Running head: BIO-PSYCHO-social assessment

Biological, Psychological, and Social Assessment

Joseph A. Cerniglia
University of South Carolina

BIO-PSYCHO-social assessment

Biological, Psychological, and Social Assessment

Client Information
Colin, a 10 year old African-American male in the 5th grade lives in an apartment
complex off of Broad River Road. He attends an elementary school in Richland County School
District One. He also attends an African-Methodist-Episcopal church weekly, with his mother, on
Sundays. Having been referred by Ms. Cooper, Colins teacher, the case manager conducted an
intake interview with Colin on October 10, 2014 which lasted one hour.
Source of Data
Informed consent was obtained from the client and the clients mother for academic
submission of this biological, psychological, and social assessment. All information which could
contribute to identify the client has been altered to protect anonymity. Ms. Cooper, as part of her
referral, included a referral sheet which contained demographic information, contact information,
and the reason for referral. She also provided a printout of the grade, testing, and attendance
information from the schools internal database. Other information was gained from the
interview with Colin and a subsequent telephone conversation with Colins mother, Cassandra.
Presenting Problem
Colin was referred by Ms. Cooper based on risk factors for underachievement. In the case
of Colin, these risk factors were marked as being academic and behavioral in nature. Colins
grades reflected this in terms of a 65-F in Science. Ms. Cooper also made note of Colins short
attention span, and unspecified disruptive behavior. Upon discussion of these issues with
Colin, he agreed and stated a general boredom with the material and lack of motivation to listen
to Ms. Coopers teaching. Colin indicated a more relevant problem in Ms. Coopers teaching

BIO-PSYCHO-social assessment

style which fails to engage him. Colin dismissed his disruptive behavior by stating he acts out
because hes bored and is seeking entertainment.
Family History
Colin lives with his mother Cassandra, a 34 year old unmarried female. Her primary
occupation is as an overnight custodial worker. Because Cassandra works overnight, she leaves
Colin in the care of his older brother James who is 13 years old and attends middle school.
James, according to his mother, also struggles with academic and behavioral risk factors. Colins
and Jamess father moved to Louisiana when Colin was 1 year old and although Colin has never
met nor spoken with his father, he stated that he believes his mother still has contact with him.
Colins extended family live in Arizona and Nevada with the exception of one aunt who watches
Colin and James on occasion.
Client History
Colin was born in Arizona in 2004 and lived there until the time he was 1 when his
parents separated and his family moved to South Carolina. He has lived in a variety of areas of
Columbia in apartment complexes in multiple school districts. From the ages of 2-4 he attended
preschools on a consistent basis and began primary school at the age of 5.
At the age of 5, Colin was in an automobile accident for which he was not seriously
injured but his brother suffers from some unspecified long-term health effects that require twiceweekly physical therapy. From a medical perspective, Colin has had no major illnesses and stated
that he has not often been sick. Colin has never seen a professional psychiatrist or psychologist
and has had no referrals to the school psychologist for evaluation. There are no indicators in his
school record or from his mother that suggest a history of psychiatric maladaptation.

BIO-PSYCHO-social assessment

Intellectually and educationally, Colins 1st through 4th grade report cards have been
middling; hovering between high D grades and low B grades. No discernible patterns with
regards to subject deficiency are identifiable. This may lead to the conclusion that he struggles to
thrive equally with all subject matters or the struggle is unrelated to any specific subject matter.
Colins test scores, to date, express above-average percentile scores.
Colin has had some behavioral incidents which may indicate a short-temper and
maladaptive emotional functioning. His mother expressed concern about anger issues and an
inability to cope effectively with stress. Colin did acknowledge this problem and said that he
does sometimes get angry. This anger has manifested itself in uncontrolled rage-type behavioral
functioning in the past.
He lived under low socioeconomic status his entire life. Colin has witnessed violence in a
previous apartment complex which prompted Cassandra to move to their current residence. Colin
stated that two men broke into a female neighbors apartment and assaulted the woman which
resulted in her death. Colin and James were home at the time, could hear the woman screaming,
and James called the police. Colin indicated that although the event was troublesome, he would
usually try not to think about it very much.
Current Situation
Colin appears to be a physically healthy functioning boy. He eats at least two meals 5
days a week and appears to be within the range of normal height and weight for his age. Colin
indicated that it bothers him that his mother sleeps the majority of the day and he enjoys when
his aunt comes to visit because she spends time with him. Colin also reflected that, although he
enjoys playing sports with his brother and other neighborhood children, his mother does not like
for him to do so for fear of neighborhood violence. Colin receives medical insurance through

