Assignment Task: Social workers are often called upon to address the most challenging problems faced not just by individuals but by society as a whole. The Washington Post ran a series of articles on the Social Security Disability Insurance program, which provides checks to people with disabilities. One of the families they covered at length includes four generations on disability. The family lives in an isolated area of rural Missouri where unemployment is chronically high. Family members have had little education and have limited job skills, and those who have been employed worked in very-low-paying jobs and rarely stayed employed for long. The matriarch's father, a laborer, went on disability after injuring his arm. The matriarch herself went on disability next for both physical and psychiatric issues. Her daughter, who has a mild type of Down syndrome, became pregnant and dropped out of school at age 15. She also went on disability due to intellectual, psychiatric, and physical disabilities. The daughter now has four children including twin sons, age 10, who have been diagnosed with ADHD. Although they were receiving disability checks, the government recently terminated the checks. The family is searching for a doctor who will provide them with the "right" diagnosis for the boys, but their repeated appeals to reverse the government's decision have so far been unsuccessful. As a result, the family, which includes the matriarch, her daughter, and her daughter's four children, are living on about $2000 a month plus SNAP benefits.
Suppose the family matriarch walked into your office. What kinds of questions would you ask her?
What strengths does this family have? How can you conceptualize their problems in a way that will enable them to use their strengths?
What was your initial reaction to the description of this family? Did you feel sorry for them? Feel compassion or empathy? Wonder why they didn't do something to help themselves? Suspect that they are abusing the disability program? How might the attitudes you have be reflected in your community as a whole? How might those community attitudes, in turn, influence the kinds of interventions and strategies that are available to you?