Macro Social Work Practice Fall 2017 Lewis Clark State College Darci M. Graves, LMSW

Transcription

1 Macro Social Work Practice Fall 2017 Lewis Clark State College Darci M. Graves, LMSW Phone: Office: IPO 17 Office Hours: Tuesday or Thursday 10:30 11:30 or by Appointment Mission Statement The mission of the social work program at Lewis-Clark State College is to prepare students for entry-level generalist practice. We are committed to the preparation of professional social workers instilling the knowledge, skills, and values to address the needs and potential of individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations. Drawing on an ecological, strengths-based perspective, the program prepares students to engage as professional social work practitioners who will be able to provide competent services with integrity to promote social justice and human rights recognizing the dignity and worth of the person. Graduates are prepared for practice with diverse populations understanding the person-in-environment influence on identity development and relationships. Through courses, internships, and student activities, the program aims to foster in its students a celebration of differences among people and a belief that respecting these differences enriches the quality of life for all. Graduates will practice from a set of ethical principles inherent in the social work profession, including the recognition that professional development is a life-long learning process. Finally, our program is dedicated to the inclusion of non-traditional aged, rural, and lower income students. The program is also devoted to providing students the opportunity to engage in meaningful research projects, in the community in which they live, by conducting program evaluations and needs assessments through our research sequence which culminates in a public symposium. Description: This course is designed to prepare students to engage in social justice activism and grassroots organizing at the Macro level. Students will learn hands-on skills that can be implemented at the grassroots level as well as within their agency/practice setting such as conducting a needs/gaps analysis and creating and executing strategic plans. Students will learn the importance of understanding the political climate as it relates to their practice and their client population.

2 Educational Outcomes: *Students will be able to think critically about the barriers faced by their client population when seeking services. Students will be able to connect these barriers to political climate and understand the interplay between politics, budgets and direct service. *Students will understand the ways in which social policy is impacted by a culture's values; student's will examine the ways in which policy might oppress, marginalize, or alienate certain groups of people even when the intent is to help them. *Students will gain experience conducting a need analysis, creating agency based action plans, and understanding how to propose/engage in a grassroots activist movement. *Students will understand how the Planned Change Model can be utilized in a Macro setting. *Students will gain a great understanding of the intersections of oppression and how these intersections affect their client population. Purpose of the Course in the Curriculum: This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to engage in Macro practice both within the agency and grassroots context. Competency and Practice Behavior Identify as a Professional Social Worker and Behave Accordingly A. Advocate for client access to the services of social work. D. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior, appearance and communication. F. Use supervision and consultation Apply Social Work ethical principles to guide practice. A. Recognize and manage personal values in a way that allows professional values to guide practice. B. Make ethical decisions by applying standards of the NASW Code of Ethics, as applicable, IFSW & Human Subject Research guidelines. Measurement Final Presentation Final Presentation Personal Reflections Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgment. A. Distinguish, appraise, & integrate multiple sources of knowledge including research-based knowledge and practice wisdom. Final Presentation

3 2.1.4 Engage diversity and difference in practice. A. Recognize the extent to which culture's structures and values may oppress, marginalize, alienate, create, or enhance privilege & power. D. View themselves as learners and engage those with whom they work as informants Advance human rights and social and economic justice. A. Understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination. B. Advocate for human rights and social and economic justice Engage in research-informed practice and practice informed research B. Use research evidence to inform practice Respond to contexts that shape practice. A. Continuously discover, appraise & attend to changing locales, populations, scientific & technological developments & emerging societal trends to provide relevant service. B. Provide leadership in promoting sustainable changes in service delivery and practice to improve the quality of social services (a) (d)engage, assess, intervene and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities. A1. Substantively & affectively prepare for action with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities. A3. Develop mutually agreed-on focus of work and desired outcomes. B3. Develop mutually agreed-on intervention goals and objectives. C1. Initiate actions to achieve organizational goals. C4. Negotiate, mediate and advocate for clients. Personal Reflections Final Presentation Teaching Methods/Class Climate: The primary teaching approach in this class will be collaborative learning. Materials in the course will be presented through discussion, lectures, group work, and media presentations. Students will be responsible for all materials presented in class and all outside assignments. Assigned readings and topics for the day are outlined in the Schedule and students are expected

4 to come to class prepared to discuss the assignments. An absence is not an excuse for not coming to class prepared to be actively involved. Students in a professional program should conduct themselves as professionals in relation to the class session and assignments. It is not acceptable to be late for classes except in unusual circumstances. Frequent lateness or other unprofessional class conduct is likely to result in a lowered grade. Students are also evaluated on their personal and professional behavior or conduct in class as described in the BSW Handbook. Please refer to the Handbook for further clarification. The Handbook is available at Shared Client and Agency Information: In the classroom, students and professors will occasionally discuss clients and agencies. In these discussions, it is expected that information about clients and agencies should be disguised or eliminated if clients could be identified and that this information is to be held in confidence within the bounds of the Code of Ethics. You must disguise the identity of clients in written assignments including changing the name of the client. Academic Honesty and Plagiarism: Part of the mission of Lewis-Clark State is to educate students to be ethical. Students share with the faculty the responsibility for academic honesty and integrity. The College expects its students to do their own academic work. In addition, it expects active participation and equitable contributions of students involved in group assignments. Violation of the Academic Integrity Statement, in whole or part, could result in an F grade for the course. The following acts of academic dishonesty are not acceptable: Cheating: using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise (e.g., an exam). Fabrication: unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise (e.g., a paper reference). Plagiarism: representing the words or ideas of another as one=s own in any academic exercise (e.g., failing to cite references appropriately or taking verbatim from another source). Facilitating academic dishonesty: helping or attempting to help another to commit academic dishonesty (e.g., allowing another to copy from your test or use your work). Regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation, you will be treated and respected as a human being. Social and Economic Justice:

