Coordinated services approach to treating the Sanchez family's substance use disorder

Coordinated Services Approach to Substance Use Disorder The Sanchez family case is complex and involves many family members. The family dynamics and history play an important role in the needs of each of the family members. Overall, each of the family members has their own set of circumstances and their own service needs. In addition, cultural and language barriers are pervasive throughout the family system. This analysis involves only one portion of the family unit consisting of Emilia and her son, Joey. Her needs are singled out because she is no longer formally a part of the family unit, as she has been estranged from her family because they did not agree with the decisions she made in her life. The following examines service needs for Emilia and Joey.

Barriers and Benefits of Services Emilia has a number of problems associated with substance use disorder. As a result, Joey has been removed from her care and placed in the care of her grandparents. It is her desire to make the changes and do what she needs to do to regain parental custody of her son. In order to do so, she will need treatment for substance use disorder and a myriad of mental health issues that are associated with it. It is almost certain that the court will order some type of mental health evaluation and recommend some portion of treatment as a part of the children’s services case.
Substance abuse recovery and mental health services are an essential part of the recovery process for Emilia. Without them, it is not likely that she will be able to support herself and function in society or regain custody of her son. Some types of intervention will be necessary as part of the legal process. Emilia faces several barriers to getting the help that she needs. First, substance use creates its own set of barriers, such as financial difficulties, transportation difficulties, and other logistical issues. In addition, Emilia no longer has the support network of her family. This often creates challenges for those recovering from substance use and mental health issues. Emilia comes from a family where the father has a negative attitude towards receiving help from government agencies. In addition, Emilia may face language barriers and barriers created by her educational level. Family culture and ethnic culture may create additional barriers for Emilia.
Joey is living with his grandparents, which may make it difficult to provide the services that he needs for any developmental delays that may be present as a result of NAS. The first barrier is that the grandmother does not have sufficient English to be able to understand the necessity of getting an evaluation and enrolling him in early education programming. The grandfather has shown resistance to help from such government agencies in the past. These are the two main barriers to overcome in getting Joey the help that he needs. Significance of Coordinated Service Delivery Emilia will need to prove that not only has she resolved her substance use disorder and mental health issues, but that she can provide proper care for her son. This means that she will need to get a job and prove the ability to keep it. In the beginning, Emilia’s treatment will focus on the substance use disorder and the most significant mental health issues that are found. However, to reach her goals of reunification with her son, she will have to show a level of proficiency in her own self-care and the ability to provide for her son. As the treatment progresses, it is more than likely that numerous services will become involved. For instance, she may need education assistance, job training, coaching on how to find a job, as well as help with basic food and shelter. In addition, physical or other mental health issues may be discovered along the road to recovery that will require intervention from other providers. The same will probably be the case for Joey as well.
Coordination of care is the solution to a fragmented and inefficient process that once represented the system (Fink-Samnick, 2019). Coordinated care takes into consideration the entire person and all of their needs. Each provider has a specific role within the coordinated care team. The coordinated care approach ensures that the person receives all of the services that they need and that these various providers all have the same information about the treatment process. It is important for other providers to know what other members of the team are providing for the patient, this is especially the case when it comes to the coordination of any medications or treatment protocols. Summary of Key Findings in Coordinated Services Approach to Substance Use Disorder The key findings of this case study are that Emilia and Joey both face a multitude of problems stemming from Emilia’s substance use issues. Both Emilia and Joey face several challenges in receiving the care that they need. Cultural and language barriers are only the beginning of the challenges. As Emilia desires reunification with her son, this serves as a key motivating point to convince her to accept the care and resources that are being provided.
The recovery process will be long for Emilia and Joey. The typical substance use recovery program lasts between 6 to 9 months, and then the person must prove that they have the skills needed to remain substance use free. For Joey, the problems could last a lifetime. Emilia first needs to get herself back on her feet and able to take care of herself before she can even consider taking care of Joey. Once the most serious issues are resolved, she will need guidance and direction in maintaining a job, a home, dealing with any issues surrounding her ability to care for Joey, the estrangement of her family, and any other conditions that may be present. The recovery process will be long, and it is up to Emilia to decide how strong her motivation is and how committed she is to stay the course. In the end, she and Joey will benefit, even if she is never successfully restored to the full parental role. The goal of treatment is to make sure that all parties are the best that they can be in the end.

References Camillus House. (2019). Comprehensive Healing. Camillus.org. Retrieved from https://www.camillus.org/services/comprehensive-healing/Joey. Fink-Samnick, E. (2019). Understanding Care Coordination: Emerging Opportunities for Social Workers. The New Social Worker.