Report on If you were to construct and implement a plan to address the pandemic crisis, what would your plan look like? PLEASE use the MICRO, MEZZO and MACRO systems theory to demonstrate your plan.

Figure 1: Plan for Pandemic

            It is important to note that the coronavirus pandemic spreads mainly because of increased social interaction and gatherings. It has been determined by international scientists that people are infected when they touch an object or thing that has been infected by a patient of coronavirus. Since droplets from coughing and sneezing can stay for a while in the air, people can be infected by inhaling them as well. Thus, it is critical for people to stay away from each other and distance themselves.

Hence, I would implement a social distancing and resource delivery program based on the Micro, Meso or Mezzo, and Macro theory. Rules about social distancing would be enforced at the Mezzo level including neighbourhoods, schools, local organisations, communities, and groups. It would be enforced at Micro level to include individuals and families. Lastly, at the macro level, it will include international associations, political subsystems, and healthcare systems. All of these sectors will have to abide by the rules, analyses will be conducted at these levels, and necessary resources would be provided.

If you greeted a patient at bedside who had the CORVID-19 virus, how would you engage them? How would you explore that patient’s spirituality?

            One of the most important things to remember in greeting and communicating with patients is that they do not require sympathy. Both sympathy and pity can serve to break the spirit of patients. Thus, I would make sure to engage the patient in a friendly manner. Instead of sympathising or pitying the patient, I would make sure to explain that even though I am unable to understand the situation of patient, I still believe that as long as there is hope, we can beat coronavirus. The reason why I would say that I am unable to understand the situation is because patients do not want others to say that they understand what they are going through because it saddens and disappoints them. Instead, I would remain honest with the patient and in order to explore patient’s spirituality, I would talk about and discuss hopeful ideas and situations.

Use the three types of "rights" discussed in Chapter Six and apply then to the CORVID-19 virus. What are Americans entitled to during this pandemic?

            In general, there are three kinds of human rights including collective-developmental, socio-economic, and civil-political rights. The last two represent claims of people against the state while the first one represents claims of groups and people against the state is most debated as it lacks both political and legal recognition. Civil-political rights have two sub-types including norms that pertain to civil and physical security and norms that pertain to civil-political empowerments or liberties. There are also two subtypes in socio-economic rights including rights that pertain to provision of goods meeting needs and norms that pertain to the provision of products and goods meeting economic needs.

            During this pandemic, in accordance with the above-explained rights, citizens can claim that they should be treated with equality and fairness. In addition to it, if some people are not being provided with benefits or facilities, they can claim for these facilities.

Social justice is at the centre of social work practice. Using a social justice perspective, how would you advocate for issues that are affecting citizens as a result of the CORVID-19 virus? What social justice issues do you see happening right now? Are there any groups that are being oppressed? Use Chapter Six as your reference for this questions.

In the US, every person is given equal rights, which means that all should be treated equally. It also means that all citizens have equal privileges. In case of coronavirus pandemic, it is again important to note that all patients must be treated equally and if one part of community is being provided with some special privileges then these privileges should be provided to other parts or sectors of the community as well. However, at the moment, this is not the case because even though white people are being provided with proper healthcare facilities and resources, the same cannot be said about black and brown people. In case of resources required for tackling this pandemic are not being provided equally to all citizens. This is happening because of discrimination and social injustice. It should be noted that even though people have different backgrounds, they are citizens of the US and thus, they should be offered equal facilities and resources.

Please provide the textbook's working definition of empowerment.

            Empowerment is actually a set of different measures that are defined and specified for increasing the degree of self-determination and autonomy in communities and in people for enabling them to represent their interests in a self-determined and responsible manner, acting on their authority. Actually, it is the process of being more confident and stronger, especially in controlling one’s rights and life. As an action, empowerment refers to the self-empowerment process and external support from others that enables people to overcome their lack of influence, sense of powerlessness, and to utilise their resources.

It would not be wrong to say that as a term, it originates from psychology but it is important to note that the foundation of empowerment theory extends even further into the history and it is associated with Marxist sociological theory. It is often perceived as a tool for increasing the responsibility of citizens.

What is involved in the engagement process of working with clients?

            There are two steps involved in the engagement process of collaborating and working with clients including the on-boarding stage and the maintenance step.

On-Boarding Stage: The first step in the engagement process is all about on-boarding. It is concerned with developing a healthy working relationship that would encourage clients to participate in an active and open manner. It is this step that involves introducing the client to the objectives of program. In addition to it, it is considered very important to treat clients with integrity and respect. Other than just treating them with respect, it is critical to ensure that effective communication is established between the two parties as this communication enables effectiveness to be achieved.

