Report to the Solicitor by Marigold Community Centre Social Worker Regarding Jenn Johnson

Report to the Solicitor by Marigold Community Centre Social Worker Regarding Jenn
Johnson
Name:
Student number:
Unit Code:
Unit coordinators name:
Due date:
Word count:
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................................... 3
DISCUSSION SECTION........................................................................................................................................ 5
SERVICES PROVIDED TO JENN AND THE FAMILY............................................................................................................. 5
PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENTS AND CONCLUSION............................................................................. 6
INTERVENTIONAL SERVICE PLAN.............................................................................................................. 7
References........................................................................................................................................................................................ 8
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Introduction
This report has been prepared as requested by Berry Starr, a solicitor with the Glenaurie
Community Legal Service with the intention of elaborating the social situation of the family of Jen,
the defendant in this criminal matter. The report has been prepared by a social worker with four
years of experience working with the Marigold Community Centre. Marigold Community Centre
specializes in family matters such as handling children neglected by their families, social problems
families undergo and other matters that arise during sessions with our service users. I have been
working with Jen for the past three years and have a unique understanding of her situation arising
from the highly engaging sessions we have been having together. Jen Johnson is 20 years old and is
married to Mick Johnson who is 24 years old. Their union has been blessed with two daughters;
Hannah, who is 3 years old and Bessie, 2 years of age. Hannah is a delightful child who is active,
alert and very talkative. She looks forward to joining school very soon and has already began
practicing how to read. However, Bessie is on the autism spectrum. She screams a lot as she finds
external stimulation very traumatic ("Center for Autism Research", 2016). She requires special care
and her mother, Jess, is one of the very few people who are patient with her. Bessie requires regular
fortnightly early intervention therapy appointments at Westmead Children’s Hospital (Pang, 2020.).
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Since she has no transport arrangements such as a concession card and is not on Centrelink
benefits, Jen has to catch a train and two buses to get there.
Jess is not working as she had to leave her apprenticeship when she was 16 years old to care for her
child Hannah when she (Jess) got pregnant. However, Mick is a very skilled carpenter working
with a local carpenter’s business. However, since most of his work is on the eastern suburbs where
many people are renovating to, it is often difficult to commute to work. Fuel is quite expensive and
there is start-stop traffic which forces Mick to take one and a half hours to go to work and go back
home.
The family is on relatively low income as only one partner works. They face several housing
challenges as a result of this. The flat they used to stay in was sold by their landlord. When they
were in their flat, the rent was a high proportion of their income and they fell behind with their
payments. There is no public housing available as the FACS Department’s NSW Housing has not
built enough new stock in Glenaurie because they are wanting to decrease the proportion of public
housing in the area and there are many needy families. Because Mick is working, they are not
considered high priority. After taking the advice I gave them, they have been given medium-term
housing through Alpha Community Housing Association at Penrith. However, they need to get
private housing in two months. The family often has to go to get aid from the Salvation Army to
make ends meet and even put food on the table. Aid from their family is not in the picture due to
the economic situation of the families.
Their car is pretty worn out and has no insurance. The couple often wonders what they would do if
the car got into an accident. Many times, the family falls within the standards of the Australian
Council of Social Service’s definition of family poverty (Australian Association of Social Workers
[AASW], 2013).
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Discussion Section
Services Provided to Jenn and The Family
Jenn first came to the Marigold Community Centre when she was pregnant with Bessie. She had
been robbed at knife point by two young teenagers, a boy and a girl who were high on drugs. She
lost her purse and it really shook her up. The police arrested them about a month after the incident
but Jen found that she was very distressed by these events. She often had recurring night mares
which caused her to come to the community centre to get help with her feelings and thoughts. At
this time, she would come to the centre once a month for guidance on parenting, financial support
at times. She often finds herself agonizing over their financial woes and how much struggle her
family is going through.
