In the following situations, identify who owns the problem. As you study each case, decide whether it is you, as the worker, who owns the problem; whether the client and perhaps the client's family owns the problem; or whether both you and the client own the problem at the same time.

1. Your client is going to court on his third DUI charge. The family of the woman whose car he hit calls your office before the proceedings because the article in the paper stated your client was receiving help from your agency in preparation for the trial. The family wants you to withdraw your services and advocate with the judge that your client be sent to prison, not a rehabilitation center. Who owns the problem?
2. You are arranging for housing for a woman who is in a homeless shelter. Her parents come to see you and ask you to see that she also goes to therapy. They tell you she has never "seemed right," and they ask you to give them your opinion of her mental status. Who owns the problem?
3. You have developed a goal plan for a child. The parents agree with the plan, which involves summer camp and other recreational activities over the summer, all with a therapeutic program. The teacher calls to tell you that this child can hardly benefit from school and that sending him to camp is a waste of the taxpayer's money. What he needs, she tells you, is therapy. Who owns the problem?