Social Intervention Planning - Assignment Example

1 Literature Review According to Howe (1997), a clear theoretical perspective guides and influences practice in five key areas: (1) observation, which tells us what to see, and what to look out for; (2) description, which provides a conceptual vocabulary and framework within which observations can be arranged and organized; (3) explanation, which suggests how different observations might be linked and connected, it offers possible casual relationships between one event and another; (4) prediction, which indicates what might happen next and (5) intervention, which suggests things to do to bring about change. Of course, different theories lead to different observations and explanations. Social Work practice theories provide explanations and/or guidance for practice. Social Work practice theory does not seek to explain, the world, individuals, communities or group dynamics. Social Work theories are concerned with understanding the individual in their context and promoting change with the individual and/or their context. What do we mean by crisis "crisis is not stress, often these words are used interchangeably. Crisis contains a growth- promoting possibility - it can be a catalyst. Crisis disturbs old established patterns of responding"(Wright 1991). Crisis can be seen in at least three different forms; a hazardous event, a decision making event, or a danger and opportunity. Thus, crisis is a time for decision making in a situation presenting either danger or opportunity. Family Preservation Services are often called crisis intervention programs. Crisis theory (Lindemann, 1944, Caplan 1964), postulates that when people go through periods 2 of high stress, their regular coping mechanisms breakdown, leaving them more open to change in either a positive or negative direction. Families seen in Child Preservation programs are usually facing one of two crises; (1) Child Protective Services (CPS), has said that the family is not providing adequate child care, and is planning to remove one or more children, or (2) problems between parents and children have grown so severe that a parent is refusing to allow the child to remain in the home, or the child is running away. When parents feel unable to control children who are routinely disobedient, they sometimes turn to the government for help. Nationally, these juveniles are known as status offenders. Unlike juvenile delinquents, whose actions would be considered criminal if they were adults, a status offenders disobedient behavior is only an offence because of a person's age"(Weingartner, et al 2002) Most states offer these children and their parents a through needs assessment and referrals to agencies that can help them stay together and work through their problems. Not all families, however, are willing to engage in such a process. Parents at the breaking point may want the attention of a family court and may ask the judge to place their son or daughter outside the home. At least temporarily, expecting foster care to solve their problems"(Ibid) Professionals who are familiar with the needs of status offenders and their parents tend to agree that foster care is an inappropriate response because it does not respond to the needs which prompted parents to seek help. Traditionally, foster care is designed to keep children and parents apart, not to engage the family as a whole through services such as family counseling and mediation"(Russell et al) 3 "Around the country, parents grievances with their children are quite similar, regardless of the particular event which causes them to file a formal complaint. The parent typically say their child won't obey them, won't follow household rules and curfews, and won't go to school"(Kogan 1980) "Many parents report that their child behavior was fine until they entered ninth grade or turned a certain age. In return the children often say that their parents don't understand them and set too many rules"(Ibid) It's fair to say that most of these families have suffered a breakdown in communication and functioning. Some parents who feel that they have tried everything are willing to go through yet another assessment and begin other services, but a significant number of them simply refuse to get involved in any kind of lengthy process and just want a quick fix. They often feel that the child's problems have nothing to do with them. Most parents have unrealistic expectations about what foster care can offer them. Some have heard about facilities which resemble boarding schools where the child will be closely supervised, can attend school, and will receive the help he or she needs. While afew such institutions exist, status offenders are unlikely to end up there. The vast majority of children declared "in need of supervision" are remanded to foster care group homes, facilities that are neither intended nor equipped to provide the level of services and supervision parents expect and want. Group homes are designed for children who have experienced either abuse or neglector because their parents voluntarily placed them in care. These children may never be able to return home and thus view their foster 4 placement differently. More important the emphasis in most group homes is in involving children in the routine of the facility. Work with parents or within the family as a whole is difficult, and group home staff do not typically do not focus in house services on immediate family reunification. While most of these children do go home eventually, they may be worse off than when they entered care. research shows that placing status offenders is foster care can actually exacerbate some common problems"(Ahart et al 1992). Truancy for example, has been shown to increase after status offenders enter foster care"(Cogner, D., et al 2001). This makes sense; a child who has been skipping school are even less likely to attend school regularly if the school is further away from where they are living or if they have to go to a new unfamiliar school. Children placed in foster care have a higher AWOL rate of all children in care - a rate three times higher than juveniles placed because of abuse or neglect"(Ross, T. et al 2001) "In cities across the country, hundreds ir even thousands of status offenders end up in