Working With IndividualsSocial Service Work

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Working with Individuals & Families

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Individuals and Families…

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Types of Service Users

Voluntary clientsPeople who have chosen to seek help from a social service

worker

Involuntary clientsThose who are legally obligated to accept services

(Hick, 2010, p. 83)

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Social Service Work with Individuals

“People may be embedded in a web of connections with others and with the institutions of society, but every life is experienced uniquely, and its quality is determined solely by the person living it (Jaco, 2002. p. 255)”.

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Terminology“Casework with individuals refers to a method of social work

intervention in which the worker intentionally creates a helping relationship with a client that enables dialogue, interaction, and influence to occur, with the purpose of effecting positive changes in client thought feeling or action, or in the social environment he or she inhabits (Jaco, 2002, p. 257)”.

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Clinical Social Work

“a newer term for this same activity [casework], but one that includes clearly linking clients to resources, coordinating services, and advocacy (Swenson, 1995 as referenced in Jaco, 2002, p.257)”.

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Direct PracticeSimilar to above but “helping interventions at the micro-level

provided to individuals, couples, families, in contrast to indirect or macro level practice which takes place at the community or policy change (Jaco, 2002, p.257)

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Therapy“work in which social and psychological means are used to

enable individuals (single or in family or formed groups) to cope with environmental, interpersonal and/or intrapsychic dilemmas – and the interactions among these- that are causing personal distress (Woods & Hollis, 1990 as quoted in Jaco, 2002, p. 257)

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Shared Elements (Jaco, 2002, p. 257)

Concern for internal and external life of the clientConcern for the manner in which these interactGoal to strengthen the client to cope with pressures and

demands from within and withoutPurpose of achieving a sound level of functioning

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Goals

Improved:

• Self-esteem• Social functioning• Problem solving• Analysis

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Theory

“[A] theory is an attempt to explain. It is, in short, a framework for understanding. It is a set of ideas linked together to help make us make sense of particular issue or set of issues (Thompson, 2000, p.22).”

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Critical Self-Reflection (Hick, 2010, p. 97)

Critical self reflection – “knowledge about ones self (Mullaly, 2002, as quoted in Hick, 2010, p.97)”

It is important for SSW to “understand how their own identities, beliefs, and their professional and personal lives are shaped by forces in society such as the media, parental influence, educational institutions and social structures (Hick, 2010, p. 97)?

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Working with Families

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Family

• Types of families - traditional, blended, single parent, same sex, other….

• Family issues – divorce, separation, domestic violence, child welfare, adoption

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Definition of Family

The Vanier Institute of the Family defines “family” as:Any combination of two or more persons who are bound

together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth and/or adoption or placement and who, together, assume responsibilities for variant combinations of some of the following:

Physical maintenance and care of group members Addition of new members through procreation or adoption Socialization of children Social control of members Production, consumption, distribution of goods and services, and Affective nurturance — love (Vanier Institute, 2012)

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“Family Portrait” (Statistics Canada 2006)

8,896,840 families up 6.3% from 2001• 6,105,910 married up 3.5% from 2001• 1,376,865 common-law up 18.9% from 2001• 1,414,060 lone-parent families up 7.8% from 2001

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Families in Canada (Statistics Canada 2006)Family Type 2001 2006

Married 70.5% 68.6%

Common-law 13.8% 15.5%

Lone-parent 15.7% 15.9%

Same-sex couples(includes married couples)

n.d. 0.6%

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What are the implications from the research? (Statistics Canada, 2006)

• 2006 was the first time unmarried (51.5%) outnumbered married people

• 20 years ago only 38.6% were unmarried

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What are the implications from the research? (Statistics Canada, 2006)

2001-2006 11.8% increase in one-person households2001-2006 11.2% increase in couples without children

aged 24 and under2001-2006 0.4% increase in couples and children aged

24 years and under

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What are the implications from the research? (Statistics Canada, 2006)

• 2006, 43.5% of the 4 million young adults aged 20-29 lived in the parental home – 20 years ago the figure was 32.1%

• Ontario is 51.5% (next only to N-L at 52.2%)

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Common Family Stages (HealthLinkBC, 2012)

Independence

Coupling

Parenting

Launching adult children

Retirement

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Vanier institute Fact Sheet Fathers in Canada (June 2012)

Total Number of Father in Canada 8.1 million

Lone Parent Fathers 338,000

Stay at Home Dads (2 parent families) 54,000

Stay at home parents who were fathers 1984 & 2008 3% & 10%

Average time spent daily caring for children 3.1h

Average daily time spent performing paid work 6h

Proportion who claim to be more involved with their children than their father was

75%

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Vanier Institute Fact Sheet Mothers in Canada (May 2012)

Total number of mothers in Canada 9.2 million

The number of mothers with children under the age of 18 living with them

3.9million

Employment rate for mothers with school aged children 1976 and 2009 39% - 73%

The amount of time spent daily by mother in unpaid work 4.6h

The amount of time spent daily by women caring for children 0 - 4 6.6h

The median net worth of lone parent families headed by a female – the lowest of any family type (2009)

$17,000

The extent to which, on average, women without children out earn women with children – this gap increases with the number of children

12%

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Independence Stage (HealthLinkBC, 2012)

• Emotional, physical, social, & financial independence

• Intimacy - ability to develop & maintain close relationships

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Coupling Stage (HealthLinkBC, 2012)

Developing a new family together

Adjustments to relationships with friends & family

Committed to making it work

Needs of another to consider

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Parenting (HealthLinkBC, 2012)

Ability to communicate well, maintain your relationships, and solve problems are tested

Provide a safe, loving, and organized environment

Divorce, & extramarital affairs

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“Empty Nest” (HealthLinkBC, 2012)

Children leave home - "empty nest”

Developing adult relationships with your children

Spouses may no longer feel compatible

Health and energy levels decline

Caring for aging parents

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Retirement (HealthLinkBC, 2012)New family members – grandchildren

Children marry or divorce

Caring for elderly parents

Physical & mental abilities may decline

Financial or social status decline

Death of family members

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ReferencesHealthLinkBC. (2012). Family life cycle. Retrieved August 24, 2012 from

http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/kb/content/special/ty6171.htmlHick, S. (2010). Social work in Canada: An introduction. Toronto, ON.,

Canada: Thompson Educational Publishing. Jaco. M. (2002). Individual treatment. In F. Turner (Ed.), Social work

practice: a Canadian perspective (pp. 255- 269). Toronto : Prentice Hall. Ridgely, E. (2002). Family treatment. In F. Turner (Ed.), Social work

practice: a Canadian perspective (pp. 270- 281). Toronto : Prentice Hall. Statistics Canada. (2006). 2006 Census: Families, marital status, households

and dwelling characteristics. Retrieved August 23, 2012. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/070912/dq070912a-eng.htm

The Vanier Institute of the Family. ( 2012). Definition of the family. Retrieved July 4, 2012 from http://www.vanierinstitute.ca/definition_of_family

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