Response 1: Systems Perspective and Social Change Read a selection of your colleagues' posts. Respond to at least two colleagues in one of the following ways: Critique your colleague's suggestion about how to apply a systems perspective to Lester Johnson's case. Identify one way that a concept in your colleague's post might contribute towards advocacy and social change. Discuss how you might apply the empowerment and strengths approach to one of the concepts your colleague has presented. Be sure to support your responses with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references. Colleague 1: Julia ‪ When working with clients, there are many factors at play that not only formed the client in their early years, but also influence them now. The factors that influence them now can include: family, living situation, job situation, friends, religious community, etc. These factors can all influence how a social worker can assist in intervening in a client’s life. Each of these factors can also be included in different systems that influence the client (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2016).             Let us take, for example, the case of Lester. Lester was an independent member in his community, church community, and was able to handle his life all by himself. However, after an automobile accident, Lester has done a 180 and can no longer clothe or clean himself (Plummer, Makris, and Brocksen, 2014). This is where systems perspective comes in: what systems in Lester’s life can the social worker use to assist Lester? From the case study, we know that Lester is close with his family, but his sister-in-law has really stepped up to the plate in helping with Lester’s care. Because of Lester’s connections with his religious community, they may be relied on for resources. Lester’s children have not been involved really at all, so they should not be counted on as a system on which Lester can rely (Plummer, Makris, and Brocksen, 2014). Lester will have to have new systems created for him, as he cannot create them for himself anymore.             As a social worker, it is crucial to know the systems on which a client can rely. System Theory is a good theory because of its ability to be used with any client. Knowing what resources are available to a client, as well as their interactions with those resources, is key in creating a treatment plan for the client. Plummer, S. -B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Working with People with Disabilities: The Case of Lester. Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader]. Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA:  Cengage Learning. Colleague 2: Lisa Hello Everyone, Multiple systems interact to impact individuals on many levels. In Lester.

1. Response 1:
Systems Perspective and Social Change
Read
a selection of your colleagues' posts.
Respond
to at least two colleagues in one of the following ways:
Critique your colleague's suggestion about how to apply a
systems perspective to Lester Johnson's case.
Identify one way that a concept in your colleague's post might
contribute towards advocacy and social change.
Discuss how you might apply the empowerment and strengths
approach to one of the concepts your colleague has presented.
Be sure to support your responses with specific references to
the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to
provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.
Colleague 1: Julia
When working with clients, there are many factors at play that
not only formed the client in their early years, but also
influence them now. The factors that influence them now can
include: family, living situation, job situation, friends, religious
community, etc. These factors can all influence how a social
worker can assist in intervening in a client’s life. Each of these

2. factors can also be included in different systems that influence
the client (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2016).
Let us take, for example, the case of Lester. Lester was
an independent member in his community, church community,
and was able to handle his life all by himself. However, after an
automobile accident, Lester has done a 180 and can no longer
clothe or clean himself (Plummer, Makris, and Brocksen, 2014).
This is where systems perspective comes in: what systems in
Lester’s life can the social worker use to assist Lester? From the
case study, we know that Lester is close with his family, but his
sister-in-law has really stepped up to the plate in helping with
Lester’s care. Because of Lester’s connections with his religious
community, they may be relied on for resources. Lester’s
children have not been involved really at all, so they should not
be counted on as a system on which Lester can rely (Plummer,
Makris, and Brocksen, 2014). Lester will have to have new
systems created for him, as he cannot create them for himself
anymore.
As a social worker, it is crucial to know the systems on
which a client can rely. System Theory is a good theory because
of its ability to be used with any client. Knowing what
resources are available to a client, as well as their interactions
with those resources, is key in creating a treatment plan for the
client.
Plummer, S. -B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014).
Working with People with Disabilities: The Case of Lester.
Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore, MD:
Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-
reader].
Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding
human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston,
MA: Cengage Learning.
Colleague 2: Lisa

