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Identify
problems. What
has gone wrong in the situation? What issues are the various
characters in the case story struggling with? What
is it that needs to be attended to in order to improve
the situation?
Identify positive
aspects of the situation.
Although this step is not typically included
in other renditions of the problem-solving or decision-making
process, it is included in our model, to guard against
the propensity of students to be overly critical—always
looking for the negative. The question to be answered
here is what, if anything, has gone right
in the situation so far? Has the service provider(s)
featured in the case story done anything that audience
members approve of? In some cases, it may also be
appropriate to ask about any positive characteristics
of the families that are described in the story.
Delineate
outcomes. What is hoped to
be achieved in solving the dilemma? In what ways does
the situation need to be changed? What would be the ideal
outcome and what would be an acceptable outcome? Oftentimes
this aspect of the process is discussed in conjunction
with identification of the problem; however, it is
at times very helpful to distinguish the current problem(s)
in the situation from what the situation might look
like if it were resolved successfully. Hoped for
outcomes may include the types of services that will
be provided to the child and family and how they
will be delivered, the developmental outcomes for
the child, the quality of the relationships between various
characters in the situation, the types of feelings experienced
by family members or by the professionals, and so
forth.
Analyze contributing
factors.
How did this problem arise in the first place? What
caused it? Answering these questions involves looking at
the actions (or inaction) of the various characters in
the story, deliberating about the possible motives
behind their behaviors, and considering the numerous
circumstances surrounding the situation as a whole
(e.g., political factors, resources available in the
community, the structure of services).
Identify available
options. What should the service
provider(s) featured in the story do next to repair
the damage or to improve the situation? Given the
circumstances as they exist, what options are available?
Depending on the particular case being discussed, this may
involve identifying both short-term and long-term solutions.
It may also involve identifying solutions for more
than one problem. It is extremely important that several
alternative solutions be generated for each problem
addressed in this phase of the discussion.
Evaluate pros
and cons. Of all the options
suggested for handling this situation, which has the highest
likelihood of producing the desired results? What are the
pros and cons of each?
Choose
best options. Given the pros
and cons of the various options, which one should
be implemented in this situation? Why?
Develop a plan of action. If the chosen solution
were implemented, what would the service provider(s)
do tomorrow? Next week? Over the next 3 months…6
months? This aspect of the decision-making process
is comprised of fleshing out the chosen solution.
For some cases this may involve identifying resources that
are needed to implement the solution and deciding how the
service provider(s) might go about securing these resources.
For other cases, it may involve deciding on the exact
words that a service provider might use in a conversation
with the parent in the story or with a professional
from another agency.
Project possible outcomes. Although
the preferred solution has been selected largely on the
basis of its ability to produce the desired outcome(s),
there may be unanticipated effects. What are these? How
might the various characters in the story react when
the plan of action is implemented? What should the
service provider do in the event that the chosen
solution doesn't work out as well as it is hoped
that it might?
In
looking over the process outlined above, it becomes
immediately obvious that there may be considerable
overlap among the steps in conducting a case discussion.
This is to be expected and should in no way be considered
a problem. It's perfectly okay to let the audience
jump from one step in the process to another. Trying
too hard to prevent this would be very disruptive
to the flow of the discussion. Nevertheless, the instructor
should always keep the decision-making process in
mind and use well-placed questions to re-direct the group
back to neglected steps. Furthermore, it is important to
realize that not every case discussion has to be carried
through to a complete resolution, for it is the
process of arriving at a solution rather than
the solution, per se, which is of primary benefit
to trainees.
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