BIO-PSYCHO-social assessment

Medicaid but stated that he does not go to the doctor very often because his mother cannot get
off work to take him. Colin is eligible for free lunch through the Federal Free or Reduced Priced
Lunch Program. Cassandra also receives the Earned Income Tax Credit and Supplemental
Nutritional Assistance Program and Section 8 Housing funds. Colin lives less than 2 blocks away
from the school so his mother walks him to school every morning and waits for the school to
open at 7am when Colin can eat school-provided breakfast. (See Appendices A and B for ecomap and genogram.)
Emotionally, Colin lacks effective coping strategies for dealing with his anger and this
bottling and exploding pattern limits his functioning. Cassandra believes he harbors repressed
feelings about his fathers absence and the traumas he has faced. These traumas include his car
accident in which he witnessed his brother becoming seriously injured and nearly dying, the
violent death of their neighbor, and his fathers physical abuse of Cassandra.
Colins spiritual function appears to be mostly superfluous as evidenced by his lack of
understanding of the purpose of church. He expressed a disdain for attendance at church due to
its length and its failure to capture his attention. Cassandra described their church involvement as
central to their lives and vital to their overall well-being.
Assessment
Colins presenting problem is poor academic performance which is attributable to a lack
of motivation and attention-seeking behaviors. Colin has a challenging relationship with Ms.
Cooper because she fails to engage him on an intellectual level. Although Colin and his mothers
relationship is weak due to her work schedule and lack of sleep, the time they spend together is
positive. James appears to be a strong influence on Colin as well as their aunt who takes on many
of the parental responsibilities. The family suffers from low socioeconomic status and is

BIO-PSYCHO-social assessment

exacerbated by Cassandras work schedule. The low income forces them to live in an area high in
crime and presents ecological factors unconducive to adequate achievement on the part of Colin.
Colin struggles to self-actualize because, although the majority of his basic needs are met
through social services, he lacks safety, love and belonging, and esteem. Within the school
environment, he has not received effective intervention to determine specific, measurable,
attainable, realistic, and time-oriented goals. Ms. Coopers teaching, although it may meet the
states requirements, is not meeting Colins educational needs. And at a macro level, Colin is a
victim of a system made up of a contingent workforce wherein his mother struggles to achieve
financial success due to racial and class barriers. Colin is further victimized by poverty as
violence both in terms of the human right to social justice and the reality that his environment is
physically unsafe because of economic conditions.
Strengths
Colin strengths lie in his enormous intellectual potential that, if appropriately fostered, far
exceeds his peers. Colin also has the benefit of a mother who displays tenacity in her desire to
provide for her family and a familial support system in his aunt. Strengths also lie in the school
that provides Colin with a consistent breakfast and lunch, maintains his safety during the day,
and compels a social network from which Colin benefits. Colins mother has been able to access
the state social resources, however limited, to provide Colin with healthcare and supplemental
nutritional assistance.
Problem List
Colins relevant problems are as follows:

Lack of consistent, appropriate adult supervision in his home environment

Difficulty self-motivating to complete homework assignments
Underachievement in academic measured outcomes
Interpersonal conflict with teacher, Ms. Cooper

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Distraction from other students in classroom

Familys lack of adequate economic resources
Uncontrolled expression of anger in violent/destructive ways
Repressed traumatic experiences
Negative effect of spiritual guidance and lack of control over his own spirituality
Planning, Implementation, Evaluation, and Termination
Colins individualized student plan (ISP) or intervention plan will approach

mitigating Colins risk factors from a holistic, ecosystems approach. This will include weekly
one-on-one motivational interviewing, a monthly, facilitated meeting with Colin, Ms. Cooper,
and the case manager, and quarterly resource assessments with Cassandra.
The weekly motivational interviews will focus on building on Colins strength of
capacity for learning. Colin and his case manager will work to develop goals together to meet his
markers for improved functioning in addition to measured outcomes from the school and/or
teacher.

