Social Work Case Study: Young and Children Family Scenario

This case study examines a family facing child neglect, analyzing the situation through the lenses of system theory, developmental theory, and a multidimensional approach. The scenario involves Tess, who neglects her children, Matthew and Samantha, while her husband, Ian, works away...Read More

Running head: YOUNG AND CHILDREN CASE SCENARIO 1
Young and Children Case Scenario
Name
Institution

YOUNG AND CHILDREN CASE SCENARIO 2
YOUNG AND CHILDREN CASE SCENARIO
Question (a)
Among many theories, System theory and developmental theory will be related in this
family’ situation in case scenario. System theory means analysing social problem in order to
make better with diverse strategies for specified clients. Clients’ consideration is normally
individual problem in relation to social context. For finding solution this issue, people use
principles and concepts from system theory. System theory is a method of complex system
including the person in environment (Falkenberg, Lindfors, Chandola & Head, 2017).
System theory can make us to comprehend factors and variety of client system for
balancing strategies. Especially, this family in case scenario is relevant of micro level in system
theory. Micro level belongs to problem of individual, group or family, family’s physical state
and the social interactions within primary relationships. To be based on micro level perspective,
social workers need to appraise how the family take care of their children in terms of physical
issue, problem and social relationships. As a role of parents, they should conduct right ethical
actions or role in family such as providing shelter, medical care, nutritive food and fundamental
education to children.
In this case scenario, Tess neglects her children and she is going out partying with her
friends. Her husband, Ian cannot stay with family because of his workplace. Only Francis take
care of her grandchildren. Fortunately, her children as Matthew and Samantha were not shown
physical abuse symptom, however, they showed critical hygiene condition and nutritive
condition. Secondly, in side of developmental theory view, social worker can predict Tess’s
children emotional and psychological condition. Children learn cognitive abilities, language
usage through adult’s behaviour during childhood and adolescence. According to Erikson’s

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psychosocial developmental theory, children have eight-stage psychosocial development through
interaction and experience. In Psychosocial stage 4, children gain sense of pride in their
accomplishments by interacting in society. If parents and teachers encourage children, children
can feel competence to be able to do any tasks.
However, if parents neglect their children growth during psychological development
period, children can possibly grow up with a sense of inferiority. Most parents who have
childhood traumas such as parents’ death, divorce and separation commit children abuse or
neglect. Once the parents do not take care of children, children may have damage physically and
emotionally (Howe, D, 2015). Therefore, a social worker should focus on family’s health issue in
their home, school and community. Although, the progress will be difficult and complex, a social
worker will help a vulnerable family to adapt successfully in the adversity. In order to help their
resilience, a social worker should find their particular strengths which can influence positively to
develop relationship
Question (b)
In the point of a multidimensional approach perspective, there are three methods of
multidimensional approaches: biological; psychological; and spiritual dimensions. The key point
of psychological dimension is the cognitive aspect. Our memory, thought and emotion are part of
cognitive aspects. Cognitive theorists argued that lifespan is a classified processes of cognitive
stages. According to the successful stage of cognitive development, people can achieve high
cognitive level, develop memory, and improve verbal capacity and reasoning skills. On the other
hand, other theorists thought that people have unconscious psychological life which includes our
dream life and first motivation. Another point of the psychological dimension is the emotional
aspect such as distress, sadness, depression and anger (OlaOlorun, Tsui, Otupiri, Seme, Tobey &

