What is the responsibility of the social workers working with Jose and/or Iris to advocate for a change in the social policy?

Respond by Day 5 to a colleague who selected a different case from yours with another approach to address the identified problem. What is the responsibility of the social workers working with Jose and/or Iris to advocate for a change in the social policy?PEER 1Policy ProposalsThe Case of IrisBackgroundWhen assessing a client like Iris, social workers can empathize with her needing a sense of empowerment and regaining some form of independence. Even after the betrayal of her husband of 34 years, Iris proved her resilience by continuing to function everyday life tasks and was able to take care of herself. She was an independent woman in her mid-seventies who had been driving and grocery shopping. Up until her first accident at the grocery store where she fell and required hospitalization for her knee, Iris was self-sufficient. Fortunately, thanks to the aid of the local Older Adults Services Agency (OASA), Iris was able to recover in 3 months, to the extent that she could walk with the assistance of a cane and she could drive short distances. This proves that a little intervention goes a long way. Iris was so determined to fully regain her independence that she started taking more risks, driving longer distances. Unfortunately, because of her age, her driving skills were significantly impaired and within a 3-week period, she had three vehicle accidents. The last accident caused her serious injury to her foot and during hospitalization it was decided by the local police that her driver’s license be suspended. After Iris was released from the hospital, the social worker and OASA collaborated in finding an assisted living facility for Iris to stay for 4 weeks. Currently, Iris is at the assisted living agency where she is receiving her necessary physical needs. However, her emotionally needs also need to be addressed. She is depressed because she misses her independence (Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014).Policy Proposal RationaleIn Jansson’s assigned text, there is a story about a Latino mother who had accidentally received a hysterectomy due to medical malpractice. In short, there was a lack of cultural understanding. It wasn’t just a language barrier that contributed to the problem. There was a cultural incompetence barrier as well. Had the medical providers understood certain Latino discretional taboos concerning hysterectomies, they would have never performed the surgery (Jansson, 2018). Ultimately, there was a failure to communicate effectively and appropriately and therefore, a failure to understand the big picture, which was to get a clear understanding of what the client needs, with cultural perspective in mind.As one starts to develop a policy proposal based off Iris’ situation, he or she must first be aware that there is a “big picture” problem here as well. For Iris’ specific culture, two initial questions that could help gain better understanding are, what has she lost and what does she need? Iris has certainly lost the ability to adequately take care of her physical needs and because of that, the social worker and OASA have provided a way to address those needs through the assisted living facility. For example, food and lodging are provided for herOn the other hand, Iris has lost her independence, which is something that is more difficult for an assisted agency to provide. After all, it is called assisted living. Due to her loss of independence, Iris has become depressed. She has had her driver’s license suspended by the local police. She has been placed into a new home by the social worker and OASA. She has been dealing with an injury that has made it very difficult going back and forth to the bathroom and dining room. Lastly, she is fully aware that her ageing process has caused all this.Policy ProposalWhen looking at the magnitude of Iris’ emotional struggle, one needs to start identifying options to address this need. The Older American Act, founded in 1965, was amended and reauthorized in March of 2020 in order to address the current challenges of today’s ageing community. Income, mental health services, and grandparenting support are a few that are on the agenda (ACL, 2020). How does this federal policy mandate, translate to benefiting those in local assisted living facilities? I would propose that assisted living agencies could benefit from specialized state added funding that would address the emotional needs of the assisted living residents. This could greatly benefit a person like Iris by:1.Mandating all assisted living staff, to receive training on mental health intervention. 2.Providing all residents, according to their need, mental health counseling services. 3.Providing improved socializing programs for the residents, such as open forum group therapy or socializing group activities. Trade-Offs Used to Develop ProposalIt is duly noted that not all medical care personnel will have the same passions or gifts and not all social work care personnel will have the same passions or gifts. A policy proposal does not have to mandate that all staff do the same job in order to receive the desired outcome. However, if all are working in the people serving business, they all should be promoting the dignity and empowerment of the clients they work for. That being said, it all starts with the staff training, for this to be successful. One cannot “put the cart before the horse”. Secondly, staff have to be invested, but they will only be invested, if they are interested. The litmus test will be if there is a noted improvement in the agency resident population’s mental health status. Each assisted living staff member who is trained in mental health intervention will gain a unique perspective on how to best implement mental health intervention. One staff member will be more gifted to run a group. Another, may be gifted in writing up a curriculum. Both staff members are empowered in their contributions and they have benefited the resident (Jansson, 2018). Imagine if all the staff at baseline, understood the social and cultural nuances associated with the elderly population. Mental health treatment intervention would become an automatic response.ReferencesAdministration for Community Living. (2020). Older Americans Act. Retrieved from https://acl.gov/about-acl/authorizing-statutes/older-americans-actJansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.Chapter 8, “Placing Policy Proposals in Policy Briefs in the Second, Third, and Fourth Steps of Policy Analysis” (pp. 246-283)Plummer, S.-B, Makris, S., Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Concentration year.Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].”Working with the Aging: The Case of Iris” (pp. 68–69)PEER 2alencia Kirk RE: Discussion – Week 6 COLLAPSEPost a brief summary of the policy proposal and its purpose that you created based on either Jose’s or Iris’s situation and the trade-offs you used to develop your proposal.Iris is a 78-year-old, divorced, Caucasian female. She has no children and lives alone. Her income is from retirement benefits and social security. After falling and injuring her knee Iris began to lose her sense of independence. She was eventually placed in an assisted living facility and started to have feelings of depression. (Plummer et.al, 2014).Plummer et.al (2014) notes a challenge facing many older adults is the failure of most community-based mental health agencies to respond to the high levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal behavior evident among the oldest members of society. Therefore, my policy proposal would focus more on providing the proper care for the elderly when they experience these problems. Society standards for the older population are unfair. The elderly are often overlooked and just put away as if at a certain age all desires leave a person. Elderly individuals are still capable individuals. They should still have the ability to live a life that they are happy with. Assisted living facilities should allow for some types of independence for residents that can handle it. When a resident has an issue, they should be treated for that issue and taught coping mechanisms to help increase their overall quality of life. The trade-off for this policy proposal is that the individual will still be in an assisted living facility. The independence that they crave just may not be achievable in every situation. They may not even be financially equipped to live in a home on their own. Plummer, S.-B, Makris, S., Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Concentration year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].