Category: Social Work

Social work is a practice-based profession and academic discipline dedicated to promoting social change, development, cohesion, and empowerment. Social workers support individuals, families, and communities facing challengessuch as poverty, abuse, or illnessby providing counseling, connecting them with resources, and advocating for social justice. Wikipedia +2

Key Aspects of Social Work:

• Purpose: To enhance well-being and help people meet basic human needs, with particular attention to the vulnerable and marginalized.
• Core Values: Respect for human dignity, social justice, service to humanity, integrity, and competence.
• Levels of Practice:
  • : Working directly with individuals or families (e.g., counseling, case management).
  • : Working with groups and neighborhoods (e.g., community organizing).
  • : Working on large-scale policy, administration, and advocacy.
• Settings: Social workers operate in hospitals, schools, mental health clinics, child welfare agencies, correctional facilities, and government offices. NASW +4

Social workers are trained professionals who focus on the person-in-environment framework, aiming to improve both individual lives and the broader social

Create a new draft of your Prospectus Form and complete the following:

• Make any necessary revisions based on your review of the exemplars and the feedback you received from this modules Assignment.
• Describe the framework for your selected study.
• List the RQs.
• Complete the following subsections of the Nature of the Study according to the instructions in the form:
  • Approach/method and research design
  • Data, data collection tools, and sources
  • Data points

Follow the instructions on the form carefully. Most responses only require a sentence or two and all require succinct and precise information. If you submit a prospectus form with lots of narrative, you are not following the instructions and will likely have your prospectus returned with an unsatisfactory grade. Attached is propectus and my wk previous assignment

NB instructor review Hello Adeline,

In the future, please use this template I am attaching to the comments. This template has the “tracking changes” turned off. The reason for all the side comment boxes is because you have track changes on it.

Below is a summary of the feedback. In the comments next to your prospectus I have added the detailed feedback. If you cannot see the comments please let me know so I can download a pdf of the comments.

Review the announcements #1 and #2 for the course as they include resources for completing the prospectus, such as videos. Also under module 1 there are handouts like “Approved Elements of each section of the prospectus”. The videos under Media Gallery are also required viewing and provide tips for avoiding the common mistakes students make in this class.

Databases & Keywords: These are missing here. The handout, “Approved Elements of each section of the prospectus” provides guidance on how to complete each section of the prospectus.

Summaries: This is where your sources go but you did not follow the directions on how to enter the sources. Also all of your sources are outdated. You can only use sources that are 5 years old or newer, unless the source is supporting your theory or research method.

Social Problem: This is not a social problem. Please review the hand out under Module 1 for guidance.

Gap: This is not a social problem. Please review the hand out under Module 1 for guidance.

Research Questions: Students are allowed up to two research questions. You need to eliminate RQ3.

Please engage with all the resources provided in class to avoid missing out on points unnecessarily. There are a few areas where you made mistakes or omitted information that are addressed in the videos I have uploaded under “Media Gallery” and are also addressed in the handouts under module 1.

Be sure to make all the corrections to assignment #1 before you submit assignment #2, “Nature of the Study” section.

Using a Practice-Level Logic Model to Focus Interventions and Achieve Desired Outcomes

While they may be more broadly used to analyze programs , logic models can also be applied in practice , when considering clients presenting problems and potential interventions. If you think back to your work earlier in the course with Tiffani, Jake, or Paula, how did you go about determining the intervention based on the problems and needs? Did you see a logical connection in your mind between those elements?

Logic modeling can help to make these connections explicitly clear. For example, perhaps you identify one problem as distrust between parent and adolescent. You observe that the need is a greater sense of trust, and that the underlying causes are history of abusive situations enabled by the parent, history of adolescent lying, and no model of healthy, trust-based parent-adolescent relationship. The intervention, then, might be family therapy to work through the history that has affected trust in the relationship. It might also include parenting classes on repairing a parent-teen relationship. The threads that weave through all of these elements are trust and relationship.

In this Discussion, you create a practice-level logic model of your own, based on the problems and needs that you identified last week.

