HN114 Unit 4 Assignment Case Study Gary

Case Study: Gary

Purdue University Global

HN144 – Section # 4

Author Note: This assignment was originally submitted on January 22, 2019 for 042-1901B-HN144-02-2374113 for Professor Melanie Beath

The case study for this unit was about a young man named Gary, who just found out his girlfriend Linda, is pregnant. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman,2016) Gary has had a lot of difficulties at school and does not seem to have a lot of support at home. It is mentioned that his father lives in Utah and has only seen Gary once in the previous ten years, and phone contact has mostly occurred on holidays. His mother has a history of coming home intoxicated after a night out with her latest boyfriend. While he has a sister who he cares for, there is an age gap, so they are not very close. It seems that the only supportive person in his life is his girlfriend, Linda. Because of this lack of support and guidance, Gary has fond himself in a difficult situation as he tries to figure out the best way to handle Linda’s unexpected pregnancy.

As previously mentioned Gary has shown struggles with his schooling from as early as the sixth grade, which he had failed. It is mentioned that he is barely getting by in special education, but any physical or mental illnesses are not mentioned in this case study. Gary also has a history of drug usage, which could be a contributor to his poor performance in school along with lack of support from his mother. He also engaged in premarital sex, which resulted in an unplanned pregnancy.

Gary would really benefit by working with a Human Service Professional or HSP. His HSP would get to know Gary and find resources that may be helpful to him during this challenging time. It is important for your client to feel safe and comfortable working with you. It is important to approach Gary’s situation as positively as possible, to give him hope and motivation to succeed. After establishing that reciprocal relationship it would be vital to discuss Gary’s options for schooling. He could remain in school with the goal of improving his academic performance. If his school district offers a trade school as an option for elective course work. If they do not provide this in his district it would also be worth looking into see if he qualifies for grants to attend a trade school through a social services work program. Studying for the GED is another possibility. Since Gary and Linda are going to live on their own, it would also be beneficial to help get them set up for services such as housing assistance, SNAP (or more commonly known as food stamps), and WIC. This assistance will allow for them to meet their basic needs as they continue to improve their lives for the better.

If I were Gary’s HSP, one of the NOHS Ethical Standards that I would consider is Standard 15. Standard 15 states that “Human service professionals provide a mechanism for identifying client needs and assets, calling attention to these needs and assets, and assist in planning and mobilizing to advocate for those needs at the individual, community, and societal level when appropriate to the goals of the relationship. (“Ethical Standards for Human Services Professionals”). When meeting with Gary, I would look at the big picture as well as the smaller problems and try to help Gary create goals to work towards and offer to assist him with applying for services that may benefit him.

A standard that would really impact my behavior as an HSP while working with Gary would be Ethical Standard 35. “An HSP should maintain a healthy personal growth to ensure that they are capable of providing the proper and optimal services to their clients. When they find that they are physically, emotionally, psychologically, or otherwise not able to offer such services, they identify alternative services for clients. (“Ethical Standards for Human Services Professionals”). I am currently pregnant and have had very difficult previous pregnancies. While I would help Gary as much as I am able to, I would also probably plan for an alternate HSP to introduce him to so that he would be comfortable and continue to work towards his goals if I am unable to assist him due to being placed on bed rest.

One resource that could be particularly helpful for Gary and Linda is the Healthy Families Program. This program offers home visiting services to at risk families during and after their pregnancy. They help educate their clients on child development and parenting skills along with providing referrals to other services that may assist the family. I believe that the home visits would be especially helpful to Gary and Linda. “The program also assists parents in identifying/meeting their own educational/employment goals” (“Healthy Families Illinois”). There are also support groups offered through this program that would allow for Gary to see that he is not alone and possibly even make some friends who are in a similar situation. Healthy Families is a national program, the local contact information varies, but can often be found through your state’s social services department. The national contact information is located at this web address https://www.healthyfamiliesamerica.org/. Since Gary is in Chicago, he could also visit his local office at this address: 2100 S Marshall Boulevard Chicago, IL 60623.

When considering the possible services that could be offered to Gary, I believe his outcome would be drastically different. I believe by encouraging Gary to either stay in school or learn a trade, he will be better able to provide for his new family. By guiding him to accept public assistance that he would most likely qualify for, he and Linda would have less financial stress and would likely have a stronger and happier relationship. By working with Gary while keeping the Ethical Standards in mind, I believe this better outcome would create a strong positive relationship with Gary, as well as his new family.

References

Barrett, S. (n.d.). Ethical Standards for Human Services Professionals. Retrieved February 4,

2019, from https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standardsHealthy Families Illinois. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=31780

Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social

Environment (tenth ed.). Belmont, CA 94002-3098: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.