Case_Management_Special_Populations_Paper

Special Populations - A Look at Domestic Violence Introduction Domestic violence is an act of abusive behavior imposed on one in an intimate relationship as a way of the abuser gaining power and control over an intimate partner. The decision to write about domestic violence evolves from the very fact that women suffer at the hands of an abusive partner at an alarming rate, According to National Organization for Women. (n.d.) “Women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year’(para. Domestic Violence (Intimate Partner Violence or Battering)). For various reasons many women that are abused stay in the relationship, while others escape only to live a life of fear and worry that her abuser will seek her out in retribution of her leaving the relationship. The writer’s interest in writing about domestic violence stems from her experience with dating violence and how it impacted her life. How can Case Management help the Domestic Violence Population According to Social Work Best Practice (n.d.) “Social Work Case Management is a method of providing services whereby a professional Social Worker collaboratively assesses the needs of the client and the client’s family, when appropriate, and arranges, coordinates, monitors, evaluates, and advocates for a package of multiple services to meet the specific client” (para. Definition). As such, there are many ways that case management can serve the domestic violence population. To begin, when a domestic violence victim presents to say a social services agency, she will go through the intake process which entails identifying the client’s problem and situation. Once the intake coordinator has gather enough information he or she will begin the process of finding appropriate services that will meet the client’s needs. Say in this situation the intake coordinator has determined that the client is the victim of domestic violence, as such, the intake coordinator will more than likely refer the client to a domestic violence shelter. Its important to recognize that the intake process is important to the case managing of the domestic violence population because its where valuable information is gathered that will determine how the client should be helped, the fact is, victims of domestic violence may be in such vulnerable situations where she is unable to cope, which suggest that she may not know what services she may require. Once intake is completed and the client has been referred to the appropriate agency for assistance, which is more than likely a domestic violence shelter, she will then undergo the assessment process required by the shelter. The assessment process is essential to case managing the domestic violence population because it is through this process where information pertaining to the client’s psychological, social, and medical standings are explored as a way to understand the client’s problems, and the root causes and dynamics of said problems. Dissecting the psychological, social, and medical standing of the client not only helps the case manager in developing a case history, but can help the domestic violence population by creating guidelines as to how to identify, understand and help victims of domestic violence. Furthermore, properly assessing clients will also help the domestic violence population by developing, implementing, and offering programs that will meet the needs of domestic violence victims who present to various social services agencies. Besides the latter, there are many other ways that case management can help the domestic violence population such as maintaining statistics as to how many women and children present to agencies annually, databases that contain information that evaluates the success and failures of programs, and what percentages of women return to the agency as opposed to those who do not. When case management is able to create appropriate databases and statistics this helps the domestic violence population in that it supplies information that will support the need for more domestic violence programs, case managers, funding, as well as paint a clearer picture to society stating that domestic violence does exist, and impacts millions of women annually, perhaps knowing this information will cause more people to take action towards ending domestic violence. What Limitations and Strengths do you bring to this Population' Because the writer is a former victim of dating violence, she has developed a passion towards helping others who are victims of domestic violence. As such, the writer has developed strengths of courage, determination, belief, and the desire to develop domestic violence shelters, which she is working towards opening. While the writer doesn’t have formal training in the field of domestic violence such as a degree in Human Services or Social Work, she has however, worked as a volunteer in a domestic violence shelter, as well as received a certificate in domestic violence training. Additionally, she is pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Human Services and plans on obtaining a Master in Social Work with emphasis on Community Organization, Planning, and Administration, which will aide in her creating successful shelters and programs. The limitations faced by the writer is that she has not completed her degree, which will not allow her to work as a highly trained Case Manager or licensed Social Worker, and the lack of funding that is needed to open a domestic violence shelter. Are there likely to be Multicultural Issues addressed in dealing with the Domestic Violence Population – How would these issues be addressed' Because the writer lives in an area where the existence of many cultures make up the landscape of her community, she is aware that in working with the domestic violence population she will be helping women from various cultures and socio-economic backgrounds, as such she understands there will be issues as it relates to one’s culture. The writer believes that the best way to address issues related to one’s culture is to develop and implement cultural competencies that will serve as guidelines as to how issues pertaining to one’s culture should be addressed. Conclusion In conclusion, its important to know that case management is very important to the domestic violence population in that it serves as a starting point in understanding, assessing, and providing appropriate services to the victim. Furthermore, case management is essential to the domestic violence cause in that it has the ability to gather important client information that can serve and further the domestic violence cause by way of awareness, programs, and funding. References National Organization for Women. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.now.org/issue/violence/ Stats.Html Social Work Best Practice. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sswlhc.org/docs/swbest- practices.pdf