Choose a critical social work issue that interests you. Focus on a specific issue with a specific population. You want your focus to be as narrow as possible.

During your career, you may well be called upon to submit a proposal for funding of an agency or organization. Non- profits, especially social service organizations, rely on outside funding. Grants to organizations can come from the federal government, benevolent foundations, or even individuals. These entities, based on the judgment of, usually, a panel or committee of reviewers, determine what gets funded, based on requests for proposals submitted by the requesting organizations. To access this funding, you must follow detailed guidelines for completing the proposal request or application. All proposals require a succinct (to the point), almost flawless, background narrative, that describes the issue/need. One of the greatest challenges comes when you’re told to complete an application in 2 or 3 days. You have to learn to find, extract, and synthesize quickly. Ideally, you need a few weeks to prepare a new proposal.

For this assignment, you’re going to write a narrative report, with the idea in mind that it will pique a reviewer’s interest when he or she reads it. It should be as perfect as you can make it. (I’ve seen reviewers toss out an application for too many proofing errors. Also, they check sources, so these must be accurately listed and cited.)

The purpose of this assignment is to allow you practice in compiling and presenting relevant, specific information/data in a brief report.

Choose a critical social work issue that interests you. Focus on a specific issue with a specific population. You want your focus to be as narrow as possible.

Or choose a critical issue from this list:

Lack of medical care/services in prisons (You may narrow this to services for women, the elderly, the mentally ill, or specific groups, such as diabetics, heart patients, the disabled, etc.)
The overmedication of children in America (You may narrow to foster children, young children, school children; racial bias for any of these groups, etc.)
How poor nutrition affects learning and/or brain development
How poor nutrition affects violence
Opposition to LGBTQ parents fostering or adopting foster kids
Counseling support for medical workers dealing with COVID-19. (Many are already experiencing PTSD (post-traumatic stress order). This group includes medical social workers, of course.)
Do an internet search of the issue. Choose a minimum of 4 articles/sites that you think address the issue well. Try to find articles that include recent data (no older than 2018 if possible.) You will want to choose articles/sites which include or link to specific research or demographic data. List your sources at the end of the report.

Using the guidelines below, present your findings in an objective report, citing your sources within the report. (Note: Your source list doesn’t count as part of the 2 to 4-page report.) No use of the word ‘I’ or ‘my’, etc. Objective writing is based on facts. Your opinion is irrelevant. Include your list of references cited within the body of your paper.

GUIDELINES: (The first 2 guidelines should make up the bulk of your report.)

Describe the issue.
Identify how the issue has been addressed in the past, and currently. In other words, is anything being done (interventions, treatment centers, advocacy campaigns, etc.?) Examples: Has any legislation been presented or approved? Are there any programs/services existent to address the issue?
Why is this issue of concern to Social Workers, and other human service professionals, and what roles can Social Workers play in addressing the issue? (Hint: If nothing else, Social Workers can educate, mediate, and advocate….)
Assignment adopted from Instructor Terri Coalter.

