The document considers the health needs and legal concerns of an imaginary immigrant family who recently came to the United States. Concerns that are addressed include promoting the family's ability to generate an income, obtain education for their children, obtain health services, and in general become part of their community and their new country.
Community Nursing
The United States today represents not only wealth and opportunity for those within its borders, but also for those who enter it as immigrants. At least, this is the ideal. The unfortunate reality is that, more often than not, those seeking refuge from the conditions in their home countries often come into the states with very little. Many come in without even so much as the ability to speak English, which makes it even more difficult to secure an income and a future in their new country. It is, however, also fortunate that the United States government has implemented laws and measures to assist legal immigrants in their journey towards a better life for their families. This is also the case in my work as community health nurse with a family of four, including a pregnant mother. In Chicago, Illinois, there are local and state laws that protect their health and ensure that they can provide an education and health care for their children and themselves.
The first challenge I face with this family is referring them to agencies that can provide shelter, food, clothing, and health care. In Cook County, where the family is located, the Chicago Heights Community Health Center can provide the family with pedriatic and primary health care services. The pediatric service will be helpful once the baby is born. For the young 5-year-old, pedriatic services will also be helpful, while the primary health care services can be of use to support measures for controlling his Type 1 diabetes and the COPD diagnosed in the grandmother (Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center, Inc., 2012).
The Riverdale Head Start Program includes an early learning center that can help the 5-year-old to enter Kindergarten. It can also provide childcare services for the baby, who is to be born in approximately four months' time. The South Holland Community Health Center can also be helpful for the family, as it includes women, infants and children services, along with women's health services, including OB/GYN services (Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center, Inc., 2012). This will be important for the continued health of the young mother as her pregnancy progresses.
The Work First program is also an excellent support service that can help the husband to obtain work and vocational training. It also offers language teaching services, which would help the family to communicate better within the new environment (Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center, Inc., 2012). The program is set up in such a way that it will support the family in terms of work and child care while also offering the possibility to ultimately use the education and training provided to obtain better work and independence for them. In this way, the family can ultimately reach the goals they set out to achieve when coming to the country for the first time. It is also important, however, to take into account several legal and ethical issues related to the health and long-term well-being of the foreign family. This will be my second challenge in working with the family.
The first legal issue is to ensure that the family came into the country legitimately. They have been able to provide sufficient documentation to show that they have entered the country legitimately. Another concern is to ensure that the husband, especially, is in possession of a work permit, which will enable him to enter the workplace and earn a living to help his family to emerge from their circumstances towards a better future. This is something that the Work First program may be able to assist with. In the long-term, it could also be beneficial to obtain documentation and vocational training for the mother.
In ethical terms, it is important to display an awareness of the religious and moral concerns of the family in terms of work and education. Before entering them into schools or training programs, religious and moral concerns such as dietary requirements or the observance of religious holidays need to be taken into account.
Along the same line of argumentation, we need to ensure that the family's spiritual needs are met. If possible, we should try to connect them with a local religious community, where they will also be able to use this platform to find their feet in their new country. It is important to recognize the need for spiritual fulfilment for new immigrants entering the country.
In addition to these needs, it is also important to investigate the local and state legislation to best assist the family to make their way in the United States. There are several legal entities and legislation that exist to protect the rights of those without formal housing. One such entity is the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH, 2013). In August 2013, Illinois became the second state to implement a Bill of Righs particularly for the homeless, in which their basic rights are protected. These rights include the right to access public transport, public spaces, to vote, to make use of emergency services, and other basic human rights that cannot be denied on the basis of homelessness.
Hence, the grandmother and 5-year-old both have the right to basic medical services for their respective conditions. The child and his little brother or sister to be also have the right to basic education. In terms of education, the Illinois State Board of Education (2013) has several legal and policy effects in place to ensure that homeless and immigrant children receive education. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (2001), for example, ensures that education is not financially prohibitiv for these children. Funding is also provided via the Educaiton of Homelss Children and Youth State Grant Program.
To benefit from these programs, the family's income must be below a certain level. To help the family under discussion here, I will liais with educational entities to determine where the children can obtain short- and long-term placements in schools. According to the law, all children have a right to education, regardless of immigration status.
My final step will be implementing a plan to assist each family member towards becoming fully integrated into their new country and their new community. My first step would be communication. I would determine the level of knowledge each family member has in terms of methods to promote health and prevent illness. On the strength of information I gathered in this regard, my plan for each family member follows.
The father has the fewest health concerns in the family and will therefore also currently ensure an income for the family. To promote his existing health, I will educate him regarding good eating and exercising habits. I will also attempt to educate him regarding the dangers of both legal substances such as tobacco and alcohol and illegal substances such as drugs.
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