Running head: ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE 1 Absent Parental Figure Theresa Johnson, a 35-yr-old African American and Frank Powe, a 35-yr-old Caucasian male have four daughters. All have taken the birth name of Theresa Johnson; Natalie, who is 17- yrs old, Ashley is 16, Jasmine is 14, and Nicole is 13. All four daughters are athletic and hold honors in their studies. Natalie is taking college prep classes is preparing for college. She also loves basketball and hopes to play on her college team. Natalie enjoys cheerleading and excels at basketball. Her other sisters, Nicole, Ashley, and are also involved in other sports such as track, cheerleading, and volleyball. All four sisters are on the honor roll and are involved in other organizations such as the NAACP and science club. Recently, there has been conflict and Theresa are now left to raise the four children alone. Frank has been until Frank was arrested for using and trafficking illegal drugs. Theresa works long hours as a supervisor for a local fast-food restaurant and has been struggling to make ends meet. Theresa does not have a high school and did not obtain her GED due to struggling to raise her children. The family is currently residing with Natalie’s mom, Joanne who is 53 years old and is physically disabled. They all share a 4-bedroom government assistant home. Natalie has been dating a guy named Alex for the past two months. Alex is an 18-year- old Caucasian male. Alex is one of the star football players at their high school and he has been offered several scholarships for college. In his spare time, Alex works 15-20 hours as a part-time associate at a local game store. Alex occasionally uses both marijuana an alcohol. Natalie is aware of his usage with both, but states that she believes that Alex only uses marijuana and alcohol as a way to balance work, playing sports, and working part-time. Natalie and Alex became sexually active the night that they met at a mutual friend’s party and they have been ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE 2 sexually active ever since. Natalie is currently on birth control pills and her and Alex uses withdrawal as a method of birth control as well. Natalie’s mother, Theresa and her father, Frank met at the age of the very young age of 13-years-old when Theresa and her family moved to Frank’s neighborhood. The two continued to date throughout junior high up until they had their last child Nicole. Frank has had a criminal history from a young age and has used and sold drugs since the age of 15. Theresa and Frank broke up once they had their last child. Frank has never been involved or helped with the children, although he and Theresa were still dating. Frank eventually disappeared and Theresa nor the ...

1. Running head: ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE
1
Absent Parental Figure
Theresa Johnson, a 35-yr-old African American and Frank
Powe, a 35-yr-old Caucasian
male have four daughters. All have taken the birth name of
Theresa Johnson; Natalie, who is 17-
yrs old, Ashley is 16, Jasmine is 14, and Nicole is 13. All four
daughters are athletic and hold
honors in their studies. Natalie is taking college prep classes is
preparing for college. She also
loves basketball and hopes to play on her college team. Natalie
enjoys cheerleading and excels
at basketball. Her other sisters, Nicole, Ashley, and are also
involved in other sports such as
track, cheerleading, and volleyball. All four sisters are on the
honor roll and are involved in
other organizations such as the NAACP and science club.
Recently, there has been conflict and Theresa are now left to
raise the four children alone.

2. Frank has been until Frank was arrested for using and
trafficking illegal drugs. Theresa works
long hours as a supervisor for a local fast-food restaurant and
has been struggling to make ends
meet. Theresa does not have a high school and did not obtain
her GED due to struggling to raise
her children. The family is currently residing with Natalie’s
mom, Joanne who is 53 years old
and is physically disabled. They all share a 4-bedroom
government assistant home.
Natalie has been dating a guy named Alex for the past two
months. Alex is an 18-year-
old Caucasian male. Alex is one of the star football players at
their high school and he has been
offered several scholarships for college. In his spare time, Alex
works 15-20 hours as a part-time
associate at a local game store. Alex occasionally uses both
marijuana an alcohol. Natalie is
aware of his usage with both, but states that she believes that
Alex only uses marijuana and
alcohol as a way to balance work, playing sports, and working
part-time. Natalie and Alex
became sexually active the night that they met at a mutual
friend’s party and they have been

3. ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE
2
sexually active ever since. Natalie is currently on birth control
pills and her and Alex uses
withdrawal as a method of birth control as well.
Natalie’s mother, Theresa and her father, Frank met at the age
of the very young age of
13-years-old when Theresa and her family moved to Frank’s
neighborhood. The two continued
to date throughout junior high up until they had their last child
Nicole. Frank has had a criminal
history from a young age and has used and sold drugs since the
age of 15. Theresa and Frank
broke up once they had their last child. Frank has never been
involved or helped with the
children, although he and Theresa were still dating. Frank
eventually disappeared and Theresa
nor the girls never knew where he was until he was recently
arrested.
Recently, Natalie took a pregnancy test and learned that she
was approximately 5-weeks
pregnant. Natalie assumed that she may have been pregnant

4. after she her cycle had been a few
weeks late. Natalie knew that there may be a chance that she
may be pregnant due she mad
missed a few days of taking her birth control pills accidentally,
but thought that Alex had been
extra careful when they were engaging in sexual activities.
During our first meeting Natalie mentioned that she had
recently taken a pregnancy test
and learned that she was pregnant. At this time the only
persons who knew she was pregnant,
was her boyfriend Alex and her younger sister, Jasmine who is
like her best friend. Natalie
mentioned that she was fearful of telling her mother and her
grandmother due to feeling that they
would be disappointed and also due to her mother struggling to
care for her and younger sisters.
Due Natalie is super nervous about telling her mother and
grandmother that she was pregnant,
we discussed some ways that she should inform them and also
went over the reactions and
feedback that she would possibly receive. Natalie agreed that
when she went home that night

5. ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE
3
that she would let her family know that she pregnant due to her
not being able to hold her secret
in any longer.
The next day Natalie came into my office and her face was
drowning in tears. She had
expressed that she had told her mother and grandmother that she
was pregnant and her mother
was furious and angry. Natalie mentioned that her mother had
called her all kinds of horrible
names and informed her that she would not be raising another
child. Theresa informed Natalie
tthat she would be getting an abortion and her grandmother
agreed. Natalie stated that her
mother had taken her to the doctor earlier this morning and the
doctor confirmed that she was
actually 6-weeks pregnant. Theresa demanded that if Natalie
did not get abortion that she would
have to move out of her home. Natalie was extremely upset
that her mother was making
decisions for her and she believed that out of anyone her mother
should understand that even

6. though she was young she could still be a great mother.
Natalie’s mother believed that Natalie and Alex were not
serious enough to be preparing
to have a baby and believed that a child would ruin their lives.
I offered to meet with Natalie and
her mother so that we could all discuss the situation and what
the next steps would be. Theresa
agreed to meet with myself and Natalie. When I met with
Natalie an her mother Theresa,
Theresa was very emotional and stressed the fact that she was
tired and burned out trying to care
for her children and that she was extremely upset that Natalie
would put herself and her family
into this situation. Theresa stood by her belief that abortion
was the best option for Natalie
because Natalie knows how hard it is to be a single mother and
how is extremely hard it is to
grow up without a father figure.
Two days later, Natalie returned to my office and informed me
that after our session with
her mother that they went home and was able to have a
conversation without any cursing or

7. ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE
4
name calling is involved. Natalie stated that she had also
discussed her pregnancy with her
sisters and friends and many believed that she was not ready for
a baby and that her mother may
be right. Natalie expressed that she didn’t know what she was
going to do at this point. Natalie
mentioned that she did not want to raise a child alone. She
feard that she would be struggling to
raise her child like her mother struggles to take care of her and
her sisters. She went on to
express how her dad not being present in her life seriously
affected her mental health. She
wishes that he was there to see her play sports and see that
she’s a good kid. She was still in
belief and distraught that Alex had broken up with her and
wanted nothing to do with her or the
baby.
At the end of our session Natalie ask me what were my
thoughts regarding what she
should do. I expressed to Natalie that this should be a decision
that she makes and not be

8. influenced by what other people’s opinions. It was best for
Natalie to know all of her options so
we went over them together. By the end of our session Natalie
stated that she had in mind what
she wanted to do. She stated that she was going to go home
and speak with her family and that
she would also inform Alex of her decision although he does not
want to be involved.
Identifying Problems
The ultimate goal for a social worker when it comes to working
with families is to be
able help them improve their relationships and to be abel to help
them cope with difficult
situations similar like the Johnson’s family. Working with the
family can present potential
problems especially when families are not on the same page
when it comes to making decisions
that will impact them as a whole. Although there may be
problems presented, it is always
important and helpful to involve any family member who is
connected with or influences a
client’s reason for seeking help (Holosko,). Communication
may be a the number one presenting

9. ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE
5
problem when working with this family. The mother, Theresa is
set on and determined to make
decisions without involving her daughter who it potentially
affects the most.
Introduction
The paper discusses the role of the absent parental figure in the
growth and development
of children in society. The case of Johnson Family is interesting
considering it focuses on the
topic of discussion. The issue of negligence is a problem, but it
may be brought about by the
issues of incarceration and death. The paper looks at the
statistics of the absent parental figure
and its relationship to the Johnson family case.
Scope and current Absent Parental Figure in the Society
The issue of absent parental figure in the United States is
created by the dramatic increase
in incarceration in the last three decades. The level of
incarceration in the country is the reason

10. for the children and families in different states being affected
by the trends. With the increasing
incarceration rates among parents, more families and children
tend to suffer parental neglect due
to the absence of their parents. The number of children with
fathers in prison and jails in the last
decade has increased from approximately 350,000 to 2.1 million
(Sherwood & Kendall, 2013).
This is a representation of 3% of children in the United States
with fathers in prisons and jails
since 2000. The Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that close to
57% of those who were
imprisoned in 2007 had minor children (Erola, Jalonen, & Lehti,
2016).
Currently, an estimated 1.7 million children below the 18-years
age bracket have a parent
in either federal or state prison (Unicef, 2018). Another
significant issue revolves around the
aspect of racial and ethnic disparities among prison populations.
They represent the disparate
ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE
6

11. rates associated with parental incarceration. African and
Hispanic Americans are seen to
experience more incarceration compared to other racial groups.
The situation has increased
poverty among the groups’ families compared to the
Caucasians.
Apart from incarceration, another issue revolves around the
death of the parents. When a
family loses one of the parents, who is considered to be the
breadwinner, it becomes difficult for
the family to fend for their needs. Children may not be able to
attend school because of their
failure to meet their school fees (Amato & Christopher, 2014).
However, when it comes to
absent parental figure, death is not talked about compared to
incarceration. Foster homes care for
most of the children with a background of their parents
experiencing incarceration compared to
death. This is a serious issue that needs to be tackled to enhance
the positive development of
children in society.
Relating to the Johnson Family Case
With the statistics provided and the information relating to the

12. issues facing children, the
case of Johnson Family may represent the above-stated issue. In
the above case, Frank Powe has
been arrested for drug use and trafficking, which is a huge
offense in the United States. The
situation leaves the thirty-five-year-old Theresa Johnson with
the heavy burden of raising their
four daughters. She is caught with the dilemma of assisting her
mother Joanne Johnson and
caring for the needs of her children. This is a problem for the
children growing up because they
sense the absence of their father, who should be present to
guide and care for their needs. Despite
the children showing significant improvements in their
academic backgrounds and better
performance in their curricular activities, it seems that they may
not be able to remain motivated
for a long period. There is a high likelihood of children ending
in foster care compared to living
with their struggling mother.
ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE
7

13. The absent parental figure is a problem for many families in
the United States and
different parts of the world, mostly due to incarceration and the
death of the parent. The Johnson
family, children are extraordinarily good both in their academic
and co-curricular backgrounds
despite them being disadvantaged economically. The
absenteeism of the father in the case is a
major problem for the development of the children. The children
may blame their parents for the
misfortunes that befall them, considering that the criminal
background of the father (Frank
Powe) seems to be a neglect of his role as a parent in terms of
creating a positive background for
the children.
Assessment of the Johnson Family
Theresa Johnson, a 35-yr-old African American and Frank
Powe, a 35-yr-old
Caucasian male have four daughters. All have taken the birth
name of Theresa Johnson; Natalie,
who is 17-yrs old, Ashley is 16, Jasmine is 14, and Nicole is 13.
All four daughters are athletic
and hold honors in their studies. Natalie is taking college prep

14. classes is preparing for college.
She also loves basketball and hopes to play on her college team.
Natalie enjoys cheerleading and
excels at basketball. Her other sisters, Nicole, Ashley, and are
also involved in other sports such
as track, cheerleading, and volleyball. All four sisters are on
the honor roll and are involved in
other organizations such as the NAACP and science club.
Recently, there is conflict between Theresa and Frank and
Theresa is now left to raise the
four children alone. Frank was arrested for using and
trafficking illegal drugs. Theresa works
long hours as a supervisor for a local fast-food restaurant and
has been struggling to make ends
meet. Theresa does not have a high school diploma and did not
obtain her GED due to
struggling to raise her children. The family is currently residing
with Theresa’s mother, Joanne,
who is physically disabled. They all share a 4-bedroom
government assistant home. Assessment
ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE
8

