Case Summary

!1

Case Study Summary 1

Jane Smith

Nova Southeastern University

HSDD 5500: Disability Services Administration

Dr. Alina Gonzalez

May 23, 2021

!2

Case Activity 1.1

There are two main challenges that Lillian Sanchez will face in her particular situation.

Firstly, she will be transitioning from a high school counselor to an elementary school counselor,

and therefore will be serving a new population of children with a unique set of personal and

educational problems (Lewis et al., 2012). Next, she will be tasked with the responsibility of

developing, implementing, and hopefully marketing and expanding, an entirely new program,

which can have its own distinct challenges and difficulties (Lewis et al., 2012). Additionally,

Lillian’s case presents with specific strengths and limitations. Her biggest strength in her

approach to this new career path is that she has past experience working both with elementary

aged children and as a school counselor (Lewis et al., 2012). Considering that this is a

completely new program being created, she is particularly well-equipped to be taking on this

position and to help the district expand this program into other schools. While Lillian is

confident in her abilities to effectively counsel these children and provide them with all the

necessary help and support, her biggest weakness and limitation in taking on this position and

this new project is her administrative and leadership skills and her ability to develop these skills

while simultaneously fulfilling her role as school counselor (Lewis et al., 2012).

I believe that in this situation, Lillian’s past experiences as both an elementary school

teacher and a high school counselor has provided her with enough background knowledge and

practical experience in both careers and with both age groups to succeed in this new career. In

addition, I feel that being given the chance to create a program where none existed before in a

field that she is extremely passionate about is an extremely unique opportunity. I personally

would have opted to take on this knew role and work with the school to develop this new

!3

elementary school counselor program. I think an important piece to consider in this decision is

the district’s expectations and proposed timeline. If I were in Lillian’s position, it would be

important for me to establish boundaries in what I would be able to accomplish with regards to

expanding the counselor program and consulting with new schools and within new districts. This

project is a big undertaking and I think it would be important to set clear expectations before

accepting the job. For example, the first year would be dedicated to planning and implementing

the program within my own school, the second year would be dedicated to modifying and

refining the program based on feedback from the past year, and the third year would be dedicated

to expanding the program and consulting with other schools in the development of additional

programs. I believe that this type of structure would set me up for a much less stressful and more

successful transition to my new position as elementary school counselor.

!4

Case Activity 2.1

In this case, Marcia Butler, Angela Ortiz, and Pam Collins recognized a need for a more

comprehensive program to better support the needs of women who are battered in their locality

(Lewis et al., 2012). This program would need to combine a variety of different supports and

services, such as physical refuge, medical services, personal and family therapy, and vocational

counseling (Lewis et al., 2012). The two major challenges that these individuals faced in the

development of this program is that they lacked the funds necessary to invest in creating and

growing this program, and that it would require a much more significant level of involvement

than they first anticipated. A notable strength to this program is that they already garnered a

significant amount of support in their effort to develop this program, not only from the general

manager of the Department of Human Services, but similarly from community agencies, such as

women’s shelters (Lewis et al., 2012). Conversely, the biggest limitation in the development of

this program is the commitment, initiative, and level of responsibility required of each individual

in order to succeed.

The fact that Marcia, Angela and Pam were able to recognize the above mentioned

limitation and still remained invested in and passionate about the development of this program

leads me to believe that they will be successful in their efforts. I believe that I would have

proceeded similarly if I was in the same situation as these individuals. They first brought the idea

to people in more senior leadership roles who they thought would be able to help, which would

be my first instinct as well. Subsequently, after recognizing that they would need to develop this

program themselves, they began to brainstorm and problem-solve ways to fund and further

advance this concept into reality. I believe that Marcia, Angela and Pam have the drive,

!5

resources, and support necessary to successful develop, implement, and grow this program into

something that could help a significant number of women and families. 


!6

Reference

Lewis, J. A., Packard, T. R., & Lewis, M. D. (2012). Management of human service programs

(5th ed.). Brooks/Cole.