Home Care Observation

Working in the field of Human Services with people who are clinically diagnosed with mental illness and substance abuse, who are seeking employment from an office setting is entirely different from working with people with developmental disabilities in their homes. As my place of employment provides services to both population in different settings, I had to observe the difference of supporting the individuals in a home setting. I reviewed the schedule provided for the day, data collected (that had to be recorded throughout the second shift of my presence), interviewed with shift staff and manager, and the residents of the group home. From this experience, it is clear that working in this field while in an office setting, is completely different
On the desk were medical supplies such as gloves, medication cups, a clock and a physician’s desk reference book. The laundry room had four laundry baskets, each for one of the clients to place their laundry in after they shower. The laundry room was kept clear of any laundry supplies, as the clients kept their own laundry detergent in their bedrooms. Noticeable in the laundry room was a sheet thumbtacked to the wall with the clients names with the designated days scheduled to wash their
The family room was locked during my visit since it is getting remodeled. The staff mentioned that the Manager is converting it to an office. The first floor bedrooms are assigned to the two clients that spend most of their day in their rooms. One bedroom is assigned to a fifty year old African American male (client 1) that spent most of the shift in his room watching television. The second first floor bedroom is assigned to a thirty-three year old Caucasian male with down syndrome (client 2), that responded to staff from his bedroom in a joking manner. He watched television while sitting in a chair in his bedroom and playing his handheld game at the same time. The foyer of the home leads to the second floor where there was an office to the left of the top of the stairs, which has one of the two full size bathrooms. To the right of the stairs is a bedroom that belongs to a forty-four year old Caucasian male (client 3), that enjoys spending time with his sister and is part of the Special Olympics skiing, bowling, and track & field league. The other bedroom belongs to a fifty-two year old Caucasian male (client 4), who spent his time pacing the home as he held a cup of coffee and followed the staff and visitor. He smiled when eye contact was made with