The purpose of this assignment is to apply your learning about assessment and intervention in a case study and demonstrate your critical thinking and reflexivity skills related to anti-oppressive practice in child welfare.
The assignment consists of three main parts – please review all 8 pages of this document.
Part 1: Assessment (4-5 pages)
Using the assessment template/main headings provided in class, write an assessment of the family in the case study (academic writing style expected). Include relevant information and provide an analysis of the concerns. Based on the assessment, include a safety and intervention plan. Consider strengths and how this impacts the assessment.
Be thorough and concise
Consider the language you use
Consider your subjective and objective statements
Explain any conclusions/decisions
Consider environmental/social factors as well as individual
You may use a genogram or other tool to illustrate the family composition/relationships
You are free and encouraged to elaborate on the case study and be creative (making sure any new information is clearly outlined for the reader). i.e. If you have a particular interest in working in a specialized area such as FASD, newcomer families, Indigenous families, etc. you can adapt the case so you can explore and apply your knowledge and practice in these areas.
Part 2: Critical Analysis (2-3 pages)
Review literature to critically analyse how you will assess and work with this family. How does the literature support your approach/decisions? What does the literature teach you about the concerns related to this family (and help support the way you work with them)? Refer to at least 5 scholarly sources (texts/readings included).
Part 3: Critical Reflection (2-3 pages)
Critically reflect on your own role as a child protection worker in this case and how you will be anti-oppressive.
Consider the following questions:
What values, knowledge, experience, and biases will you bring to the assessment relationship with this family?
How might your own social location impact the relationship and work with this family?
How might the various family members view you due to your gender, age, ethnicity, class, education, roles etc.?
What knowledge and values relating to the family situation do you hold? What biases might you have? How will you resolve these?
Which aspects of your agency’s mandate and organizational priorities are relevant here?
How will you approach the assessment to maximize your chances of building and successful relationship with this family?
Family Scenario for Assessment Assignment
The M family has been referred to a CFS worker for assessment. The parents, Jane, and Samuel, say that they are open to receiving assistance. However, there have been difficulties arranging a meeting. They have not appeared for 3 scheduled meetings, claiming a variety of family crises.
Jane and Samuel currently have three children: James (5), Ezekiel (3), and Elizabeth (1), but they have had four. Their fourth child, John, died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) at age 4 months 2 years ago. Jane and Samuel have known each other since high school and got married five years ago. According to the information collected at Intake, there is a great deal of conflict in the relationship: they argue about money, childcare, substance use, and past relationships.
Jane suspected Samuel of cheating on her and he always told her she was ‘crazy’ and too jealous. When Jane was informed by her physician that she has contracted a venereal disease, Samuel acknowledged that he has indeed slept with other women, but only twice (when she was pregnant) and it meant nothing. He thinks she should accept his word, get over it and they should move on.
In the evening when he wants to “just get a break from the kids” and go out, Jane interrogates Samuel about where he is going and with whom. She thinks he is going to see other women. This reflects their communication pattern in general.
Jane was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) a few years ago. She would try to quit when pregnant but when John died, she says she found the alcohol helped her cope with the kids. Neighbours describe that they saw Jane passed out on the porch, the children were playing in the yard unattended and when Ezekiel wandered into the street a neighbour had to intervene. That was a wakeup call Jane says.
Jane says she recognized that she had a problem with alcohol dependency, entered a treatment program and quit drinking. Since her last pregnancy she has found comfort in smoking pot. Samuel gives Jane a hard time for her substance use. With the recent difficulties, Jane would like to return to the treatment centre that helped her before. Samuel is opposed to the idea and thinks she should be able to fix this on her own saying, “you stopped before, just stop again” and not leave him “stuck with the kids” again.
Samuel is employed in an unskilled position and consequently his wages are low. When Jane was working it was easier to make ends meet. She quit her job, as a server in a bar, during the last pregnancy when she was trying to quit drinking. Samuel wants her to return to her job and thinks she can just “suck it up” and use willpower. The tips are good. However, she said she “needed” to drink (and use cocaine when it was offered to her) to get her in the required “party mood” to deal with some of the harassment she said she endured at the bar.
Jane also challenges Samuel’s mixed messages, as he likes her to drink with him and he encourages her to get in the “party mood” as she is “boring” when she isn’t drinking or using.
The recent troubles seem to have bubbled up because Samuel had an injury at work 2 weeks ago and has not received any disability or other assistance. The guy he works for, at a non-unionized shop, has been evasive about whether any benefits are forthcoming. Since he has been home, the tensions have increased, and they have had many arguments about childcare. The children have been left alone and neighbours have called ANCR. The neighbour who called ANCR said they can hear the couple yelling and screaming at each other when the children are at home and the children can be heard crying.
When a worker arrived to follow up on the call, at 11 a.m. on Saturday Feb 8th, there was considerable wait time before the door was opened. James opened the door wearing only a t-shirt. He was preparing breakfast for himself and his brother Ezekiel. Jane and Samuel were still asleep.
The couple acknowledge that their arguments can get heated but then after arguing escalates to the point of yelling, this is usually followed by a few days where they don’t speak to each other at all. In discussion it comes to light that also there have been recent incidents where Samuel “loses it with her nagging about money and cheating” and has shoved and slapped Jane “a little bit”. Jane says she has been left with bruises and cuts but has not called police or sought medical attention. She says she feared if she called Police her kids would be “taken away”.
After the last “bad fight”, Jane says she has tried to spend more time with the kids. She feels like she has not been a good mother. Samuel has told her she needs to try harder. Jane feels that even when they aren’t arguing, Samuel doesn’t support her. They do not talk about the death of their son and change the subject when the subject is raised. The family’s culture may have something to do with this.
