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Amy Foe, 32, and Kevin Foe, 30, are the parents of Christina “Tina” Foe, 9, and Justin

Foe, 17. They just moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Humboldt Park, Illinois. The family

was in Grand Rapids since Amy and Kevin moved in together prior to having the children. Kevin

has a new job working at a newspaper company as a journalist, and Amy shared that she is

staying with the kids at home but is looking for a part-time job. They decided to move away

from Amy’s brother, Jerry Sidurkan, who gave Adderall to Justin who is now experiencing some

withdrawal. They moved near Kevin’s family who live a 10 minute drive away from Humboldt

Park. Justin is approaching the end of his high school career and is not interested in furthering his

education beyond high school, according to his parents. Tina is in the 2nd grade and is adjusting

to the new school environment.

 Family Work Assignment

Learning about the Foe family’s situation, I first noticed that Tina and Justin are likely

experiencing some distress, traveling to a new home and Justin’s substance abuse. I feel that by

first engaging the children, I can then understand more of how to provide my services to them as

a unit. Tina is 9 years old and has lots of energy. Her mother Amy has brought up Tina’s liking of

dolls, and we have plenty of them at the office. We even have an unofficial policy where the

children can take a toy they like home with them on their first day. She will love that, and

hopefully, she will feel more comfortable with the toy. It could even become a symbol of home

or safety for her. Kevin shared that he and Justin are always watching sports together. I have my

own collection of baseball cards that I can bring to the office and allow him to look through

them. I also have a whole collection of children’s books and comics and magazines for the

family to enjoy in the waiting room and in my office. Amy and Kevin have been together since

high school and so have I and my wife. I think asking them to share about their relationship and

how they have stuck together could incite some positive energy at the office and allow me to

learn about them individually and as a couple.

For assessment, I need to acquire their problem from them. In a client-employer

relationship, it can be very easy to feel intimidated as a client, so giving the Foe family some

ownership in presenting their experiences can help ease them into our relationship and also

influence a sense of comfortability. I kept my picture frame of my wife and I on my desk to have

an opportunity to introduce Amy and Kevin’s relationship.

Amy and Kevin mainly spoke while Tina and Justin played with the dolls and comic

books. The parents speaking for the family is not a surprise given they likely know more about

the family’s situation. They also clearly possess the power in the family. The family seemed to
recognize their control of their situation and is relieved that they were able to leave their previous

environment. Now, they need my help.

Amy exhibited some unease when we were discussing Justin’s substance abuse. Amy and

Kevin asked Tina and Justin to leave the room when talking about Justin’s substance abuse. I

found this interesting because it seems like the family is close with one another, but there is a

certain vibe of secrecy that I received when Justin exited the room with Tina. In a sensitive topic

like substance abuse, it can be necessary to keep certain things from specific family members,

but I also see the need for Justin to be present when discussing him. I brought this up to the

parents. I told them it may be helpful for their situation if Justin is aware of his own. They

preferred he stay outside of the room, and that is their decision. It felt odd discussing a child’s

experiences with drugs with their parents, but this is what they were comfortable with. I did not

get the chance to talk to Tina outside of introductions, but there will be other opportunities. They

shared that Justin needs to receive rehab treatment, and it has only been 2 weeks since the last

time he used it. The parents were worried Justin fell into the wrong group of friends at school as

a result and saw the best option was to leave their home and start anew.

The presented problem is Justin’s substance abuse and the overall family’s ability to

adjust to their new climate. The goals we will establish will help us inch closer and closer to

satisfying the needs of my clients. We do not know how long Justin was exposed to the drugs his

uncle was giving him, but we do know that uncle Jerry has been taking prescription Adderall

since he was 19, so at any given time in Justin’s life, he could have begun his substance abuse if

his uncle had access to the pills and to Justin. One of the goals we have established is registering

Justin for a rehabilitation program in order to help him through the stages of withdrawal. There is

also the possibility he finds a supportive community. I will come back to my next meeting with
the Foe family with a list of local rehabilitation facilities for them to survey, and with Justin’s

approval, we can move forward with next steps. Amy mentioned that she was looking for a job.

A job could possibly relieve some stress and allow Amy to refocus on her life. Amy gave me a

short list of her interests and past work experiences. Next week, I will come back with a few jobs

I see potential in. Meanwhile, I gave Amy a website she can use to look up jobs for herself if she

gets the chance before our next meeting. As previously mentioned, I noticed how the Foe family

had kept Justin and Tina out of an important discussion. I wanted to try out an exercise with the

family that will hopefully create a pathway for open and honest communication. This goal also

falls under my responsibility, and I will come back next week with that exercise and introduce it

to the Foe family. I mentioned this to the Foe family, and while they were hesitant, they agreed

they needed better communication as a family and were open to engaging in the exercise.

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan, we have to see how it pans out. These

goals all have a deadline, so these will be brought up in the next meeting and reassessed and

developed accordingly. The effectiveness and “success” of each goal will look different. If I have

a list of at least 5 local rehabilitation facilities, I will have done my duty, but until Justin is

actually enrolled and attending programs, we have not accomplished much, and I have not

helped the family find a permanent solution. Similarly, I can come back to the next meeting with

a list of at least 25 jobs that may be of interest to Amy and can claim this as effective, but until

Amy applies for and obtains a job, I have not helped to the extent that I can. Finally, with the

group communication exercise, we will see how it goes at the next meeting. I would deem

success for that goal based on how the conversation goes, but moreso, the Foe family’s

development throughout the exercise and their evaluation decides how “effective” it was. The
three goals and their effectiveness depends on our cooperation and achievement as a

companionship between the Foe family and myself.