15. will begin with Theresa, the mother. As her social worker and
counselor, I will need to assess
her needs and discuss goals for a successful treatment plan.
Theresa is struggling financially and
does not have a home of her own. “Assessment is
fundamentally about the construction of the
official story about a family, its needs and strengths; and
decisions are usually made about access
to resources, relationship issues, and care of children”
(Holosko, Dulmus, & Sowers, 2013, pg.
242). Intensive care will also involve Theresa’s four daughters,
ages 17, 16, 14, and 13.
Although they want to remain living with Theresa, it might not
be feasible due to economic
hardship.
Finding appropriate resources to help the family stay together
will take dedication and
use of community resources or other healthcare professionals
involved in the case. One way to
do this is to investigate and collaborate with Theresa and her
social network. Can other family
members be incorporated within the treatment plan? It would
be important to know if Frank has

16. a supportive network system as well that could help care for the
children. During the assessment
phase, a genogram could be very useful in finding out what
other relationships the family has.
Often times, members do not realize the support that may be
available for them in difficult times.
“Genograms fit in naturally during the assessment portion of
treatment (Genograms for
Psychotherapy, 2019). The genogram may be difficult in the
case of Theresa and her family, but
it could also be used as a tool to show progress in new
relationships the family may build upon.
Relationships are an important aspect of the assessment process.
As the Johnson family’s social
worker, I will need to be aware that micro, mezzo, and macro
impact the family systems. one
definition of Social Systems Theory is “The Interconnectedness
of the person and environment
on the micro, mezzo and macro levels” (Wenger, J. C., 2014).
In the assessment process with
the Johnson family, I will also focus on current coping skills
that may need to be developed with
ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE

17. 9
dealing with Frank’s incarceration. According to the McMaster
Model of Family Functioning,
based on an empirically based research project that began in the
1950’s, the “Carefully crafted
measurement technique pays particular heed to how the family
develops and maintains itself
through developing coping skills for dealing with certain
necessary tasks” (Goldenberg, &
Goldenberg, 2008, pg. 414-15). The McMaster model pays
attention to three functioning areas:
(a) basic task area (how the family deals with problems of
providing food, money, transportation,
shelter); (b) developmental task area (how they deal with
problems arising as a result of changes
over time, such as first pregnancies or last child leaving home);
(c) hazardous task area (how
they handle crisis that arise as a result of illness, accident, loss
of income, job change, and such).
These four areas will have to be addressed with Theresa and her
four daughters in the assessment
process in order to continue and great a successful intervention
plan (Goldberg & Goldberg,

18. 2008). The McMaster model is an attempt to assess where each
family member is in an attempt
to determine the level of intervention that may be needed for the
family or each family member.
Review of Literature Evidence-Based Interventions
Statistics have shown that there are approximately 19.7 million
children in the United
States and more than 1 in 4, live without a father in the home
(The Proof Is In: Father Absence
Harms Children, 2016). There have been an increase over time
indicating the rise of woman-
headed single parent families. There are more and more
children who are growing up without a
father being a resident in their homes. Daughters who were
raised by teenage mothers presents a
risk factor regarding the likelihood of of having early,
unprotected sexual intercourse and of
falling pregnant (Margherita, Troisi, Tessitore, & Gargiulo,
2017). Children who grow up in
homes with an absent parental figure are more likely to result in
bad behavior. The impact of an
absent parental figure can be very negative within a child’s life,
but the impact of an absent

19. ABSENT PARENTAL FIGURE
10
father and father figures can be very detrimental. The goal of
this literature review is to provide
the best interventions for families who have been impacted by
an absent parental figure.
Understanding family history and characteristics is highly
recommended and valued
within the social work field when it comes to providing
interventions for families. When
working with families and not individuals, the view of how
presenting problems are viewed must
be shifted. There are several of intervention models that have
been well explored and are
effective in accomplishing position outcomes, such as reduced
behavior problems and improved
family interactions (Holosko et al., 2013). Evidence based
interventions that have been proven
to have an impact on family issues such as the Johnson Family
Solution

20. -Focused Brief Therapy
(SFBT) and Structural therapy. This literature review will
discuss how