3. Hello Everyone,
Multiple systems interact to impact individuals on many levels.
In Lester's case he is a 59 year old African American widower
who suffered from injuries because of his involvment in a
mulitiple car crash. "Prior to the accident he was an electrician
and lived on his own in a family home", (Plummer, Makris and
Brocksen 2014). This crash caused him to depend on multiple
systems in his life such as his family, rehabilitation
facilities, and social workers. All of these systems interact as
aid for Lester's recovery. Members of his family are requesting
Power of attorney in order to make important decisions for him,
as well as pay his bills and other things. The social worker
wanted to make sure that his mental state was okay by doing
assessments, and the rehabilitation centers are aiding in his
overall physical recovery.
As a social worker I might apply systems perspective to my
work with Lester by, allowing him to see all of the people that
truly care about him, and are aiding him in his recovery.
"Clients are affected by and in constant dynamic interactions
with other systems including families groups organizations and
communities", (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2016).. Sometimes
when tragic things happen to people they become depressed, and
can only see the negative. As a social worker I would also use
the systems perspective to connect his rrehabilitation process,
counseling, and family matters. All of these things aid in
helping Lester live a productive life despite his current
circumstances. I would apply a systems perspective to social
work practice by addressing all areas of a clients situation. In
order to do that, a social worker needs to make sure that the
primary focus is on the individuals well-being, and all of the
other areas such as family, groups, organizations and
communities aid in helping that client reach his or her goals,
and live productive lives.

4. Response 2
:
Policy Analysis and Application
·
Respond
to at least two colleagues by explaining the various costs you
think will be associated with their suggested policy changes.
·
Then, explain whether a consideration of cost when adopting a
policy or program contradicts the social workers’ code of
ethics.
Support your response with specific references to the resources.
Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Colleague 1: Daneilia

5. The Case of Rita and a Possible Change to Policy
The Case of Rita discusses the time frame policy of the
maximum time someone has to report a sexual assault with
forensic data. While 90 days may seem like quite a bit of time
to decide whether or not to file a report, it in actuality is a short
period of time especially for a person dealing with a crisis
(Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014). A possible change to
policy that I could foresee being something to implement is the
length in time, which an individual has the ability to make a
sexual assault report. I do not think that an individual is ready
at that fast of a pace of 90 days to make a conscious decision.
Plummer, Makris, and Brocksen (2014) states how it, “…affects
her or his ability to retain information and make decisions.”
Due to the clouded mindset of the client, it is difficult to make
clear and concise decisions. For this reason, I would attempt to
implement a longer period of time for the decision making
process.
Evaluate the Success of the Policy Changes
I might evaluate the success of the policy changes by evidence-
based outcomes. So to speak it would be based on facts such as
clients being satisfied with submitting reports in a clearer
mindset. Also, depending the client’s demeanor has changed
over time especially after having submitted the report. In
addition, if the client has been successful in counseling as well
(i.e. making breakthroughs, coming out of a depression, not
being angry with the offender).
Colleague 2: Patricia
Policy Change and the Case of Rita
In the case of Rita who is a 22 year old Latina who was
sexually assaulted by a friend of a fellow co-worker. She went
to the hospital to have a sexual assault kit done and was given
medication to treat any possible STDs along with emergency
contraceptives. She did not feel comfortable filing a report or
pressing charges because she was very traumatized and blamed

6. herself for the incident. According to Rita's state policy for
reporting sexual assault cases to local law enforcement, she
only has 90 days to make a decision. For someone who has
experienced this type of trauma, that is nearly not enough time
to explain the details of what happened during the assault let
alone make a rational decision on weither or not to file charges
against the perpetrator. A policy change that would be effective
would be to eliminate the 90 day filing limit.
Even with the filing limit, the sexual assault kit would not be
any good so there would be no evidence and the perpetrator
would have fled.
Measuring Policy Change
A strength based perspective would be a good way to
measure the effectiveness of the policy change. It allows the
victims to decide when they are ready to report the assault or if
they even want to report it. If they want to report it, then they
can have to sexual assault kit done and press charges right after
the incident without feeling pressured and they can give a
detailed description of the incident to law enforcement.
Response 3
:
Evaluating Policy Implications
·
Respond
to at least two colleagues by examining their critique of the