Due to her financial struggles, Jenn would often find herself struggling with gambling in order to
get some money. This caused a lot of difficulty in the relationship with her husband as she kept
going to the local club gambling and losing money. I realised that her gambling might be bordering
on addiction ("Gambling | Department of Social Services, Australian Government", 2018). It is
important to note that this is a very understandable circumstances due to the condition of her life
("Key facts: Gambling in Australia", 2018). With her permission, I referred to her to the Lifeline
Problem Gambling Program. She has been secretly attending the program and has not told her
family to avoid making things more tense between her and her husband. Jenn continued attending
sessions with me and also keeping up with the playgroup at the Marigold Community Centre.
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After a while, she asked her husband to accompany her to the session we had as she felt they
needed help with certain issues they were dealing with. We handled the issues of finances,
parenting and some other issues arising from these. Mick confessed to having a slight problem with
‘ice’ but said he could handle it. I advised Mick to have several sessions with him alone to gather
information with which I could refer him to a special service to help him deal with his drug use.
There has been a lot of progress in this. Even though at times Jenn feel inadequate to deal with the
pressures of parenting, we have been working on them with her and have made significant
improvements. It is important to note that Jenn faced a difficult childhood most of which can be
attributed to the family’s economic status. She was often in and out of youth detention centres
causing her great turmoil This changed and with time, she became a model citizen. A while ago,
Jenn came to me saying she had a problem with the law and required assistance. As is my mandate
as provided for under the law, I referred her to the Glenaurie Community Legal Service.
Professional Assessments and Conclusion
Jenn and her family undergo various challenges as elaborated above. Her recent troubles with the
law can be attributed to these struggles. Her family is of a certain nature that requires her constant
help. Her child Bessie, requires constant assistance due to her autistic condition as shown above.
Since her husband Mick is the sole provider of the family, it would be quite problematic to have
him care for the family without help from Jessie. With a community-based order, rather than a
custodial one, it will be possible for Jenn to serve her sentence while still assisting in the family’s
concerns. As shown, Jenn is very patient with the children who require such patience. The
children’s interests must come first (“Review of Child Protection: Government Response -
Government Responses - GOV.UK”, 2011). A custodial order would prove to be very problematic
to both the children and the husband. The responsibility of caring for the children can not be placed
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on the extended family for the reasons already given. They also had a falling out as Mick found
them racist and very judgemental towards the methods they had taken to care for their children. For
these reasons, it is my recommendation that a community-based order be preferred by the court at
the expense of a custodial one. It will also by very important for the administration of the agency to
intervene to relieve the stress (Asplund et al., 2019).
Interventional Service Plan
In the event that the court prefers the community-based sentence at the expense of the custodial
one, we will undertake to constantly supervise the care Jenn and the husband give to the children
(Taket et. al, 2014). The Marigold Community Centre will also continue having sessions with the
family in addition to any that the court may order. Further, the family can also receive aid with their
financial woes to help them get back on their feet. It would also be important to offer them
therapeutic and further counselling sessions with any challenges they may encounter afterwards.
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References
Asplund, R. P., Jäderlind, A., Björk, I. H., Ljótsson, B., Carlbring, P., & Andersson, G. (2019).
Experiences of internet-delivered and work-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for stress:
A qualitative study. Internet interventions, 18, 100282.doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2019.100282
Australian Association of Social Workers. (2013). Practice standards. Retrieved from
http://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/4551
Center for Autism Research. (2016). Retrieved 11 April 2020, from
http://cfar.kfshrc.edu.sa/Autism.aspx
Gambling | Department of Social Services, Australian Government. (2018). Retrieved 12 April
2020, from https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programmes-
services/gambling
Gov.uk. 2011. Munro Review Of Child Protection: Government Response - Government
Responses - GOV.UK. [online] Available at: <http://www.gov.uk/government/news/munro-
review-of-child-protection-government-response> [Accessed 12 April 2020]
Key facts: Gambling in Australia. (2018). Retrieved 12 April 2020, from
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-05-25/key-facts-gambling-in-australia/2730414
Pang, C. (2020) Explaining humans: What Science Can Teach Us about Life, Love and
Relationships. Penguin Books Limited
Taket, A., O’Doherty, L., Valpied, J., & Hegarty, K. (2014). What do Australian women
experiencing intimate partner abuse want from family and friends? Qualitative health
research, 24(7), 983-996.
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