Week 7

The past week was great for learning plan progress. I got to partake in my first home visit, talk to 3 new kids who were detained, and attend a wraparound services meeting. Sophia had told me about some research she did similar to some research I did myself. I was calling around to agencies who could provide services for sex offenders in case the client would be sentenced to placement in a treatment facility. The common problem was the client's age, but the client whose home we visited was not only aging out of the system, but he had very low IQ and a sex offense. An attorney, my field facilitator, and I journeyed to the home of a Mexican-American youth living with his grandmother. His mother, who resides in her own home with smaller kids, was present with two sons. One boy was very young and distracting through the whole meeting. The youth was very shy, and I think he felt a little overwhelmed when the 3 of us walked in. The attorney spelled out what would happen in court the next day, and Sophia spoke about affordable placement options. Both the disposition coordinator and the attorney were hoping this child could be placed in a treatment facility because he might be able to avoid being placed on the sex offense registry if he is a successful patient. Throughout the meeting, the mother and grandmother would explain the gritty details of the consequences of the youth's behavior. Sophia helped explain some paperwork to be filled out for what sounded like an ideal placement. They also spoke about their history with the judge that the youth would face in court. Apparently his chances for placement were good because his judge had high faith in the treatment process. I'm anxious to know how his court hearing went.
Sophia and I also spent a couple hours talking to new clients. I listen to Sophia tell me all kinds of situations that these kids get into, and I'm learning that it is very difficult to keep track of. She's constantly saying, "You remember the case I was telling you about where the kid was [insert terrible behavior here]?" I actually get to meet some of these kids face-to-face while they are detained. Last Wednesday we interviewed 3 males. The first one was in isolation because he had turned 18. By law, he's not allowed to mingle with the minors while in 'juvi'. This guy was upset that he was missing school. He seemed to have solid goals, but he's up for waiver to be tried as an adult. It doesn't look like he'll be going to culinary art school soon. The second youth was very personable. He told a couple stories that really stuck with me. He assisted a robbery and turned the corner to see two people shot dead. He also spoke of witnessing someone being 'popped' in his former 'hood' when he was about 9. The third youth was a bit stranger. He had a sex offense from handling very young boys. He also talked about how one of his 'cool' uncles used to initiate 'lotion fights' after school some days. This information was definitely a red flag, but will have to be tapped into in the next meeting.
Thursday I attended a Dawn meeting. Dawn project provides wraparound services to a youth and his/her family. The youth was a black female of around 15. She arrived with her mother and grandmother. Grandma was the primary caregiver because Mom is schizophrenic and rarely gets along with Youth. The meeting was incredibly interesting because of all the issues that were brought up. Grandma told the 10 other members present at the meeting that the youth had a bad day recently because the youth's behavior file was accessible on one of her teachers' desks. It was intersting to see this explained by the grandmother before the youth opened up to tell the story herself. Someone from the guidance department at her school said she would look into it. The judge recently changed her counselor, too, which was another issue entirely. The grandmother seemed to think this counselor should have a little more patience with the youth due to a recent home visit where she left early. You could have cut the tension with a knife. The meeting was set in a conference room with a pregnant supervisor, several late arrivals (yet another pregnant woman), and some other emotionally distraught women. I wish I had it on tape, because the progress was enormous. One of the advocates even interupted conversation to acknowledge a remark that was somehow construed as derogatory at the very end. I personally thought the advocate was making something out of nothing, but I really can't begin to explain what was going on. The grandmother was fairly uneducated and the mother didn't speak at all. The client had apparently come a long way, but the services have been in place for years. Some goals they set were to be done with services and have the client see her mom for the whole weekend instead of one night every 2 weeks. After the meeting I locked myself out of my car... while it was running. My dad came to the rescue. What a week!

Research/micro: What has research shown to be the traits a social worker needs to have to engage with a client? My field of work requires honest and mature responses from the teens in detention or on probation. These clients will likely engage with the worker once they feel they can trust the worker. Much like Thompson, Bender, Lantry, and Flynn's (2007) wrote about in their article, alliances must be formed between a worker and a client. The worker must be trustworthy, ideal for advocating on behalf of the clients' true wishes, and up-front. If a parent or client perceives the worker as untrustworthy, it will be difficult to form the necessary therapeutic alliance.
Reference: Thompson, S., Bender, K., Lantry, J., & Flynn, P. (2007). Treatment engagement: Building therapeutic alliance in home-based treatment with adolescents and their families. Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal, 29(1/2), 39-55. Retrieved February 25, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

WEEK's hours: 19.7
Hours to date: 118.8

Week 6

Tuesday, the weather was terrible. I worked on a couple of cases in the morning, and filed some remaining paperwork at an office further north in the afternoon. Wednesday, we had a meeting with Judy, the supervisor, to better organize my learning plan based on revisions from all parties. She helped me with the areas of diversity and human behavior in the social environment. We also spoke about midterms and who would be conducting them. Two more referrals were waiting for me at my desk. Once I created case notes it was lunch time. Sophia and I ate at a really cute deli next to the 46th street office. The last part of the day was spent visiting a client at Lutherwood. Lutherwood is a residential facility where about 50 kids are housed. Lots of the kids are victims of sexual abuse which has led to sexual misconduct. Three of us, Sophia, Jill (an attorney), and I were originally there to catch up with a client who seemed to be having a rough time at the facility. I witnessed the kid's court session and consoled him when he was crying afterward. He wanted to go back to Las Vegas where his mom lives, but the judge said that placement in another state would not be ideal for him at the time (too expensive). However, I did not get to follow up with him at the meeting because Sophia conned the director of Lutherwood into giving me a first-hand tour of the grounds. I got to see the gym, the classrooms, the cafeteria, as well as some of the staffed dormitories with boys ages 12-17. It was quite interesting to view a treatment facility directly after touring the department of corrections. The atmosphere was so much more relaxed! The director was much more personable, too.
Practice/macro: Describe how a social worker can participate at the macro level to impact Human Rights? One could start a human rights club at a school or organization. Taking from one of the frequently asked questions from http://www.hrw.org/, it is possible to be provided with the resources to start a group through the human rights watch website.

