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