Writing for the Profession CYCS 2011 Child & Youth Care Program

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Cody Lang Case Study Part 2: The Worker Reports Table of Contents Case History – Lang/Hamilton Family …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1

Identifiers ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1

Family History …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1

Current Report from Family ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2

School History …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Current School Report ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

History of Community Behaviour……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Current Community Behaviour ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

Strengths ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

MCAS Group Home – Acorn House: Admission Information on Cody Lang ………………………………………….. 5

Date of Admission ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5

Reason for CAS Apprehension …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Reason for Referral to Acorn House …………………………………………………………………………………………… 6

Progress in the Residence to Date ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 6

Case History – Lang/Hamilton Family

Identifiers Name: Cody Lang Age: 15 years old Date of birth: July 29, 20XX Address: 64 Street, City, ON, T6O-1T7 Phone: (416) 123-4567

Family History

• The biological mother gave birth to Cody when she was 15 years old. “Crystal” (real

name unknown), was a marginally housed youth. Crystal was known to use alcohol, marijuana, and crack cocaine. At the time of apprehension by the Metro Children’s Aid Society (MCAS) Cody was living with Crystal at a shelter.

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• Cody was apprehended from his biological mother by MCAS at age 18 months, due to neglect and possible physical abuse. He was initially made a temporary ward. Some of the indicators were that Cody often appeared tired, listless, cried often and easily, seemed withdrawn, and appeared underweight for his age. He had scabs on his arms and legs, dirty clothes, a lack of response to human contact and limited affect. These indicators were observed and reported to MCAS by the shelter staff. Crystal left the shelter where they were staying after Cody was taken into care and she has not made any effort to contact him since. Cody’s wardship status was changed to an extended ward at this point.

• Adoptive parents adopted Cody at age 3 through MCAS when they were in their early 30’s.

• Ms. Ellie Lang, 45 yrs. is an architect. • Ms. Janice Hamilton, 43 yrs. is staff manager at an insurance company. • Following apprehension, Cody was placed in three different foster care settings each

lasting approximately 6-8 months until Ellie and Janice adopted him. • From the time Cody was adopted at 3 years old, he was identified as a “difficult child” to

manage. It was reported that he was difficult to comfort or soothe and would suddenly and without warning have unexplained rages. If Janice attempted to hold or cuddle Cody, he would clench his fists and punch Janice and push her away.

• Ellie and Janice sought help from many professionals when Cody was between 5 and 13 years old, including the schoolteacher, principal, a social worker, a psychiatrist, and their family doctor.

• Ellie and Janice had a psycho-social assessment completed when Cody was nine and in grade 4. The referral was made by the school social worker at the request of his teacher. Cody’s behaviour seemed out of control and the teacher was worried about his violent verbal outbursts and his increasing physical aggression.

• Cody was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Conduct Disorder, and a non-verbal learning disability.

• Ellie and Janice told Cody that he was adopted when he was 9 years old but that they didn’t know the current whereabouts of his biological mother or anything about her. Cody appeared to accept this information without incident, though when parents attempted to discuss his feelings, he became angry and to date, Cody has refused to talk about his adoption.

Current Report from Family

• Cody’s behaviour problems have occurred both at home and school, and in the

community. Some of his behaviours reported by the school include being aggressive with peers, easily distracted, and being disruptive in the classroom.

• When he started puberty at about age 13, Cody began refusing to follow the rules at home, he became defiant with his parents about doing his chores and his out-of-control behaviour escalated. He missed curfews and began drinking/smoking with an older crowd of street-involved youth.

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• This behaviour has continued this year as he entered the tenth grade. • Cody will ask about his birth mother from time to time. These are reported to be

challenging conversations for Cody and his mothers. Janice and Ellie want Cody to know his family history but don’t want him to feel hurt by what little they know about his birth mother. Cody seems to have some sense that his mothers care about him, but he is so frustrated by wanting to know more about his family background. He often lashes out in response. Cody especially wants to find out why he was placed for adoption and is confused by feeling both angry with his birth mother and missing her.

School History

• The Ontario School Record (OSR) indicates that Cody had behavioural issues that began in kindergarten.

• Cody was often withdrawn from his peers and needed encouragement to join in any group activities. He usually preferred sitting by himself and outside the group.

• Cody also displayed aggressive behaviours in the form of tantrums, screaming, kicking, and hitting others (both adults and peers).

• Due to some of these behaviours Cody was not as advanced as his peer group in reading, comprehension, and information retention. His ability to listen was hampered by his distractibility and academically Cody performed in the average range even though his test scores indicated that he was above average in intelligence.

• Cody received an Individual Education Plan (IEP) in grade 3, which was revised in grade 7. The key interventions identified were to verbally re-direct his behaviour, separate him from potentially triggering situations, and permit him to have scheduled breaks while completing class work. Close supervision during group activities was also strongly recommended.

Current School Report

• At the beginning of the school year, Cody was transferred from a regular program to the

Caring and Safe School Program at Haven Collegiate. He was transferred to the program after completing a suspension he received after assaulting another student who had teased him about having “two moms”.

• He is having difficulty adjusting to the new expectations and continues to test limits; often arriving late and refusing to complete work in certain classes. On one occasion, Cody was reported to be loud and belligerent in class and when the teacher approached him, she thought that she could smell marijuana.

• Despite his difficulties with school, Cody still seems to enjoy his art and drama classes and he seems to have a positive relationship with his drama teacher, John Gray.

