TU Social Work Values and the Helping Relationship Question

Please read the two Case Examples below and address the following questions in paragraph format. Remember to cite any references used. Use critical thinking skills and apply terms and concepts we have discussed in class from the text. You may want to apply the code of ethics for your major (social work/human services, etc) in discussing your answers. If you want full credit, answer each question thoroughly and use your critical thinking skills!

This assignment is worth 50 points. No late submissions will be accepted.

Case Example One (25 points)

As a case manager at the local Housing Authority office, you are responsible for helping low-income families gain access to safe, affordable, and when eligible, subsidized housing. Judy is a 30-year-old single mother of two who has been on welfare assistance for three years. For two years, Judy and her family drifted in and out of homelessness when her unstable housing arrangements fell apart. You have been working with Judy in finding her housing for 18 months. After Judy was on the waiting list for public housing for a full year, you were able to help her secure a two-bedroom apartment in a public housing unit designated for young families that is located in a safe neighborhood. Judy and her family have been in their new apartment for six months, and for the first time in their young lives, her children are experiencing what it means to have a stable home. This afternoon, you received a call from the local police informing you that Judy has been arrested for drug trafficking in her apartment. The Housing Authority’s policy forbids the use or selling of drugs in public housing units and requires that residents who violate this rule be evicted immediately.

1. As a case manager with the local Housing Authority, what empowering options can you create for your client, Judy?

2. Do you see any value conflicts between the agency’s drug policy and social work values? If so, what are they?

3. When you go to the jail to visit Judy, what will you say to her?

4. How would you feel about this case if Judy’s children were not involved?

Case Example Two (25 points)

You are a caseworker at a Family Service Center where you have worked for one month since receiving your degree. Richard is a 48-year-old construction worker whom you have been seeing weekly since your first week at the agency. Richard came to your agency seeking assistance after unexpectedly losing his job following a back injury that left him permanently limited in his abilities to lift or carry more than 20 pounds or to climb or do twisting motions. Richard is a devoted husband and father and is feeling that he has let his family down because he has not been able to provide for them financially in recent months. With your help, Richard has been able to enter an eight-week reemployment-training program where he is being trained as a tax preparer for a local firm. He has done well in his classes but has become depressed and frustrated in the past two weeks as his family’s financial situation has worsened. Today, you notice that Richard seems more agitated and restless. When you asked him what is on his mind, he explains that the previous night he had been out at the local tavern having a few beers and on the way home was stopped for speeding and was given a DUI when he failed to pass the breathalyzer test. The ordeal resulted in Richard being held in jail overnight, causing him to miss his tax preparer’s class the following morning. He is feeling unjustly persecuted by the police, and fears he will not be permitted to complete the class. As Richard is telling you of the events of the previous evening, he becomes enraged at the unfortunate hand that fate has dealt him and blurts out, ” I feel like walking into the police station and shooting these bastards!”

1. How will you handle the issues of confidentiality in your relationship with Richard?

2. How do you determine whether Richard is serious about his threat or just venting his anger?

3. What actions would you take?

4. How would you address this with Richard, given confidentiality and issues of trust?

5. What safety issues do you need to consider for yourself, for Richard, and the staff in your agency?