Community Workshops For Working Mothers And Ex-Offenders: Essay.

As a human services administrator at a local agency, one of your duties is to write descriptions of the agency's community workshops to publish in the community's resource guide delivered free of charge to all residents. These are the titles of the workshops:

• Single Moms: A workshop for working mothers to help them balance work and home
• Community Living: A workshop for those transitioning from incarceration to society
• Caregiver Parents: A workshop for those taking care of aging parents, while also raising a young family
• Parenting Teens: A workshop to enable parents to help their teenage children transition to young adulthood

Your community largely comprises blue-collar workers, many of whom are working on either visas or green cards; thus, there are pockets of immigrant communities. Some of the workers are those who were reintegrated into society after prolonged incarceration (more than three years). The median age of the area is thirty-five years, and multigenerational households are commonplace. The public-school system is under resourced, and truancy is a big problem. Many students do not complete high school, and standardized test scores are well below what is federally mandated for funding.

Directions:

1. For each of the four workshops, write a 100- to 200-word description on the basis of the following:
2. Utilize what you have learned throughout the course to describe specific services that each workshop will include.
3. Tailor each description to the community and the target audience for the workshop.
4. Apply cultural and multicultural sensitivity within and across all descriptions. Remember, a single mother may also read the description for community living. Craft your descriptions to be readable and sensitive to all.
5. Account for individual differences and environmental contexts that will influence developmental changes.
6. Account for the role of culture in shaping attitudes, values, and behaviors.  

The report gives an overview of the research on various human services from the perspective of the human service administrator at local agency on the various community workshops undertaken within a community. The report commences with a description on the workshop of working mothers for helping them in balancing home and work. The report also discusses about a workshop for those undergoing a transition phase from the incarceration to the society. There is also a brief provided on the workshop undertaken for those taking care of the aging parents while at the same time raising a younger family. There is also an overview of workshop enabling the parents in helping teenage children to transition towards the adulthood. Each of the descriptions of the workshop revolves around the services provided, the target audience, cultural and multicultural sensitivity across and within, the environmental contexts, and the individual differences in influencing the developmental change.

a. Services Included 

As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States, around 70 percent mothers seem to be either working or looking for work (Weiner, 2016). It is therefore pertinent for these women to strike a balance between work and life that determines their overall well being and happiness. The community will hold its first series of the workshop for addressing the issues related to balancing their work and life mostly faced by the working mothers. The workshop will help in bringing together women with like minds within a safe ambience of support and sharing. The workshop will undertake discussions that will not only act as an inspiration for the working moms but will also ensure in taking a step towards the creation of a fulfilling and more balanced life. This workshop will focus on providing a supportive community for the women by helping them in identifying major stress factors, tuning in the needs and the feelings and get inspiration and support for creating more joy on a day to day basis. Moreover, all the attendees including the single working mothers will be able to participate in various reflective exercises.

b. Target Audience for the Work Shop 

The workshop targets all the working mothers who struggle to strike a balance between the work and home (Haslam, Patrick & Kirby, 2015). Women represent more than half of entire workforce in the United States. Working mothers in most cases are filled with stress and guilt because of the divided attention between the family and the work. The workshop thus helps these mothers to focus on formulating a plan, act organized and find out the best option of balancing parenthood and profession. 

Target Audience

c. Cultural Multicultural Sensitivity Within and Across 

Instead of dwelling in the guilt of not being with the child the workshop helps the working mothers in focusing on the role, they play in the company that actually helps in benefitting their family. The workshop also helps them in identifying the edge they have over the non-working mothers (McLaughlin & Muldoon, 2014). Perhaps these mothers are in a better position for affording educational opportunities or classes for their children. They might also put aside a portion of the earned money for their college education. A successful mother is efficient in both the worlds that ensure coming to terms with the focus and choices that she makes presently although she has to accept the fact that there will be good as well as bad days. The workshop tries to put across a message to the mothers are not alone and can discuss their feelings with not only their partners but also support groups.

d. Individual Differences and Environmental Contexts Influencing Developmental Changes

Working mothers have not only served the women but also the companies that employ them for filling the gap thereby separating the family and the work life. Most often working mothers lacks the support that they require for finding a means towards success. Around 55 percent of the stay at home mothers prefers to be working presently (Weiner, 2016). However, there have been instances when around 71 percent of the mothers equated work to doing something for picking a paycheck. The challenge of these realities is to get back the career-oriented moms back in talent pool and ensure better engagement of the workers who actually move out due to financial necessity.

