Problem
Danny is a 13-year-old African American male adolescent recently referred for family treatment because he found it difficult to attend the required day-treatment school placement. Developmentally, he was like most children his age, meeting all the age developmental milestones, including reading and writing at the appropriate grade level. He has recently missed more than 20 days of school in the past two months, and counseling has been required as a preemptive measure. Danny currently resides in a rented, two-bedroom apartment in a rural community with his mother and older sister.
Occasionally, his mother's boyfriend is present but spends very little time interacting or engaging with Danny. The community in which the family lives has a below-average economy because a number of mills and businesses have relocated or gone out of business. Financial hardships are a part of the family's existence. Going paycheck to paycheck and without ever receiving alimony checks from Danny's father, the family gets by as they can. Danny's mother and father separated and divorced two years prior, requiring Danny's mother to seek employment to provide for the family. Lacking a formal education, she assumed a number of low-paying, physically demanding positions that placed a high demand on her time. The most recent job change happened as many new difficulties arose with Danny at school. The difficulties at the public school led to Danny's placement in the day-treatment school.
Danny's mother indicated that his placement in the day-treatment school resulted from the public school reporting that Danny had behavior problems in the classroom. The behavior problems consisted of walking around the classroom, negative comments to his teacher and peers, and an inability to follow classroom rules on a daily basis. Danny's mother also reported that Danny has never been physically aggressive at the school or at home, although he has displayed verbal aggression when directly agitated or assigned a task.
As the case unfolded, the presenting issue in treatment was truancy. The increase in truancy created a great deal of friction between Danny and his mother, between Danny and his sister, and between the school and the family. The school had contacted the legal court system without discussing Danny's truancy behaviors with him or his mother. Danny was assigned a probation officer, thus adding another system to Danny's world. The school took the matter to the legal realm despite a relatively seamless transition from the public school to the day-treatment school.
Initially, Danny's new teachers in the day-treatment school reported appropriate behaviors, stating that he displayed the ability to conform to classroom rules. They also reported that his attendance was one of the highest among his peers until the past two months. When treatment began, a theme that was prevalent in other cases with students attending this day-treatment school emerged from family sessions. Each student who attends the day-treatment school is provided transportation to and from the school on a daily basis. The school employs a number of different van drivers to pick up students because many of the students reside in counties far from the treatment facility. The van arrives at the student's home, beeps twice, and allows the student 5 minutes or so to board the bus, providing ample time for pickup. The van then picks up other students within adjacent communities, proceeding eventually to the facility. The same transportation arrangement is provided to students at the end of the school day.
Danny reported in family sessions that on trips to school, five to six children were always present. He contended that he was "made fun of" and "disrespected" by all but one of the students. He stated that the driver did not stop the instigation or intimidation. In fact, the driver occasionally added comments of his own, thereby fueling other students' responses. Although Danny did not explicitly say so, it was apparent and inferred from his narrative that bullying was an acceptable behavior on the drive to school because it was neither defused nor reported by the driver, thus creating a climate of intolerance to racial differences. Moreover, the driver was apparently not held accountable for managing the situation or his own behavior. After further reports from Danny, it became apparent that he was being discriminated against and oppressed because of his race and socioeconomic status.
If you were Danny's social worker in the school setting, how would you proceed through the steps of systems change as defined by Lopez and Paylo (2009)? Analyze Danny's situation using the method described in order to support your recommended course of action.