Jane describes feeling alternately numb and sometimes overcome with crying and sadness- so she copes by staying in bed, going back to bed or she says, “in the past”, drinking. When Elizabeth cries, both parents feel she “always” needs something, is too demanding and has become spoiled so they leave her in her crib crying, “Even when I take care of her she keeps crying”.
Samuel says his kids have it way better than he did, and he turned out ok. His father, Jim, abused alcohol and when drunk told Samuel “I bet you aren’t even my kid”. Samuel describes a lot of abuse, rejection, and scapegoating. He reports being close to his mother and younger brother. After he left home he had little contact with his father, who has since died. Sarah, Samuel’s mother, a religious woman, has helped with childcare for the children, and she took over all the arrangements for the burial for John.
At the beginning of their relationship, Jane looked upon her mother-in–law as a surrogate mother but that relationship has been strained since Sarah has been critical of Jane due to her drinking, her choice of job, and her not taking care of her children “the way a mother is supposed to”. Sarah has remained connected to her grandchildren but there is a strain.
Samuel’s brother, Don, has just finished university and is employed. He has tried to help the family out financially and is a fun uncle, taking the kids to the park, playgrounds and for ice cream.
Jane has a very conflicted relationship with her own mother, Mary. This stems in part from the fact that several of her mother’s boyfriends sexually abused Jane but her mother would never believe Jane. Her mother said she was making it up. Jane was first sexually assaulted when she was 5 and although she tried to “become invisible and hide”, the abuse continued until she met Samuel and was able to move to his house as a teen. Mary still denies that Jane was abused. Thus, Jane is reluctant to allow her mother to provide childcare, especially at Mary’s house. When no other alternative has been possible Mary has been allowed to provide care but a recent incident, when Mary called Jane a “bad mother” has led to resentment and limited involvement.
Additional concerns have come from the school where James has had increasing absences from his kindergarten classes, complains of being hungry, and has been wearing the same clothes, unwashed, for days. He has difficulty focusing and concentrating. His interactions with his peers have changed- he has started yelling at other children and shoving them. Ezekiel, 3 and a half, attended a day care program several times a week but has now lost his space as he was no longer brought to the program and there has been no explanation from the parents.
The ANCR worker has told her supervisor that she thinks the report of neglect is substantiated.
FAMILY ASSESSMENT
CHILD-CHILD FACTORS
Age
Health
Stage of Development
Personality/Temperament
Appearance
Others:
WHO IS IN THE FAMILY?
Biological Family
Psychological Family (includes Extended Family, Social and Community Supports/Stressors)
Composition and Structure
Household Relationships (e.g. Domestic/Family Violence)
ENVIORNMENTAL STRESSORS AND RESOURCES
Income
Budgeting & Money Management Skills
Food-Adequate vs. Shortages
Adequacy of Clothing & Furnishings
Adequacy/Safety of Housing/Neighborhood
Adequacy of Utilities & Services
Transportation & Ability to Access Community Services
PARENTS PSYCHO-SOCIAL FUNCTIONING AND PHYSICAL HEALTH
Mental Illness/Mental Health Problems and Physical Health Problems
Cognitive Potential, Developmental Limitations
Substance Use/Abuse
Drugs/Alcohol
Prescription Drugs
Interpersonal Relationships
Nature
Quality
Coping Skills & Stress Management
Maturity Level (Ego Strengths)
Parent’s degree of emotional self-control
Parent’s ability to delay gratification vs. immediate gratification of one’s own needs (impulsivity)
Parent’s ability to recognize/accept responsibility for their own behavior vs. tendency to blame others for their problems
Parent’s ability to make realistic assessment of their own strengths/limitations vs. inability to accept their own limitations
Parent’s positive self-esteem/confidence vs. low self-esteem/lack of confidence in their own abilities
Parent’s ability to be self-directed, autonomous & to make own decisions/choices vs. excessive dependence/reliance on others
PARENTING SKILLS
Basic Child Care Skills
Nurturing Strategies to Promote Attachment
Discipline Strategies vs. Punishment
Adequacy of Supervision & Parent’s Ability to Recognise/Protect Child from Harm
Parent’s Ability to Encourage Child’s Development
PARENTING VALUES
To what degree do parent’s values/beliefs either support/conflict with community standards for effective parenting?
To what degree do a parent’s values/behaviors either support/conflict with their own defined cultural group?
To what degree do parent’s cultural values/behaviors either promote/reject child abuse/neglect?
FAMILY STRENGTHS, SKILLS & MOTIVATION TO CHANGE
What does the family do well/is proud of/gives sense of self-worth/satisfaction?
Relevant past successes?
Can relevant past successes be used to solve current problems?
Does family use available services/supports to build on strengths?
Is family motivated towards growth/change?
Are the family’s goals/priorities/expectations consistent with the agency?
Is there a strong extended family unit connected to larger community values/standards?
HISTORICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Parent’s Victimization of other children
Parent’s abuse or neglect as a child
Impact of past CFS services
ASSESSMENT CONCLUSIONS
Summarize factors that contribute to abuse/neglect
Highlight family strengths/skills which help reduce risk & summarize family’s motivation to change
Determine which problems, including above factors, should be addressed by the case plan
Prioritize problems/factors to be addressed in the case plan
Determine the impact, if any of the factor, on the age and stage of the development of the child
CC5: Assessment in Family Centered Child Welfare Services
Revised and adapted from the Institute for Human Services, Columbus, Ohio for the core competency based training centre (MB revision 2016). Permission to use in class with acknowledgment.
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