HCS 250 Week 1 Assignment
When this assignment was first introduced I was super hesitant. In my mind this was not going to be a task that I would be able to excel at, due to not having enough knowledge on CalFresh and General Relief laws. However, my mind was quickly changed from thinking that I couldn’t do it that I totally do have the ability to be successful with this project if I chose to give it my all. Personally I think that when we had the training it was helpful, but I don’t think that spending three hours on the laws and regulations was that helpful. Especially since I had just read the entire CARES handbook the day before. However, I believe that it’s important to review the laws and regulations, so that we can clarify any questions that we may have.
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Another step that should be added to the training, that would also be very beneficial for our learning experience is to act out some of the cases that we as advocates might face with our clients.
When we were assigned our different areas, I felt very lost on where to start, because I wasn’t properly prepared on how to approach the people. Even after a client wanted our help, my partner and I were not sure what the next step or action we should take. Eventually we learned by trial and error, but it would have been nicer to role play the different cases out. By role play out different situations, it would mostly likely have, let us help the clients/participants out more efficiently. Therefor, allowing us to advocate for more of the people who needed someones help with the application, or just simply receiving their
benefits.
There was a section in the slideshow during the training where it explained to us some helpful tips for becoming advocates, but I overlooked a lot of those tips. Leah had made it seem like it was just as simple as being friendly and helpful. I tried to remember some of those tips while at the DPSS office, I couldn’t think of a single one besides smile and be respectful.
Based on that experience I had, I would recommend that those tips that the CARES training provide become more emphasized to the advocates. For example, these tips should be more emphasized: sit with the clients rather than introduce yourself and your partner while standing up, don’t look or act nervous, and remember it’s okay to look up information if not sure about something so that the client has the correct information. Towards the end of our time at the DPSS offices I wrote down these tips, they helped me when I got nervous around clients who asked questions that I didn’t have the answers to directly.
Overall, the training was somewhat helpful. By adapting the recommended I suggested it would give the future advocates a more realistic overview of what it is like to participate in the outreach portion of the project.
Another step that should be added to the training, that would also be very beneficial for our learning experience is to act out some of the cases that we as advocates might face with our clients.
When we were assigned our different areas, I felt very lost on where to start, because I wasn’t properly prepared on how to approach the people. Even after a client wanted our help, my partner and I were not sure what the next step or action we should take. Eventually we learned by trial and error, but it would have been nicer to role play the different cases out. By role play out different situations, it would mostly likely have, let us help the clients/participants out more efficiently. Therefor, allowing us to advocate for more of the people who needed someones help with the application, or just simply receiving their
benefits.
There was a section in the slideshow during the training where it explained to us some helpful tips for becoming advocates, but I overlooked a lot of those tips. Leah had made it seem like it was just as simple as being friendly and helpful. I tried to remember some of those tips while at the DPSS office, I couldn’t think of a single one besides smile and be respectful.
Based on that experience I had, I would recommend that those tips that the CARES training provide become more emphasized to the advocates. For example, these tips should be more emphasized: sit with the clients rather than introduce yourself and your partner while standing up, don’t look or act nervous, and remember it’s okay to look up information if not sure about something so that the client has the correct information. Towards the end of our time at the DPSS offices I wrote down these tips, they helped me when I got nervous around clients who asked questions that I didn’t have the answers to directly.
Overall, the training was somewhat helpful. By adapting the recommended I suggested it would give the future advocates a more realistic overview of what it is like to participate in the outreach portion of the project.