7. current campus policies and suggestions for change.
·
Analyze the feasibility of their suggested policy change and
provide your thoughts on any gaps not addressed in the original
post.
Support your response with specific references to the resources.
Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Colleague 1: Rachel
In the case of the Johnson video, policies in which the
perpetrator and the victim have to tell their stories in front of
each other could be intimidating towards the victim. In the clip,
it was obvious that the man calling the victim a "slut" aroused
emotions inside of her, therefore making it harder for her to
maintain her composure. Also another policy that could be
changed could be leaving the decision to press criminal charges
in that hands of one person. What makes him so credible to
distinguish if either party or being truthful or not? What if he
has a biased towards man accused of sexual assaults? At lease
having more that one authority figure deciding on the fate of the
complaint might be beneficial. As well as interviewing each
party separate therefore the victim could feel comfortable
telling their story might also be beneficial.
Colleague 2: Jesse
Current universities campus policies on sexual assault
occurrences can cause victims to develop mental health issues,

8. such as depression and/or anxiety. In Talia’s case she expresses
her anxiety around the situation through her body language
because she has to be right beside her perpetrator. Once her
rapist voices his thoughts Talia becomes enraged (Laureate
Education, 2013). Having both the victim and perpetrator come
into at the same time causes unneeded stress on the victims.
Talia experienced physical and psychotically stress having to
face her rapist. I think the school should have appointed an
advocate for Talia so she would have known and understood her
options and also to provide moral support for Talia. One change
I would implement would be to assign an advocate for any
criminal accusations between students. They would help the
student navigate through the process and provide emotional
support through this tough time. The success of this policy
change could be evaluated by how the victims feel about the
added support through their situations. I would also add some
type of counseling afterwards to periodically check in on the
students’ mental health and how they are coping with their
feelings after the incident.
Response 4
:

9. The Social Work Advocate in Politics
·
Respond
to at least two colleagues by offering a suggestion for how your
colleague might gain political and/or lobbying experience for
the political issue your colleagues described.
·
Also, explain the steps you might take to incorporate policy
advocacy in your practice based on insights, experiences, and/or
opinions your colleagues described.
·
Be sure your explanation takes the perspective of a social work
professional with a responsibility to uphold professional ethics.
Support your response with specific references to the resources.
Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Colleague 1: Jesse
The role a social worker lobbying and campaigning is to
advocate for our clients. The NASW talks about how social
workers can aid our society by writing policy changes,
lobbying, organizing agency and community events, and helping
make changes to laws for disadvantaged members of society
(NASW, n.d). Our passion is to be a voice for those who feel
unheard or unrepresented. We stand up for those who face
inequalities. Social workers that are elected officials have the
opportunity to make powerful and positive changes. They are
able to bring new light and new views to policies and laws that

10. might need revising or changes. I feel as though I have learned
a lot from my colleagues in this class. They have shown me a
lot of different aspects and thought processes. This class as
allowed me to see other point of views and broaden my way of
viewing situations.
Colleague 2: Lisa
Hello Everyone,
The role of lobbying and campaigning in social work practice is
necessary, and is a form ofadvocacy for marginalized and
oppressed groups of people. "Lobbying is simply the purposive,
goal directed, planned process of attempting to influence the
position of a decision maker usually an elected one", (Popple &
Leighninger, 2015). I strongly believe that social workers might
have a powerful and positive effect as elected officials because
they know how to advocate for marginalized groups of people,
they research issues that affect people, they plan and set goals
before implementing them, and they know where and how to get
the resources that people need. "Social workers are powerful as
elected officials in charting the way forward on particular issues
of concerns, particularly those affecting disadvantaged groups",
(Rome, Harris & Hoechstetter, 2010). The experiences and
opinions of my colleagues have had an impact on my won
experiences and opinions in many ways. Sometimes listening to
another persons point of view can either make you stick to your
own opinions, or in some cases change the way you think about
a particular issue. This will also happen on our jobs as well.
Social workers should ask colleagues their opinions when faced
with difficult situations and sometimes just to see if you are on
the right track to handeling a situation.