Maria Sanchez: Case Scenario

Identify the Problem

Maria Sanchez is the service user that is immediately involved in the situation at hand. She is 91 years old and lives in a city-run long-term care facility where she is very sociable and engages in all the activities that are offered at the facility. Judging by her name, we may be able to assume that she is of Spanish descent. Although she has no immediate family, her distant cousin Paola Sanchez and his wife, Margarita, visit her weekly with sweets which brings Maria great joy. It is discovered that Maria is in need of new clothing as hers are old and ragged, therefore, I, the social worker, must now explore her financial arrangements, never doing so before because Maria’s needs have always been met. Maria receives the

Old Age Security Pension and despite the fact that she has supposedly never received funds from the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), when I called Paola and Margarita about the funds, there were quite evasive and state they know nothing about the funds. However, when I called the Public Pensions department after gaining consent from Maria, they explained that Paola and Margarita have been accepting funds from the GIS for about two years. I was also informed that Maria is the only one that can lodge a complaint towards Paola and Margarita for the misuse of her funds. So, not only is Maria the only one affected by this ethical issue, but after making an ethical decision regarding what to do about the situation, Paola and Margarita, also known as the third, would also be impacted because of how how Maria and I decide to act (Weinberg, 2014). Although Paola and Margarita are not my clients, I must take their welfare into consideration of making an ethical decision because Maria is very attached to her family, and depending on how I decide to act I may cause a shift in the relationship that a could negatively affect Maria’s wellbeing. Not only that, but I have to consider the factors that would cause Paola and Margarita to commit this fraud, perhaps they extremely need the money, as they had stated that they are also living on social assistance and maybe that would affect the way Maria would want to pursue the situation.

Law and Legal Implications

The Criminal Code of Canada states that anyone who defrauds someone of money is guilty of an indictable offence and could potentially face imprisonment depending on factors such as the victim’s age, health, and financial situation.

Since Maria is at an older age and her health is not as good since she is at an older age, this means that she is very vulnerable. Although she was not struggling financially, now that she needs money for new clothes and needs the money from GIS that her relatives had been taken under false pretences, Maria is even more vulnerable. Taking these factors into consideration, it may be likely that her relatives would face jail time or at least a fine, undoubtedly severing the relationship. I would not have any duty to report Paola or Margarita for fraudulent behaviour as Paola and Margarita are not putting themselves or Maria in immediate harm and although the Government of Canada strongly encourages reports of fraud, I am not legally obligated to, even anonymously (Criminal Code, 1985). As stated above, I as the social worker, cannot file a complaint with the Public Pensions department. Maria is the only one that can lodge a complaint, but it may be unlikely that she would file a report against the only family she has left. Thus, it is my job as a social worker to provide her with all the information and possible outcomes to help her make this decision. Perhaps if the agency I was working for required me to report about fraudulent means, then this

ethical decision-making process would be a bit different. If I was legally obligated to report, then I would be facing a moral dilemma in which I would have to decide between not reporting the fraudulent behaviour and having Maria’s GIS cheques being stolen by her relatives and participating in principled infidelity, or reporting the fraudulent behaviour and possibly causing Maria to lose the only familial relationship she has in her life. In this case though, as I am not obligated to report, the issue that I am facing is whether or not to encourage Maria to file a complaint or potentially anonymously reporting the suspicion of fraud to the Government of Canada, with or without the consent of Maria.

Professional Values

There are definitely professional values under the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) Code of Ethics that are in conflict in regards to this case study. Regarding the ethical value of Respect for the Inherent Dignity and Worth of Persons, a key principle is respecting a client’s right to self-determination and to make choices on informed consent. Confidentiality in Professional Practice is another principle of the Code that states that social workers must respect the trust and privacy of the client as well as the client’s right to decide whether or not to share information to a third party. These two conflict with the principle of Service to Humanity which states that a social worker uses their authority to serve the needs of the client as well as promote a just society. To be specific, under the principle of Service to Humanity, I may be geared towards reporting Paola and Margarita for fraud because I may think that the ultimately need of Maria is to receive the money from GIS that her relatives have been secretly accepting on her behalf. In addition, reporting Paola and Margarita will promote a just society as they will be be subject to a fair trial and what a judge would deem as appropriate punishment. However, if Maria did not give me her consent to report her relatives, I would be violating her trust and confidentiality and I would be disrespecting her right to self-determination as stated in the principles of Values 1 and 5 in the Code (CASW, 2005).

