Running Head: CASE STUDY OF JOAQUIN OLIVARES
Case Study and Intervention Report: Joaquín Olivares
Sara Rodgers
Western Washington University
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Running Head: CASE STUDY OF JOAQUIN OLIVARES
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Case Study and Intervention Report: Joaquín Olivares
Introduction
This report is designed to analyze the case of Joaquín Olivares, a 38 year old Mexican
immigrant self referred for services due to family problems. Mr. Olivares has been married to his
wife Maria, who is 35 years old, for twelve years. The couple has two children, an eight year
daughter and a six year old son. The Olivares family emigrated from Mexico eight years ago, and
neither Joaquín nor Maria speak much English. Maria works as a housekeeper part time while
Mr. Olivares is working as a day laborer, having recently been laid off from his position as a
machine worker after five years.
Although the family issues that preceded the referral were not specifically noted, Mr.
Olivares reports that his wife has expressed that she feels he is consuming too much alcohol. Mr.
Olivares feels that the amount he drinks does not present a problem. The extent of Mr. Olivares’
alcohol consumption is unknown but he states that he drinks only on the weekend. Mr. Olivares
also expressed that he feels under pressure due to his recent layoff and the difficult of supporting
his family.
Population
In this scenario, Mr. Olivares and his family are included in multiple populations that are
oftentimes in need of case management. The most prominent of these populations arises from
Joaquín and his wife’s status as Mexican immigrants. All members of the family are citizens of
the United States, so there are no legal immigration issues to be dealt with, as may be the case
with other immigrant families. However, Mr. Olivares and his family will benefit from case
management particularly because their language skills may make it difficult for them to access
resources in the local community. Secondly, this case also represents a low-income family,
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which may present additional challenges that require case management. The family’s limited
financial resources may need to be addressed through the use of case management in order to
support them in attaining affordable food and housing. Lastly, because the family has presented
with complaints about Joaquín’s alcohol consumption, there may be an element of substance
abuse present which could require some assistance from a case manager to make appropriate
referrals to agencies willing and able to help Mr. Olivares reduce alcohol intake if he desires.
This makes Joaquín more of a primary client in this case.
In my opinion, the case of Mr. Olivares requires a very client-centered approach. Because
none of Mr. Olivares’ were explicitly stated at his intake, the case may require a higher level of
thought from him as to what struggles brought him to a case manager and how he would like to
go about alleviating them. Because of this, while working with Mr. Olivares, I would let him
take the lead in creating his service plan, to avoid creating objectives that weren’t in line with his
real goals. In this way, solving the issues that Mr. Olivares believes are a problem may lead him
to want to make other changes that will improve his family life and increase the positive
communication between family members.
Something else to take into account when creating a service plan for Mr. Olivares is the
issue of cultural sensitivity. A problem may be presented in the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Olivares
are not very advanced English speakers. This may make my work as a case manager more
difficult, presenting not only challenges with language, but culture as well. This may greatly
affect Joaquín’s services because cultural incompetence of service providers and language
difficulties present two of the largest barriers to Mexican immigrants seeking mental health
treatment (Paynter & Estrada, 2009). For this reason, I will have to take into account the
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challenges that taking on this case presents and remain aware of how my own cultural lenses will
impact our service plan development and my communication with Mr. Olivares and his family.
Models
Because the case of Joaquín Olivares involves both him, as the primary client, as well his
family, there are a few models of intervention that might work particularly well. It has been
stated that the process of finding a model suited to this population will include the incorporation
of customs from their current culture with those of their culture of origin (Merwin-Spencer,
1997). Mainly, however, Joaquín and his family might benefit the most from a standard broker
model of case management. This would mean that in order for Mr. Olivares to receive the
necessary assistance, the case manager may need to take on a broker role, rather than directly
providing services. This model would be appropriate in situations where the case manager may
have trouble overcoming the aforementioned language and cultural barriers. The case manager
could use their resources to find the appropriate services delivered in Spanish so that the Olivares
family could begin resolving their issues more effectively than if there were communication
barriers. For Mr. Olivares, this could mean referral to some form of occupational training
provided in Spanish. This would mean that he could begin learning a new trade in order to
provide for his family successfully without the stress of working long hours, which he
experiences due to his current job.
