Following Six Key Questions Working Through The P
Read the case below of Renda, a welfare mother. Then, develop a set of notes you would use to present Renda’s case to a team of fellow case management colleagues. Your notes may follow the format of a structured paper, or they may be a list of bullet points with a short paragraph to address each key question. Your total assignment should be two-three pages long. Ensure that your case notes address the following six key questions:
- How did Renda’s problems change?
- What do you know about the sources of the problems?
- What motivations prompt Renda to solve the problems?
- What are Renda’s interests and strengths that support the helping process?
- What cultural considerations should be addressed when working with Renda?
- What barriers may affect Renda’s attempts to resolve the problems?
In your responses, cite two to three scholarly resources. Format your paper per the guidelines of APA. The title and reference pages are not part of the total page count.
Case of Renda:
I was a client in the human service system for a long time. The beginning of my life as a client actually happened when I was still with my husband. He was not supplying any money to our family. We could not afford diapers, food, or anything for our home. We lived out in the middle of nowhere in a broken down trailer with no electricity, hot water, things like that. I had to go to Social Services to try to get some food for my child because we literally had no food or diapers. I found out that my husband, now my ex-husband, was using the welfare money to gamble. I finally left my husband due to abuse. I was tired of being beaten up and tired of being emotionally abused by him.
At that point, I was totally dependent on the welfare system. I received state funds for taking care of my daughter, medical insurance, and other things. I didn’t know where else I could go. I had very few options. I could either go to work at minimum wage or apply for welfare. Applying for welfare would allow me to go back to school, at least for a little while. The social service agencies helped me apply for grants and loans so I could go back to school.
The very first time I went to a meeting at social services was to gain help not only for my daughter and me, but also for my husband. When I went back the second time to apply for assistance just for my daughter and me, I ended up getting a really wonderful worker, Cindy. When I went in to see her, she could . . . I don’t know, we just clicked and it was almost like she said, “You need to cry.” And I said, “Yeah.” At that point I was living in a women’s abuse center. I had no self-esteem, no self-respect. I was in the gutter, literally. I did not know where to go. After my talk with Cindy, she summarized my needs: money, school, insurance, and child care. Of course, she said, that was only her first shot at identifying my problems.