These goals will be as follows:

Goal

Objective
s toward Goal

Measure
ment

Improve

Graded

grade in science

outcome

by 10 points

Completi
on Date
2nd
Quarter Report
Card

Complete

Check

all homework on

and Connect

a nightly basis

Homework

and ask Aunt

Study 1

section
Check

Weekly

Weekly

BIO-PSYCHO-social assessment

hour per week

and Connect

towards test

Study section
Behavior

Improve
interpersonal

al incidents

2nd
Quarter Report

relationship with
Ms. Cooper
Work

Check

towards reducing

and Connect

talking with

Behavior section

Weekly

other classmates
at inappropriate
times
Raise
hand to answer

Check

Weekly

and Connect

questions in class Behavior section

at least 2 times
per day
Spend

Plan 1

quality time with

day per month

mother

for Cassandra

Monthly

and Colin to go
to the park and
walk and talk.
During monthly meetings facilitated by the case manager, Ms. Cooper will
address her assessment of Colins progress towards the established goals and Colin will express

BIO-PSYCHO-social assessment

his self-assessment of his progress. The facilitator will work to ensure appropriate positive and
constructive feedback on the part of both Ms. Cooper and Colin. The facilitator will also work to
ensure Ms. Coopers recommended additional goals meet markers as specific, measurable,
attainable, realistic, and time-oriented.
Finally, the case manager will meet quarterly with Cassandra to discuss Colins
progress towards his goals and assess Cassandras access to adequate resources. This will take
the form of referrals to other resources, assistance in filling out forms, and contacting other
social workers to consult with to meet Cassandras needs so that she can more adequately meet
Colins needs.
This intervention plan will be evaluated on a quarterly basis to determine if
improvements are being made in the measured outcomes of academic performance and
behavioral incidences. If the plan does not appear to be improving measured outcomes, a
reassessment will take place and a new plan will be determined. The success or inadequacy of
this intervention plan will be measured based on the clients self-assessment, Ms. Coopers
assessment, Cassandras assessment, and the Case managers assessment on a quarterly basis.
Termination with the case manager will take place at the end of the 2014-2015
academic year. Prior to termination, Colin will receive counseling about his progress and
recommendations about continuing progress. Colin may benefit from continued support through
Communities in Schools and, in that case, a new case manager will be assigned for the 20152016 academic year. The case manager will conduct a final interview with Colin terminating
service and expressing the case managers appreciation of Colins strengths, areas for possible
continued improvement, and the case managers personal desire for Colins maximal success.

Self-Assessment
Skills

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I recognized a strong ability to connect with the client despite initial reservations
about this possibility. The areas wherein I successfully demonstrated skills include but are not
limited to:
Viewed myself as a learner and client as teacher
Critiqued and applied knowledge to understand Colin in his environment
Collected, interpreted, and organized relevant data
Used empathy and active listening skills
Critically analyzed possible interventions
Strengths
The practical application of these skills towards a real individual demonstrates a
grasp of the theoretical concepts and an excellence in communicating those applied concepts in
written form. The recognition of the factors of diversity and the injustices and oppressions those
bring is integral to that of an effective, well-rounded social worker. And, the combination of
these knowledge, values, and skills in a practically applicable form is indicative of a productive
undergraduate education from which reasonable gains have been drawn.
Limitations
I lack complete cultural competence in that I have never personally experienced
the same or in some cases similar factors of oppression. Recognizing this limitation is one step
towards mitigating the shortcomings but does not fully address the power relationship between
myself and the client. I am compelled by anti-oppressive practice to focus more completely on an
empowerment approach that purposefully and mindfully addresses this barrier. I also require
continued education on available resources for clients experiencing poverty and means of
effective interventions for a family under these conditions.
Areas for Improvement
It is imperative, in order to achieve competence as a professional social worker,
that I thoroughly research anti-oppressive practices and work diligently to implement the
evidence-based approaches therein. Furthermore, a more specific understanding of
empowerment and its enactment is relevant and appropriate as an additional area of study. The
strengths I have demonstrated in applying knowledge and values should aid in this endeavor and

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provide a foundation for overall improvement and advancement on individual and practice
levels.

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Appendix A: Eco-map

Key:
Named relationship

Strong relationship
Tenuous relationship
Direction of influence
Eco-map Summary
Colins main sources of ecosystems interaction are the school environment which
includes his teacher, Communities in Schools, and his friends and his family environment which
includes his mother, brother, and aunt as major ecological systems. His family is mostly mutual
directed with the exception of his mother who mostly detracts from his healthy functioning. The

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school environment is a negative influence and largely tenuous. Communities in Schools,

however, does offer positive benefit.

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Appendix B: Genogram

Key:
Female
Age

Male
Age

Marriage
Divorce/Separation
Genogram Summary
Colin has one brother and no other siblings. His mother experienced separation from
Colins father. Colins extended family includes his Aunt Colleena, Cassandras younger sister.
Colins maternal grandparents are both deceased prior to his birth and he has no knowledge of
any of his paternal family members including no contact with his father.