Reference no: EM133406865

The Fernandez Family

Eighty-three-year-old widowed Yolanda Fernandez resides in a single-family home in an upper-middle-class neighborhood with her 62-year-old (single, never married) son Jorge. Yolanda suffers from moderate Alzheimer's disease and has recently been declared legally incapacitated to make personal decisions or to control her finances. She is still able to do some activities of daily living independently and has not exhibited significant agitation or incontinence yet. She needs supervision during the day, however, because she has a tendency to wander away from home if left alone. Most nights she is less active and sleeps through the night, thanks to a prescription for a psychotropic medication.

Jorge has lived in the family home for his entire life and serves as the primary caregiver for his mother. He is a gay man and a recovering alcoholic who experiences frequent relapses. He is employed sporadically as a waiter but often loses jobs due to recurrent problems with addition. Mostly, Jorge relies on Yolanda's substantial income for financial support.

Fifty-two-year-old Wanda is Yolanda's daughter and guardian of person and property. She resides in the same neighborhood as Yolanda and Jorge with her spouse, Eduardo, and their two teenage sons, Carlos and Miguel. Wanda is deeply involved in her faith community, the Catholic Church, and works part-time in the rectory office. Fifty-three-year-old Eduardo, an investment banker, struggles to accept the sexual orientation of Jorge and prefers that Jorge not interact with his two sons.

Neighbors made the report of neglect to Adult Protective Services after witnessing Yolanda wandering around in the front yard in her pajama on more than one occasion. According to the neglect report, Jorge reportedly left his mother for extended periods on several occasions. There have also been reports that he frequently brings home make companions who may stay for days or weeks in the home. Adult Protective Services has agreed to close the case if Jorge and Wanda agree to purchase daily respite care for Yolanda and seek family counseling to resolve their differences.

Conflict between Wanda and Jorge remains high and is exacerbated by the fact that Wanda had Jorge involuntarily committed for inpatient alcohol treatment earlier in the year. Wanda would like Yolanda to love into a life care residence or rest home, but Jorge is dead set against it. The Fernandez family is Cuban American. Yolanda first moved to the United States at the age of 37, accompanied by Wanda, who was 7, and Jorge, who was 15. Yolanda's spouse, Francisco, emigrated to the United States along with Yolanda and the children and established himself in a successful career as an accountant but struggled with alcohol addiction most of his adult life. He died in a motor vehicle accident 20 years ago.

(Taken and adapted from: Thomlison, B. (2007). Family Assessment Handbook: An Introduction and Practical Guide to Family Assessment, Second Edition. Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning)

Questions

1. Identify primary needs (needs immediate attention) and secondary needs (important but can wait) of the family in the presented case. Explain your answers with details, examples, and supporting statements.

2. What other information is important to know about a family that is going through this type of crisis/these types of crises? What questions would you ask them? Need at least 2 appropriate questions for this situation.

3. Select a theory, preferably from the course materials and textbook that has been covered so far in this course to assess this family. Why would this theory be useful in this situation? EXPLAIN THE THEORY IN DETAIL AND HOW THIS FITS FOR THIS FAMILY - using terminology from the theory - connect it to this family situation. Common theories selected are Family Systems Theory, The ABCX Model, the Double ABCX Model, the Roller Coaster Model, Bioecological, or a specific theory from the chapters that cover this particular situation. EXPLAIN THE THEORY IN DETAIL AND HOW THIS FITS FOR THIS FAMILY.

4. What formal community resources (provided by professionals or volunteers) - such as local, state, and federal - are available in your area to assist families with this type of crises? Give at least 3 resources. Be as specific as possible - give details such as websites, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and any other information that would be needed if you were personally referring this family to the resource.

5. What are the possible outcomes of families going through this type of crisis - will they be worse off, better off, or the same? Why do you think they will have this outcome? Do the community resources available (see #4) increase the odds of a positive outcome for this family? Why or why not?

6. Are there any cultural considerations that a professional or agency working with this family should be familiar with? Why or Why not?

7. What informal (provided by family, friends, or peers) resources could the family need? Describe why or why not informal resources would be important in this situation. What would you identify as the family strengths of this family in this situation? Explain your answer