Additionally, because of the strong sense of family represented in the Latino culture,
Joaquín and his family might find a more family centered model helpful as well. This would
include Maria and their two children in deciding what steps to take to improve their family as a
system, instead of focusing solely on Mr. Olivares. This would ensure that all members of the
family have their needs and concerns addressed, so that the group is strengthened as a whole.
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This may be a more culturally sensitive method of dealing with the family’s problems. A familycentered model in this case may include a referral from the case manager to a family therapist
experienced in working with Latino families. Taking a collective approach to solving the family
problems which initiated Mr. Olivares’ search for treatment will most likely be in line with the
cultural views of the family.
Lastly, because of Maria’s statements of concern about her husband’s drinking habits,
Mr. Olivares could potentially benefit from early substance abuse intervention. Because he does
not currently believe that his drinking creates a problem, he might benefit from a chemical
dependency assessment to help determine the extent of his alcohol use. Moya and Shedlin
suggest that Mexican cultural norms see a high alcohol intake as less of a problem than we do in
the United States (2011), making it difficult for the client to see this behavior as a problem. If
Mr. Olivares is open to an assessment, which then shows that he is at the early stages of chemical
dependency with his alcohol use, he may be likely to seek further help for this problem. This
could very likely include an educational model to express to Mr. Olivares the damage that his
alcohol abuse may cause. This may also include counseling from a mental health professional to
help Mr. Olivares understand the nature of his problem and outline the contributing factors that
need to be changed.
Because of the nature of the problems presented, there are also models of care that would
mostly benefit Joaquín and his family the least. To begin with, because of Joaquín and Maria’s
difficulty communicating in English, a model where the case manager serves the clients in a
more clinical manner may be impractical. This may cause frustration for the Olivares’ as well as
the case manager because communication will be extremely difficult. Additionally, interacting
with the family in a therapeutic manner may lead to cultural miscommunications. A lack of
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understanding of Latino culture and family structure could prove as a barrier to the effective
resolution of the family’s problems. Also, a model in which the agency serves as a
comprehensive service center may not be most successful with the Olivares family. Although an
organization offering the variety of services that the family needs may be useful, there will most
likely be a lack of Spanish speaking providers represented in the agency to help communication
with the family.
Ethical and Legal Concerns
The main ethical concern that a case manager may have when beginning work with
Joaquín would be the fact that although he seems to have some problems independent of his
family, such as a potential alcohol dependency, it is still the concern of “family issues” that
brought him in for services. This could cause difficulties in providing treatment for Mr. Olivares
privately from his family. If he sees the main problem as the interaction between family
members, it will be hard to ensure he is educated about his current resources and options. Laws
will also come into effect when it comes to dealing with family members individually, as the
case manager may need to keep certain knowledge confidential. Every attempt should be made
by the case manager to avoid breaching privacy laws in order to avoid this. In this case, it is ideal
that outside service providers will be primarily providing the Olivares family with more in depth
help, which minimizes this risk. Additionally, if Mr. Olivares does seek treatment, the case
manager may have the added task of attempting to keep their discussions confidential. Next,
because service providers do not know exactly what kinds of issues the family are dealing with,
they must be aware of the potential for mandated reporting to take effect. This could occur if
child abuse is suspected. It is important for a case manager to keep this in mind when working
with a family.
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As stated previously, both Mr. and Mrs. Olivares are legal citizens, so there are no
immigration issues that are vital to address in order to provide services to them at the time of
referral. When working with immigrant populations, however, it is important to keep in mind
that a case manager may be in contact with people who are not legal citizens of the United
States. Depending on the policies of the agency that a case manager is working for, they may or
may not have a duty to report undocumented immigrants, which will have serious legal
repercussions for the client. These legalities will make it imperative for case managers to review
the extent of their reporting requirements and services offered to clients who may not be living in
the U.S. legally. Additionally, laws and policies can affect the amount of treatment that this
population can receive. This is demonstrated by stricter criteria for things such as Medicaid and
other government programs, which oftentimes cannot be met (Moya & Shedlin, 2008).
