HCS321 - Smith Family Case Study Answer

Introduction

As a family support practitioner, one of the cases I worked with was the Smith family located in the town of Wallace. I was engaged in a support program for mothers to help Phoebe who is a mother of 5 children, namely Kaidence (who is 14 year old girl from her previous marriage), Willie (who is 7 years of age), Jakobe (who is 5 years of age) and the twins Angus and Florence who are aged 2 years. The family is a part of a rural community and has been facing a myriad of challenges from developmental concerns for Jakobe, speech problems of the twins, concerns of mental wellbeing of Wille who has been exposed to bullying and abuse by other family members. As a mother, Phoebe has been facing a difficult time navigating through the challenges and there have been additional concerns with Jakobe's and Willie's school accusing Phoebe of neglecting her parental duties. Moreover, her husband Jacob has recently lost his job. They also needed to leave their rented house which was to be sold off, and finding another residence in the neighborhood was difficult due to high rent. Phoebe is also a proud Wiradjuri woman with deep roots in Australian Aboriginal history.

The aim of this essay is to reflect on my experience working with Phoebe for the Mother's Support Program.

Discussion

Changes in the disadvantages and adversities

The Mother Support Program that was developed to support Phoebe had a direct positive impact on her resilience and abilities to cope with and navigate through the adversities and disadvantages faced by her family, especially her children about whom she was especially worried. As a family support worker, I was able to witness a show but significant improvement in Phoebe's level of anxiety and stress due to the interventions used in the Mother’s Support Program.

As soon as I started talking and interacting with Phoebe, I understood that she needed holistic support as she was dealing with several challenges with her five children, the living situation of her family, a potential financial crisis situation and a growing self doubt of being a good mother to her children. The program therefore focussed on giving a tailored and individualized support through counseling sessions, workshops, liaison and referrals (WorldHealth Organization, 2020). The program furthermore focussed on the development of self confidence and self efficacy for Phoebe which I found to have empowered her. I believe that the program became a catalyst to bring about a positive change in the demeanor of Phoebe and improved the dynamics within the family.

In the Mother Support Program I found that giving counseling and psychoeducation to Phoebe helped her to develop more confidence and cope with her stress. The knowledge was important for her to understand her children's developmental needs and how to establish and maintain a safe space for them. From the program Phoebe developed competencies for more positive and effective parenting where she could match her parenting strategies with her children's cognitive development stage (Sanders et al., 2019). The program acted as an early intervention for the family and the use of Social Learning Theory as well as Cognitive Development Theory installed a better insight on effective child support which became a source of motivation as studied by Rumjaun and Narod (2020).

As Bassi et al. (2021) pointed out, the development of self efficacy was an important strategy in the reduction of stress. The program used a tailored approach that was adjusted to the challenges faced by Phoebe and her family which I found to have not only empowered her but also gave her practical solutions on how to address some of the more serious concerns like the abuse and bullying faced by Willie. In the later stages of the program, Phoebe showed a great improvement as she became more optimistic and confident. I was able to get her in touch with child protection services and child development experts which helped to create a safe environment for the children, shielding them from any future events of abuse, maltreatment or bullying.

Overall, the program acted as a beacon of change for the Smith family and especially for Phoebe and I was able to see a positive shift in the attitudes of the family members to navigate through their complex challenges.

Current practical needs of the family members now

One of the foremost practical needs of the Smith family is the housing crisis. As their rental home where they have been residing is up for sale, they need to relocate soon to a new house. However, a big concern for the family now is that the available rentals in the community have a much higher rent. This becomes even a more serious concern as Jacob has recently lost his job. This places the Smith family in a much precarious situation. Moreover, the family is deeply rooted in the Wallace community, and therefore relocating out of the community might create greater challenges for the family, especially for the young children who might find it difficult to adjust themselves after being rooted from the place they have been born and brought up. Addressing such a challenging situation might require exploring options of affordable housing (Dunn, 2020). The family might need financial support from social support organizations to help them find a suitable rental house in the location.

Phoebe has been working as liaison officer for Aboriginal children at the local primary school. She might require assistance to get back to her job after her infant children start with their schooling. This would require helping her call out her future path of career and how she can get back into her employment. Assistance can be given to her to explore opportunities within her community for potential jobs that suit her experience and talent. She might need a flexible work arrangement that will allow her to take care of her children who are growing up while also working towards improving the financial security for her family (Cheng et al., 2021). Employment services might be useful for Phoebe to find job opportunities within the community or getting back to her former employment. I believe I can help Phoebe in this aspect by getting her in touch with employment services or with the local primary school where she used to work. Jacob also would need support getting another job after he was laid off from the mining work. He can also be referred to the employment services. This would be a big step towards regaining the financial security of the SMith family and they might be better able to afford a higher rent in the community and thus might also solve their potential housing problem.

