Interview of a Helping Professional To gain insight of a helping profession, I decided to do my interview with Yvonne Acree, a Family Case Manager at the Head Start program in South Boston, VA. The Head Start Center operates out of the Tri County Community Action Agency. The Head Start program is geared to provide services for young children which may include education, health, and nutrition. The only catch is that the program only provides help to parents and children that are in low-income or high risked. Head Start has been an important fact in my life because I am a product of this product, so is my youngest daughter.
Introduction to Work Setting The Head Start Program is a program that is linked with the Halifax County Public School …show more content…
When they visit the home they sit down with the parents or guardians and try to set goals for the children and family as a whole. Sometimes it could be just as simple as giving the parents a list of job opportunities or information about the school. A case manager can also give information or help contact someone if the parents need work done on the house and they assist you with the bill. They can help the child and parents with numerous of task, but they cannot counsel. They will, however refer you to someone that can help. A major part of case management is to be able to find resources and get the information out to the …show more content…
Acree also shares with me, you not only have to like people, sometimes you have to go out your way to help people. You can’t just use the resources that are provided by the Head Start Program, you also have to find other resources in the community to assist families. There were times she has taken money out her own pocket to give to someone. She feels that knowing your resources are one of the key aspects of being a case manager. When she is not doing home visits, she has to handle a tremendous amount of paper work. Then, with the paper work you have to make sure everything is put away correctly to make sure you don’t violate the confidentiality of a student or family. She has a strict policy she has to follow when it comes to every student she deals with.
One aspect she detests about her job is when she has to turn a student down. Since the Head Start Program is based on income, sometimes a parent who really needs the facility cannot be accepted because they make too much money. Other times the funding for the program may be low and they can’t reach as many students that may actually need it. In all reality, sometimes the people who get turn down are the ones that are in dire need for the
Introduction to Work Setting The Head Start Program is a program that is linked with the Halifax County Public School …show more content…
When they visit the home they sit down with the parents or guardians and try to set goals for the children and family as a whole. Sometimes it could be just as simple as giving the parents a list of job opportunities or information about the school. A case manager can also give information or help contact someone if the parents need work done on the house and they assist you with the bill. They can help the child and parents with numerous of task, but they cannot counsel. They will, however refer you to someone that can help. A major part of case management is to be able to find resources and get the information out to the …show more content…
Acree also shares with me, you not only have to like people, sometimes you have to go out your way to help people. You can’t just use the resources that are provided by the Head Start Program, you also have to find other resources in the community to assist families. There were times she has taken money out her own pocket to give to someone. She feels that knowing your resources are one of the key aspects of being a case manager. When she is not doing home visits, she has to handle a tremendous amount of paper work. Then, with the paper work you have to make sure everything is put away correctly to make sure you don’t violate the confidentiality of a student or family. She has a strict policy she has to follow when it comes to every student she deals with.
One aspect she detests about her job is when she has to turn a student down. Since the Head Start Program is based on income, sometimes a parent who really needs the facility cannot be accepted because they make too much money. Other times the funding for the program may be low and they can’t reach as many students that may actually need it. In all reality, sometimes the people who get turn down are the ones that are in dire need for the