Bshs 355 Personal Interview

Personal Interview

Bobbie Abernathy

BSHS355

December 20, 2015

Melody Gaeraths

Personal Interview

On Friday December 18, 2015 I talked with Sally Goodwin, a case worker at a juvenile detention center in Southeast Missouri. Sally, a former juvenile delinquent, got her start in her field after deciding that she could use her experiences to make a difference in the lives of other children. After receiving her bachelors of Science in Human Services, Miss Goodwin applied for a position with the state of Missouri, and has been a case worker, and active faculty member for juvenile delinquents to look up to.

On average, Sally works with six to eight juveniles at a time. Her case load may not seem very heavy, but her work is more in depth than that of a case worker with the social services department. As a case worker at a juvenile delinquent center, Sally is solely responsible for ensuring that her juveniles get their education, their medical needs are met, their social needs are met, and they receive the proper counseling they need in order to deter them from returning to a delinquent lifestyle. Each day, Sally will gather her notes from previous days, and go find her teens. They will all meet together and have breakfast, from there she will escort them to their class rooms. If one of them have a doctor’s appointment, she will escort them. After morning classes, the kids get recreation time where they are allowed to socialize with the other kids at the center. All of the delinquents are housed at the center, but in different areas which are separated by gender as well as age groups. During lunch, Sally eats lunch with her kids. After that, it’s more classes. The afternoons are when she meets with the kids’ one on one to discuss their treatments, refer them to counselors, and discuss their progress. When Sally leaves for the day, her group of kids mingle with the other kids while youth specialists take over the whole population.

The group of kids Sally works with are a very diverse group. They range in age, anywhere between thirteen to seventeen years of age. Their ethnicities and races also vary. Out of the current group of six kids, two are African American, two are Caucasian, one is Latino, and one is Asian. Four of them are males, and two are females. Previously, Sally has worked with all ages from thirteen to eighteen, and all races and ethnicities. One thing that does not discriminate is crime, and who it effects, so the diverse population being served is only limited to the diverse population of the area.

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