foster care each year. Despite their numbers and the failure of treatment placements to meet their needs, the speedy reunification of these families is still not a goal in most jurisdictions. Yet, experts agree that quick reunification is indeed the preferred "course of action", because interruptions in care taking are potentially very harmful to children"(Intensive Care Reunification Programs) "Usually, the saftest, most nurturing environment available to a child is family. Not necessarily a mother and a father and two siblings, but some constellation of committed Individuals who will provide continuity, stability, and guidance throughout his or her childhood. Families provide a nurturing setting for the development of the self-esteem 5 and self-discovery. They reach children how to solve problems, how to cooperate in small groups, and how to behave in culturally acceptable ways. Parents mold and support commitment, love and attachment. Long term emotional and intellectual correctness can affect children in a number of ways. Attachment can help the child achieve his or her intellectual potential, cope with stress and frustration, and develop a conscience and future relationships"(Fahlberg 1979) Families are the most socially acceptable and valued means of raising a child. Children who grow up in families have an advantage in respectability, credibility, credibility, and acceptability throughout their lives. They have grown up in a setting society believes "should occur", and as a result, they have a better chance of developing self esteem and self confidence. Perhaps because of this respectability, society is more willing to provide support for families than for other alternatives such as foster families. By the same token, natural families are more likely to have access to family preservation services or other types of counseling and education when they do have trouble. Potential relationship issues and challenges As the social worker my success of establishing a relationship with Mrs. S, at this stage would to me, appear to be very good. Times like these as Mrs. S, has clearly demonstrated in the initial interview, she is really open about her pain and problems. It is abundantly clear that none of her old methods are working with Kim. I must and I will make myself available, and encouraging to her, because the pressure she currently feels can motivate her to change her ways, far more than she would than when she was stable. Clearly, her increased vulnerability under the present situation has motivated her to 6 seek some help to resolve her dilemma. I intend to inform her that I will be available 24/7 for her and her family and I must be gently encouraging because the pressure she is feeling will in my opinion motivate her to impart a considerable amount of information which night prove beneficial in my determination of the type of intervention her family will requires and it is quite possible that thru the dialogue we can form a trusting bond- partly out of gratitude that I will be there to share her pain, and partly because relationships tend to form more quickly with an intense exchange of personal information. Having said that, I must also take into account all of the red flags which are raised by Mrs. S., and other members of her family which might prove critical in my overall assessment, which at this juncture centers around whether the child should removed from the home. My observations reveal that we initially have a prominent case of a family in crisis. And although I have valid suspicions of the exact nature, I am not yet sure how deep it runs. In other words, I am not yet clear whether the request of the mother is based on actual concern for Kim's well-being, or whether there is a need to free up some living space, and since Kim is depicted as being the eldest and the most combative, she has been chosen to be the sacrificial child. Moreover, how much of this request is based on Mrs.S's inability to nurture. And what role does the stepfather play in the mothers decision to place her daughter in foster care. Is it merely a case of economics, since money is obviously an issue with both Mr. & Mrs. S. My observation is that Kim is reacting to the family dilemma, and the mothers reaction to Kim is that Kim is the one with the problem, to which she has not contributed. 7 Mrs. S., ostensibly has some issues with her present husband which she has not addressed and has probably been more accommodating towards his perceptions, at the expense of her daughter. My concern around this matter is whether Kim also has some issues with her step-father. Which are centered around his present inability to adequately provide for the family. In that she is presently associated with a rough crowd and has taken up with a black gang member. Mrs. S. is now seeking someone else to facilitate a situation which she has manufactured. She is looking for the quick, painless fix, when perhaps she is the only one who can resolve this matter which starts with identifying the problem. After which she must knuckle under and start doing some things around the home a bit differently. My explanation for the above assessment ithe series of events which were articulated by Mrs. S, and the manner in which the two parents have elected to deal with the child. Their management to this point does not address the pain which Kim is obviously feeling. The unfortunate series of financial events and mishaps which the family has experienced were incontrollable and unforeseeable circumstances. However, given the inherent solidarity which surrounds family, these unfortunate circumstances should be a galvanizing force, instead it is driving a wedge between them, which is resulting in a crisis. Nonetheless, this crisis can be averted with a reordering of family sensitivities; Mr. and Mrs.S. must commit to talking things through, so that they can actualize the bigger picture. Hopefully then they will come to the realization that their approach is not addressing Kim's needs. If one child is affected, then they all will be impacted. It is incumbent to meet the issues head on, prior to them severely impacting 8 upon the two other children. There are casual relationships and the events are highly connected, My prediction is that if Kim is taken out of the home, this