a. Services Included 

The workshop will not only provide motivation but also means for the ex-offenders in transitioning to the society. The workshop will encourage them in finding a gainful and legitimate employment for creating a new productive life (Herrman & Sexton, 2017). Often, it is either the lack of education and skills on the part of job applicant or the bias on the employer’s part in hiring someone with a criminal record that acts as an obstacle in finding employment. The workshop will put forward an assortment of the programs that will help the ex-offenders in not only finding but also maintaining their jobs to the best of their abilities. It will not only focus on the employment factor of the ex offenders but will also help them in understanding how it will benefit the society in terms of the reduced cost of incarceration, increased income and decrease in the crime rates. Thus, the workshop would entail both the economic and social development of the ex-offenders through implementation of programs like earning a wage, emphasizing empowerment and schooling of the individuals in nurturing their skills.

Workshop for Ex-offenders

b. Target Audience for the Workshop 

The target audience for this workshop are the ex offenders who have spent years or decades behind the bars. For them, transitioning into the society represents a combination of the feeling of joy and anxiety (Lawther, 2017). These offenders often want to start all over again but do not know how to achieve them. They are in dire need for counseling and have limited resources. Societal life however becomes challenging for these offenders and they finally end up behind the bars. 

c. Cultural Multicultural Sensitivity Within and Across 

The offenders after their release in the United States face a challenging environment that prohibits them from becoming the productive members of the society. It has been found that within a period of three years of the release, 67.8 percent of the ex-offenders are rearrested while 76.6 percent faces re arrest within a period of five years (Stahler et al., 2013). Recidivism is something that hampers both the families of those incarcerated in United States and the society in general. Recidivism refers to the reconviction, re-arrest and re-incarceration of the ex-offender within a time. There are societal and legal barriers that make life difficult for an ex-offender, as he is unable to find employment, secure a source of consistent housing along with the general functions of the society.

d. Individual Differences and Environmental Contexts Influencing Developmental Changes

The workers under discussion are reintegrated into the society after the prolonged process of incarceration. These ex-offenders will find it difficult in receiving job offers. According to Bureau of Justice, only a nominal 12.5 percent of the employers are ready for accepting applications from the ex-convicts (Herrman & Sexton, 2017). Thus, barriers in finding work encourage recidivism amongst the ex-offenders. They also face challenges adjusting to the families, as they need to overcome the years of the limited contact, changes of the dynamics of the household and the potential resentment.

a. Services Included

The sandwich generation refers to those who take care of their aging parents as well as the young family while focusing on their career (Do et al., 2015). It therefore represents an exhausting and daunting place. The workshops organized for this generation of people focuses on dealing with extreme stress management through the power of breathing. The sandwich generation is always under pressure, as they need to care for their jobs, aging parents, home, spouse, community and job. The workshop will also focus on relieving the stress of this generation by instilling an effective thought process. The services provided by the workshop will also teach this generation in seeking for help and include the children as a part of the family plan. Through the workshop, they will also be able to learn the tricks of sometime for respite. Socialization will also be an important aspect of this workshop as it acts as a critical factor for physical and emotional health. 

Target Audience

b. Target Audience for the Work Shop 

The target audience for this workshop includes the traditional audience who are sandwiched between the ageing parents and their children (Smith-Osbornem & Felderhoff, 2014). The workshop also targets the club sandwich audience who are between the age group of 50 to 60 who stands between the aging parents, grandchildren and adult children. This section also represents people in the age group of 30 to 40 who take care of their parents, grandparents and young children.

c. Cultural Multicultural Sensitivity Within and Across

Although handling both the childcare and elder care is impressive but it takes a substantial toll on the sandwich generation of caregivers. Some of them include tremendous amount of stress, financial hardship and depression (Luo et al., 2013). Multigenerational caregiver’s experiences higher stress levels and left with hardly any time in accomplishing multitude of responsibilities. The people of this generation also find a negative impact on their finances and careers.

d. Individual Differences and Environmental Contexts Influencing Developmental Changes

