Necessary Questions

1. When clients are referred to your organization, what process or procedure is followed to assess your client (such as psychological, social, medical, et cetera)?

Does the intake form ask all of the necessary questions to determine what the client’s presenting problem is? I think this form does an adequate asking what the presenting problem is by up front asking what the problems are that the individual is seeking help for and giving the client space to say in their own words what their problem is. I also like that after the open ended question of the presenting problem there is a checklist of symptoms for the client to prompt

The intake form is easy to read and presented in a way that is easy to navigate through. As a client it would be easy enough to go down the list and answer the questions. As a social worker, there may be concern that important questions do not pop out such as suicide idealizations and owning a gun. The question regarding if a client is wanting to harm someone else should also be included in this form for obvious safety

The counselor will ask questions to clarify and summarize the family’s concerns. I will answer any questions and address any concerns raised by the family about the therapy process. I will also assist in laying down parental authority and a sense of impartiality among the children. This will reinstate equilibrium in the family and motivate all members to participate in the therapy.

In general, the intake form is formatted thoughtfully. My suggestion would be to expand certain areas, include a few more questions and provide a bit more space between topic areas. One aspect I really appreciated was on the final page where space is provided for the client to add any additional areas of concern. I reviewed quite a few intake forms for this assignment and found very few that incorporated this aspect.

Overall, the CLAS policy appears to be designed to address the needs of providing cultural competence to members of traditionally under-represented groups (e.g. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, homeless, etc.). The only recommendations that I would make would be that the policy provide clear guidelines on how to account for those who are of immigrant status for whom data may not be collected when assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of the standards. Also, there should be explicit rules to follow when determining whether or not those with limited English proficiency who may be able to speak English but not communicate effectively in writing (and vice versa) are provided with the necessary language assistance. In addition, there should be clear measures or ways to determine proficiency, and provision of services should not be based on assumptions in only one of the two forms of communication.

“Where inability to speak and understand the English language excludes national origin minority-group children from effective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must take affirmative steps to rectify the language deficiency in order to open its instructional program to these students.” (Smith, 1990)

The purpose of this policy and procedure is to deliver services to consumers from different background, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, culture, economic status, languages, political views, and religion. Respecting and supporting families with the use of their native language and traditions, as well as the mainstream language in the community.

The first semester of internship, I realized Ben Massell Dental Clinic (BMDC) provide serve to a lot of people. BMDC deliver services to people of many different races, gender, belief, and customs. A high percentage of clients that BMDC serve are African American and Caucasian. There are few Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. Along with cultures, there are different languages. Unfortunately, at the clinic, there is only one language that staff members know, which is English. In the waiting area, there are magazines for clients to read that is in English and only English. There have been a few moments, where BMDC have encountered a client who does not speak English. Lucky, the clients, would come in with a family member or friend that can translate for them. There are times when members of the clinic try to contact the client, who does not speak English, and no one is around to translate for them. The client and the worker have a difficult time understanding each other because of the language barrier. Eventually, leaving the customer to become frustrated and having to find out information later or not at all.

Clients come to the window and sign in on a sheet with the type of assistance they are requesting. We ask them for their photo identification card and look up on the computer to see if they have an existing file. If they have an existing file, then we retrieve it from the filing cabinet, if not, we create a new file for them. Once we have the existing file, we update any information such as dependents, what number of assistance they are receiving since they cannot exceed six, and if they have a change in address. All files are labeled with the first two letters of their last name. Once the files are updated, it goes to another worker who enters the information in the database and then to the caseworker. The caseworker meets with each client to find out why they need assistance and to document this in the database. Reasons could be due to unforeseen expenses such as medical or a car repair. After the caseworker has met with the client, the client then has their food order filled. Since February is a slow month, clients are usually are helped immediately and there is no long wait. Clients that are new must fill out a two page assessment form which is put in their file. After the clients have been served, their files are filed back alphabetically in the filing cabinets. Only one to two people work the intake during the day. According to Irma, an intake volunteer at Irving Cares, on Monday, February 22,

Are the intake forms available in the language appropriate for the population the agency serves?

For that reason, the form incorporates subjects about the history of the client’s childhood, trauma, education, relationships and psychiatric illness in the family. Also, the form asks for the history of the client’s substance abuse, alcohol use, and legal issues. Every individual has lived a different life within a different environment. Therefore, knowing the history will explain the client’s current behavior and function. Lastly, the form ends with questioning the client’s long-term goals and the “multi-axial diagnosis”. This part of the form is vital, as this will provide the diagnosis of the

Translators who were eligible to participate in the SIV program may have been deterred if they came to believe that the application process was too arduous and degrading, or that their claims are unwanted and unlikely to succeed (Soss, 1999). However, it is possible to increase program take-up while maintaining program integrity by moving the administrative burden from the individual to the state (Herd,

Are the intake forms available in the language appropriate for the population the agency serves?

The population in the area the organization serves is overwhelmingly English speaking and there is no indication on the organization’s website that there is any bilingual staff available. It does not appear that the organization intends to serve anyone that is not English speaking. For this reason, a form that is available solely in English seems appropriate. If there are individuals in the area that are monolingual in a language other than English, interpretation services would be needed.