Rubric
SWK Outcome Writing Assignment Rubric
SWK Outcome Writing Assignment Rubric
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSWK Profession within the Economic Context
CO1. UCNS
threshold: 12.0 pts
20 pts
Exemplary: The grant proposal is clear (stated or implied); the learner compiled and presented relevant and specific information to support the critical issue.
12 pts
Satisfactory: The grant proposal is clear (stated or implied); the learner compiled and presented limited information to support the critical issue.
0 pts
Unsatisfactory: The grant proposal is not clear; the learner did not provide relevant or specific information to support their critical issue.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDevelopment
60 pts
Exemplary
Writing shows a high degree of attention to logic and reasoning of points. Unity clearly leads the reader to the conclusion.
48 pts
Above Average
Writing is coherent and logically organized with the transitions used between ideas and paragraphs to create coherence. The overall unity of ideas is present.
36 pts
Satisfactory
Writing is coherent and logically organized. Some points remain misplaced and stray from the topic. Transitions are evident but not used throughout the paper.
0 pts
Unsatisfactory
Writing lacks logical organization. It shows some coherence but ideas lack unity. Serious errors.
60 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeHuman and Lived Experiences
CO2. UCNS
threshold: 12.0 pts
20 pts
Exemplary: The learner chose a critical social work issue that focuses on a specific population.
12 pts
Satisfactory: The learner chose a social work issue but did not narrow it down to one specific population.
0 pts
Unsatisfactory: The learner did not choose a social work issue and did not narrow it down to one specific population.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeReferences/Cited Sources
50 pts
Exemplary
Sources were cited properly; included a minimal number of references.
36.67 pts
Above Average
Minor mistakes were made; included the minimum number of references.
26.67 pts
Satisfactory
Sources were not properly cited; included the minimal number of references.
0 pts
Unsatisfactory
Sources were not cited properly; did not include the minimum number of references.
50 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGrammar & Mechanics
50 pts
Exemplary
Paper free of distracting spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors; absence of fragments, comma splices, and run-ons.
40 pts
Above Average
Paper has few spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors allowing the reader to follow ideas clearly. Very few fragments or run-ons.
30 pts
Satisfactory
Most spelling, punctuation, and grammar issues are minor allowing the reader to progress through the essay. Some errors remain.
0 pts
Unsatisfactory
Spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors create distraction making reading difficult; fragments, comma splices, run-ons are evident. Errors are frequent.
50 pts
Total Points: 200

During your career, you may well be called upon to submit a proposal for funding of an agency or organization. Non- profits, especially social service organizations, rely on outside funding. Grants to organizations can come from the federal government, benevolent foundations, or even individuals. These entities, based on the judgment of, usually, a panel or committee of reviewers, determine what gets funded, based on requests for proposals submitted by the requesting organizations. To access this funding, you must follow detailed guidelines for completing the proposal request or application. All proposals require a succinct (to the point), almost flawless, background narrative, that describes the issue/need. One of the greatest challenges comes when you’re told to complete an application in 2 or 3 days. You have to learn to find, extract, and synthesize quickly. Ideally, you need a few weeks to prepare a new proposal.

For this assignment, you’re going to write a narrative report, with the idea in mind that it will pique a reviewer’s interest when he or she reads it. It should be as perfect as you can make it. (I’ve seen reviewers toss out an application for too many proofing errors. Also, they check sources, so these must be accurately listed and cited.)

The purpose of this assignment is to allow you practice in compiling and presenting relevant, specific information/data in a brief report.

Choose a critical social work issue that interests you. Focus on a specific issue with a specific population. You want your focus to be as narrow as possible.

Or choose a critical issue from this list:

Lack of medical care/services in prisons (You may narrow this to services for women, the elderly, the mentally ill, or specific groups, such as diabetics, heart patients, the disabled, etc.)
The overmedication of children in America (You may narrow to foster children, young children, school children; racial bias for any of these groups, etc.)
How poor nutrition affects learning and/or brain development
How poor nutrition affects violence
Opposition to LGBTQ parents fostering or adopting foster kids
Counseling support for medical workers dealing with COVID-19. (Many are already experiencing PTSD (post-traumatic stress order). This group includes medical social workers, of course.)
Do an internet search of the issue. Choose a minimum of 4 articles/sites that you think address the issue well. Try to find articles that include recent data (no older than 2018 if possible.) You will want to choose articles/sites which include or link to specific research or demographic data. List your sources at the end of the report.

Using the guidelines below, present your findings in an objective report, citing your sources within the report. (Note: Your source list doesn’t count as part of the 2 to 4-page report.) No use of the word ‘I’ or ‘my’, etc. Objective writing is based on facts. Your opinion is irrelevant. Include your list of references cited within the body of your paper.

GUIDELINES: (The first 2 guidelines should make up the bulk of your report.)

Describe the issue.
Identify how the issue has been addressed in the past, and currently. In other words, is anything being done (interventions, treatment centers, advocacy campaigns, etc.?) Examples: Has any legislation been presented or approved? Are there any programs/services existent to address the issue?
Why is this issue of concern to Social Workers, and other human service professionals, and what roles can Social Workers play in addressing the issue? (Hint: If nothing else, Social Workers can educate, mediate, and advocate….)

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