The sandwich generation primary faces the challenges of raising their families and at the same time taking care of the ageing parents simultaneously. Having children whose age is under the age of 21 along with a single living parent makes it too stressful and exhausting for the Sandwich generation. This has a direct impact on the career and jobs of this generation thereby influencing any developmental changes.

a. Services Included 

The parents should play a vital role in helping their teenage children in transitioning to adulthood. An authentic guidance can help them in providing the necessary tips in effectively implementing it (Berzin, Singer & Hokanson, 2014). The workshop will not only provide guidance in reviewing all the accommodations that the students receive at home and at school. Such workshop will help parents in guiding their teenage children in finding an organizational system that suits him. Parents will also learn to work with them and learning the art of talking to someone in authority. Through the workshop, the parents will also learn the ways of adopting alternative means in accomplishing tasks at home and at school without actually rescuing them. Parents will also learn to how to appreciate their children and learn to plan their future by involving them.

b. Target Audience for the Work Shop 

The target audience for this workshop includes parents who want to help their teenage children towards the transition of adulthood. Parents have the utmost duty of guiding the kids to a successful and safe adulthood (Harris-McKoy & Cui, 2013). Transition from teenage to adulthood is the time when a young teenager transforms psychologically, socially and physically. Therefore, it is the time when they require utmost support from their parents in coping with the changes. 

Workshop for Sandwich Generation

c. Cultural multicultural sensitivity within and across 

Teachers, parents and communities across the country expresses their concern about various teen issues caused due technological, communal, economic, familial, social, cultural and individual factors (Sorbring, 2014).

d. Individual Differences and Environmental Contexts Influencing Developmental Changes 

During the transition from the teenage to the adulthood there are also shifts in the relationships with the parents from dependability to responsibility both in a positive and negative manner. There is also exploration of newer roles both sexual and social and impact of the intimate partnerships. They also take the required steps for moving towards a newer direction in the path of the youth development. Acquiring the range of skills needed for complete transformation into adulthood might influence the developmental changes.

Conclusion: 

The report thus ends by providing a detailed insight into the four workshops on single moms, community living, caregiver parents and parenting teens from the perspective of a human service administrator at local agency in terms of services, target audience, cultural multicultural sensitivity and environmental contexts and individual differences. 

References:

Berzin, S. C., Singer, E., & Hokanson, K. (2014). Emerging versus emancipating: The transition to adulthood for youth in foster care. Journal of Adolescent Research, 29(5), 616-638.

Do, Y. K., Norton, E. C., Stearns, S. C., & Van Houtven, C. H. (2015). Informal care and caregiver's health. Health economics, 24(2), 224-237.

Harris-McKoy, D., & Cui, M. (2013). Parental control, adolescent delinquency, and young adult criminal behavior. Journal of child and family studies, 22(6), 836-843.

Haslam, D. M., Patrick, P., & Kirby, J. N. (2015). Giving voice to working mothers: A consumer informed study to program design for working mothers. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(8), 2463-2473.

Herrman, J. W., & Sexton, J. S. (2017). Girls Leaving Detention: Perceptions of Transition to Home After Incarceration. Journal of Juvenile Justice, 6(1), 33.

Lawther, C. (2017). The Truth about Loyalty: Emotions, Ex-Combatants and Transitioning from the Past. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 11(3), 484-504.

Luo, B., Zhou, K., Jin, E. J., Newman, A., & Liang, J. (2013). Ageism among college students: A comparative study between US and China. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 28(1), 49-63.

McLaughlin, K., & Muldoon, O. (2014). Father identity, involvement and work–family balance: An in?depth interview study. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 24(5), 439-452.

Smith-Osborne, A., & Felderhoff, B. (2014). Veterans’ informal caregivers in the “sandwich generation”: A systematic review toward a resilience model. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57(6-7), 556-584.

Sorbring, E. (2014). Parents’ concerns about their teenage children’s internet use. Journal of Family Issues, 35(1), 75-96.

Stahler, G. J., Mennis, J., Belenko, S., Welsh, W. N., Hiller, M. L., & Zajac, G. (2013). Predicting recidivism for released state prison offenders: Examining the influence of individual and neighborhood characteristics and spatial contagion on the likelihood of reincarceration. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 40(6), 690-711.

Weiner, L. (2016). From working girl to working mother: The female labor force in the United States, 1820-1980. UNC Press Books.