Home Visit with a Family Service Agency Case Manager

Introduction 

I am a case manager at this family service agency. I think Miranda’s case requires professional attention. My aim is to observe and comment on Miranda’s case. I will focus on her home environment and family interaction patterns.. I will then suggest solutions that may help Miranda cope with her loss, address her children’s situation with care, and be calm. My observations will be based entirely on what Miranda talls me. My advice will be based on my deductions and professional experience.

Miranda’s Case Summary 

Miranda is 28, married with three children aged 8, 5, and 3, girl Marta, boy Jose, and girl Teresa respectively. They have moved here (Virginia, the US) from Venezuela, South America. Their decision was informed by her husband’s trucking job, a decision that was rational because of the distance factor, and the remuneration in this new job was good, thus ensured their financial security. They are English speakers and thus, they do not have any challenges in communication. When they moved, Miranda’s mother accompanied them. She was ill, diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at the time, and she hoped that with better healthcare, her situation would improve. However, the medical care did not help much, and her mother recently died. Since her mother, though sick, provided her company, the weight of caring for her children never seemed heavy.

Miranda’s current family situation does not satisfy her. Her husband is a trucker, and sometimes spends up to three days on journeys, leaving her alone with the children. The emptiness of absence makes her feel burdened that she is raising her children alone. Marta, the eldest daughter, is doing well and this makes Miranda proud. Although she is only eight, she helps Miranda care for her younger siblings. She also does light chores in the house. Jose, who is at pre-school, has not been diagnosed yet, but his teachers think that he has ADHD. He is relatively slow than kids his age and cannot follow simple directions or accomplish simple tasks. He is also often troublesome. His situation worries Miranda, who is yet to communicate this issue with her husband.

Miranda admits that she is unsatisfied with her life, and is sad. She says she understands her husband’s commitments at work, and that he is a good man. However, it is evident that Miranda has emotional emptiness, yearns for support in raising her children, and desires her husband’s constant presence. The following in-depth observation and evaluation from the perspective of a caseworker will illuminate the issues that affect Miranda in her family.

A Professional Approach 

Before I begin my observation, there are various prerequisites that I must adhere to as a professional. This case is family-related, and as such, I am bound by all laws that guide case-worker’s practice in a family setup. These include occupational health and safety, privacy laws, the duty of care, and child protection. Concerning work health and safety, I am legally obligated by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1988 to ensure that I identify, prevent, and raise concerns about any cases of neglect, harm, or abuse that Miranda may potentially, knowing or unknowingly be subjecting her children to. In this regard, I have ensured that Miranda’s children are under great care, and Marta, the most active, is not being neglected or suffering as a consequence of Miranda’s sad feelings. I have also confirmed that Marta’s duties are relatively menial and typical to be assigned to a child her age. For example, she helps feed the three-year-old Teresa, insists on doing the dishes, and often takes his brother Jose for walks and observes him during play. I thus approve that Miranda’s feelings of sadness are not indications of depression and do not violate any provisions of the Child Abuse and Protection Act.

Secondly, I owe an explanation to Miranda about the privacy details of our conversations. I must explain that all information shared will be shared with third parties with her consent. Miranda, as a client, must also know that third parties like government authorities may only access this information by following the legal pathways. In these situations, I will be legally obliged to share private details with these parties. Nevertheless, I must observe that Miranda’s rights to privacy are observed and upheld in every situation. For example, Jose is only five and his teacher allege that he has ADHD. This is just an allegation made from the non-professional diagnosis from a teacher. This kind of information should remain as just an observation, and in no case should Jose be referred to as a patient with ADHD, and medical attention recommended. Such a decision should be reached only after an official professional diagnosis has confirmed it. This is just one of the examples in which privacy and accuracy of information must be observed. Concerning privacy, I have confirmed my commitment to ensuring that the family’s information is safe with me, unless otherwise.

Thirdly, Family law applies to this legal practice as it involves family relationships, among them being child safety, parental responsibility in the moments of seeming depression, provision of care, and the capacity of providing care as it related to Miranda’s husband. I must ensure that the children in question, Miranda, and her husband operate in accordance with familial legal obligations. In this regard, after assessing Miranda’s relationship with her husband various facts have been apparent. Miranda states that her husband is a ‘good’ man. However, my analysis shows that Miranda’s definition of a ‘good man, in this case, is limited to her husband’s breadwinning. Miranda is a stay-at-home mother and therefore cannot support herself financially. Therefore, she relies on her husband for sustenance. In the definition of good parenting, it is evident that Miranda's husband’s job obstructs him from finding time for being a father. My observation is that Miranda may hold on to the relationship for the sake of provision, and may less likely question her husband’s commitment to the job, or suggest a change of profession for the husband. In my professional opinion, Miranda’s loneliness is greatly contributed by her mother’s and husband’s absence, and unless things change, her unhappiness will only escalate and amount to depression.

Another question of concern is the impact of Miranda's mother’s death on her mental wellness. As noted, Miranda has lived with her mother here for the past six years as she has been receiving medical attention for her cancer. The length of this period confirms that Miranda has had the company of her mother since Marta was two years old. Jose and Teresa were all born when her mother was with her, and as such, she had her company and guidance. Miranda states that her unhappiness is because she misses her mother who was a pillar of emotional support, from her presence and advice. Miranda misses her mother and she is grieving. She is in the depression stage of grief. My suggestion to Miranda is that she should focus on the positive memories of her mother, and consider an upward turn as she reconstructs and walks through the grief. Another positive aspect that she can exploit is her faith. Miranda is a Christian and believes in life after death. I have suggested to her that capitalizing on this belief will allow her to accept the fact of her mother’s demise, and move through the acceptance and hope stages of grief. I have also advised her to take advantage of the free grief therapy sessions that I learned are offered at their church. Through association with others, she will learn to cope with the reality of death, as well as learn to celebrate her mother for the six brave years, rather than mourn her with sadness.

On the factor of her child’s ADHD assumptions, I have informed her that she should take the child to a healthcare professional for proper diagnosis and deductions. The professional will also advise her on how to address her child’s situation if it turns to be true. Otherwise, Jose is still in a developmental stage and he may be a ‘late bloomer’ and relatively slow, but it is not proof that he is mentally ill.

Conclusion 

In summary, I advocate for evidence-based practice in addressing this issue. An evidence-based approach is the search of facts to inform interventions while sticking to the ethics of professional practice. As a caseworker, I must thus request to access all information relevant to this case before I begin any deductions (Patoni, 2012). I will request Miranda to offer more facts about the case scenario since I think her unhappiness stems from various factors. For example, I must analyze any type of drugs she is using, the efforts that he has employed to try to be happy, and any other relevant data. This approach will focus on individual strengths to offer the assertive community and personal involvement, informal support, and enhancing the relationship between Miranda, the client, and me as a case manager (Patoni, 2012).

Reference

Patoni, L. (2012).  Strengths-based approaches for working with individuals . Iris. Retrieved 13 June 2021, from https://www.iriss.org.uk/resources/insights/strengths-based-approaches-working-individuals.