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Sonenstein, 2017). Through emotional aspect, people can raise positive emotions; for instance,
happiness, excitement and enthusiasm. Spiritual dimensions are human experience which are
constantly handled by human development. Spiritual dimensions are relevant to health issue of
mental and physical. Spirituality could connect to other people, society, the world and the
universe. This action is an exploration of inner mind or spirit and feeling of divinity in your
place. If comparing with religion, religion is concerned about formal frame and doctrines of a
faith tradition, while spirituality is more unique personal experience than religion also, get in
force by self-discipline. It is not requiring definite structure or public expression.
Urie Bronfenbrenner (1997) focused on that personal experience arising from direct and
indirect social influence. He said five systems such as microsystem, mesosystem, ecosystem,
macro-system and chronosystem can be influenced by personal behaviour as ecological
approach. People depend on human relationships in relational dimensions or identity.
Bronfenbrenner mentioned that microsystem can be found by interpersonal relationship.
However, when we consider the ways in diverse relationships to connect with others as well as
depending on direct relationships, Bronfenbrenner said that people are analysing mesosystem
which is connected by social dimensions. Macro-system means the frame of our experiences in
diverse relational contexts in various culture. Ecosystem is a broader structure of society unlike
individuals. Biological dimensions belong to a range of chronosystem (Ee, Teoh & Yen, 2017).
Social workers should look at this Tess’s family from the microsystem viewpoint. Tess
and her children have international relationship problem. And also social worker need to
consider relationship among her mother and her husband. However, we need to bring up a
structural problem in society. Community society also have responsibility to take care of Tess’s
family situation. Tess may not have skills to raise up children and she does not probably have

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confidence to take care of children. In this case, society or community should provide education
of fostering to her.
Question (c)
To summarize this case scenario, the key issue is Tess’s nurture attitude about her
children. A social worker can realize neglect issue from children’s hygiene issue and nutritive
conditions. Although her mother helped to raise her children up, it did not look like to protect
children’s safety. Also, her husband is normally working in other state, thus, he cannot take care
of his children. Assessment process is required to protect neglected children. First of all, a social
worker needs to identify a sign of child abuse or neglect. Secondly, a social worker needs to
report designated agency such as child protection helpline and offer information on suspected
maltreatment. Thirdly, a social worker needs to check the report as specified in legislation and
agency policy and chose the way of investigation.
Fourthly, a social worker should contact children and family for gathering information
and get ready helpline for children safety. Fifthly, a social worker needs to search family
strengths and needs. Sixthly, social worker need to plan strategies or goal for deriving successful
outcomes and set timeframe with case plan, permanency plan and other plans. Lastly, social
workers ought to review the overall process and achievement of family outcomes. Especially, if
process and outcomes are not completed, go back to planning section and rebuild plan and goal.
Society has many programs for protecting children from neglect; for example, child
welfare systems, law enforcement, special education programs, and physical and mental health
systems that help in treating the victims of child neglect and family. Early Prevention and
Intervention program can assist children to escape the harm and to reduce the incidence of
neglect. Although, this program cannot show immediately perfect consequences, it can be

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derived from effective prevention method for children during the long period. Another program
which is called Project STEEP (Steps toward Effective, Enjoyable Parenting), had positive result
for parents because of good parenting system and apparent reports of child maltreatment.
Community is supporting the neglected children. They attempt to prevent the risk factors,
concentrate on resilience and adaptation, do activity with parents and children, offer professional
evaluation or assessment and build safe circumstances to establish structure. For instance, public
assistance programs like WIC program; school program like Heat start; faith based community
organization; and in-home assistance.
Question (d)
If I am a social worker and positioned to help this family, I will react practically and
realistically with my own values and ethical norms. According to cultural perspective, once Tess
family is believing specified religion like Muslim and Buddhism, a social worker need to
consider the children’s culture or custom (Khan, Noor, Shujaat, Akhtar, Riaz & Shah, 2016)).
Indeed, in the Muslim culture, Muslims refrain from eating and drinking during daylight hours in
the period of the Ramadan. We can guess that Tess did not supply lunch box at that time because
of Muslim traditional custom. Some culture grant children to be left alone because of their
independent. Parents who desire to raise their children up strongly do not support anything such
a providing food. A social worker needs to acknowledge their cultural background and family
customs in safety helpline.
Also, a social worker needs to find other factors unlike risks from family; for example,
bullying from colleagues, sexual harassment, abuse from teachers and others, and deviate from
school. We do not know children’s emotional condition and physical condition exactly, however,
a social worker assumes approximately that children might show lethargic and timid figure. If

