Mar 16: Kyle's case

Kyle is a 12-year-old boy. He is the youngest of 3 children. He has a brother who is
17 and a sister, aged 15. Kyle was raised in a lower middle-class area at the edges of a city. His
parents divorced two years ago. His father had been physically abusive to his mother. Kyle now
lives with his mother, sister and grandparents in a community about four hours away from his
home. At the time of the divorce, Kyle's mother left the home, taking him and his sister to live
with her parents. She has full custody of Kyle and his sister. His older brother decided to stay
with their father and has had trouble doing well in school because he is working to help support
himself and his father.

The grandparents are helping Kyle's mother raise the kids and they babysit often. Upon first
moving, Kyle adjusted well to his new elementary school and made friends easily. Recently,
Kyle's mother has started to date again and is spending more time with one boyfriend in
particular. Her dating coincides with Kyle's transition into middle school, which is difficult for
many children. In addition, in middle school students from several elementary schools
representing different cultural and socio-economic status neighborhoods come together. Kyle
has starting acting out in school. He reports not liking the new school and believes he does not
fit in with either his old friends or his new peers. He has begun talking about moving in with his
father and brother.

In addition, he has become more defiant at home and was recently caught stealing from a
department store. Charges are pending and he will need to go to court. His grandparents believe
he may be sneaking out and spray-painting graffiti in the neighborhood, because they have found
paint on his clothing. Worried, his grandmother has made an appointment with you, the school’s
social worker, because she is worried about him. She does not know what will happen to him in
court, and wants to report to the judge that he is doing well in school. As the school social
worker, you can do therapy with Kyle and his family, but you must consider several other factors
in this situation to have the best outcomes. As Kyle’s school social worker, what would you do
in this case?

(taken from http://www.socwk.utah.edu/msw/pdf/CriticalThinkingEssay.pdf)