Outside Reading #2: Social Work with a Hawaiian and Her Family

This article walks the reader through the process of a social worker helping a mother and her family out. I myself want to major in social work, so I was quite invested in this reading. Upon helping the family out, the social worker first had to establish a relationship with the mother; she was assigned to help the entire family, but more closely with the mother. I feel that building relationships with my future clients will be no problem for me because I enjoy getting to know people. I almost never meet someone and think to myself, "There's no way I can get along with this person."

Another one of the main steps to helping the family out was goal planning. The family, by definition, is considered population-at-risk so their family income is low and their living condition is horrid. Some of the goals they set included learning parental skills and preventing the removal of their children by improving their child care. Goal setting is something I do on the daily, so I feel like I could do a good job helping individuals make a list of what they need to do to improve their lives.

I know that becoming a social worker is going to be hectic, but after reading about how much of an impact this social worker has made in this family's life, it makes me want to fulfill this profession even more.



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