Local Resources
There are many resources for immigrants in Whatcom County, particularly those from
Spanish speaking countries. Several of these could be utilized in the case of Joaquín Olivares,
assuming that he and his family live in the Bellingham area. To begin, a case manager might
refer the Olivares’ to family counseling to deal with the primary issues they have sought out
service for. A great resource for this would be the Whatcom Counseling and Psychiatric clinic,
which could provide them with family counseling while working within their current financial
situation. This would be helpful for the family because they currently have a low level of income
due to Joaquín’s recent lay off. Also, if Mr. Olivares’ alcohol consumption is a problem he
decides that he needs to address, the clinic also provides substance abuse counseling.
Also helpful in attending to the therapeutic needs of the Olivares family would be
Bellingham’s Sea Mar Community Health Clinic. This clinic provides many services in Spanish,
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including mental health counseling and substance abuse counseling. This clinic may be a wiser
choice for Joaquín and Maria because they will be able to get assistance in their native language,
making them more comfortable as well as making success more likely. Additionally, counselors
practiced in working with immigrant populations may be better able to understand the challenges
being faced by the Olivares family, particularly with the parents’ ongoing transition into
American culture and the English language.
Lastly, if Joaquín and Maria decide that their lack of English skills is creating trouble in
their family or community life, there is a resource available to assist them. The Whatcom
Literacy Council could provide Joaquín and Maria with free tutors and the opportunity to greatly
improve their English. They would either enroll in classes specifically for English language
learners or receive one on one tutoring in basic English skills. This resource may prove to be
valuable in the ongoing case management of the Olivares family because it will open up access
to more services and allow Joaquín to express his and his family’s needs better. Because the
service is free, it is a great option for the family because they have little money to spare.
Funding
Multiple sources of funding exist that benefit the Olivares’ as well as other similar
families living in Whatcom County. Because this case study is of a low-income family, the
government may be able to provide assistance using taxpayer funds. This could include things
such as food stamps, Medicaid, or housing assistance for the Olivares’ and other families of
lower income. This assistance may be necessary due to the nature of this case, where both
Joaquín and Maria are having difficulty supporting their family even with their combined
income. It might be necessary for them to use these funds for support as Mr. Olivares seeks an
alternative form of employment.
Running Head: CASE STUDY OF JOAQUIN OLIVARES
Additionally, many of the resources that the Olivares and other families could utilize are
non-profit agencies. This includes the Whatcom Literacy Council as well as a variety of
organizations dealing with housing assistance Whatcom County, such as Catholic Community
Services. These non-profit agencies provide many valuable resources to low-income families in
Whatcom County.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the case of the Olivares family is quite complex, being that the entire family
has reported for services, but many of the issues are specific to the father, Joaquín. The service
plan that is developed needs to include the family collectively, as well as deal with some of the
issues being faced by the father which may be creating tension in the family system. The
population represented, a low income immigrant and his family, could prove to be difficult to
serve for case manager who does not recognize their need for special services. However, if the
case is handled in a culturally sensitive manner, with the appropriate ethical and legal concerns
in mind, a case manager may be able to successfully navigate the wide range of services
necessary to improve the lives of the Olivares family.
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References
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Merwin-Spencer, S. (1997). Level of acculturation and machismo in Mexican-American males
as participants in substance abuse programs. (Order No. 9805136, California School of
Professional Psychology - Fresno). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 176.
Moya, E. M., Shedlin, M.D. (2008). Policies and laws affecting Mexican-origin immigrants and
utilization of substance abuse treatment: Obstacles to recovery and immigrant health.
Substance Use & Misuse, 43(12/13), 1747-1769. doi: 10.1080/10826080802297294
Paynter, C. K., Estrada, D. (2009). Multicultural training applied in clinical practice: Reflections
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immigrants. The Family Journal 17(3): 213-219.