family will take a very long time to heal As the literature points out: children who are placed in foster care, usually leave the care situation in worse shape than prior to their admission. I further predict that in this situation I can institute individual change upon the affected parties and ultimately save the unit. In this crisis we can fore go the pending tragedy and seize the opportunity for growth. Assessment and formulation statement Ultimately, what parents and children deserve is a response that respects and strengthen their commitments to each other. The foster care homes where most of the children end up cannot be the solution because these institutions are not designed to quickly reunify families or be a segue to the family-based services in the community that can help them resolve and prevent conflict. If continuous care taking is the ideal, interventions that work with status offenders at home should be more appropriate than placing children in foster care. "Many people who work with or have studied status offenders and their families believe that parents need to be active in the process of keeping the family together and address the childrens problems"(Morris). The purpose of family mediation is to facilitate open communication among family members about their problems and reach agreement on key issues so they can live together. The mediator will be a social worker with experience and training in family mediation and thus able to help family members quickly reach consensus about what 9 needs to change for everyone to live together Intervention plan When a family's problems become so severe that the usual community resources are unable to help them effectively caseworkers are usually advised to place children outside the home. Family Preservation Services. (FPS) such as Honebuilders are designed to0 give caseworkers and families another option: services that are more intensive, accessible, flexible, and goal oriented than traditional supports. Instead of relieving family pressure by removing the child, Homebuilders adds resources to relieve pressure and facilitate the development of a safe monitoring environment for children within the context of the family. For as long as most of us can remember, child welfare workers have had high case loads. Large amount of time and expertise for children have typically been available and in residential settings. It was unknown until 1974 what would happen if we allocated similar resources to children while they were in their own homes. Previously, we assumed that placement was necessary because we made the judgment that people couldn't change and mire so because we made the value judgement that many parents were unworthy of the privilege of parenthood. If we placed Kim in foster care, this family will disintegrate and as such not only will we lose Kim, but her sister and brother as well. Although Mrs. S, is unaware, the probable impact this would have on her marriage could be devastating. This is a hazardous crisis situation w2hich we can avoid by convincing the parents to leave Kim in the household and have the entire family adhere to in hpuse counseling. This process will 10 be fashioned after the home builders model. A social worker is assigned to the home 24/7 (this does not mean that the social worker has to physically reside in the household, but she will spend a considerable amount of time with this family.The case worker will serve as an observer and facilitator. Through many series of observations the case worker will design retooling processes for the family to adhered too. For some families it may encompass a period of a few months, while it will take others longer to conform. There is almost no way to establish a time line going in because all of the data is yet to be collected. The objective is to make sure the family is healed before the encounter is terminated. It is clear at this stage that meditation with the entire family will be a weekly activity. Obviously this is a must to keep the line of communication healthy between all family members and the social worker. Another specific activity which can be established going in, without being too intrusive,( is that the entire family should sit together for the evening meal and Sunday dinner) after all the case worker is not entering the home to take over the families lives but to assist them in aligning a semblance of order and considering better choices with their inter personal relationships and other aspects of their lives. All other activities which the case worker will engage the family will be decided and agreed upon by the nuclear family unit. Allowing the family members to exclusively decide on these rigid aspects of their lives will be beneficial to all parties concerned, and will occasionally permit the social worker an opportunity to share some one on one time with all members of the family from time to time. This is invaluable data gathering 11 encounter. In promoting few changes from their routine will make it less difficult for them to readjust to the absence of the case worker after the healing is complete. Works Cited Ahart, et al (1992) "Juvenile Foster Care Reunification Program, Prepared for the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, (Washington, D. C. ) Cogner, D., Rebeck, A., "How Children's Foster Care Experience Affect their Education (New York, Vera Institute of Justice)21 Intensive Care Reunification Programs 1 Kogan, L., (1980) A Family Systems Perspective on Status Offenses, Juvenile and Family Court Journal 49 Morris, M., Parent Child Mediation:An Alternative that Works" (New York Children's Aid Society, 1983, 55 Ross, T., et al,(1994) "The Experience of Early Adolescence in Foster Care in New York City: Analysis of the 1994 Cohort (New York Vera Institure of Justice) 19 Russell, et al (1993) "Status Offenders: Attitudes of Child Welfare Petitioners toward Practice and Policy Issues, Child Welfare, 72 no 1: 14-15 Shaw, M., (1989) "Mediating Adolescent/Parent Conflicts" in mediation and criminal justice victims, offenders and community:, (Sage 1989), 137 Weingratner, E. et al (2002), "A Study of the Pins system in New York City:Results and Implications (New York City: Vera Institute of justice and New York City Administration for Children Services Read More