Laura is 14 years old and lives with her mum Sandy and her 2 younger brothers aged 10 and 8 years old. Laura’s father Dave died three years ago from cancer. Laura’s mum Sandy was diagnosed

Scenario 3: Laura and her family
Laura is 14 years old and lives with her mum Sandy and her 2 younger brothers aged 10 and 8 years old. Laura’s father Dave died three years ago from cancer. Laura’s mum Sandy was diagnosed with depression 2 years ago and finds it very hard at times to cope with the demands of caring for 3 children on a single parent pension. Sandy does not have any immediate or extended family who live nearby.
Laura has slowly been taking on the role of the carer for her mother and brothers for some time now since her mother’s diagnosis. When her mother is very unwell, she does not get out of bed for days at a time. Laura looks after her younger brothers and sees to all their needs including school, sport, taking them and picking them up from their friend’s places, she does most of the housework but gets the boys to clean their rooms and do some cooking. She buys the groceries and helps the boys make their lunch for school each day. Sandy gives Laura her debit card to draw out money but lately there are very little funds left for everyday expenses.
Laura is falling behind at school, she hasn’t been able to keep up with all her assignments and homework because she is feeling so tired trying to get this done each night. At the weekends she plays soccer and has a regular babysitting job at the neighbour’s house which earns her a little bit each week. Laura wants to be a hairdresser when she leaves school.
Laura has been taking days off school more frequently to care for her mother. A teacher asks Laura about her school absences and has called Sandy, but Sandy has not returned her calls. The sports teacher encourages Laura to attend a sports clinic for a couple of days. She tells the teacher she really wants to go because she’ll learn a lot and two of close her friends are going but she doesn’t feel comfortable leaving her mum for a few days and not sure if they could afford it. The teacher reassures Laura that there is school funding to cover this and not to worry. They contact the school counsellor who phones Sandy and asks if she can visit her at home. The school counsellor refers Sandy to a carer support service, and she agrees have someone come twice a week to help with the domestic tasks.

Think about the scenario and answer the following questions.

1. Describe the types of support Laura helps her family with every day.
2. What information could Laura give you about Sandy and her brothers that would enable you to help them more effectively?
3. How could you involve Laura with designing and creating a care support plan for her family?

4. What tasks could you help Laura with that would allow her to go school regularly, enjoy her sport and spend time with her friends.
5. List one potential physical risk and one potential psychological risk that may cause harm to the care relationship between Laura and her family.

6. Describe one strategy for each potential risk that would help to manage these risks effectively – include all reporting and documentation processes.

7. Reflect on the principles of person centred care and strengths based practice:
a) what could you do to help Laura’s transition into a more active school and social life
b) how would you acknowledge Laura’s role in supporting her family each day?
8. List two types of information and/or services that could promote more positive outcomes for Laura and her family and enhance your role as the support worker.