Logic modeling can help to make these connections explicitly clear. For example, perhaps you identify one problem as distrust between parent and adolescent. You observe that the need is a greater sense of trust, and that the underlying causes are history of abusive situations enabled by the parent, history of adolescent lying, and no model of healthy, trust-based parent-adolescent relationship. The intervention, then, might be family therapy to work through the history that has affected trust in the relationship. It might also include parenting classes on repairing a parent-teen relationship. The threads that weave through all of these elements are trust and relationship.

In this Discussion, you create a practice-level logic model of your own, based on the problems and needs that you identified last week.

To Prepare

• Review the Learning Resources on the logic model, including the Logic Model Table document.
• Consider the problems and needs that you identified last week and how those needs might be met by evidence-based interventions applied with clients.

POST

• Post a completed logic model (in table format) for a practitioner-level intervention based on the problems and needs that you identified last week. Be sure to link the areas across the table.
• In the table, describe the types of problems, the client needs, the underlying causes of problems and unmet needs. Then describe interventions that would lead to a change in the presenting conditions. Identify the short- and long-term outcomes that you think would represent an improved condition.
• Follow the table format with 1 to 2 paragraphs that elaborate on your practice-level model outline and cite resources that inform your views.

Resources

• Dudley, J. R. (2020). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
  • Chapter 6, Needs Assessments (pp. 115147)

• Luck, K. E., Doucet, S., & Luke, A. (2020). . Child & Youth Services , 41 (4), 327341.

• University of Kansas Center for Community Health and Development. (n.d.). . In Community toolbox.
• Document: (Word document)

Culture in Families

From birth, humans are raised within a given culture and learn to see the world through it. Reinforced by their parents or guardians, extended family, and community, this culture forms the values, beliefs, and behaviors they carry with them to adulthood. As adults, they form families of their own, and the culture is further reinforced or integrated with the culture of their partner. Cultural messages about mental health, positive or negative, can affect a familys likelihood of accessing services. Similarly, cultural attitudes related to pride and trust can hinder help-seeking.

For this Discussion, you review a case study and use it to inform your investigation of cultural factors that influence families attempts to seek out therapy. You also examine the importance of cultural competence and sensitivity on the part of a social worker working with families.

To Prepare

• Review the Learning Resources on culture, ethnicity, and family.
• Access the Social Work Case Studies media and navigate to the Garcia-Lowe Family case. While you read, consider cultural factors within the case, including the family members ethnic identities.

SUBMIT

Explain the ways in which cultural messages influence family help-seeking patterns. Based on the Garcia-Lowe case study, describe how a familys ethnic identification might impact its multisystem transactions. Finally, explain why understanding dimensions of ethnic identity is important for a social worker engaging with families.

Resources

• Rasheed, J. M., Rasheed, M. N., & Marley, J. A. (2010). . In Family therapy: Models and techniques (pp. 83131). Sage. Credit line: Family therapy: Models and techniques by Rasheed, J.M., Rasheed, M.N., & Marley, J.A. Copyright 2010 by Sage Publications. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications via the Copyright Clearance Center. Licensed in 2022.
• Van Hook, M. P. (2019). In Social work practice with families: A resiliency-based approach (3rd ed., pp. 107151). Oxford University Press.

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers.

Walden University, LLC. (2022). Social work case studies [Interactive media]. Walden University.

INITIAL POST (Due by 11:59 pm on Friday): Utilizing your Organizational Assessment/Intervention Assignment survey results, please respond to the following prompts:

– What were your findings from the Trauma-Informed Organizational Toolkit survey?

– What were your findings from the Racial Justice Assessment tool?

– What is your proposed organizational intervention/change?

– How has your proposed organizational intervention/change been shaped by your assessment findings?

– How do your findings relate to the information described in the guest lecture?

RESPONSE POST (Due by 11:59 pm on Monday): Utilizing this week’s readings and course content, respond to the posts of AT LEAST 2 of your classmates, focusing on:

– How well the proposed intervention addresses the assessment findings

– What suggestions do you have related to their proposed organizational intervention?

