Carol is a 23-year-old heterosexual Caucasian American female and the mother of a 1-
year-old baby girl. She is currently unemployed, having previously worked for a house cleaning
company. The baby is healthy and developmentally on target, and she and the parents appear to
be well bonded with one another. Carol lives in a rented house with her husband, Joseph. Joseph
is a 27-year-old heterosexual Hispanic male. He was recently arrested at their home for a drug
deal, which he asserts was a setup. Both parents were charged with child endangerment because
weapons were found in the child's crib and drugs were found in the home. The parents assert that
the child never sleeps in the crib but in their bed. As a result of the parents' arrest, Social
Services was notified, and the child was temporarily placed in a kinship care arrangement with
the maternal grandmother, who resides nearby. As a result of Joseph's arrest, he was fired from
the cleaning company where he worked, and the family is now experiencing financial
difficulties.
After initial contact was made with the parents, a number of concerns were noted and the
family was recommended for additional case management. The grandmother indicated that she
had concerns about Carol's drinking habits and stated that Carol's father and grandfather were
alcoholics. She and the father separated when Carol was a baby, and Carol has had only limited
contact with him. There appears to be significant tension between the grandmother and Carol and
Joseph. I addressed the alcohol issue with both parents, who denied there was a problem, but
shortly after the discussion, Carol was involved in a serious car accident with the baby in the car,
and she was determined to have been under the influence of alcohol. I advised Carol that she Social Work Case Studies for SOCW 6000 / Page 2
could not have any unsupervised contact with her child until she completed intensive inpatient
substance abuse treatment. I made arrangements for her placement, but after a week, she was
discharged for noncompliance with the rules. She was then referred to an intensive outpatient
program and began therapy there. Initially her attendance was erratic because she had lost her
license as a result of the DUI. Eventually, however, she became engaged in the program and
began to address her issues. She acknowledged that she had begun using drugs at a very young
age, but said that she had only begun drinking in the previous year or so. We discussed the
genetics of her family, and she said that she realized that she had deteriorated rapidly since
beginning to drink and knew that she simply could not drink alcohol.
Joseph's mother is deceased, and his father travels extensively in his job and is not
available as a support. Joseph was very devoted to his mother and was devastated by her
premature death. We discussed the strengths that he and Carol demonstrated in staying together
and working out their problems. Joseph indicated that as a Hispanic man, family is very
important to him and he wants his family to stay together. Although they have been struggling
financially, Joseph has obtained stable employment landscaping for a large development and said
he plans to take courses at the community college to learn the trade. He stated that he wants to
provide a good life for his child. Carol has a lot of unresolved issues to deal with in therapy, not
the least of which is the accident that could have killed her child and the legal ramifications that
resulted from this incident. Although angry and hostile at the beginning, through the
implementation of person-centered therapy we were able to establish agreed-upon goals that
showed respect for the client and encouraged her to find solutions to her problems. Although our
relationship was tenuous at times, providing encouragement to her rather than judgment enabled
her to forgive herself and take corrective action.
Read the passage. Select among the following issues related to social and economic injustice: education, housing, or healthcare.
Describe the social or economic justice issue in the case study, explaining how this issue influences the subject of the case study.
Identify at least 2 strategies you could use to address the issue when you encounter it among clients.
Explain how the strategies would contribute to positive outcomes for clients.