A number of problems were apparent in the Anderson family. How should Tamara prioritize those problems? What might be the number one problem for work, and why?

Question

Tamara Simms, a 32-year-old school social worker, had worked in a rural community called The Ridge for more than six years, since 1997. She was assigned a case which caught her off balance. There was something going on in the Anderson home that she couldn’t quite grasp. She had concluded from a home visit that the father was neglecting the children. The home had unsanitary conditions. Sarah Jane, a third grader, had the worst case of head lice Tamara had ever encountered and her lips were severely blistered, a condition that hadn’t healed despite treatment. Furthermore, Tamara sensed that there was something more serious going on in the Anderson home. She suspected that Mr. Anderson was involved in internet pornography and she feared he may have involved his children in some way. In spite of her “hunches” she had no clear evidence to report to Child Protective Services. As seasoned as she was, Tamara still “brought her work home” with her. Although her own family needed her, she could not stop worrying about Sarah Jane and her two siblings. Written for a bachelor’s- level capstone or integrative seminar in social work, the case may also be useful for courses in macro- or micro-level practice, diversity, or international social work. The case situation may be useful for discussion of multiple topics such as social work ethics, policy issues (including policy related to crime victims and to undocumented clients), diversity, language, agency settings, crime victimization, and professional use of self. The case also may be appropriate for MSW foundation courses dealing with these topics.

Answer 1

Although Tamara was experiencing strong suspicions of child sexual abuse in this situation, possible neglect of Sarah Jane’s health care was the most apparent concern in the family at this time. Tamara would need something beyond “gut-level” feelings to report to the child protection agency on other issues of suspected abuse.
Tamara had to remember the scope of her agency and her role as a school social worker: she was to remove any barriers to education for the Anderson children. Sarah Jane’s lice infestation and lip blisters were barriers to her remaining successfully in the classroom. At the same time, social workers must view life-threatening problems as top priorities. If Tamara assessed Sarah Jane’s health concerns to be in any manner life threatening, these would have to become the top priority. Another method of prioritization would be to choose smaller, easily solvable and tangible problems to work on. Tamara may want to tackle some concrete problem existing within the Anderson family to achieve a higher trust level with Mr. Anderson and the children. An example of this would be for her to visit in the home and help Mr. Anderson apply the lice treatment properly.