Jakobe might require a tailored intervention to prepare him for preschool. He was recently labeled not to be ready to start his kindergarten level education, even though he is 5 years of age. It might be important to help the Smith family to help in the development of Jakobe by involving early years education support as a targeted form of help. Support from liaison officers from th Aboriginal community would be highly useful in this regard as they can give the support in a culturally appropriate manner. Furthermore, more comprehensive support might be needed for Willie who has not only been a victim of abuse but also bullying. Anti-bullying programs in the schools might help to protect Willie from future incidents of bullying. It is also important to gain legal and law enforcement assistance to ensure the safety of Willie.

The change in the pattern of communication

As I started with the Mothers Support Program to help and assist Phoebe I have an immense experience of how communication evolves through an ongoing dialog and dynamics between myself and my client. The changing dynamics of the interaction throughout the span of the program helped me understand not only the problems the Smith family has been struggling through but also impressed upon me an inherent sense of strength and resilience that was a core part of the Wiradjuri identity of which Phoebe was very proud of.

At the initial stages our communication was more formal as Phoebe was a little hesitant to share her family problems with an unknown person. Her Wiradjuri identity also made her feel that she did not have the requirement to share all her family details and personal problems with an outsider like me. Even though she was burdened by various types of problems including concerns with her current housing and the wellbeing of her children, she still maintained a reserved behavior. The nature of the problems she was experiencing in my opinion was also a significant barrier in the initial stages of our interaction as she maintained a very formal and cautious tone while discussing her personal life (Stanford et al., 2019).

I decided to study a little more about the Wiradjuri community so that I could better communicate with Phoebe. I wanted to incorporate more cultural sensitivity into our discussions to make Phoebe feel safe while she was unraveling her issues and challenges. Coming From a tribe filled with pride, I understood the value of cultural sensitivity. It allowed me to understand and acknowledge the cultural roots and backgrounds of Phoebe that has a profound influence on her belief system and her parenting techniques. I took time to discuss her own childhood and youth to understand if there was any personal trauma she had been through during her young age which might have acted as a barrier to our conservation. The cultural sensitivity became the cornerstone of developing a positive therapeutic relation and establishing a sense of trust (Cochran et al., 2022) for Phoebe to slowly open up and express her concerns and fears related to her children’s wellbeing and her financial situation.

Slowly, the communication with Phoebe changed towards a more understanding and collaborative dialog. Phoebe now started visiting more regularly and using the opportunities she gained through the workshops and counseling sessions. A positive bond developed that helped me gain a deeper knowledge not only of the challenges Phoebe was experiencing but her unique journey as a wife, mother and a family person. One of the most important lessons I learnt from this interaction was that every person goes through a very unique set of situations and experiences. Therefore, It is very important to tailor the support program as per the specific needs and challenges of the other person (or group) for whom the support is given and targeted for. I used the technique of an interaction model of communication to create an interaction where Phoebe would get equal opportunities to express herself while also listening to my suggestions, recommendations and queries (Lotman, 2019). 

Further Community development intervention

A very important form of community development intervention that can be helpful for Phoebe and her family is Child Welfare Services. Child Welfare Services would act as an agency who can ensure the protection of Phoebe’s children while responding to incidents of sexual abuse or maltreatment. The services would deliver a family-centered and child-centered approach of support and incorporate a reporting system to address potential threats to the health and welfare of the child. The Child Welfare Services would create a strong positive relationship with the child and both the parents can act as a medium of sharing any fear or stress (Sipila, 2019). There can be tailored one-on-one interaction with the children along with the parents to understand the perspective of the children. The services can communicate with the respective schools to inquire about reported incidents or developmental issues that the children may be going through.

Affordable housing support can also be incorporated which refers to government initiatives to help people who are unable to afford a house and avoid situations of homelessness. This would involve creating access to subsidized and social housing including formal or formal rental houses that have affordable options for renting or ownership. The National Affordable Summit Group of Australia is one such community drive that focuses on creating an adequate housing option for middle and low income households at low costs in a manner that does not interfere with their ability to meet their basic needs. It is a not-for-profit social enterprise established in 2008 in Australia to address the growing need for affordable housing options in the country. The organization’s goal is to increase the supply of affordable housing options to meet the needs of the community. Not only do they help to gain access to houses and rental spaces, they also work constantly towards innovating the provisions for housing within the integrated communities and establishing a balance between environmental, social and commercial outcomes (National Affordable Housing, 2023).

