How does Tamara’s cultural background (i.e., ethnicity, region, social class) influence her engagement of The Ridge?

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

Tamara is Caucasian, was born in Texas, and comes from a working class background. In these ways she is like most of the residents of The Ridge. She is different from them in that she is from an urban area (Dallas), has a college education, and is a professional. We may assume that as a social worker she holds some different values, particularly around prejudice and discrimination. A worker who is not from the South or has little experience with persons in poverty or working class persons, may face more barriers than Tamara did.
Most particularly, this community would be very difficult for any worker of color to engage because residents showed blatant signs of prejudice toward persons of color. However, a community is made up of individuals. Workers of color may be able to locate and engage individuals who do not share the same prejudiced attitudes as the majority of community members. Social workers of color also may be able to identify experiences of oppression and discrimination that they have in common with Caucasian citizens of The Ridge. People on The Ridge have been mocked, excluded, and called “white trash” by the citizens of Timbers. These hurtful experiences may be a point of commonality between workers of color and citizens of The Ridge, although neither party may find it easy to acknowledge these commonalities. Workers of color may also use many of the same techniques of engagement as Tamara might use [see Question 11], but the engagement process would likely be much more difficult and take an even longer period of time.