What is the anticipated content of the group sessions?

Scenario: You work in a community health service as a counsellor and advocate. Due to the demographics of the area, a large proportion of clients are older adults who access the service for support with medications and long-term medical conditions. Nurses in the centre report that many older clients seem isolated and lack social support. On a recent home visit, an older client commented that they don’t feel comfortable driving and have limited access to public transport. As a result, their visits to the community health centre are one of their few opportunities to leave the house. Senior management have asked you, as the social worker, to explore the feasibility of a group program to provide additional support to this group of clients. Introduction: 1. State to whom the submission is being directed 2. Prove a brief description of the organisation the proposed group will be part of, its function, the usual population the organisation serves and its philosophical approach, missions and/or vision This social group proposal is being submitted to Capital Region Community Services (CRCS) which is a regional community centre that provides a wide range of services for all age groups of people who live in this region.The community uses a person-centred approach by community workers who are professional and flexible in reacting to individual needs while targeting audiences over 65s. This group program looks forward to being part of CRCS because its commitment and vision are highly matched with our purpose of the group program. CRCS, as one of the approved Home Care Package providers in the ACT and NSW, is providing a number of older adults programs and facilities, it also designs creative solutions to meet the elderly needs that come naturally. These experiences can be applied into group program development and assist us to build a mutual aid relationship between social workers and older adults more effectively. In terms of its existing services and activities for older adults, they are not only Aged care programs, but also expand to more specific features such as social networking support, in-home care, gym and fitness and other activities for seniors. …… Proposal/Submission 1. Name and type of group 1. Group’s proposed name 2. Proposed type of group (e.g., support educational, social action, etc.) 2. Purpose of the proposed group 1. What is the proposed purpose of the group? 2. Provide a convincing theoretical rationale for the establishment of the group. Consistent with social work principles, this should identify broader social justice concerns and explore how these impact members of the community or communities you seek to work with. Your rationale should draw on relevant academic literature and authoritative reports based on research. It must also demonstrate insight into the experiences of those you seek to work with. Accordingly, at least two sources must be authored by people within the community/communities your group program wishes to recruit from. These may be academic or non-academic sources (e.g., blogs, first-hand accounts, etc.) 3. Justify group work as the chosen method of practice, referring to relevant group work literature 3. Goals and expected outcomes of the proposed group 1. State some beginning goals for the group 2. State some possible outcomes that might be expected for group members NOTE: It is important to express goals and expected outcomes in concrete and specific terms to assist the evaluation process The proposal of the group project is designed for older adults who need medications and have long term medical conditions and meanwhile focus on their wellbeing and social connections. CareFree Seniors Program is the group’s proposed name which is easy for the elderly to remember and also direct to the group theme. The type of group will be a socialisation group that applies the combination of solution-focused and community development approaches into practice. This is considering that using two or more social work approaches into one program to make the achievement more specific and comprehensive. In this group, we proposed chiefly to improve their social connections by establishing a healthy and stable group for seniors only so that they can meet new neighbours and know more about each other. Our group program will offer a social platform and invite those older adults who are feeling isolated or interested in social life in their neighbourhood to join and share their stories and worries. Social workers will assist in responding to their needs and concerns, and also encourage them to attend the program actively. In addition, the program will be a tool of first-hand research and collect information from older adults, social workers will plan the next stage of goal for older people after sorting findings which will be more about community development, including additional medical support, transport support and home care services. Practical considerations and requirements 1. Group size and membership 2. How members are recruited 3. The time and frequency of group meetings, and duration of the group 4. Venue, staffing requirements, other resources NOTE: provide a rationale behind each of these decisions e.g., why is the size of suggested appropriate for the type of group and what you hope it will achieve We have found the use of small groups to which residents were invited reduced the stigmatisation at the prospect of seeing an individual counsellor. An additional benefit is that through the group process, the group facilitator is easily able to identify members who would benefit from ongoing individual counselling. As well as this, the member is more likely to continue with counselling as a relationship has already begun to form with the facilitator during the group process. Participants were all nominated by staff /GPs at the residential facilities as ‘at risk’ of mental health problems or already experiencing problems with regards to adjustment difficulties and isolation. We individually assessed each resident for suitability prior to the group. People with advanced cognitive deficits were excluded amongst other eligibility criteria. (The paragraph is copy and paste from one of the source: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/675) The venue will be at Belconnen Community Centre which offers a variety of spaces for hire depending on the group sizes and its functions. In the first week, the group session will be held in the meeting room which is suitable for older people to have comfortable chairs. Then in the following weekly meeting, the venue may vary according to the activities and topics, including the art room, gym and community gallery. The staffing requirement will be one social worker who facilitates the program and two community workers who co-facilitate with the social worker, and two volunteers who assist older adults during activities or provide additional support before and after the meeting. Group content and process 400 1. What is the anticipated content of the group sessions? This should provide enough detail for the reader to have a clear sense of the content areas likely to be covered during the life of the group 2. Role and approach of the group facilitator(s) (e.g., amount of structure, direction, etc.) 3. What process issues should be considered for your proposed group? How might social structures such as class, gender, race and culture, age, ability, sexuality impact on your particular group? How might you make the group a safe place to be? What particular strategies might you adopt to ensure socially inclusive practice The Changing Times Group – for those residents experiencing adjustment difficulties related to their move to Residential Care. The major aims of these groups were to: • Facilitate the socialisation of isolated residents and to create new informal ongoing support networks. • Provide a supportive framework to address common adjustment issues. A strengths-based model underpinning this model was used to identify and develop skills and coping strategies. Each group ran once a week for six consecutive weeks. Content of the groups also included psycho-education, dealing with grief and loss, stress management, coping with depression, identifying individual strengths and support networks and problem-solving strategies amongst other discussions/activities. (The paragraph is copy and paste from one of the source: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/675) E.g Garland, Jones & Kolodny model (Please Use this Model) Budget The budget lists all the expenses that covered all group sessions, for more details refer to the appendix. Evaluation and reporting 200 How and when will you evaluate the effectiveness of this group? Think about formal and informal methods of evaluation. These should be clearly linked to the goals and expected outcomes discussed earlier in the proposal. References Corey, M., Corey, G. & Corey, C. (2018). Groups: process and practice (10th ed.). Brooks/Cole Lindsay, T. & Orton, S. (2014). Groupwork practice in social work (3rd ed.). Learning Matters Ministry of Social and Family Development, (2018), Family Service Centre Code of Social Work Practice: Group Work Practice Guide, Ministry of Family and Social Development. https://www.msf.gov.sg/ODGSW/documents/2018-Family-Service-Centre-Code-of-Social-Wo rk-Practice-CSWP-Group-Work-Practice-Guide.pdf Ochre, G. (2013). Getting our act together – how to harness the power of groups. Groupwork Press Zastrow, C. (2019). Social work with groups: a comprehensive work text (10th ed.). Cengage Learning