May

May was hectic.  I was rushing to get everything done and have everything ready for the big day.  Presenting to Pang, a teacher that is intimidating.  I was do nervous and I couldn't seem to do a good job about presenting.

Senior Project Reflection

Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

Title: Senior Project Reflection
Label: Presentation
Directions: Please answer the following questions and turn it in to the blog.
Due Date: The day after your block presentation by 8:00 A.M.


(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why? I made time and Mr. Pang congratulated me for doing a good job.  Truth be told he terrifies me.


(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

(3) What worked for you in your senior project? I really liked the research I found.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time? I would take out the social work part of my project.  This made everything difficult because I had the idea of rewriting the social services system.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples. It help me be more sure about what I want in the future and how to ask for help when I need it.  The showed me that I needed to be more transparent and to trust my teachers in understanding some situations I had throughout the time.  

Blog 21: Mentorship

    Literal

    Bryn Morgan at Ettie Lee Youth and Family Service

    Interpretive

     What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why? The most important thing I gained from this experience is the power of one's resources and that you really can't help everyone that comes your way. 

   Applied

     How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain. This helped me see 

Exit Interview

  EQ: How can a social worker best help a child recover from an abusive situation? 

1. Ensure the child attends group therapy sessions
2. Remove the child from the abusive environment
3. Involve the child and their family in therapy, which includes occasional social worker visits.

My best answer is removing the child from the abusive environment since a child wouldn't feel truly safe in their own homes and won't be able to build healthy relationship with the people that harmed them.
The process that I went through to find these answers were extensive.  I went to old cases and talked to people who went through child abuse and saw how they've grown up and then I interviewed children in juvie who had a history of child abuse and understand how they ended up where they were.  My mentor helped me find these resources to get to them and she helped me find my second answer.
 My first mentor and I encountered a problem I was volunteering at the House of Ruth.  It was my first day and I was in charge of taking care of the children. A man came in and started to invade the home a d grabbed his wife from the hair and started to drag her from the home. I couldn't deal with that and I told my mentor and I apologized.  I ended up with no mentor for a couple of weeks. She understood I had problem with this sort of situation and assured me that it didn't happen in their private company.
 My significant sources were PDF File Hansen, Susan. "Kids Together Child and Adolescent Group Therapy Program: Evaluating a Therapeutic Change Process.", DIETER BRADBURY, Staff W. "DHS' ZEAL IN TAKING CHILDREN CRITICIZED A New Study Finds Maine is Sixth in the Nation in Removing Kids from Troubled Homes, Overloading its Foster-Care System.", and10 PDF File DePanfilis, Diane. Child Neglect: A Guide for Prevention, Assessment, and
Intervention

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

LITERAL 
 I, Debora Martinez , affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) Ledingham, Don. "Removing a Child from a Toxic Family is Never Easy."
INTERPRETIVE 
This component helped me understand that removing the child from the abusive environment is much more beneficial for the child 

APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.. 

April

April.... Panic attack.... I'm so behind and haven't been able to overcome the gap that grew from February.  I don't know what to do.  This is really bad.  I have to present the first week.  I present the first day in the first block...
Why did I do this? I'll beat myself up in private.

March Post

I've been playing catch up this month. I have done research that I didn't do, blogs that I haven't finished. I went to work where I don't get paid. I realized this is the hardest thing I could have done. I'm exhausted and a bit emotional from what at do in the Child and Family Services in Pomona. I also realized that if I continue to do this, I will burn out. I'm not passionate enough, not willing enough to give my sympathy in every case, to work every case like it should be

Blog 18: Third Answer

Content:

Just like you did for answer 1 and 2 post your:

•  How can a social worker best help a child recover from an abusive situation?
• Can enforce that families shall go to counseling and have surprise visits from social services.
• Social services want to keep the families together and have them continue being a family after an investigation of child abuse is done while keeping the child safe.  
• DIETER BRADBURY, Staff W. "DHS' ZEAL IN TAKING CHILDREN CRITICIZED A New Study Finds Maine is Sixth in the Nation in Removing Kids from Troubled Homes, Overloading its Foster-Care System." Portland Press Herald: 0. Apr 08 2001. ProQuest. Web. 
• This will help the child overcome an abusive situation with their family and start the healing  process together.  