Practice/micro: When is a client’s right to self-determination not the priority? The client always has the authority to obey his or her own will. No one is obliged to interfere with human choices unless a threat to the health of the client or community at large has presented itself through someone's right to self-determination. I believe self-determination is not high on the priority list if the client is determined to maintain negative behavior patterns such as self-mutilation or abuse, but everyone has the right to live how they want to regardless of the impact on society. Without winter, there would be no summer. Without negative behavior and poor social functioning, there would be no social workers... I'm sure you can reckon with the logic.

WEEK's hours: 16.9
Hours to date: 99.1

Week 5

Tuesday, I learned tons of new names. I spent the day filing closed cases in alphabetic order and catalogging them. It was actually fun- to my surprise. I was able to see how different social workers organized case notes and see how different each case actually turns out (especially in size).
Wednesday was obviously LEAD day- Legislative Education and Advocacy Day. Fairly cool. I enjoyed the amazing breakfast, the beautiful hotel, the enthusiastic social workers, the spankin' luncheon, and the variety of attendees. After 10:30 the day went downhill on a plastic sled greased with vegetable oil. I attended the breakout session for children and families which is pretty much my favorite area of policy. Turns out, the female version of Ben Stein was hosting this breakout. Not good. My attention span was quite limited and captain monotone wasn't helping any. The rally was incredibly cheesy. I felt like only half the group stuck with it, but once we got to the State House the rally really tapered off. Waiting outside the State House was quite possibly the most annoying experience I have been forced to endure since Ben Stein's scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. We stood outside in the rain listening to some hyperactive girls behind us mess up the LEAD day chants for at least 20 minutes. It was a true test of my patience. Once inside the state house, we saw some unique antiquities. I would not have explored nearly as many of the rooms without the requirements of the scavenger hunt. We got to talk to an intern for the leuitenant governer who was attending Butler University. Our group also met a state representative who took our picture in the big room with the mural (pictures to come once cable cord is located for digital camera). The free food made the trip worthwhile.
What was most valuable? How could my learning experience have been improved? The food and the enthusiasm from the leaders was most valuable to me while I would have learned more if the break-out sessions were not spoken about in such a bored tone.
Thursday morning, I went to the Correctional Facility on Girl School Road (the reason the road has its name). As a representative for the Public Defender Agency, I wrote a letter requesting an informational tour of the facilities. Seven of us showed up which is about the perfect number for a tour. When we arrived at the administrative building, an older inmate was waxing the floor. He was supervised and silent. The lady cop who checked us in was bound and determined to give us a hard time. She was on some sort of power trip. We had to check in like we were criminals. We presented ID's, locked all possessions in a locker, and were patted down after a trip through a metal detector. These people went out of their way to make themselves look good. They first presented a power point that was intended to "answer any initial questions we might have." The presentation had loud music, slides with loads of information that we didn't have time to read because they passed so fast, and pictures that were too bright to see like they had adjusted the contrast too much. Very sneaky... You thought we wouldn't figure out that you're a detention facility! Foiled again Dr. Evil! The woman hosting the tour was sure to tell us all about the programs intended to help the kids with reentry into the community, but the validity of her argument has yet to be determined. The facility hosts about 160 girls and 80 boys. They have a new comissioner and have $25,000 less than years previous. They make the delinquents who enter the facility go through phases. The first phase consists of admitting to what they did wrong. I wonder how much trauma some of these kids really endure, because they are made to believe that their crime is 100% their fault, when most cases involve lots instigation from superiors or violations of rights. One example might be a learned behavior where the child has hit a parent because the parent has beaten the child all his or her life. It just seems to me that the people in charge at the department of corrections are anxious to get what they want even if its not the truth. Anyway, the tour was so interesting. The area known as the "segregation" ward is for kids who get in trouble after entering the facility. Most of the girls are cutters or suicidal while the boys are violent toward other boys most of the time. The girls' segregation unit was having the lights replaced. The woman behind the front desk looked she was going to kill someone. She had latex gloves on while she handed one of the electricians a bio-shield intended to protect the staff from spit, blood, etc. Apparently there was a situation with a female inmate attacking the light fixture who took the broken glass to cut herself. We heard screaming, cursing, and much resistance. The inmate sounded sedated and unable to get words out a normal "fit-of-rage" pace. We also saw inside the on-site school. The boys go to school from 7-12 and the girls from 1-6. The guidance counselor said they were looking for a science teacher. All the teachers are required to have Special Education Teaching Certificates. She said the teachers are very strained because kids come in at all grade levels and bring much resistance to succeeding in academics. The psychiatrist gave us a very interesting testimony, too. She was a small Indian lady who was animated and entertaining. She explained the most common ailments the kids had and told us how she handled psychotropic medications. The tour took about 2 and a half hours.
WEEK's hours: 20.2
Hours to date: 82.2