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Case Analysis 3: Assessing Family Systems

Shyterria Sims

School of Social Work, Texas State University

SOWK 3420: Diversity and Social Justice in Social Work

Professor Heather Gough

October 27, 2022

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Case Analysis 3: Assessing Family Systems

I. Brief description of the problem(s)

The primary problem that I identified after going through each member of the family’s

case file are boundaries. Not one member is flexible beyond or within their familial boundaries.

As stated in Chapter 10 of (TEXTBOOK CITATION pg. 256), flexibility means the extent to

which outsiders are permitted or invited to enter and become part of the family system, whether

members are allowed to invest emotionally and engage in relationships outside the family and

the extent to which information and materials are exchanged with the environment. These

boundaries that the Sanchez family created are rigid boundaries that are limiting their family’s

access to social support and opportunities in the external environment. The number one cause of

these rigid boundaries are the family’s thoughts on not being documented in the U.S. as they are

only permanent residents and consequences they may face if they have any law or government

interactions.

The secondary problem that the Sanchez family is having is communication. Within this

family, there are three forms of communication which affects this family: English, Spanish, and

American Sign Language (ASL). The barriers of communication affect the effectiveness of

understanding in this family because not everyone can communicate for understanding. In some

cases, communication is not effective due to other concepts such as family roles and the life

cycle.

II. Goals and Objectives

A. Long term goal #1: Address Health & Safety Issues

1. As permanent residents and not documented citizens of the United States, the

Sanchez Family is disregarding their health as precautionary measures to avoid

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contact with government or law officials. To help with this, I will address health and

safety issues that could improve the safety of Hector at work, keep Emilia on the path

of sobriety, and ways to protect Gloria from domestic abuse.

2. The resources that I would provide Hector would be pamphlets about diabetes and

blood pressure and their effects on older people. I would provide a list of all the local

rehabilitation facilities with ratings and any that works on developing work skills, job

postings in the area, and parenting classes. In Gloria’s case, I would introduce her to a

social group of people who have experienced things similar to what she has and a

degree program that could help her obtain a GED and job skills training. I would

provide phone numbers and addresses to the social services and welfare departments,

and doctors/clinics for each client because they are all suffering from some form on

medical and financial instability that could be addressed with the help of the

programs these departments offer.

3. The steps needed to begin this long-term goal would be:

1. Bring awareness to Hector of the seriousness of his health. Informing him

about the risks he is taking now and the potential that it could negatively

impact on his family may alter his beliefs about his choices. I would show him

the statistics on the effects of diabetes and high blood pressure, suggest he

study for the citizenship test, and how he could temporarily receive benefits

that could lighten the load on his contributions for his family until he is

healthy enough to go back to work. I would suggest the Lady of Guadeloupe

as a first resource being that he has a strong relationship with them.

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2. Book Emilia into a rehabilitation site. I would do this first because it

determines her eligibility to stay in the states legally and it would help her

work on staying sober. The plan would be to find a facility that is close to her

family that allows her to have supervised visits with her son. Prior to release, I

would help her search for jobs. After being discharged, I would have her

apply for housing assistance and join a narcotics anonymous group to show

that she is making an effort to improve to get her son back.

3. Protect Gloria from domestic abuse. Being that Gloria and Leo have no kids

together, I would recommend her to go to stay with her parents. It would be

best for her to communicate about what is happening, so they are accepting

and understanding. She should then report the abuse to local law enforcement

and file for divorce.

4. Social worker tasks: As stated in the ethical standards of the NASW Code of Ethics

Section 1, subsection 1.01 of my commitment to clients and 1.02 of self-

determination, I must first promote the well-being of clients by putting their interests

first and considering the effects if any results in any form of danger to themselves or

others. With this being said, I would constantly keep in contact with each client and

refer them to agencies that specialize in their specific area of need and set up

meetings and dates to meet with said agencies.

5. In Hector’s case, the deadline to receive some form aid to accomplish his goal would

depend on the amount of time he can receive off from work without getting

terminated and before his health begins deteriorating. Gloria’s deadline would be any
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time before Leo attempts to attack her again. As for Emilia, the deadline for her to

complete her goals varies on the length of the program she would be in.

6. The family system (mezzo) would be a system that can positively affect each client.

In this system, we can discuss and explain the reasons why Emilia decided on an

abortion and turned to drugs, why Gloria is staying in a domestic situation, and

Hector’s views on assistance with providing for his family. These sessions would

hopefully help other members of the family to understand each other, empathize with

each other, and break down the internal and external barriers they may have.

B. Long term goal #2: Financial and Career Stability

1. The goal for the Sanchez Family is to be financially stable. To achieve this, they are

pursuing higher education, learning in-demand trades, and working day and night to

provide for their families. I would further contribute by helping Celia with being able

to learn English, introduce Junior to funding options for school, and connect

Alejandro to institutes that specialize in art.

2. If no one comes with Celia, I will first have to get a translator to help me with

communicating with her. The resources that she may need may be connecting her wit

the Division of Social Services where she would be able to apply for assistance.

Junior has a very great connection with his dad so he could be a driving factor to help

Junior pursue a higher education. To relieve some stress, I would suggest that

Alejandro speaks to his family because he has great connections with his mom and

sisters. I would also suggest he go to the community college and ask about

information about art courses.

3. The steps needed to begin this long-term goal would be:

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1. Help Celia with English. I could enroll Celia into a night class that would help

her with her English. I decided on night because she would be able to go out as

Hector would be home to watch Joey. We could also have Alejandro (her son)

help her since he is fully bilingual in English and Spanish.

2. Introduce Junior to funding options for school. Because Joey is strongly

connected to the Green Construction Company, he could work there to save

money for school.

3. Connect Alejandro to institutes that specialize in art. In the ecomap, I see that

his employers post his art and that a businesswoman purchased art from him. I

would suggest that he keep in contact with the businesswoman and begin to

charge his employer for using his art. I would also suggest that he go back to his

high school and apply as an art teacher, being that he was/is really liked there.

4. Social worker tasks: My task for Celia would be to connect her with an ESOL

instructor and provide information on job training sites that she could join. I would

search for grants, scholarships, loans, and programs that Junior would qualify for so

that he would not have to pay out of pocket for all of his courses. To receive

compensation for his artwork from his employers, I would seek help from someone

who understands marketing and business to receive insight and help Alejandro.

5. I would not put a time limit on none of these goals other than Alejandro. Being that

he suffers from problems with mental health, it may be just a matter of time before

things get worse. I would recommend that he reignites the relationships from his high

school to inquire about the art teaching position. As for Celia and Junior, the time just

depends on when they develop full competency of their studies.

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6. The family could again be critical in the achievement of this goal. They all would be

contributing to the family as a whole in different ways to ensure that financial

stability they all desire. With the help of one another, they would be able to make the

process easier while also forming healthier bonds together.

Conclusion

I feel that this case analysis helped me with the process of assessing clients and planning

for them. The issues were somewhat challenging, but not to the point where I could not

comprehend or figure out what was going on or how to solve it. The ecomaps helped a lot. I feel

that those should be utilized with clients, especially when dealing with an entire family because

it makes it easier for the practitioner to be able to figure some things out that the client may not

address.
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References

About. NASW, National Association of Social Workers. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2022, from

https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English/

Social-Workers-Ethical-Responsibilities-to-Clients

Engage with the client system. New Directions in Social Work. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27,

2022, from https://routledgesw.com/interactive-cases/sanchez//engage/introduction

Hepworth, D. H., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., & Strom-Gottfried, K. (2017). Direct social

work practice theory and skills (10th ed., Ser. Empowerment). Cengage Learning.