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1 THE JENNA HARRIS STORY Case Study: The Jenna Harris Story Maria Gans Department of Social Work, Delaware State University SCWK 603: HUM BHVR & SOC ENVIR I Jennifer Harrington September 24, 2023

2 THE JENNA HARRIS STORY Jenna Harris is a 33-year-old Caucasian woman who has never been married, living in a rural area, and has obtained her GED, is raising three children of different races, and is seeking financial stability. 7-year-old Kim’s father is Korean, 10-year-old Hector’s father is Mexican and 16-year-old Jimmy’s father is Caucasian. Kim and Hector believe that Jimmy is treated better because he is Caucasian, Jimmy is popular in school, plays sports and has a part-time job, he is the only one excelling. Kim dislikes school because she is constantly teased about her race, while Hector often gets in trouble for defending his sister and acting out. Hector’s grades have recently started to drop after Jenna moved her boyfriend of 6 months in with them. Although they are siblings, live in the same household and are being raised by the same mother, the diversity within the household is causing these siblings to experience life in very different ways. The bio-psychological assessment includes biological, psychological, and social factors, and it will help us to identify the client’s perception of self, and of her abilities. This assessment will allow me to understand the situation rather than just an individual problem. This is a very complex family dynamic, in which the bio-psychological assessment would be beneficial in determining the presenting problem and why it exists. All three children are different biologically, and none of them have a connection to their father or their father’s family. This could make it harder for them to identify with who they are as a person. The biological assessment will focus on basic needs within the family including their physical environment, shelter, and food. The psychological assessment will focus on the history of the family, as well as the cultural issue that is present. Personality styles, identity, intelligence, and self-concept will all be addressed in this assessment. Hector and Kim are both biracial, but they are being raised by their Caucasian mother with no real relationship with the other side of their families. The socio-cultural assessment would address the family and friends of the family. Their social,

3 THE JENNA HARRIS STORY political, and economic environment will all be thoroughly assessed. This assessment will help y to detect Jenna’s needs, available resources, strengths, and challenges she’s facing. To assess Jenna Harris, I would utilize a standardized questionnaire, I believe that would give me the best opportunity to fully understand, and a way to give me the best results as to what the presenting problem is and why it exists. I don’t believe there is one presenting problem in this case study, it seems that everyone except for Jimmy in this case has presenting problems. The main presenting problem is Jenna is lacking financially and needs financial stability. She gets financial help from Hector’s father and works as a Walmart associate, but that is not enough. The family moves around often because they are seeking affordable housing. I believe this being the problem is the reason she has children by 3 different men, it mentions in the case study that she believes Sean can help financially because he has a good job. I think all the children’s presenting problems come from Jenna’s presenting problem of seeking financial stability. Kim’s presenting problem is she is experiencing the critical race theory, racial oppression. She doesn’t enjoy school because she is being teased because of her race, which I believe could be addressed if her father were in her life, having someone to identify with and support her may make it easier on her. Hector’s presenting problems are not following directions in school and the recent decline in his grades since Sean, Jenna’s boyfriend, has moved in with the family. To explain Jenna’s presenting problem, I would utilize Psychoanalysis/Psychodynamic Theory. Jenna’s focus is gaining financial stability, that internal need drives her to different men. She was never married, so most likely she isn’t seeking love, she is looking for financial security in different partners. She decided to get a GED years after dropping out of high school, which makes it appear that she wasn’t really motivated to become financially secure on her own.

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4 THE JENNA HARRIS STORY Privilege is present in this study for Jimmy, he is the only child that is Caucasian, and he is the only one that doesn’t present with any problems, he is respected in school, plays football, and has a job. There were no negatives presented for him other than the fact that his younger siblings notice that he has privilege. Discrimination is present for Kim, she is teased and taunted because she is Korean, to the point that she is withdrawn from school and her brother feels the need to defend her. Kim’s ethnicity impacts her self-esteem and development in a very negative way. She is a loner and is ostracized by the children at her school because of her ethnicity, she is unable to fully function and be a child because of it. It affects Hector because he watches how it is destroying his sister, and he gets in trouble for defending her because of her ethnicity. This family needs help with addressing all the presenting problems for each individual family member, therefore an intervention that would be appropriate for this case would be multidimensional therapy. Multidimensional therapy will improve the children’s coping and problem-solving skills while also focusing on Kim and Hector becoming successful in school. This intervention will be beneficial to the entire family because even Jimmy will be able to discuss any issues, he may be having that the family is unaware of, and Kim and Hector can have a better understanding of the fact that Jimmy loves them, and he can’t help that he is fully Caucasian, and they are not. This family lacks access to resources, they are living in unhealthy environments. Kim and Hector are not afforded an environment where they can obtain an adequate education because discrimination is present, Kim is teased and taunted which means she is unable to fully focus on her education. All children are lacking adequate parental care, their mother is running from man to man, with minimal education and continues to have babies, while all their fathers are completely absent physically and emotionally from their lives.

5 THE JENNA HARRIS STORY The family’s strengths are the fact that they love one another, and Jenna continues to keep fighting, she has not given up. Jenna dropped out of high school because she was pregnant, but later she decided to obtain her GED, that shows determination and drive. Also, the fact that Jimmy as a child is willing to step up and have a part time job to help his family. I would incorporate these things in the treatment plan by encouraging open and meaningful conversations amongst the family. Hector seems to have an issue with Sean moving into the house but maybe Jenna doesn’t recognize the issue, I believe a safe space to engage in these conversations is needed. I would emphasize the fact that Jenna’s circumstances caused her to drop out of high school, but she later obtained a GED as her way of showing her children that you do not have to be a product of your circumstances. In conclusion, this case study focuses on a family that is being impacted by different culture factors including oppression, discrimination, and privilege. Jenna is a single mother of three biracial children and is trying her best to be able to financially support them without the presence of their fathers and minimal education. Jenna has recently moved her boyfriend of six months into a 2-bedroom house with her and her children in hopes that he can help her financially and this causes some problems in the household. My intervention plan for this case study would include family therapy, housing resources, educational resources such as one on one tutoring, referrals to support groups for interracial children, and for children with absentee fathers, employment resources. My self-awareness helps me to eliminate the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse groups because I am aware of my personal triggers, therefore I can successfully manage them so that they do not become an issue. I am also aware of my own personal assumptions, biases, stereotypes and values and I can work around them because I am

6 THE JENNA HARRIS STORY aware they exist. Self-awareness is paramount in social work, it allows social workers to provide support and assistance in a non-judgmental manner that recognizes that every client’s situation is unique.

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7 THE JENNA HARRIS STORY References Hutchinson, E.D. (2016). Essentials of Human Behavior. Integrating Person, Environment, and the Life Course. Los Angeles: SAGE National Association of Social Workers. (2017). Code of ethics. NASW Press. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

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