Needs Assessment

Oftentimes, social workers must justify the development of a new program to stakeholders through a formal needs assessment that generates scientific data about needs and gaps in the agency or community. They can use existing data from their agency, practice, or community setting to assess whether clients are receiving the help they need. They can also gather information from their clients through interviews, surveys, focus groups, and more.

In this weeks Discussion, you informally observed a problem in your agency or community setting and critically thought about an appropriate program to address the problem. Now, in the Assignment, you consider how to support the need for your proposed program more scientifically.

To Prepare

• Review and refine your potential program based on the feedback received in Discussion.
• Consider which clients will be included in the program and why.
• Review the methods for gathering information from clients and other stakeholders, including interviews, surveys, focus groups, etc. Determine which two methods would give you the most pertinent and reliable information to justify the development and implementation of your program

POST

Submit a 1- to 2-page paper expanding on and justifying the potential program you identified in this weeks Discussion. Include:

• A brief description of the program to be developed
• Criteria for inclusion in the program (which clients and why)
• Justification for the proposed program. What two best methods would you use to gather credible information to support the need for your program (e.g., interview, surveys, focus groups, etc.). Why? Be sure to state from whom you would gather the information.

Use the Learning Resources and peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles to support your paper. Make sure to include appropriate APA citations and a reference list.

RESURCES

• Dudley, J. R. (2020). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
• • Chapter 4, Common Types of Evaluations
    • Read Common Program Evaluations (pp. 7889).
  • Chapter 5, Focusing an Evaluation (pp. 96111)
  • Chapter 6, Needs Assessments (pp. 115147)

Application of Group Skills

While leading a treatment group, you may be faced with a dominant member who takes up much of the session time while others fall silent, or someone who is resistant or combative. There may be interpersonal conflict, or a complete lack of engagement. These challenging scenarios require effective leadership skills to balance negativity, empower group members, and build a respectful community. What skills do you currently possess, and how do you see yourself applying them in group work practice?

For this Assignment, you assume the role of a social worker leading a group session in an interactive media piece. You draw on your skills to navigate the scenario and take appropriate action; then, you reflect on your choices and the strengths and opportunities for your leadership skills.

To Prepare

• Navigate through the Group Therapy media piece in which you act as the social worker leading a group session.
• Reflect on the choices you selected based on the on-screen guidance and what you would have done differently if you were truly facilitating the group.
• Consider your leadership skills in general. Where might you need to improve to be a successful group leader?

SUBMIT

Submit a 2- to 3- page paper in which you:

• Explain the reasoning behind your choices at each step of the video scenario. What leadership skills did you employ and why?
• Explain what you would have done differently from the options presented to you and why. Include specific language you would have used (e.g., I would have said X to Y person in order to ).
• Describe how you view your leadership skills at this time. What leadership skills (identified in the Toseland and Rivas text) could you work on to improve?

Use the Learning Resources to support your Assignment. Make sure to provide APA citations and a reference list.

Resources

• Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017). An introduction to group work practice (8th ed.). Pearson.
  • Chapter 4, Leadership (pp. 98136)
• Ezhumalai, S., Muralidhar, D., Dhanasekarapandian R., & Nikketha, B. S. (2018). . Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 60, S514S521.

• Group Therapy
  

Time Estimate: 5-7 minutes

Note: The video below is interactive. Click the play button and use the buttons to navigate through the piece.

Identifying Problems

Return, for a moment, to the idea of noticing. Sensory and observational skills paired with an analytical mind are the basis of social work assessment. And assessment is perhaps the most fundamental of all social work activities. It is a process of gathering pertinent information to answer questions about problems, contributions to problems, and potential strengths and assets. At a program-evaluation or program-planning level, a social worker applies the same thoughtful process used in individual assessment but extends or filters it to answer program-level questions.

As a result of this assessment, social workers often identify client problems that suggest the need for new or more focused services. They might next imagine what an appropriate service or program would look like. In this Discussion, you navigate a similar process of noticing problems, identifying needs, and envisioning a program to support those problems and needs.