It would also be advisable to give community driven academic support to Phoebe and her family. Such a form of support will help the family to gain access to important learning resources to address the growing educational and developmental concerns for the children including the developmental challenges faced by Jakobe who is not considered to be yet ready for Kindergarten education. Involvement of school authorities would be important to address issues related to bullying of Willie and Kaidence which might be causing disruptions in their academic performance. Meetings can be scheduled with the teachers of the school to gain their feedback and better understand the developmental needs of the children and establish goals and strategies on how to overcome them and leverage the academic expertise of the teachers. Child Australia is an organization that provides such services ranging from programs of early years development and early learning care. The organization is dedicated towards enhancing the developmental outcomes for Australian children through training, early education and care and consultancy (Child Australia, 2023).

Conclusion

The aim of this essay was to reflect upon my experience with the Mother Support Program that was given to my client Phoebe who has been struggling with several challenges and concerns with her family and 5 children. She has been going through a myriad of disadvantages and adversities that were causing her significant stress. The use of counseling and psychoeducation was quite helpful for Phoebe to help her develop resilience and self confidence as a mother. Even after the counseling the family still has certain practices needs that includes addressing their current housing crisis situation, assisting Phoebe and her husband to gain employment and ensuring the protection of Wille from abuse. Through the entire program I was able to connect with Phoebe as she overcame her initial sense of hesitance. I successfully used my cultural competence and communication skills to make her feel more comfortable. Further community intervention that the Smith family requires are child welfare services, support for affordable housing and academic support for the children. 

Reference

Bassi, G., Mancinelli, E., Di Riso, D., & Salcuni, S. (2021). Parental stress, anxiety and depression symptoms associated with self-efficacy in paediatric type 1 diabetes: a literature review. International journal of environmental research and public health , 18 (1), 152. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/1/152

Cheng, Z., Mendolia, S., Paloyo, A. R., Savage, D. A., & Tani, M. (2021). Working parents, financial insecurity, and childcare: mental health in the time of COVID-19 in the UK. Review of Economics of the Household , 19 , 123-144. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11150-020-09538-3

Child Australia., (2023). About Child Australia. https://www.childaustralia.org.au/who-we-are/

Cochran, N. H., Nordling, W. J., & Cochran, J. L. (2022). Child-Centered Play Therapy: A Practical Guide to Therapeutic Relationships with Children . Taylor & Francis. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Kg1_EAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=importance+of+cultural+sensitivity+for+therapeutic+relationship&ots=rTUUbffsMh&sig=DJqF-NA72SUuHlP44jH6Mjfv7Bc

Dunn, J. R. (2020). Housing and healthy child development: known and potential impacts of interventions. Annual Review of Public Health , 41 , 381-396. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094050

Lotman, J. (2019). Toward a theory of cultural interaction: The semiotic aspect. Juri Lotman-Culture, Memory and History: Essays in Cultural Semiotics , 67-81. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-14710-5_5

National Affordable Housing., (2023). About National Affordable Housing. https://www.nahc.org.au/pages/about

Rumjaun, A., & Narod, F. (2020). Social Learning Theory—Albert Bandura. Science education in theory and practice: An introductory guide to learning theory , 85-99. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-43620-9_7

Sanders, M. R., Turner, K. M., & Metzler, C. W. (2019). Applying self-regulation principles in the delivery of parenting interventions. Clinical child and family psychology review , 22 , 24-42.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10567-019-00287-z

Stanford, J., Charlton, K., McMahon, A. T., & Winch, S. (2019). Better cardiac care: health professional’s perspectives of the barriers and enablers of health communication and education with patients of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent. BMC Health Services Research , 19 , 1-10. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-019-3917-4

Sipilä, J. (Ed.). (2019). Social care services: the key to the Scandinavian welfare model . Routledge. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=gKubDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT6&dq=child+welfare+service+for+child+protection&ots=yaHsLuWrkn&sig=cXQNdlJt3N1yUsbxqNzlRQyYb9A

World Health Organization. (2020). Monitoring children’s development in the primary care services: moving from a focus on child deficits to family-centred participatory support: report of a virtual technical meeting, 9-10 June 2020. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/335832/9789240012479-eng.pdf

You Might Also Like:-

ANZ Banking Case Study Help

How to Write a Good Case Study?

Case Study Benchmarking and Operationalizing Sustainability - Management Assessment Answer

Looking For Complete Assignment Sample Get It On WhatsApp