Mark and Jen have been together since they were both 17 years old. Jen is now 18 and she has accidentally become pregnant. She says she loves Mark a

Case Scenario

Mark and Jen have been together since they were both 17 years old. Jen is now 18 and she has accidentally become pregnant. She says she loves Mark and wants to keep his baby. As a child, Marks dad was abusive towards him and his mother. He ran away from home at 13 years old and then spent a lot of time in youth homeless services or at his friends houses. Jen was also removed from her family by child protection services when she was a young child after having experienced child hood sexual abuse. Jen identifies as bisexual and before she met Mark, she had a girlfriend called Jane. Jen ended their sexual relationship when she met Mark but Jen and Jane are still close friends and see each other regularly. Jane would like to get back together with Jen. Jen lived in four different foster homes during her childhood. She has never met her biological parents. She would like to meet her mother and find out where she comes from. Mark started using methamphetamines at 16. He is involved in some criminal activities such as stealing and dealing to buy drugs. He has spent short periods in jail but Jen said it was not his fault that he was treated badly as a child. Mark can become aggressive, especially when he is using heavy drugs and Jen feels scared of him then. Nonetheless, she feels sure that having a baby would settle him down. Now that she is pregnant Jen is trying her best to stop using drugs (mainly marijuana) and alcohol, but this is hard in their current accommodation. Mark and Jen live in temporary accommodation, they couch surf with different friends and occasionally they rent a caravan or camp in the local caravan park. They move around a lot because they frequently have arguments with their friends. They fight about finances. This is often when they have been drinking or taking drugs and have no money left to buy food. They occasionally access services that assist them to obtain basic material needs such as food, bus tickets and clothing, especially when their Centrelink benefit is cut off or they run out of money. When Jen was first pregnant, they went to the local public housing service to find permanent accommodation. They were told that they had to wait for many years for public housing unless they got on the priority list. Jen is now 6 months pregnant and they still have no permanent accommodation. She asked the child protection service who had supported her in foster care to write a letter for public housing. However, her old case manager had left, no-one knew her in the office and they said she was too young to have a baby anyway. The worker she spoke to however did say she would take this request to the next allocation meeting. Mark is feeling more and more stressed about his impending fatherhood and using drugs more frequently. There was a violent incident one day when Mark was really out of it and he pushed Jen when she was pregnant. Jen rang a crisis number and they referred her to a domestic violence service. She did not go because she wanted to make sure Mark was okay. She said he is only like that when he is taking drugs anyway. Jen is feeling more and more anxious and depressed. She is having suicidal thoughts, thoughts of self-harm and experiencing symptoms of bulimia. She tried to explain how she was feeling to the hospital nurse where she attends for prenatal check ups. She said that the nurse just seems to be worried about the unborn baby and whether his or her heart was beating or not. She did find a list of accommodation services for mothers and babies at the hospital but then thought they would be trying to tell her what to do so she hasnt approached them for assistance yet. The baby is due in a few weeks. Jen hasnt seen Mark for a few days. She is still staying at a friends house and nothing has been sorted. She does not know what to do. You are working as a social worker in a drop in youth service. Jen (or Mark) walks in the door. Jen is heavily pregnant, asking for assistance.

Stage 2: Safety Planning and Counselling

Your intervention to advocate for Jen to stay in temporary supported accommodation until she is able to obtain permanent housing has been successful. Jen and Mark are in temporary housing provided by your service. The birth went well. The baby Jo is now 3 months old. The family support worker occasionally visits the couple and states things are generally going ok and that Jen is trying hard to be a good mother but there are relationship issues. Jen or Mark attend counselling for assistance with parenting or drug & alcohol issues or mental health issues or safety planning and referral to a DV service etc. (with either Jen or Mark) etc. (Note: chose one main issue).

Selected Social work approach: - Solution-focused approach

Selected Field of Practice: - Relationship issues Mark was not helping Jen with parenting activities as a dad to Baby Joe in their household chores.

