NASW standards and cultural competence in the Sanchez case study

NASW Code of Ethics: Reaction Paper

Relevant NASW Social Work Standards
Social work standards refer to the primary responsibilities and obligations professionals have towards their clients and colleagues, as well as to the community. The Sanchez case study demonstrates the importance of all the NASW social work standards. However, there are a few social work standards especially applicable in this case. The social worker needs to pay attention to NASW Standard 1.05, Cultural Awareness and Social Diversity. Culture, ethnicity, and language are crucial issues in this case. The Sanchez family must be considered in light of cultural background, heritage, and tradition, with strong implications for the inter-generational conflicts apparent between the parents and their children. Language is less of an issue for the Sanchez family than it might be in other cases, although socioeconomic class and access to community resources could be a cause for concern. Identity, community, and sense of belongingness will be impacting specific individuals like Emilia and her parents, whose worldviews clash due not just to generation or age but also to culture. The case outline fails to indicate whether Emilia or her siblings were born in the United States but given their divergence from parents’ Hector and Celia in terms of traditional values, it can be assumed that Emilia is a first generation American whose values are as aligned with the dominant culture in South Florida as they are with her Mexican heritage.
While other client-level standards do pertain to the Sanchez case, the social worker needs to pay closer attention to NASW 6.04, Social and Political Action. Social and political action are standards that differentiate the social worker from other members of a care team, such as psychologists. Whereas a psychologist focuses mainly on the needs of the client or family members, the social worker considers contextual variables and how to mediate between the needs of the client and the society. In the Sanchez case, the family may not be aware of the resources available to them to help with children with special needs. Likewise, the Sanchez family may not be aware of the potential benefits of utilizing mental health services like family counseling to rebuild bridges between Hector and Celia, on the one hand, and Emilia on the other. Political activism and social justice action also require that the social worker use the Sanchez case study as a springboard for change in local, state, or even federal law and public policy. If the Sanchez story illustrates an ongoing pattern whereby immigrant families remain chronically underserved, then the social worker has an ethical responsibility to use evidence-based practice to inform public policy.
While all the NASW social work standards remain salient in this and other cases, social workers need to recognize their role as advocates of patient rights and their power to impact legislation and public policy. The Sanchez case demonstrates how social workers can and should play a more active role in mobilizing community resources and helping clients access resources. While social workers also need to constantly respect their clients’ right to privacy, as stated in NASW Standard 1.07, the Sanchez case better demonstrates the confluence of commitments towards individual clients and broader social justice concerns.
Problem Area
Immigrant Status and Low Income Assistance Programs
In a nation built on immigration and immigrant identity, the Sanchez family has every opportunity to thrive. However, lack of access to or awareness of available resources could be a primary cause for concern. The social worker has a responsibility to empower the client, and also to make sure that local and state policy reflects the actual needs of people like the Sanchez family. In South Florida, where the majority of residents are foreign born, immigrant status is not a stigma as it might be in other areas of the nation. Still the Sanchez case shows that not all immigrant families are aware of their rights and of their opportunities to utilize social services to mobilize personal and community resources. For example, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (2018) outlines the major parameters of Medicaid. The federal medical assistance program Medicaid “provides access to health care for low-income families and individuals,” (Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, 2018, p. 1). Because the Sanchez family struggles financially, especially with caring for members of the family with special needs, the social worker needs to inform Hector and Celia about Medicaid in accordance with Florida-specific laws. Two specific pieces of information that can be gleaned from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (2018) website include the Monthly Enrollment Report and the Medicaid Eligibility Reports. The information contained on the website corresponds with the needs of the Sanchez family, and also illustrates how the social worker can fulfill professional ethical responsibilities towards the client.
Immigrant families in South Florida have faced uncertain times and liminal status due to ambiguous laws and fickle public policy. As Negi, Roth, Held, et al. (2018) show, municipalities that have been historically friendly to immigrants as in South Florida have also risked losing federal funds like those that pay for Medicaid and similar federal programs. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (2018) does not go into great detail about how immigration law currently affects clients like the Sanchez family. Social workers therefore need to assume professional responsibility for reading through the documentation and information presented on websites like that of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (2018), and also to remain abreast of current evidence-based practice guidelines. Research findings continually show that the overarching legislative climate does have a strong impact on “behaviors, practices, and self-image” of immigrants like the members of the Sanchez family (Menjivar & Lakhani, 2016, p. 1818). The ways members of the Sanchez family like Hector, Celia, and Emilia perceive themselves and their status in the community will have a direct impact on their decisions to seek out medical care and funding for special needs.
The information on the website is less helpful in showing the social worker how to connect the Sanchez family to mental health resources they need, including family counseling. Medicaid is a helpful intervention for physical health but less so for mental health or family functioning. Therefore, a social worker would need to use critical and creative thinking to understand best methods for helping the Sanchez family overcome the challenges it currently faces. Poverty is less of a direct issue as integration into the community, and helping individual family members find ways of investing in themselves through entrepreneurial activities or education. Instead of relying solely on social services like Medicaid, the Sanchez family can learn how to pool their own shared resources and network within Latino communities in South Florida. By doing this, the Sanchez family may achieve upward social mobility and divest themselves of the need to remain dependent on Medicaid. Given the uncertain and tenuous status of immigrants in the United States, the social worker has a direct role to play in educating and empowering the Sanchez family.
Reflection on Learning
Since writing the first paper analyzing the Sanchez family case study, I have learned that the immediate presenting problems are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to social work issues. Professional roles and responsibilities require that the social worker look beyond the obvious, perceiving the broader political and social patterns that impact family and individual functioning. In the first paper, I determined that poverty and disability were some of the major concerns, but since then I have reflected on the importance of public policy and immigration law as being primary concerns. When the social worker becomes more aware of immigration law and legislation regarding access to social services, it becomes easier to determine a program of action recommended for a family as diverse and complex as in the Sanchez case.

References Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (2018). http://www.fdhc.state.fl.us/medicaid/ Menjivar, C. & Lakhani, S.M. (2016). Transformative effects of immigration law. American Journal of Sociology 121(6): 1818-1855. NASW (2017). Code of ethics. Negi, N.J., Roth, B., Held, M.L., et al. (2018). Social workers must stand up for immigrant rights. Social Work 63(4): 373-376.