Caring Emergency Services Agency
The organization’s name is Caring Emergency Services, located in Ocala, Marion County, Florida. The mission of Caring Emergency Services is to offer emergency assistance to all county residents, especially those in financial distress. The organization will be situated in the city metro district for easy accessibility. There are other social agencies in the area. However, there is a great need for our full range of services in the city, incorporating both family units and individuals; One of the many reasons the agency will be a great asset to the city/county. The services offered include; providing people experiencing financial problems with safe shelter, supporting them to regain their self-sufficiency, and providing yearly grocery subscriptions. The agency advises families and individuals with the grocery subscription to use their funds to pay rent and home utilities. Clients are introduced to the organization by churches, synagogues, public services agencies, or word of mouth. Social places are used due to their relationship with the avast population, thus having a broad reach while referrals illustrate personalized messages; however, both report people with similar needs. Our clients include; the homeless, senior citizens, veterans, people with disabilities, and the under-employed. The agency will be funded by donations and grants, while operational help will be sought from social work volunteers.
Target Population/Cultural Considerations
Caring Emergency Services organization is tasked with offering emergency assistance regarding basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, medications, and hygiene items designed to enhance life quality and ease the burden for those in financial distress. Our organization’s target population’s primary demographic will encompass the income level, employment location, homeownership, and level of education. Florida demographics are diverse, representing a multiracial state, thus for fair services, factors such as gender and race are non-influential to the organization’s decisions. The perception of gender inequality and race leads to the lowering of services’ quality due to prejudice. Ocala City in Florida has a racial composition of 73 % whites, 20 % African American and 3 % Asians, while the sex ratio has more females than males showing a diverse population (World Population Review, 2020). For the organization’s integrity purpose, it is vital to ensure the kind of staff offering services to clients will not compromise the organization’s reputation.
To achieve the intended goal of the organization, the staff needs to have specialized training or certification. The organization needs a team that understands the requirements needed to reach its goals and make an effort to accomplish them through collaboration between staff and management. According to Johnson (2019), an organization that provides on-the-job training and opportunities for the team will ensure employee engagement in work-related skills. Further, the organization also offers opportunities for staff to pursue certification and continue their education. The agency will provide flexible schedules for staff to continue pursuing further studies to render our clients quality services. A strong leadership supported by a dedicated staff reflects the characteristics of a healthy organization committed to offering quality services. The staff readily accept constructive criticism from leaders in case of a mishandled case and thus provide the necessary feedback.
The criteria for selecting qualified clients are subject to future considerations due to clients’ emergence different from the organization’s primary demographic who require help. The agency grants them an audience to present why they need assistance and make a comprehensive solution. Eligible persons are enrolled in the program, while those who do not meet the threshold are advised accordingly on our services’ requirements. The highly trained, specialized staff are designated to handle such cases with professionalism without portraying negative perceptions. The organization requires to have well-planned procedures that will ensure services are offered without discrimination.
Theoretical Model and Approach
I have selected the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) treatment model for the effective delivery of agency services. In this model, at the beginning of sessions, the clients meet with the social workers to explain their unresolved issues and set accompanying goals. Problems described by the client and goals set become the foundation for planning session contents. Usually, the therapist and client will jointly agree on key subjects to be worked on at the beginning of the session (Martin, 2019). Also, the two will set time for reviewing conclusions from earlier therapy sessions. In this model, the client is given homework assignments used to track the sessions’ progress. At the end of the session, the therapist and client plan another homework assignment outside the therapy sessions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy always pays close attention to the client’s connection with problems, thoughts, and behavior. In most cases, social workers who employ this model customize and personalize therapy to the clients’ particular needs and character.
This type of approach is essential to a client due to various reasons. First and foremost, it helps manage therapeutic time efficiently as the sessions are planned well with important topics to be achieved outlined. This approach also ensures that critical information is not missed out due to the homework given. At the end of the session, both clients and social workers consider a new assignment that logically follows from the previous session (Martin, 2016). The therapist structures sessions to start with; as sessions proceed, clients easily comprehend values they find beneficial. Thus, at the end of therapy sessions, patients feel encouraged to progress operating independently.
The success of Model with Current Agencies
The model has been a success in various social work agencies that deal with depression, alcohol, and substance abuse problems and anxiety disorders. CBT helps people develop alternative thoughts aimed at reducing psychological distress. In depression and anxiety disorders, the client and therapist work together to challenge negative attitudes the client develops, which leads to feelings of hopelessness. The change from a pessimist to an optimistic perspective helps patients reduce distress and maintain positive emotions and behaviors. Application of the CBT model in alcohol and substance abuse involves the prevention of relapses. CBT model uses reinforcement and conditioning to prevent the patients from relapsing by exploring negative and positive consequences to reduce and stop drug use.
The efficiency of Model to Caring Emergency Services Agency
The cognitive-behavioral model provides a stable foundation for multicultural counseling for marginalized people. Marginalized people include people with disabilities, homeless persons, senior citizens, veterans, and the unemployed who are viewed negatively by society may have unique needs that counselors need to be aware of. Effective multicultural counseling considers all aspects of the client’s life by understanding the current life experiences and culture that influence their reasoning (Hope, Heimberg, and Turk, 2019). CBT counselors view the world from the client’s perspective through interviewing the client regarding their marginalization and needs.
The model helps use therapeutic time efficiently as the sessions are well planned and essential topics outlined, such as the diverse clientele’ needs. This approach also ensures that critical information is not missed out due to the homework given and feedback. By understanding the clients’ thoughts, the agency can offer personalized services depending on their needs, including food, shelter, clothing, and financial assistance, hence improving efficiency (Martin, 2016). Clients easily comprehend values they find beneficial and feel encouraged to progress operating independently.
Comparison to the Psychoanalytical Model
The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approach is problem-focused and goal-oriented compared to other psychoanalytical models (Riopel, 2020). CBT focuses on the present situation during therapy sessions compared to models that dwell on a lengthy examination of clients’ developmental history, thus achieves quick outcomes. CBT effectively manages stressful situations exemplified by the low quality of living, including a lack of basic amenities. CBT also treats a wide range of mental disorders such as anger management, anxiety and panic attacks, depression, sleep issues, phobias, and drug problems, unlike other therapy models whose range is limited (Martin, 2019). The psychoanalytic model focuses on early childhood rather than present subjective situations, thus ineffective in social work services that deal with prevailing conditions. CBT is highly engaging and holds the client accountable for the therapy outcome as it helps people accept and comprehend the possibility of changing thoughts and, consequently, actions. By manipulating current thoughts, one can gain a better understanding of the behavior and motivation of others.
Conclusion
Caring Emergency Services Agency will be instrumental in helping needy families and individuals in the Ocala city metro area. The average annual rate in Marion County is among the lowest in Florida; thus, many people are affected by financial distress directly or indirectly. The clients thus range from low-income families to the working poor living a hand to mouth experience. Caring Emergency Services Agency will recall the cases where a financial setback, a health problem, or a crisis puts such a family in need of their services. Social workers play a crucial role in addressing poverty issues on a macro, micro, and individual level by wealth differences.