Critical Analysis (Practice Theory/Approach) 2250 Words

The final assignment asks you to provide an in-depth critical analysis of the theory behind one SW approach that you used in the video. (Solution-focused approach)

Critically discuss your understanding of this theoretical approach (Solution-focused approach) and how this is applicable in a specific field of practice, as linked with ONE key issue in the Jen, Mark & baby Jo case study.

You can use these headings: Introduction (approx. 100 words). Give a brief introduction to what the paper will cover and the order in which it will be presented

Description of Field of Practice and population cohort (approx. 600 words)

Choose a field of practice from the case study that particularly interests you from the case study. (Relationship issues) as Mark was not helping Jen with parenting Baby Joe in household chores.

Describe the field of practice (Relationship issues) including narrowing this to a specific cohort, as relevant to the case study.

Define the issue and outline Australian statistics and prevalence (i.e. Australian definitions and statistics about youth homelessness; unplanned pregnancy; gendered violence, mental illness, drug use focusing on young people etc).

Support your response with research literature from social work sources and current research and statistics from credible government websites such as ABS, AIHW, as well as ANROWS for gendered violence https://

www.anrows.org.au/and AHURI for homelessness https://www.ahuri.edu.au/.

Description of Theory (approx. 600 words)

Demonstrate your in-depth understanding of the ONE theory/approach (Solution-focused approach) by describing its origins, pioneers (seminal authors), main argument, 3-4 key principles of the theory, intervention level (e.g. micro, mezzo, macro), The strengths and weaknesses of the theory (see Template using Strengths Approach on course homepage).

Critical analysis of the social work application of the theory to the field of practice (approx. 900 words), including alignment with social work values and Purpose.

Critically apply the chosen theory to your chosen field of practice/issue from the Jen & Mark case study.

Drawing on a Solution Focused approach to define how to look at the relationship issues between Jen and Mark Discuss the applicability of the approach to the Jen & Mark case study.

Discuss the application of key theoretical principles of Solution Focused approach to relationship issues and why they are applicable; Outline potential outcomes of the theory/approach for Jen and/or Mark; Outline some of the strengths and limitations of the theory, for the field or practice/issue (relationship issues ).

Discuss how well the theory you have chosen aligns with core social work values and purpose, when working with your chosen cohort (see AASW Code of Ethics)

NOTE: this is not an intervention plan, you are not using theory to design an intervention. You are looking at your chosen cohort through the lens of the theory and critically analyzing the strengths and limitations of what the theory can tell you, to develop your understanding of their circumstances.

Conclusion (approx. 100 words)

Clearly outline your conclusions about why you think that the theory is (or is not) applicable to work in the particular field you have examined. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Thinking critically

In this final assessment, you are required to think critically about a theory and how it applies to practice. To guide the development of your application and critical skills, the following framework may be helpful How to critique a theory Critique is really about unpacking, examining in detail and identifying various parts of a theory.

In the process you become acutely aware of the main points, the strengths and limitations of the theory. Ask the following questions of the theory you have under consideration:

Historical perspective

What are the origins of the theory?

Assumptions and key principles

How does this theory position the client?

How does this theory view human nature?

How does it define the role of the social worker and the client?

What does it assume about the change process?

What does it prescribe for helping clients in the change process?

Usefulness

How is the theory intended to be used?

Is the theory clear and easy to understand?

Strengths/weaknesses

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the theory?

Potential benefits for specific problems, clients, settings?

Diversity

Does the theory address gender, culture, power, ethnic or racial issues (diversity issues)?

What does it say about these issues?

(Based on the framework in Mumm, A & Kersting, R 1997, Teaching critical thinking in social work practice courses, Journal of Social Work Education, Vol. 33, no. 1, pp 75-84).

Minimum: 15 references for this paper in HARVARD Referencing Style.