Eric, I'd like to know your title anyway. It would help me understand
whether you work alone or are a representative of some agency or firm.
At this point it sounds to me as if you are a free-lance client
advocate. Is that correct?
Thanks -- Helena
MnFamilyMan@aol.com wrote:
> Helen,
>
> Yes, I am a MInnesota Family Man. ÝAs to my job, that is quite a
> complicated
> question. ÝWhy? ÝBecause if I go by my official titile it confuses
> people and
> they don't understand why it is I am with my clients in court, or down
> at the
> Federal building trying to get their SSI reinstated. ÝSocial workers
> get mad
> at me when I am calling them about why it is they haven't had contact
> with my
> clients who may have lost housing, medical insurance, or any number of
>
> problems. Ý
>
> I have worked in the field of education for 11 years. ÝAfter
> graduating from
> the University of MInnesota I was essentially a behavior specialist
> (my
> official title at the time was Educational Assistant level II),
> initially
> this was with autistic clients and later, when Traumatic Brain Injury
> became
> a fundable special ed. category I worked with clients who had
> traumatic brain
> injuries. ÝTaking on the task of trying to design behavior plans for
> people
> with TBI proved a daunting task and provided me with great insight,
> that a
> strict behaviorist approach to education was making false assumptions
> regarding the cognitive processes that people operate with. ÝFor
> instance if
> you use words as an antecedent for directing behavior the person with
> TBI may
> in fact be keying off a totally unrelated stimulus. ÝI became
> effective when
> I began using an approach similar to cognitive-behavior therapy. ÝIn
> essence
> getting the person to relay their perceptions and subsequent
> adaptations.
> ÝThen, once I was able to understand how they were accomodating for
> their own
> deficits I was succesful in helping them advocate for their own needs.
>
> For the past five years Ý(2 of them as a licensed teacher) I have been
>
> working in a Community Based Program for clients identified within the
> school
> system as having emotional/behavioral disorders. ÝUnfortunately the
> adult
> systems do not recognize this as a diagnosis. ÝAlso, adult systems do
> not
> recognize an E/BD Teacher as one who has any understanding of mental
> illness
> or how to provide appropriate service. ÝTherefore, our program
> philosophy is
> to not identify ourselves as teachers, we are Case Managers. ÝWe do
> not call
> the people attending our program students, they are clients. ÝWe do
> not
> operate out of a classroom model, we are community based and
> tyherefore much
> of our instruction takes place on metro transit buses, job sites, or
> wherever
> it is in the community our client requires assistance. ÝIn a category
> where
> dropout rates are high we graduate aproximately 90% of our clients
> with a
> high school diploma.
>
> Let me just give you a concrete example of the problems our clients
> face when
> receiving assistance. ÝIf a client has a child and are over 18 they
> can apply
> for MNFIP (it is what the rest of the country calls TANIF). ÝOnce on
> MNFIP
> they have a social worker for that program. ÝIf the client needs
> daycare they
> then get a different social worker for helping them find daycare. ÝIf
> the
> client is interested in finding a job they then get a social worker
> that
> works with them on finding a job. ÝIf the client needs to find housing
> they
> get a social worker that is in charge of controlling the housing
> finances.
> ÝIf the client qualifies for county assistance because of cognitive
> functioning they get a separate social worker for that. ÝIf the client
>
> qualifies for a county assistance because of depression,
> schizophrenia,
> bi-polar, or borderline personality disorder they get a separate
> social
> worker for that, unless they qualify for a social worker because of of
> their
> cognitive delays. ÝBesides the job counselor MNFIP supplies the client
> could
> also qualify to recieve assistance from the department of Vocational
> Rehabilitation. ÝAnd so on and so on. Ý
>
> My point is that there is plenty of services available but there just
> doesn't
> seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why some qualify for certain
> assistance
> and why social workers become so defensive when they are asked to help
> with a
> difficult client. Ý"This is a voluntary service, if they aren't going
> to make
> the effort then there is nothing I can really do," is the common reply
> I
> hear. ÝWell, yes there is something that can be done. ÝMental illness
> is not
> a choice and many times people with a mental illness don't know
> anything else
> other then their life of chaos. ÝProviding numerous opportunities and
> some
> outreach from a system that is set up to provide service would be a
> nice
> thing. ÝMaybe instead of expecting the client to always come to the
> professionals office, why not go out in the community and see what
> environment the client is coming from? ÝInstead of providing a
> prepackaged
> program why not ask the client what it is they need? ÝI am sure there
> are
> many people who work in the social services who would like to provide
> outreach but feel tied down by the rules and regulations of the
> system. ÝAll
> I know is that there has got to be an easier way to provide
> assistance.
>
> Hope I have provided insight,
> Eric
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue May 01 2001 - 01:01:50 PDT