• The CYC practitioner in the classroom made the following report recently: Cody arrived 30 minutes late to the classroom after morning announcements. Although he attempted to by-pass the office and go directly to his classroom, he

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was stopped in the hall by the Vice Principal, Ms. Mitchell, who asked him why he was late. She reminded him that he had to check in to the office before going to his home room. Cody stated he slept in and forgot to sign in when he got to school. Ms. Mitchell informed him that the next time she caught him arriving late he would have an in-school suspension. As a result, once he joined the other students who were finishing breakfast, he appeared agitated and sullen, referring to the food as “shit” although he did eat. His classroom teacher Mr. Syed reminded him to pay attention to his language and he nodded and mumbled under his breath. Cody maintained a negative demeanor through the daily planning meeting. During math lesson, he was easily distracted by a peer who kept talking to him and when redirected by the teacher, he stated, “I don’t feel like doing this, it’s fucking boring”. Cody was asked to sit down and watch his language. Cody responded to this by putting his head down on the desk and refusing to continue. He remained distant and difficult to engage for the rest of the morning until his regular lunch time appointment with his Children’s Aid worker, Althea Watson. After returning from lunch, he was more talkative, engaged and seemed to enjoy the class discussion in English on To Kill a Mockingbird. He was very animated discussing racial discrimination and the conflict between two characters. He finished the day without incident and left at 3:15.

History of Community Behaviour

• Cody displayed similar behaviours in the community as at school and home. • In community parks as a child Cody did not always play well with the other children and

preferred to be on his own. • He has been reported to be quick to anger and physical fighting with peers and defiant

with adults. • His parents tried to involve Cody in the local community activities such as swimming,

soccer, martial arts, and music but Cody never seemed to enjoy these activities in a group.

• Cody seemed to enjoy music activities when he was left on his own but refused to comply with direction.

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Current Community Behaviour

• More recently Cody has been involved with an older group of youth who may be gang affiliated. His behaviours include drinking and smoking marijuana, vandalizing neighbourhoods with spray paint, skipping school, and staying out past curfew. Janice reports that he may also be stealing money from her and Ellie. This money may be to support his street activities, or he may be giving it away to gain access to street-involved peers.

• Cody does not seem to spend time with youth his own age and he is very secretive about what he does and where he spends his time.

Strengths

• Despite difficulties Ellie and Janice remain very involved with Cody and seem genuinely concerned for his welfare. They expressed their worry that Cody will follow the path of his biological mother, becoming involved with hard drugs, dropping out of school, and ending up being homeless.

• Cody’s mothers are committed to remaining involved, even if that involvement needs to happen from a distance until he can be helped.

• Cody has always been quite artistic and has a flair for the dramatic. Cody has often had the lead in school plays and drama is one of the few classes he attends regularly. Cody also writes songs and draws.

• Cody appears to have an interest and talent in music. • Cody appreciates and is interested in language, mostly on the form of song lyrics, but he

responds well to his English teacher when they discuss school-assigned reading. • Cody is strong-willed and enjoys having his voice heard. This is often evident when Cody

disagrees with others but is also present whenever he feels passionate about something.

• While it is difficult for Cody to trust and engage in relationships, when people have remained involved with him throughout upsetting experiences, he can form close connections. Loyalty is important to him.

MCAS Group Home – Acorn House: Admission Information on Cody Lang

Date of Admission

• Dec 10, 20XX

Reason for CAS Apprehension • Due to safety concerns raised by his adoptive parents, Cody was apprehended by

the Children’s Aid Society and made a temporary ward. The purpose of the temporary wardship is for Cody to be placed into group home care to receive the

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care and treatment he needs within a safe setting. The adoptive parents will remain involved in care and treatment decisions for Cody and maintain visiting and telephone access.

Reason for Referral to Acorn House

• Cody’s parents are very concerned about his high-risk behaviours which include alcohol and drug use in the community, associating with a crowd of older “street youth”, and skipping most of his classes, most days. Cody has had two recent suspensions from school because of suspected drug use and assault of a peer. The parents feel that Cody is out of their control, and they worry for his safety. Cody is defiant at home and refuses to do his chores and Janice and Cody argue constantly. Cody is often late for his curfew and has not returned home until the next morning on a couple of occasions.

Progress in the Residence to Date

• Since his arrival to Acorn House three months ago Cody has primarily kept to himself. He avoids the other residents as much as possible and seems to speak to staff only when necessary. Cody spends a lot of time in his room. When asked by staff if he wants to join them downstairs with the other residents, Cody says he’d rather stay in his room and write song lyrics or draw. When he does come downstairs, he stays focused on playing games on the house computer. Cody has been generally compliant with the house rules, and he quickly moved up to phase II and acquired more privileges i.e., unsupervised community time and a curfew of 10pm on weekdays and midnight on the weekends.

• Cody has regular phone contact with his parents, and he speaks with Ellie most evenings. Cody often seems more withdrawn and uncommunicative after the calls. Cody has regular weekend visits with his parents that began after he had been in the residence for a month. Janice reports that the visits are fine, and Ellie and Cody will often play guitar and work on writing new songs. Cody ‘hangs out with some friends’ in the evenings and Janice reports that Cody is ‘mostly on time’ for his curfew.

• Recently (the last 2-3 weeks), Cody has begun to miss curfew at the residence and on at least one occasion the overnight staff thought she smelled alcohol on Cody’s breath. He has also had several arguments with his roommate that involve yelling threats and damaging property.

• Cody’s school attendance remains a concern although he had been attending regularly during the first two weeks of this year. This may be due to the drama coach letting Cody know he must attend all his classes, or he can’t be in the school drama production this year.

• Cody has kept most of his family meeting appointments with Althea Watson (CAS social worker) and his parents. Althea states that the parents are pleased that Cody had been doing better but are concerned again as his problem behaviour patterns seem to be re-emerging.