CASE

PRESENTATION
H I L L A RY K E L L E Y

BACKGROUND
Caucasian female
25 years of age
Mother of three children, but only has custody of one.
Some high school education

PROBLEM/SERVICES
Client is currently homeless and is living in a local
motel. At the time of assessment, her child was 4 days
old. She is seeking case management in hopes to get
linked to services that can best assist her and her
boyfriend (father of the child).

STRENGTHS/LIMITATIONS
Strengths
Client has a positive attitude. She is upbeat and does not show signs
of post partum behavior. Willingness to set goals for herself.
Client has a willingness to receive help. She has a good support
system. Her father pays her motel fee so that she can save money
towards a more stable residence. Motivational interviewing works well
in attempt to show client where change is needed in her life.

Limitations
Client does not have a mode of transportation or a high school education.
She does not have local family to help out with her child. Financial burdens
are in the way. As well as the food stamps she had left are running out.

ASSESSMENT GOALS
The goals that we assisted the client in setting for
herself include:
Going back to school to attain a GED.
Contacting local housing authorities to look for openings.
Getting linked with Department of Social Services to
receive WIC, Food Stamps, etc.
Job searching

INTERVENTION/TIMEFRAMES
With the money running out for the motel, the
timeframe for this client is very urgent. As soon as the
client heals from delivery, she has agreed to begin
working on her goals.
We got to this point through:
Motivational interviewing
Assessment with the client
Linkage to applicable services

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
Biases:
Before going in, I wondered how could someone not be
prepared to bring a child home. I was curious to know how
homelessness had occurred. And I assumed that going
into the hotel, that it was going to be unruly living
conditions.

VALUE DIFFERENCES
The client moved from FL to NC and left her two children there
with their father.
She said she wanted to follow her current boyfriend back to his
original home.
The client did not see the importance of receiving prenatal care.
She waited until week 40 to attempt to make linkage with the
Department of Social Services.

LIFE EVENTS
According to the client, she has been on her own her entire life, thus learning
to do what it takes to maintain.
She has never really had a great support system until recently. With the odds
against her, she has still remained positive in hopes that her life will turn
around.
She has learned to take each obstacle as they come and not let it get her
down.
She did not have an active mother in her life and has confessed that she sees
the pattern occurring with her and wants to make changes in the area of
motherhood.

RESEARCH
Research found that parents and children who experience
reoccurring homelessness are more likely to suffer from
developmental lags, anxiety, depression, and learning
difficulties.
Studies show that homeless people feel as if housing and
social welfare agencies are not helpful to them.
Homelessness is a cycle that needs to be broken or it leads
to more institutionalized issues when the children grow up.

CHANGES
I recommend that the agency use motivational interviewing
more often with clients who are not as willing to make
change.
Case managers should ensure that clients feel safe,
especially those that are as at risk as a homeless new
mother.
Find services that put high risk clients at the top of their
list so that the urgency of the matter is noted.

REFERENCE
Jamison D. Fargo,Ellen A. Munley,Thomas H. Byrne,
Ann Elizabeth Montgomery,Dennis P. Culhane. (2013) Community-Level
Characteristics Associated With Variation in Rates of Homelessness Among
Families and Single Adults.American Journal of Public Health103:S2, S340S347.
Online publication date: 20-Nov-2013.