Week3 6215C An Ecological-Developmental Approach to Assessment With Children and Families

Readings

Day 1

• Webb, N. B. (2019). Social work practice with children (4th ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

o Chapter 3, “Building Relationships with all Relevant Systems”

o Chapter 4, “The Biopsychosocial Assessment of the Child”

Day 2

• Brendtro, L. K., Mitchell, M. L., Freado, M. D., & du Toit, L. (2012). The developmental audit: From deficits to strengths. Reclaiming Children & Youth, 21(1), 7–13. Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Media

Day 2

• Video: Laureate Education (Producer). (2013). Sessions: Hernandez Family: Episode 1 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

JUAN HERNANDEZ: But we didn't do anything wrong. That woman, that social worker, who came to our house, I told her, me and Elena, we decide what's best for our boys, not her. Telling us we punish to hard. She doesn't know anything about us. ELENA HERNANDEZ: We give our sons a good life. We love them very much. It's not fair what she said about Juan and me. We're good parents. FEMALE SPEAKER: Mrs. Hernandez, I understand how difficult this is for you-- JUAN HERNANDEZ: I don't think you do. Everything that we do, we do for them, everything. We work hard. We take care of them. And when they don't follow the rules, they get punished, strictly. The old fashioned way. ELENA HERNANDEZ: Shh. Quiet. I told you. JUAN HERNANDEZ: Sometimes I'm not strict enough with them. Look, I punish my sons the way I see fit. That's the only way they are going to learn. That's how we learned from our parents, right? Nobody took parenting classes. That's ridiculous. FEMALE SPEAKER: I understand you're angry. And you're raising your children the way you were brought up to do. But ACS has required that you do this. JUAN HERNANDEZ: What if I don't want to be required? ELENA HERNANDEZ: I have a question. FEMALE SPEAKER: Of course. ELENA HERNANDEZ: If we go through with this, the things we talk about with you, will it be private? JUAN HERNANDEZ: But we have not agreed to do this. ELENA HERNANDEZ: I don't want to be here either. But I don't want to loose our children. Would it be private, what we talk about? FEMALE SPEAKER: The information we share is between us. The only exception to that is if one of you says you're going to hurt yourself or hurt someone else. In that case, I have to report it to the ACS worker. But everything else is strictly confidential. © 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 1 Hernandez Family Episode 1 So how do you think we can work together to make this a positive experience for both of you? JUAN HERNANDEZ: Parenting classes, really? What about the bills? I'm not going to be able to work overtime. ELENA HERNANDEZ: If we do what we're supposed to do, would it be OK with our family? FEMALE SPEAKER: There are no guarantees. But here's what I can say. We'll all work together to create a plan based on what the ACS worker has required and recommended. Then it will be up to her what the outcome will be. So shall we make a plan? Hernandez Family Episode 1 Additional Content Attribution MUSIC: Music by Clean Cuts Original Art and Photography Provided By: Brian Kline and Nico Danks

Discussion:

Individualizing your assessment questions rather than simply reading from a form can lead to a more comprehensive assessment. Particular questions and activities are useful in developing relationships with both children and parents. Even the order of who you interview first can make a difference.

In this Discussion, you are the social worker assigned to do a thorough ecological-developmental assessment of the two sons in the Hernandez family. Who are you going to see? What questions are you going to ask? Use your Learning Resources to respond to the Discussion post.

Watch the Hernandez Sessions video listed in the Learning Resources.

Forming Questions for an Ecological-Developmental Assessment

Watch the Hernandez Sessions video listed in the Learning Resources.

• Identify three questions you would ask to gather ecological-developmental assessment information related to the two sons in the Hernandez family. 

· Provide a rationale for the importance your questions have to building a complete assessment.