5 The faculty members of the Social Work Program believe that we all share a responsibility for championing social and economic justice for all members of society. Guided by the Code of Ethics, social workers should strive to: Eliminate personal and institutional discrimination, Ensure access to needed resources and opportunities for all persons, Expand options and opportunities for everyone, but especially for persons who are disadvantaged or disenfranchised, Respect cultural diversity in society, Advocate changes that improve social conditions and promote social justice, Encourage participation in the democratic process, and Encourage people to develop their own voice. Disability Statement: Students with have a documented disability will be eligible for reasonable accommodations. Please contact me in the first week of class in order to make arrangements for the semester. Professional Writing Standards: All printed work submitted to this professor should be prepared at a college standard of professional editing in accordance with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6 th Ed.). Therefore, allow sufficient preparation time for proofreading and correction of typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors. The reason for this expectation is that professionals are often judged based upon the quality of their written work. Carelessness in spelling and editing suggests that there will also be mistakes in the substance of the work. Therefore, written work, which has misspellings and other editing problems, will be graded down on this basis alone. All work must be completed in 12 font, preferably Times New Romans style or a similarly readable style. Note: The efforts you make will help you with your courses at LCSC as well as throughout your professional career because you will continue to be judged by other professionals on the basis of your written work. Required Texts: NO TEXT REQUIRED Course Grading Requirements: Macro Intervention: For the purpose of this course you will self select into groups of 3-4. Each group will be responsible for completing one Macro level intervention as a semester long project. Students will have creative license to choose a population they are passionate about serving,

6 consider the needs of this population and create a Macro level intervention to address a specific need. This project can take many forms, students might choose to do a fundraising event, an awareness raising event, or a political action event. As a group you will plan, and implement this macro level intervention. Further information will be provided in-class. This project is worth 100 points. Checkpoints: Over the course of the Semester students will need to meet different checkpoints as part of the planning process for their Macro intervention. Students will use skills/strategies learned in class to assist in the planning of their intervention, and will turn in various assignments/essays at different stages of the planning process. Checkpoints will be worth a total of 150 points. Final Presentation: At the end of the semester, after completion of your Macro Intervention, students will work with their groups to present their project to the class. Students will present the following information regarding the population they have been attempting to serve: 1) Describe the constellation of services required to meet the needs of this population. 2) Share what is presently being provided in the community by: a. Formal Services b. Informal Organizations 3) Describe the gaps in services and suggest how these gaps could be addressed 4) Describe what funding sources might be available to meet unaddressed needs 5) Detail for the class how you decided upon your intervention strategy, how your intervention was executed, and discuss the outcome of your project. This group presentation will be worth 100 points. Personal Reflections: Throughout the semester students will write personal reflections on their experiences planning and executing a Macro level intervention. These reflections will be worth a total of 50 points. Total: 400 points available Please note: More than 4 unexcused absences from class will result the loss of a full letter grade. More than 6 unexcused absences from class will result in an automatic failure of the course.

7 SW443 Course Schedule: Fall 2017 Week Day Readings: To Be Assigned Weekly 1 Monday August 21 Intro & Overview Wednesday August 23 Macro Practice Agenda 2 Monday August 28 Defining Macro Practice Wednesday August 30 Overview of Semester Project 3 Monday September 4 NO CLASS: LABOR DAY HOLIDAY Wednesday September 6 Utilizing Generalist Practice Skills in a Macro Contest 4 Monday September 11 Organizational Processes and Culture Wednesday September 13 Organizational Processes and Culture 5 Monday September 18 Organizational Processes, cont. Wednesday September 20 Organizational Processes, cont. 6 Monday September 25 SWOT Wednesday September 27 SWOT 7 Monday October 2 Synthesizing Operational Problems and Implementing Plans /Logic Modelling Wednesday October 4 Logic Modelling with your groups 8 Monday October 9 Evolution of an Advocate Wednesday October 11 Ethical Advocacy at the Macro level 9 Monday October 16 Privilege, Oppression and the Political Climate of Community Organizing Wednesday October 18 Catch-Up Day *You will need to locate and obtain a copy of your internship placement s values statement and mission statement and bring to class with you.

8 10 Monday October 23 NO CLASS: Group Work Wednesday October 25 NO CLASS: Group Work 11 Monday October30 Grassroot Organizing Wednesday November 1 Grassroots Organizing 12 Monday November 6 Grassroots Organizing Wednesday November 8 In-Class Film 13 Monday November 13 International Social Work Wednesday November 15 Final Presentation Prep November NO CLASS THANKSGIVING 14 Monday November 27 PRESENTATIONS Wednesday November 29 PRESENTATIONS 15 Monday December 4 PRESENTATIONS Wednesday December 6 PRESENTATIONS