Question: A 13 year old client tells you that her mother is an alcoholic and was a teenage mom. She has been removed from the mother's care, but mom wants her to come to visit for 4 weeks with her in another state. The visitation is stipulated in the divorce agreement between the mother and father. The client is reluctant. She asks her counselor what she should do.
A: The counselor should tell the client to comply with the court order.
B: The counselor should collect more information to assess the functional capacity of the mother to appropriately care for the client for 4 weeks.
C: The counselor should meet with the current caretakers and other stakeholders to further assess the situation before recommending a plan of action.
D: The counselor should tell that client that she is old enough now to just refuse to go and the court most likely won't make her.
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The correct answer is C: The counselor should meet with the current caretakers and other stakeholders to further assess the situation before recommending a plan of action.
ReplyDeleteRationale: The client is old enough to be aware of mother's functioning and the risks of living with her for 4 weeks if she is actively abusing alcohol. It is not the counselor's place to assess mother's functional capacity to provide appropriate parenting due to a possible impairment from alcohol abuse. However, the counselor can meet with other interested stakeholders to collect more information about the situation and help design a plan that meets as many interests of the parties involved as possible and still protect the child's safety and well being.
I also think more discussion with the youth is in order. Why doesn't she want to go? What does she think will happen? I know it said "reluctant", which isn't very strong, but if all her carers come together and say that she should go, but she still is reluctant, how can we make it better for her?
ReplyDeleteantiSwer:
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right. She should have primary consideration in assessing the situation and participating in the planning.
Thanks for your helpful comment,
David Markham