To Prepare

• Review the Learning Resources on focusing an evaluation and on needs assessments.
• Consider your field agency, practice, or community setting, and any common client problems, issues, or service gaps you have observed. If you are not currently in a practice setting, you may draw on your past work or practicum experience.
• Research and/or brainstorm ideas for programs or services that could address the problems, issues, or gaps.

POST

• Describe at least one common client problem, issue, or gap in services or programs at your field agency, practice, or community setting. (If you are not currently in a practice setting, you may draw on your past work or practicum experience.)
• Specifically, highlight what you see that tells you clients need something more than what the agency, practice, or community setting is offering.
• Identify a program that you think is necessary to address the problem, issue, or gap and explain why.
• Generate a question that you might ask about your identified need and to whom.

Resources

• Dudley, J. R. (2020). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
• • Chapter 4, Common Types of Evaluations
    • Read Common Program Evaluations (pp. 7889).
  • Chapter 5, Focusing an Evaluation (pp. 96111)
  • Chapter 6, Needs Assessments (pp. 115147)

  MY FIELD AGENCY IS DIVINE YOUTH COUNSELING AGENCY IN RICHMOND VA. I AM A MENTAL HEALTH counselor FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS

Group Leadership Skills

Leading a group can be challenging. It is important to remember that within the group, the social worker does much more than simply guide a conversation. Skills such as attending, synthesizing thoughts, providing resources, clarifying, and resolving conflict are all used to support process and treatment. The social worker is constantly assessing individual members and the overall group and determining the level of power and influence to exert. Even concrete, organizational actions such as opening and closing a session take skill and finesse.

In this Discussion, you observe a social worker engaging with a group and evaluate their leadership skills based on those described in the course text.

PREPARE

• Review the Learning Resources on leadership and reflect on the leadership skills required of social workers facilitating groups.
• Access the Social Work Case Studies media and navigate to the Levy Family case. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the video. This video shows Jake Levy in a group session with fellow veterans.
• While watching the video, consider the leadership skills of the social worker facilitating the veterans support group.

SUBMIT

Post your evaluation of the group social workers leadership skills in the Levy video, using at least two items from each of the three categories found in the Toseland and Rivas chapter (facilitation of group processes, data gathering and assessment, and action). Suggest another way the social worker might have initiated the group conversation.

Resources

• Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017). An introduction to group work practice (8th ed.). Pearson.
  • Chapter 4, Leadership (pp. 98136)

  Walden University, LLC. (2022). Social work case studies [Interactive media]. Walden University Canvas.

Choosing and Using Single-Subject Design

Social workers serve clients in highly complex real-world environments. Clients often implement recommended interventions outside of social workers direct observation. Yet, evidence-based research calls for establishing cause-and-effect between selected interventions and client outcomes as much possible. So, how do social workers truly know the intervention itselfand not some external factoris causing the change in a given client? To meet this challenge, social workers must understand the study designs available to them and all the variations of that design that can increase the rigor of the experiment and improve the likelihood of verifying a cause-and-effect relationship.

In this Discussion, you analyze the strengths and limitations of single-subject design and explore the many variations of the design that use baseline and treatment phases.

To Prepare

• Review the Learning Resources on using a single-subject design to evaluate practice. Determine the strengths and limitations of this design.
• Select one single-subject design research article provided in the Learning Resources. While reading it, make note of how the study was conducted (the methodology).
• Consider the different ways to plan a single-subject design evaluation, including AB, ABC, ABAB, and BAB. Determine which one you would use with your client from Week 1 (e.g., Tiffani, Jake, or Paula).

SUBMIT

• Define single-subject design and identify two strengths and two limitations.
• Describe and assess the study design in the provided research article.
• Suppose you would like to evaluate the outcomes of your chosen EBP intervention on your client from Week 1 (Tiffani, Jake, or Paula). How would you do so? Which single-subject design (e.g., AB, ABC, ABAB, BAB) would you choose and why?

Resources

Dudley, J.R. (2020). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Gee, B.M., Lloyd, K., Sutton, J., & McOmber, T. (2021). Weighted blankets and sleep quality in children with autism spectrum disorders: A single-subject design. Children, 8(1), 10.