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Tess neglects her children for a while, a worker can take issue with verbal development or
conduct disorder. Duty of care explains that a social worker who is working with vulnerable
children should have accountability to prevent children from harms such as departure and abuse.
Question (e)
The underlying practice context is the social work practice with families especially Ian
(father) and Tess (mother)’ family. The Ian’s family is totally in a mess as the children
(Samantha and Matthew) are not cared for at all. Tess seems to be having a problem of a
disjointed family from the childhood (12 years) and this has been stretched into her marriage.
We are told that Tess has 2 older brothers to whom she held little contact and that Tess
never grew up with her father who left home when she was 12 without any contact being
maintained. The problem is even compounded by the fact that Ian and Tess have separated at
different points in their relationship and they pretend that they are now together. The reality is
that this relationship has a teething problem as it is really not working (Derks, Bakker, Peters &
van-Wingerden, 2016).
The children are left struggling with their grandfather (Francis) as Ian is working
interstate hence takes long period away from home whereas Tess is ever partying leaving
children with their grandfather who has subsequently stopped his care provision as he believed
Tess was irresponsible. Tess has not stopped partying and has been leaving children with
acquaintances and friends. This problem is now even worse as the matter has gone out to the
Children Protection Officer as the children situation is worsening whereby the children go to
school without lunch, unhygienic, and inappropriately dressed.
Supervision report has further affirmed to the CPO that things are never changing for the
children and a possibility of taken the children into care is inevitable. It is upon this background

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that CPO has made a referral to the Family Support Service for counselling based on a case
history and the worried Tess has followed up with referral which has triggered me as a social
worker to see Tess and her children.
From the background above, it is true that the purpose of social work contact is missing
in this context. The purpose of social work here will be to attempt to counsel Tess to change her
way of living and start caring for her children. This will not only focus on Tess alone but will go
a long way to help Ian and Tess have a working family. It will highlight to Tess the need to be
responsible and stop partying using the case given by CPO. From the case, Tess is suffering from
what she went through during her childhood whereby she lacked father’s care and even had little
contact with her brothers (Aryee, Walumbwa, Gachunga & Hartnell, 2016).
As a social worker in this case, I will be so instrumental in walking Tess through the
behavior change by digging deep into helping her understand why she has chosen to behave in
such a manner that hurts her children. I will ensure that this family is brought together and even
underline the reasons for their continuous separation. The net effect of this will be to ensure that
the children get the best of their interests from their parents and have a strong and working
families both from Tess’ home and Ian’s home.

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References
Aryee, S., Walumbwa, F. O., Gachunga, H., & Hartnell, C. A. (2016). Workplace Family
Resources and Service Performance: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement. Africa
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Derks, D., Bakker, A. B., Peters, P., & van Wingerden, P. (2016). Work-related smartphone use,
work–family conflict and family role performance: The role of segmentation preference.
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Ee, M. J. Y. C., Teoh, W. M. Y., & Yen, Y. Y. (2017). Role Conflict, Role Ambiguity and Role
Overload: The Strains of Work-Family Conflict. The Social Sciences, 12(9), 1566-1576.
Falkenberg, H., Lindfors, P., Chandola, T., & Head, J. (2017). Do gender and socioeconomic
status matter when combining work and family: Could control at work and at home help?
Results from the Whitehall II study. Economic and Industrial Democracy,
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Khan, E. A., Noor, R., Shujaat, J. M., Akhtar, M., Riaz, M. A., & Shah, A. A. (2016).
Relationship of Work Related Attitudes with Social Support and Its Impact on Job and
Life Satisfaction. J. Appl. Environ. Biol. Sci, 6(3S), 79-84.
OlaOlorun, F. M., Tsui, A., Otupiri, E., Seme, A., Tobey, E., & Sonenstein, F. (2017). Mothers’
work, family roles and self-reported health in peri-urban Ghana and Ethiopia. African
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