Reference no: EM133209381

Assignment:

Read the case study, then answer the questions that follow.

Case study 1

Due to government funding cuts, many child protection notifications go unallocated and many caseworkers in the child protection system feel overwhelmed by their caseloads. Mary supervises a diverse team of child protection workers. Her organisation has had a high turnover of staff recently and she wants to assist them to manage their stress.

Question 1. Identify two physical and two behavioural indicators of significant issues relating to stress and emotional wellbeing that Mary should be alert for in individual team members.

Question 2. What responsibility does Mary have in relation to communicating with staff about personal performance? What would be the intended effect of this?

Question 3. Identify three actions Mary can take to support individual staff members to manage stress.

Question 4. If Mary's team includes staff with diverse needs, what are two workplace practices she could adopt to accept and identify the diverse needs of these colleagues?

Question 5. Explain one way in which Mary could use organisational or national performance standards to assess and report on staff stress and emotional wellbeing.

Read the case study, then answer the questions that follow.

Case study 2

Terry has worked at a respite home for people with disabilities for three years. It is his first night working with Lin, a new resident who has autism spectrum disorder and a history of aggressive behaviour towards others. Terry's partner on the shift is Fatima, who is newly qualified in the field.

During the shift, Lin becomes agitated and starts throwing objects around the room. Fatima is scared. Terry calls his supervisor, Tamara. Tamara tells Terry to call the police, as he is required to do in an emergency and lock himself, Sue and Fatima in the office until the police arrive to ensure safety. The police arrive, and Lin immediately calms down. The situation is resolved.

The following day, Tamara follows up on the incident. She soon realises that Fatima is still very upset by the experience as she did not expect it and was very frightened. Tamara suggests a debriefing session. She explains the procedure and potential benefits to Fatima. Fatima says she would like to have a debriefing session and asks if Terry can come too.

Question 1. Provide two questioning techniques Tamara could use to encourage Fatima to explore and acknowledge her concerns.

Question 2. When Tamara was speaking on the phone to Terry during the crisis and needed to make a fast assessment of what was happening, what questioning style should she have used? What are two examples of this type of question?

Question 3. What information may have helped Terry and Fatima understand the type and scale of the risk when supporting Lin in the respite facility?

Question 4. Tamara tells Fatima that if, after the debriefing, she is still feeling very distressed about the incident then she might like a referral for some professional counselling. What referral suggestions could Tamara make, and what benefit would be gained from this?

Question 5. Terry feels like he would benefit from another debriefing session. Tamara suggests that he uses the organisation's employee assistance program (EAP) and also suggests he can speak to another staff member who has had a similar experience. What can these two support options offer Terry?

Question 6. How would the questioning in a debriefing be different if the situation had resulted in trauma for Fatima?

Question 7. If Fatima did not want to work with Terry after the incident, what dispute resolution process should be employed by Tamara to handle the dispute?

Read the case study, then answer the questions that follow.

Case study 3

Monika is a youth support worker who has been providing support to Bill for two years. Bill has recently entered the community after having been in detention for robbery. Recently, Bill's behaviour has changed and there was an incident where he made a verbal threat towards Monika, telling her he wanted to hurt her.

Monika tells her supervisor, Adam, about the incident and recent change in Bill's behaviour and the effect it has on her. He arranges for a debriefing session with Monika because she sounds upset and says it is making her stressed about coming to work and meeting with Bill.

Question 1. What are two benefits of Adam reviewing the outcome of the debriefing?

Question 2. What guidelines will Adam's organisation's policies and procedures provide in relation to record-keeping following a debriefing?

Question 3. When debriefing Monika about the critical incident involving Bill, what records should be completed and kept by the organisation?

Question 4. If Adam wanted to identify whether his team as a whole had skill gaps relating to client-worker protocols and professional boundaries, what measure could he take to identify this as an area of need?

Question 5. After a consultation process, Adam forms a plan to support areas of need within the organisation. What are three elements that a written proposal outlining the plan should include?

Question 6. What signs might indicate to Adam that Monika is still not coping well after the incident and debriefing?