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Describe at least one common client problem, issue, or gap in services or programs at your field agency, practice, or community setting. (If you are not currently in a practice setting, you may draw on your past work or practicum experience.) My current practice agency, Nexus Indian Oaks (NIO), is a residential sexual treatment facility. All the youth currently receiving services are a victim or offender of a sexual offense. One gap in services present in my current agency is the lack of independent living skills as it relates to transitional living. At NIO, programs are funded through Medicaid billing. However, all services rendered must be connected to each client’s individual diagnosis. MHP’s and QMHP’s are unable to bill for services provided that are not directly connected to a diagnosis. However, as it relates to transitioning the youth out of the agency, they leave unprepared. For example, most of the youth that discharge from our facility discharge to transitional living programs (TLP) or group homes. While they learn coping skills and process through their treatment, they don’t receive any independent living skills to function as an adult in the community post-discharge. To break this down a bit more, they are receiving services to related to their offense or trauma, such as Juvenile Sex Offender Treatment, TF-CBT, anger management, etc. But they aren’t provided skills in the domains of Daily Living Skills, Self- Care, Relationship and Communication, Housing and Money Management, and Work and Study Skills. Specifically, highlight what you see that tells you clients need something more than what the agency, practice, or community setting is offering. There are several indications that tells me clients at this agency need something more. First, youth are provided personal and clothing allowances every month through the state. Youth’s funds are held in the business office, and youth are allowed to pull funds once per month for three days. If the youth does not spend the money within that timeframe, it goes back to the business office, deposited back into a bank account, and cannot be accessed until the following month. This is not real-world money management. Second, NIO has both male and female clients who cross paths daily. The girls are required to turn and face the wall as the male youth are transitioning around campus. Also, male clients over the age of 18, who are registered juvenile sex offenders, are placed in recreation groups with minor female youth. Both examples do not provide youth the opportunity to learn, develop, and establish healthy boundaries with the opposite sex. It also increases the risk for a JSO client to reoffend. While mental health is very important, these are several factors that play a part in how individuals view themselves. 90% of the youth that come into care are admitted at a young age (12) and remain until they age out (21 st birthday). They are then sent into the community as an adult with no skills other than how to cope in stressful situations. Identify a program that you think is necessary to address the problem, issue, or gap and explain why . A Life Skills program would be necessary to address this gap in services. The program would have daily session to incorporate five domains of independent living skills. The first domain, Daily Living Skills, would include food and nutrition, meal planning, kitchen clean up and food service, home safety, home repairs, and computer and internet basics. The second

domain, self-care skills, will address health care, personal hygiene, personal benefits, maintaining personal records, personal safety, and sexuality. The third domain, relationships and communications skills, will address developing relationships, communication with others, personal development, legal permanency, and family planning. The fourth domain, housing and money management, will address budgeting and spending plans, saving money, banking and credit, housing, and transportation. The last domain, Work and Study Skills, will address employment, income tax, career planning, education planning, and study skills. Each youth will complete a life skills assessment, evaluating their competency of each domain. The assessment will then be evaluated by the Program Director or designee. Dudley (2020), notes questionnaires can be a valuable tool to assess the needs of a target population on specific topics. Individualized plans will be created for each youth. The plan will determine the mastery level of the skills they will attend. The program will follow a 10-week curriculum. Skills will be taught in lecture style, hands on, and virtually. As each skill is mastered, they will transition to the next mastery level of that domain until each skill is mastered (to their level of functioning) for the next 10-week cycle. For example, some youth have mental health diagnosis along with development diagnosis, so mastery for them may look different that someone else, or they may advance in one domain, but repeat a domain they could use extra assistance. After mastery of each program youth will transition to a maintenance program. This program will be intended for maintenance of their skills, community exposure with the skills learned, or mentoring opportunity for other youth. Generate a question that you might ask about your identified need and to whom. A question that I may ask about my identified need would be directed to the Executive Director to inquire about the processes of incorporating Medicaid, grants, or private donors as a funder source for the program. I would also ask if any justification or proposal can be made to advocate for the impact mental health has on activities of daily living. Dudley (2020) notes new programs pose several questions that inquires about costs or whether fees should be charges, and possible psychological issues related to new programs. Dudley, J. R. (2020). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. Respond to at least two colleagues by comparing your agency observations about problems, issues, and needs with theirs. Provide respectful feedback on your colleague’s program idea or need-related question. Hi Katriella, Thanks for sharing this week. The need for interpreters was a good observation. Language barriers are becoming more prominent. Dudley (2020) notes needs may imply things are manageable and capable of changing. This problem can be managed and change. Similarly, at my agency we place use from all over the world. Recently, we had youth from Saudi Arabia and required interpreters as well. My agency staffed interpreters 24 hours a day for the entire time the youth were placed there. One barrier to this was the lack of cultural competence residential staff

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