EvaluationofPracticePaper

SamiraAli
fq7753
ProfessorGrant
SW4020SocialWorkMacroTheoryandPractice.
April4,2016

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How do I evaluate my practice with client or group or community systems?

(Pick one system)
I evaluate my practice with many clients. Clients are eager to get answers
about their varies questions. I am able to asses their concerns and requests. It
is my pleasure to be able to interpret their mail, make phone calls, copy, fax, and
fill out documents and apply for benefits on MI bridges, unemployment, as well
as social security. Their needs are always met. I respect all clients and feel that I
take my time and continue to rephrase in order to get my point across. The
clients are willing and able to do what is required of them with my assistance.
They may need documents uploaded to MI bridges and they follow any direction I
give in order to bring the necessary documents. I am then able to upload them to
their account. Clients are scared at times because they feel that their case
maybe be closed and they rely on their food stamps to feed their families. It is
also important that their Medicaid does not get terminated because many of the
children are not well and need a physicians care. I have noticed that many of the
families that I have dealt with have children with disabilities or suffer from trauma.
How do I know that what I do with client or group or community systems
has an impact?
All the clients that come to ACCESS because they need assistance with
interpretations of their basic mail. I would say eighty percent of them can not read

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or write therefore they are unable to rely on themselves because they do not
know what to do. Many of the clients have been coming to ACCESS since they
first entered the United States. I do have an impact with the clients I interact with.
I am able to speak the Arabic language and this is a real necessity at this
location. Since I first started I can say that I have had many clients that request
to be seen by me and that says a lot about the impact I have on them. It is
important for the client to feel comfortable and know that you are there for them
and will provide them the services they desire. Everyday I see refugees and
immigrants. Many of these client suffer from the transitions of being in a new
country. Some suffer from trauma due to the war in their country . Also language
and cultural barriers, documentation issues can be a real struggle for these
individuals because they may have a visiting visa and are not able to stay in the
United States. I have family that are immigrants and I understand and realize that
many challenges such as parenting, employment and education for both adults
and children . Social workers need to emphasize strengths even in the midst of
challenges. Strengths include: ethnic group solidarity, pride, hard work,
endurance, perseverance and the inclusion of spirituality (Lum, 2011).
What skills do I need in order for me to work in my current field placement
setting?
One skill that one must have when working at ACCESS is to be fluent in
the Arabic language. Arabic is the native language of ninety percent of the
clients. Often times you will encounter many dialects such as Iraqi, Yemeni,

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Lebanese, Syrian, and Moroccan. Often times I find myself speaking according to
their dialect in order to get my point across. I also find that the client who do
speaking limited English often times will code switch. Code switching is when
one person alternates between two or more languages. The switching is between
English and Arabic. This occurs in our entire conversation.

Iamalwayseagertoengagewithclientsandpreparewhatneedstobedone.I
continuetoidentifymyselfasastudentinternwhencommunicatingwith
clients.Imaintainconfidentialityofallclientsaswellastheorganization.
IalwaysfollowtheNASWcodeofethicsastheyapplytomyfieldplacement.
My communication and listening skills with all clients is great. I am able to carry
out all job responsibilities successfully. It is so important to be respectful and
caring in order to develop a positive relationship with client. At times I can say
that some clients are looking for immediate answers that I do not have the
answers to. I feel bad when I do not have answers but I realize it is ok so I do
them get a supervisor to asset me when this occurs. One client was very
frustrated with his wife receiving emergency Medicaid. I explained that she is just
arrived to the United States and she does not qualify for full benefits. I also said
that she needs to be here for aleast five years to receive full benefits. He was
anger and said his friends wife received the full coverage. I continued to explain
that that was a mistake on the DHS case manager. He still did not understand.
He said he will go to the DHS office because we did have the answer he was
looking for. All in all I continue to learn from this wonderful experience.

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Are the population and field of practice a good fit for me? Why or why not?
The population of this field placement is a perfect fit for me because I am
bilingual which I motioned previously. By knowing the Arabic language it makes
it easier to help each and ever client. Many volunteers and employees are not
bilingual but they work in different area so they are not required to speak and
understand the language. I would say at least seventy-five percent of the
employs I have met are bilingual. Some are even multilingual which I find
fascinating. I have notice many of the English speaking individuals are learning
simple words in the Arabic language because they want to be able to
communicate with the majority of clients that need assistance at this facility.
Moreover, I am culturally competent with these individuals. I know all about their
culture because I am the daughter of an immigrant of the same country that
many of these individuals are coming from. I have visited their country and have
seen first hand the struggles that they go through on a daily basis. I am eager to
help them better their lives here in the United States. I understand the struggles
they continue to face by seeing all the struggles my father had not knowing the
language. Many of the children end up learning the English language quickly
because they want to be able to assist their parents any way they can. ACCESS
offers ESL classes for individuals in order to help them with their future

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endeavors. It seems that many of the students in the ESL classes are women. I
would hope that in the future more men would attend.

What can I do to improve my social work practice with client or group or

community systems? (Pick one system)
I did not experience any group session at my field placement. Therefore I was
not able to see how group sessions are conducted. I would of liked to experience
a group session however with my clients I would not change a thing. I am a
people person whether one on one or group. I know that there is always room for
improvement and I am receiving feed back from my field placement supervisor.
This entire field placement has been a great experience a
How have my experiences at this agency contributed to my knowledge of
ethical social work practice?
I have so many great experiences at this agency. The client s are so grateful. The
gratification is so heart warming . It is so important to be ethical in practice. I
recognize the important of ethical behavior everyday when I start my day at the
agency. Also I make it a must to constantly discuss ethical dilemmas with
appropriate staff.

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How has this placement helped me to understand the values of the social
work profession and how has it assisted me in the development of ethics
for social work practice?
I have enjoyed my time at this field placement. The learning process
continues and I am grateful for all the clients I was able to reach out and assist.
The staff has been helpful and eager to assist me when needed. I feel like part of
the family. Social work is the service of others and I carry that out daily. I have a
desire to help improve the quality of life for individuals in needs and fight for
social justice. Access is a great organization that offers so much to its
surrounding communities. It is an asset to Dearborn and it continues to grow and
prosper.

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References

Lum, D. (2011). Culturally Competent Practice A framework for understanding

diverse groups and justice issues. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.