Blog 17: Fourth Interview

Content:

1. How does the trend in social work harm or protect the child? 
2. What is the best way a group therapy must work so that the child won't be affected negatively in the future? 
3. Is group therapy the way to go for the child if the child would go back to that same abusive environment? 
4. How is group therapy more effective than one-on-one therapy?
5. How must group therapy be formed so that it is more effective? 
6. Does this particular type of therapy work for every type of child abuse? 
7. Can removing the child from their abusive environment traumatized the child? 
8. Do some children feel safer in foster and group homes? 
9. Why are there still cases of child abuse in foster homes? 
10. What is the best way to stop the abuse in foster homes? 
11. What would a foster parent need to provide and show so that they can continue being a foster parents? 
12. Do some foster parents adopt the foster kids? How does that work? 
13. What exactly is family preservation? 
14. How does it work? 
15. What do children go through in this process? 
16. What do the parents have to do in this program? 
17. Does this really protect the children from their abusive situation? 
18. Can the parents actually change and become better parents after having abusive tendencies?? 
19. Do parents hide their abusive tendencies? 

February post

This probably is the month that I decided not to care of senior project.  I got really sick and it made it so that I couldn't move out of my home.  This sucks.  This whole month sucks.  I've never been this scared.  It doesn't matter... I'll get better and continue on my senior project.

Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2

How can a social worker best help a child recover from an abusive situation? 

 A social worker can remove child from home

Removing g the child from their home will make the child see the differences in households and what is what hurt them and see that they can't be hurt anymore.  Ostis, Constance Marie. "Social Support and Treatment for Nonabusing Parents of Abused and Abusing Children: Evaluation of a Metaphor-Enhanced Psychoeducational Group Curriculum." Order No. 3071335 Simmons College School of Social Work, 2002. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web.  

Removing the child from their home can help them see that they won't be hurt anymore and they will start their healing process when removed of the flight or fight mindset.  

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Internship at Child Services in L.A. County.2.  This internship will help go into detail about Answer 2.
3.  I will be working with some cases and see more of what goes on, talk to social workers, police force, and go to court to see proceedings of such cases.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

• LITERAL 
•  I, Debora Martinez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work. 
• Hansen, Susan. "Kids Together Child and Adolescent Group Therapy Program: Evaluating a Therapeutic Change Process." Order No. 3560671 Fordham University, 2013. Ann Arbor: ProQuest.Web
• I was to record the proceedings of the group therapy and call social services when called for. 
• INTERPRETIVE 
• It helped me understand some of the decisions of social workers and why it may be more easier said that done
• APPLIED
  This helped me learn about social workers decision and what they have to consider when a case of child abusive is reported to them and what angle they can take to help them.  

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

Content:

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
    I'm proud of the interviews I conducted and my independent component with  Jennie.

2. Questions to Consider
       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P          AP       CR       NC

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
                    I missed a small requirement. I didn't meet the time requirement.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
I like my activity, I just need to flesh it out some more.
     
4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?  Findiing more sources in this subject

5. Finding Value
What do you think your answer #2 is going to be? A social worker can remove a child from home so that the child can recover from an abusive situation.

January Post

This month I decided to crack down the whip.  I went to my mentorship and decided to work there six days a week. I gave myself Sundays off so that I could do house stuff.  I can't wait to get my apartment.  I'm this thrilled and scared.  I can't wait to see how things will work out with senior project.  I'm hopping for the best.

Third Interview Questions

1. How can a social worker best help a child recover from an abusive situation?
2. What are things one must look at for a child to stay with the family?
3. Can one be emotionally attached to a case?
4. What are the pros and cons to this?
5.What deems an environment unsafe for a child?
6. What can a social worker do to for an abused child who is showing violent behavior?
7. Does group therapy help these kids?
8. Are there cases where a child refuses any type of therapy?
9.Are there any books you can give me in this topic?
10. Is there a way to implement group therapy to all the abused children?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hour

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship? The House of Ruth
2.   Who is your contact? Jennie Rios
3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?  13 hours
4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
         I was to write down each of their stories in a report. Get names of parents, abusers , home info, and description of the type of abuse they received. I called social services if the enviroment caled for it.

Senior Project, The Holiday

Content:

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you over the break with your senior project?
         I did more reading on the subject and talked to some kids who were abused and went through the system. It was really interesting but bleak. 
2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why?  What was the source of what you learned?
         I learned that social workers are spread thin and that kids fall through the gap in the system. Most genuinely want to help but the kids didn't like being just another name for them. This was just some of my chats with them.
3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?
          I would really want to talk to Yvonne Gratianne because she has had over 20 years in Social Workers system and she wont expect me to be well versed about this subject and surprising my superior would be fun.