88 Preparation 2. Develop an assignment about the students’ actual beginnings with an individual, family, or group. Ask students to discuss the following issues: a. How did the client or clients come to the agency’s attention, the initial definition of client need according to the clients, the agency, and you, and the implications of the definitions for perception. b. Determine the clients’ perceived and actual degree of choice using the four-step anticipatory empathy process. Break students up into groups to discuss this assignment and identify themes and questions. Alternatively, consider using this as a graded written assignment. Selecting the Appropriate Modality Begin with a brief lecture exploring the rationale for and decisions associated with selecting an appropriate service modality using Ms. Melvin’s case from the chapter. Ask a student to volunteer a case from their agency, describing what is known about the case. Once the student has described what modality or modalities are being used, including temporal arrangements, ask the class to consider other options that would also be appropriate (or would be even more appropriate). You can frame this as asking students to be in the world of should, and use this discussion to emphasize how the agency defines social work practice. Alterna- tively, use the following case to engage in this discussion: Roberta Jones, 37, is a white, divorced mother of two children, Susan, 10, and Johnnie, 12. She sought help from a local family service agency at the sugges- tion of the school social worker, who had been seeing Susan as a result of the child’s disruptive behavior in school. In the meeting with the school social worker, Roberta disclosed that a male friend had sexually abused Susan, and that this was currently being investigated by Child Protective Services (CPS). Roberta also reported that she herself had been sexually abused as a child, but she had yet to receive help with this. She says that she is depressed and feels guilty about her own abuse, because she didn’t tell anyone (the perpetrator was her physical education teacher in elementary school), and her daughter’s (even though when Susan told her mother about what happened, Roberta immedi- ately reported the abuse to appropriate authorities). This case lends itself to numerous discussions in addition to one about the appropriate modalities for Roberta and her children. You can ask students to consider the case in its entirety: Who is the school social worker’s client (or cli- ents)? Who is the agency social worker’s client or clients? Should the two social workers work together, and if so, how?