Assignment task: Read the following brief scenario and respond to the questions posed after.
You have been asked by the board of directors of "Generic Family Services" agency to help identify factors that would make their services more relevant to the needs of people of color. Apparently the clinical social work division was under considerable pressures from minority groups to make changes amid charges of racism. The director of the clinical social work division and several staff members reported that they tried to encourage people of color to come for counseling, but their efforts were met with no success. A recent study of the agency revealed that while the community was comprised of 16% Asian Americans, 17% African Americans, 3% Latino/a Americans, and 1% American Indians, very few people of color used the counseling center.
Your evaluation of services revealed the following:
- Services were heavily clinical (i.e. personal/emotional counseling) in nature and subscribed to one-to-one sessions
- Only 2% of the clinical staff spoke a language other than English
- The fee for services was $50 per session and very few types of insurance were accepted
- The center was open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Mondays through Fridays
- 96% of the center staff was White
- Several clients come to the center with physical ailments and are referred to physicians for medical care
- Many clients of color who come to the center terminate after one session stating that they did not get the help they were looking for
Answer the following:
Q1. What recommendations would you give to the board of directors on how to change their services to accommodate people of color?
Q2. What other information would you like to know and why?