Mission, Programs, Services, And Operations Of The Agency

Family is something that plays a tremendous role in our life. Even though the structure of families has changed over the years, it is important to acknowledge that there many families out there whether they are traditional families, nuclear family, stepfamilies or others which tend to have different types of problems in their families. Therefore, many families attempt to go to family therapy in order for them to obtain help in solving the different types of issues they might have at home. As stated in the book Family Therapy by Michael P. Nichols (2013), “The power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interaction… What keeps people stuck in their inability to see their own participation in the problems that plague them. With eyes fixed firmly on what recalcitrant others are doing, it’s hard for most people to see the patterns that bind them together. The family therapist’s job is to give them a wake-up call” (2013).

The Family Systems Stressor-Strength Inventory (FS3I) is an instrument used to evaluate and measure stressful conditions occurring in families and assists nurses and families in developing intervention activities. By using this instrument, strengths and weaknesses of family functioning can be identified. The FS3I involves independent completion of the instrument by each member of the family prior to the interview with the clinician. After completion of the instrument, the clinician assesses the family on each of the stressful conditions from a general and specific perspective. The strengths and coping mechanisms of the family are also evaluated. Both quantitative and qualitative data are used to define the intervention needed to establish equilibrium

Using the CFAM to conduct a family interview, I identified a nursing diagnoses and interventions for the family I interviewed.

I spent my early adolescence in a military family, and have fond memories of services provided by Child, Youth and School Services. I have longed to prepare and obtain employment in a similar program. Human Development and Family Studies is the answer to my professional and personal enhancement. Human Development and Family Studies provides the opportunity to immerse in research towards improving the quality of life for children and their families. Upon entrance in the program I will focus on research in social emotional development, parent-child relationships, diverse families, or effects of family transitions on family members. Each topic had

ChildNet is a private non-profit agency that manages the local system of services and support for children in the community. It is the community-based-care lead agency in Broward and Palm Beach County and its mission is to protect abused, abandoned and neglected children in the community they serve.

This case was very challenging because the purpose of National Family Caregiver’s Program is to provide a multi-faceted service delivery to assist granparents raising grandchildren and idividuals who are caring for an elderly or developmentally disabled relative. It can be tough icaring for an elderly loved one. It can mentally, pysicaaly and emotionally damage someone. 4.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the family centered services generated preventable client assignment with no definite procedures for stability (Mass & Engler, 1959; Gruber, 1973 ;as cited by Pecora, Reed-Ashcraft, & Kirk). Furthermore, Gruber (1973) established that the problem was rooted in insufficient data to make suitable decisions to address clients concerns. Likewise, Franshel & Shinn (1978; as cited by Pecora, Reed-Ashcraft, & Kirk) added that this resulted in one of many issues such as, family centered services encouraging separation between blood relatives by restricting contact.

Some of the child welfare topic areas included are family-centered practice, child abuse and neglect, supporting and preserving families, adoption, and achieving and maintain permanency. A useful resource provided on the site is elements of family-centered practice that provides strategies that can be used by social workers working with families in a family-centered casework practice. Family-centered case work practice is a system the helps to engage families in decision making, improving family conditions, engaging communities, and focus of strengths. On this site a social worker has access to family-centered practice and practice models. These contain guides, resource listings, PowerPoint presentations, information packets, and trainings available for a family-centered approach in child welfare. The guides provides ways for a social worker to implement and develop a practice model for child welfare agencies seeking to promote child welfare practices. The family center section contains key elements of family-centered social work practice, ways to response to child neglect, engagement and understanding with families in child welfare services, casework practice, and family group decision making. For a social work, the family-center case work practice provides information and resources on how to utilized a family-center approach to casework practice that focus on assessment, case planning, advocating for families, trainings, and how to provide families culturally competent services with this

As a social service worker, I have found myself working with individuals from an organization called Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth (SAFY). This community service provider is a leading national nonprofit organization that provides a full continuum of services for children and youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. SAFY is an organization that can be found not only in Kentucky but also in Alabama, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Nevada, and South Carolina. Their mission is to work towards preserving families and securing families. Their vision: to be a national leader in the provision of community based care resulting in permanency and wellbeing for families and youth. (SAFY)

Cradle to Crayons Child Welfare Center offers services to families with children ages 0-5 with an open case with the department of child safety in Maricopa County. Cradle to Crayons (C2C) offers services for the parents and children through judicial leadership, community coordinators, early childhood education, dependency treatment, parent-child therapy, family time coaching, trauma therapy, and resource coordination (Cradle to Crayons Child Welfare Center, 2015).

The mission statement for Families, Inc. Counseling Services shows how dedicated the staff are to the clients that they serve. This mission statement is "The core of Families, Inc. is our belief in the value of families. We accept the responsibility to develop, teach, share, and sustain by example the kinds of relationships that will allow each member of the family unit to reach their fullest potential." This corporation offers a variety of services to their clients. Some of the services that are offered by Families, Inc. Counseling Services are behavioral indicators, couples counseling, family, group, individual, and play therapy.

In 1988 Florida voters passed an amendment to the state constitution granting victims of a crime the right to be informed, present, and heard throughout the criminal process. Florida State Attorney, Michael J. Satz, established Broward County’s State Attorney – Victim Advocate Unit (VAU) in 1989 to meet these demands. The VAU’s mission is to support victims and their survivors in understanding and coping with the criminal justice system and their victimization (Witnesses and Victims, n.d.).

The social workers who first adopted the systems perspective were aiming for a kind of homeostasis or equilibrium. In this type of system, each part serves an essential function in maintaining a balance to produce a well-functioning whole (Hutchison, 2013). This is exactly the kind of perspective that would best serve the Doe family as we take into consideration the multiple layers of challenges they are facing. The complicated dynamics of this family should be approached in a way that addresses the needs and desires of each member, respectively and collectively. For this process to unfold as smoothly as possible, the intervention of a team of professionals, including social workers and therapists, should be implemented as soon as possible, in order to provide this family with affordable group therapy that will assist them with healing and recovery.

The name of the agency I volunteered and shadowed at is the 30th Airman and Family Readiness Center: United States Air Force, usually referred to as the Family Readiness Center. This agency currently does not have a mission statement, however, the purpose of this agency is to provide a one-stop location for necessary family resources. The resources provided by the Airman and Family Readiness Center include, family events and classes in order to promote family advocacy, military and life counseling, personal and work life skills that cover informational health topics like parenting, new mothers and newborn baby, stress management, and marital enrichment. The Airman and Family Readiness Center serves the air force military population, which include active duty military members and their families as well as single military members. Other resources available for military members and their families include, financial advisory, preparation for deployment for both the military member as well as the spouse and children, relocation assistance, employment assistance (for spouses), help with childcare resources and also assists with volunteer opportunities for interested members and spouses (Vandenberg Air Force Base Support Squadron, 2015).

The Family Resource Center (FRC) determine its effectiveness from the data gathered during the pre and post client surveys given. Client feedback is relevant to the population served. Feedback is associated with helpful information or criticism about an action, behavior, or service in a particular environment. One of the most powerful tool, feedback serves as a guide and support mechanism which proves the value and efficacy of the FRC. Negative feedback is just as critical as positive feedback, negative feedback is sometimes viewed as criticism which is actually constructive criticism that highlights the necessity for improvement and required changes to formulate better decisions and increase client satisfaction while positive feedback plays