults in her life seem reluctant to discuss. Her teenage brother is probably acutely aware of the stigma associated with incarceration, and this may add extra layers to his grief experience. Then,

Using evidence from the literature, explain how the loss impacts children.

• Describe two best practices social workers can employ when working with children experiencing this type of loss.
• Describe the approaches you would take to help a 10-year-old client and a 4-year-old client process and work through the loss. In your description, explain how you would integrate each child's developmental stage into your work with them.