Immediate Reaction

Honesty is a personal value that I consider of high importance, therefore, my immediate reaction to this situation is frustration and a bit of anger towards Paola and Margarita as I do not condone fraud and lying. In working with a client though, the way the client feels about the situation can be more important than your own emotions. Nevertheless, my own emotions should not be ignored and I should therefore consult someone on the situation to ensure that my feelings are not clouding my judgement. Talking to Maria about how I feel personally about her situation may be inappropriate and may upset her if they do not correspond with the way she is feeling and will be counterproductive as now there will be tension in working with her. I may believe that Paola and Margarita should be punished for their actions out of anger, but Maria may feel sorry for them for not having enough money and wanting to help her only living relatives and it may be in her best interest to respect her wishes. There are no conflicts between my personal values and professional values as the principles of Respect for the Inherent Dignity and Worth of Persons and Confidentiality in Professional Practice also value honesty and having trust between the social worker and the client. I believe that the best way to build and keep that trust is to be honest about the potential outcome of every situation and not disrespecting their wishes and right to self-determination within reason. As a white woman I may have biases in regards to working with Maria, as she is assumed to have a different ethnicity and she is much older than I am. It is evident that Maria cares deeply for her relatives, so it can be assumed that family is a very important thing to her that may not be as important to me. Accordingly, I would choose to do my research on her culture to ensure that there is at least a basis of understanding to diminish the chance of bias. I may also decide to relate to Maria with factors that we both are a part of, such as living in a Western society identifying as a woman.

Other Perspectives

I believe that Maria would say she is generally happy because the case states that she is very friendly, sociable, and participates in most of the activities offered at the facility she is living in. Although she does not have many living relatives, she is genuinely happy to have her distant cousins, Paola and Margarita, visit her on a weekly basis. Though the case does not state her reaction to her relatives’ fraudulent behaviour, it can be assumed that she is saddened by the situation, yet not wanting the relationship to be severed due to the issue. I think that Maria’s main goal is to keep her relationship with her relatives even if that means letting them keep her GIS cheques. Another goal would be to find some money in order to buy the new clothing she needs. I feel as if a rational point of view would suggest to encourage Maria to take action against her relatives as it is perceived that guilty people should be punished for their crimes. Yet, even if I value honesty and a just society, Maria may feel as if family is the most important thing, thus this is where there may be conflict between my own personal and professional values and the values of Maria. Perhaps a solution to the problem would be to have a meeting with Paola and Margarita to talk about the possibility of having them either paying back the the GIS finds to Maria or ceasing to accept the funds. This solution through dialogue may be improbable because as stated in the case, Paola and Margarita are already living on social assistance and would feel as if they would struggle financially without Maria’s GIS funds.

Spiritual, Cultural, and Social Phenomena Contexts

Although spirituality and religion do not directly affect Maria’s situation, there may be a cultural context to be addressed.

Many people from Spain are Christian and therefore believe in certain values, mainly the importance of family or perhaps treating people the way you would like to be treated. As someone who is not religious, I am not an expert on Christian values, though a Western society reflects a lot of the same values. I would consider doing research on Maria’s spirituality, religion, and culture, but I do not believe it is a barrier in regards to working with Maria in this context. There are many social phenomena that come into play in this situation. For example, Maria’s age is a huge factor in her injustice as it may be a way of justifying Paola and Margarita’s actions as it could be said that she is old and therefore not going to need the money for much longer anyway, though this is a harsh perception. People may also abuse the elderly as they are viewed as a largely vulnerable population. Racism would not an issue between the conflict of Maria and her relatives because it could be assumed that they are of the same race, thus racism would not be a cause of the injustice. Heterosexism and transphobia would not be at play as it was not mentioned if Maria was part of the LGBTQ+ community. Classism would be another social phenomena involved as both parties—Maria and her relatives—are all on the poorer side of the spectrum. Under these circumstances, both parties

are vulnerable and may commit crimes in order to provide themselves by abusing someone who is also vulnerable and potentially less likely to take action. What is being determined to be healthy would be for Maria’s relatives not to take advantage of her by taking her GIS funds and creating an unhealthy relationship. Though I may see the situation this way, Maria may feel as if relatives are supposed to benefit off of each other and help each other out. Paola and Margarita may see it as an exchange between money and important time spent with family. It is my job as Maria’s social worker to prioritize her voice and her wishes as she is the one that is being abused in this situation.