Family Assessment Assignment - Case

.Subsequent Face to Face Home Visit and Interviews: Day after the referral, 8:00 am: Present: Ed and Mary Smith, Tracy and Tony (and Mrs. Gonzales). The social worker met the family at their home. Mr. Smith was clearly shocked by the incident which had occurred the previous day. He indicated that he was at work at the time. He is working a lot of hours these days to make up for having missed so much work after the recent death of his parents. Mr. Smith reports having almost lost his job due to missed work. This has also caused serious financial distress for the family. He was open to discussing the DV incident and signed a release of information (ROI) for his probation officer. Mr. Smith admitted to having thrown a picture frame at his wife and stated he would never had hit his children with the frame, he was aiming at his wife. He feels that therapy has helped him to this point and he is not sure he needs to continue. Mr. Smith was aware that his daughter's behavior had been negatively progressing to the point of aggression, but felt that up until yesterday -- he and his wife were dealing with it appropriately. He shared that he is getting help for what was diagnosed as Dysthymia, however, was having growing concerns about his wife's mental health as she too was showing signs of depression. He voiced frustration that she was not able to obtain services for this more quickly. He was also concerned that she was not serious about the services as she has promised several times in the past to follow up with counseling after a "depressive episode,, and has never done so. He felt that if he had to participate in counseling she should, too. Both Mr. and Ms. Smith were present together from this point. Through some discussion, it was learned that they were married shortly after Mr. Smith graduated from college. This is a first marriage for both of them and neither has any other children. Mr. Smith is an accountant and makes approximately $57,000 per year working as a CPA, while Ms. Smith has a degree in Education specializing in career counseling. Ms. Smith recently lost her job. Ms. Smith stated that over the last several months, she has started to become more depressed and isolated. She said that since she lost her job, the bills have started to mount which has made her become even more depressed. She indicated that she did not feel that she could go out and get a job because of her depression. Mr. Smith stated that she has always had a "weak disposition" and is not surprised that she has not been able to find a job. Mr. and Ms. Smith indicate that they had always been able to talk through family problems in the past and that Mr. Smith made the final decision on any important family matters. Since the death of Ed's parents, however, this has not been the case. 'Things have escalated to verbal aggression and into physical hostility. The parents were not able to relate their own behavior to that of Tracy and felt that she was seeking attention since dad was always working. The parents agreed to allow Tracy to be re-interviewed about the Domestic Violence incident. Tracy was much more comfortable during this second interview. She engaged and played with the social worker throughout the interview. Tracy was asked to draw a picture of her family. She did so eagerly. The picture showed her Daddy standing away from the others. When asked why he was so far away, Tracy responded, "When Daddy got mad, the police took him away." The social worker and Tracy talked about the night her father was, "taken away." Tracy said, "Dad was yelling and Mom was crying. Tony was in his playpen. I was watching Beauty and the Beast." Tracy did not know why Mom and Dad were arguing. She stated that, "Mom came into the room to put me to bed, and Dad was still yelling. Mom was crying and yelling for him to stop. She was holding Tony and he was crying, too. When she sat down next to me on the couch, something flew past her head!" Tracy was very

animated during this part of the inteIView and she talked about the sirens and the police. She said her Mom put her and Tony to bed. When they woke up the next morning, Dad was already gone and Mom told her he would be back in a few days. Tracy said she was sad and that she missed her Dad when he was gone. She said, "He hasn't been mad like that in a long time!". Tracy said she is not afraid of her Mom or Dad. She appeared comfortable in both of their presence. She was visibly upset about the circumstances and became angry with the social worker, refusing to talk anymore. She clung to her father, who stroked her hair, hugged her and kissed her, and told her it was, "OK». Mr. and Ms. Smith re-engaged in the interview process with the social worker and went on to describe the ways in which they deal with the children's behaviors. Both stated they prefer the use of redirection as an initial method of addressing unacceptable behavior. (With Tony, that means a firm "no" and moving him to a new activity.) When that does not work, time-outs of no longer than 1 minute for each year of life are implemented. In addition, both will withhold toys as a means of managing behavior. They respond to positive behaviors through rewarding with small presents, candy or stickers. They also use verbal praise such as, "good boy". A thorough observation of the home was conducted. It was found to be clean, neat, orderly and of sound structure. There were ample furnishings in the home and the refrigerator and cabinets were well stocked with food (dairy products, meats, canned goods, bread, etc.). The family has a "library" with several children's books and movies, both fun and educational. In addition, there are toys throughout the house which are age-appropriate for both children's level of development. Both Tracy and Tony have their own clean beds with the necessary bedding. The closets contained pants, shirts, undeiwear, socks, etc. Ms. Smith stated that Tracy is responsible for cleaning up her toys when she is finished playing with them, putting her dirty clothes in the hamper and putting her plate in the sink when she is finished eating. All other housekeeping activities are completed by Mr. or Ms. Smith. All windows had screens. There was no evidence of peeling paint or exposed wiring. There were no holes or water stains on the walls or ceiling. Household chemicals were stored out of the reach of the children. Dishes, laundry, the floors and counter tops were all maintained and clean. The Smiths indicated they do not own a firearm. When asked about outside support, Ms. Smith said they had stopped going to church several months ago. They had some acquaintances through church, but few close friends. Ms. Smith stated that although they got along well with extended family members, they had ceased to attend family functions due to their own problems. Ms. Smith indicated that her parents used to babysit the children while she worked. She admitted, however, that over the last six months, she has not reached out to them for help with the kids out of embarrassment due to financial difficulties and the feeling that she was a failure. Ms. Smith reports that her parents, Edwardo (53 years old) and Juanita (51 years old) Gonzales, are a healthy and active couple. Neither has any history of sickness, alcohol or drug addiction or marital discord. They have been married for 36 years. They have one other child, a son Alphonso, (31) who is married to Maria. Alphonso and Maria have a daughter Rosa (12 years old). Ms. Smith reports a happy childhood, free of abuse and neglect. She does, however, report that her parents were strict and somewhat over-protective.