Ethics Case Study: Juan S.

The social worker in this case study worked at the ABC Children’s Wellness Center. An ESL teacher at a local elementary school referred Juan S. to her. Juan came to the center with his mother, Silvia.

Before seeing Juan and his mother, the social worker called the ESL teacher who referred Juan to her to discuss the case. The teacher reported that Juan was showing little interest in classroom activities or his peers, and always seemed exhausted. He was irritable and frequently became physically aggressive toward classmates who made fun of him for being so small and thin (sometimes calling him “mosquito”). She also stated that he often appeared to be daydreaming, and when she tried to talk to him, he seemed
Silvia asked the social worker if she knew of anyone else who needed a housekeeper so that Silvia could leave these people.

As it turns out, the social worker was acquainted with the family that Silvia was working for, having provided case management services for them two years earlier when she was working at a hospital where one of their children had an operation. They were demanding and rude at that time, and the social worker could vividly imagine how they must be treating Silvia. The social worker had been looking for a live-in housekeeper/nanny to take care of her own children, and mentioned to Silvia that she might be interested in having Silvia work for her. This arrangement might work out well for both of them since Silvia’s financial and housing situation would stabilize, and the social worker’s children would be taken care of. In addition, the social worker would be available every evening to work with Juan one-on-one in addition to the schedule that was set up for individual and family therapy in the agency. The social worker also was convinced that this arrangement would be especially beneficial to Juan since funding for the services offered at the agency would allow a total of only 12 sessions. She realized that Juan was going to need long-term treatment due to his extensive history of trauma, and she believed that continuing contact with him might help him adjust to his new environment. The arrangement would also be beneficial