Maintenance Stage: Maintenance stage is the second stage and it explores how to keep clients mindful and motivated throughout the sessions. For instance, it is considered quite important to make sure that the client does not get bored with sessions and in order to do that, innovative activities should be considered and even stories should be told as they serve to enhance interest.

What does the process of assessment mean when working with clients?

            As the name implies, the process of assessment when working with clients has the objective of analysing and determining the progress with clients. In other words, it can be said that assessment is aimed at improving the results of a program with clients. When working with clients, assessment is often conducted in the form of induction, orientation, session, appointment, consultation, or meeting. In this assessment, it is determined whether the goals of client have been achieved or not and whether the needs have been met. If results are positive then it means that the program has been successful and it only requires to be completed. Meanwhile, if the results are not positive and it is identified that goals have not been achieved then further steps will be taken to ensure that positive results are produced. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that the process of assessment is considered very important when working with clients.

What is the purpose of interventions when working with clients?

            When working with clients, the purpose of interventions is to provide them with treatment and consultation. For instance, let’s suppose that there is a person who is unable to sleep and whenever he does, he wakes up to nightmares and even when he is working sometimes, he get flashbacks. It is causing him to appear as if he is disoriented all the time. He does not understand what is happening to him and he goes to get treatment. When he goes to a clinical social worker, he determines that the client is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and in order to treat the client, the social worker devises an intervention and implements it to resolve the issues and treat the client. An intervention is aimed at resolving the issues experienced by clients. Therefore, it can be said that intervention is an important part of the whole process of treatment.

Why do we need to evaluate our work as social workers?

            As social workers, it is important to note that evaluation of practice is considered an important aspect and part of social practice. Actually, evaluation is capable of increasing the accountability and effectiveness in ways how we treat clients. Generally, there are different types of evaluation including invention tool assessments, self-report measures, and single-system design. Both single-system design and intervention tool assessments are considered complex for a beginner. However, when it comes to self-report measures, it is a simple tool and it can also help in evaluating social practice. In self-report measures, different aspects of social practice are evaluated and it is determined which aspect has been performed effectively and which aspect can be further improved. For a social worker, continuous improvement is essential and that is why it is important to evaluate our work. It helps in treating the clients in an effective way and also enables to meet their needs properly.

Use Chapter 10 and create a plan to create your policy. What are the things you will need? How will you get this done? Where would you start first? How many people do you need working for you?

            In order to create a policy, first of all, I will need to identify the needs and the problem about which the policy is going to be made. Next, I will collect sufficient information to ensure that everything about the policy is correct and I am moving in the right direction. Once all the information has been collected, the policy will be drafted and then, one of the most important steps will be taken, which is to communicate and consult with the necessary stakeholders. Since I am a social worker, I will need to meet up with official agencies and authorities to present my policy. Once the policy is approved, I will consider all the procedures that are needed to introduce it in society. Lastly, I will implement the policy and will monitor the results to analyse whether it is effective or not. In order to create a policy of my own complete all the above listed steps, I will need 20 people distributed in 4 teams with each team having a responsibility of its own.

What barriers do you see in trying to create a social policy about this issue?

            In this case, one of the major barriers is to get approval from the official authorities and people. It is important to note that for obtaining the approval of higher-up, some adjustments have to be made to the policy or any other document being presented for approval. This is one of the major barriers to the development of policy because there is no knowing whether they will agree with the policy or not. Another important challenge is to create a proper monitoring and backup plan for policy. Most policies fail to be effective and they do not succeed in providing the required results because they do not have the necessary monitoring plans and backup plans supporting them. In this case, a thorough and helpful monitoring plan must be produced which is quite a challenge that needs to be overcome. In addition to it, there would be a need to get more team members to ensure that everything is producing the required results.

Referring to Chapter 9, how could social workers who specialize as consultants, resource managers and educators help with this project?

            In this project, consultants could provide their assistance in consulting the clients and resolving their problems. Considering the fact that this project deals directly with clients, there is a need to consult them and provide solution to their issues. This cannot be possible without having the assistance of a social worker who specialises in providing consultancy services. Meanwhile, as a resource manager, a social worker could help in managing the implementation of policy and ensuring that desired outcomes are being produced by the policy. He could help significantly in the allocation of right amount of and number of resources for producing the right results. Lastly, educators can raise awareness about the issue determined in this project. In addition, they can also educate other members of the team when they need it. This is how social workers specialising in consultancy, resource management, and education can contribute with this project.