What actions could Carla have taken at a micro/mezzo/macro level to address the issues in this case? What might be the consequences for Carla if she devoted time and energy to addressing the systemic issues she has identified?

Question

Carla Hudson, a Black social worker with the Women’s Resource Center (WRC), had worked with Maria Velasquez, a Mexican immigrant and mother of two children, for several years as she struggled to escape a violent home situation. Maria was Carla’s first Spanish-speaking client. Maria’s spoken English was easily understandable, but she could not read or write English well. As Carla assisted Maria in acquiring mainstream services, including Head Start, TANF, Food Stamps, and WIC, she noticed barriers to services that she began to suspect were related to discrimination against Spanish-speaking clients. When two White Head Start caseworkers refused to help Maria attain educational support that she needed in order to gain English literacy, Carla faced the challenge of addressing discrimination issues in another agency and perhaps throughout the service delivery system in Jasper, Alabama.

Answer 1

How a social worker defines a problem shapes the way the worker formulates solutions. Carla identified the problem as one of discrimination toward one client, Maria. Another way to frame the problem would be to acknowledge the growing Latino population and the challenges this presented to the community, and the potential for discrimination toward that population. She could advocate by promoting some community organizing on behalf of the growing Latino population. This could build community rather than create adversarial relationships. She could address the problem of discrimination by education and cooperation among service providers. Carla did not seem to be a worker who would want to simply “do nothing” about this. She appeared to be an activist, at least in her self-talk. She also wanted Maria to have all the services
that she needed in order to become self-sufficient. A risk is that Carla may simply have been judgmental. That is a tempting posture when one is apparently on the right side of an issue, particularly when limited data is available for assessment.
The micro issue was primarily assisting Maria in gaining self-sufficiency and independence from an abusive spouse. Helping her to get the educational supports she needed was an important aspect of empowering Maria. Carla could have sought financial support for tutoring through other means, such as local church groups, civic service groups, or other volunteer programs. On the mezzo level, Carla could have involved Maria, and perhaps the support group, in organizing the Latino/a community in Jasper. On the macro level, Carla could work to develop a cooperative effort among service providers to provide culturally sensitive and effective services for Latino/a clients. The work on all these levels could happen simultaneously and inform each other. The Latino/a community and the community of providers could communicate in the process of development.
In a different way, Carla’s relationship with colleagues at Head Start posed a micro problem for her. She needed to work to establish relationships with these professionals that resulted in positive outcomes for her clients. It could be worth her time to try to establish a more collegial connection with them, as it appeared the relationship had become adversarial. However, she would need to balance this with her responsibility to address and prevent discrimination in a collegial way.
If Carla chose to address the macro level by organizing the Latino/a community or contacting the Latino advocacy group, she might encounter resistance from her own supervisor and co-workers. This kind of organizing takes time, which may detract from the time she has to manage her already heavy caseload. It would help to first secure the enthusiastic support of her own agency if she chose to take a macro approach. The long-term outcome could be better services for immigrant clients throughout the service delivery system. Some might argue, though, that an agency that provides direct services, such as WRC, cannot also organize the same clients for community change. A worker who takes on the roles of both service provider and organizer could have trouble deciding who the primary client is: the individual or the community.