Problem
Carol Lowe is a 23-year-old, heterosexual, Caucasian 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 Garcia. 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. Carol's mother, Ruth, indicated that she had concerns about Carol's drinking habits and stated that Carol never drank before she met Joseph. There appears to be significant tension between Ruth and Carol and Joseph.
The social worker 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. She was determined to have been under the influence of alcohol. The social worker advised Carol that she could not have any unsupervised contact with her child until she completed inpatient substance abuse treatment. The social worker 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. Carol's attendance was erratic because she had lost her license as a result of the DUI as well as Joseph's initial lack of support of Carol's treatment. Eventually, however, she became engaged in the program and began to address her issues.
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. As a teen, Joseph blamed her death on negligence at the hospital, a belief that appears to have persisted in a general distrust in healthcare services. Joseph indicated that as a Hispanic man, family is very important to him and he wants his family to stay together. Growing up, the value instilled in him was "family takes care of family." Although they have been struggling financially, Joseph has now 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 give a good life to his child and be a provider.
Task
1) Explain the ways in which cultural messages influence family help-seeking patterns.
2) Based on the Garcia-Lowe case study, describe how a family's ethnic identification might impact its multisystem transactions.
3) Finally, explain why understanding dimensions of ethnic identity is important for a social worker engaging with families.