Reference no: EM131445196 , Length: 10

Community Profile

Introduction to Social Work

Alternative Final Service Learning Assignment

This City Profile requires you to (1) gather data from reliable sources, (2) analyze the significance of what the data means (3) write a paper.

The objectives of this assignment are to:

• Identify factual data about your community at the city level;
• Analyze that data as to its implications and impact;
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in your community and
• Determine the extent to which the community empowers residents and responds to their requests and concerns.

TASKS:

#1: OBSERVATIONS

Prior to beginning the data gathering, walk around several blocks in your community. Using your powers of observation what do you see? Are there identifiable issues such as potholes in the street, non-functioning street lights, broken or no sidewalks, fences in disrepair, litter, etc.?What is the appearance of the schools? What is the visible condition of housing both residential and multi-family, businesses and their parking lots? Write/type a list.

Next, spend some time thinking about what you perceive as issues, problems or concerns in your neighborhood and the community as a whole. Prepare a list of those issues to include in your paper.

Thinking about the list of "problems" you have created, whose responsibility is it to address or correct the issues? (Some level of government or governmental body, religious institutions, neighbors, non-profit agencies, etc.) Include these thoughts in your paper - it may be many more than one has some level of responsibility in your view.

#2: DATA GATHERING

The focus of this paper is the city where you currently reside. You will gather data for your city.  The list of questions that follows will guide your data collection. You will be researching specific aspects of your community.Resources to assist data gathering: Access SE Library Lib Guide via this link-

https://libguides.tccd.edu/communityassessment

https://www.city-data.com/

https://www.greatschools.org/

https://www.texastribune.org/

https://www.texasprojectfirst.org/

The list is not an exhaustive list; you will need to search for additional sources using the Internet.

Economic/Financial Well-Being

In your city, find data that answers each of these questions:

a.What is unemployment rate of your area? Are there jobs available?

b.What kinds of benefits, if any, do employers offer?If so, which employers and what benefits?

c.Do the jobs pay a living wage?

d.Via observation, describe the condition of housing throughout the city.

e.Is there adequate, affordable housing to accommodate the population?

f.What resources are available in your community to ensure residents can maintain a good quality of life? 

g.What other conditions can you think of that demonstrate your city's economic health?

 Questions to guide conclusions and interpretations:

How economically healthy is your area?

To what extent are local businesses thriving?

Health Care

In your city, find data that answers each of these questions:

a.Do all residents have access to quality health care?

b.What are the ways health care is paid for; private insurance, public programs, other?

c.How many hospitals and clinics are available to area residents? Are they geographically accessible to all residents?  Who has access?

d.How frequently are emergency rooms used in place of a primary care physician?

Questions to guide conclusions and interpretations:

Who has access to routine wellness checks, immunizations, doctor visits, preventive medicine?

Why are emergency rooms sometimes used in place of a primary care physician?

Educational Opportunities

In your city, find data that answers each of these questions:

a. How manypreschool programs are available for children to prepare them to attend Kindergarten?Are these programs fee-based or free? How does one qualify for the program?

b.What diagnostic and treatment services are available for children who have developmental disabilities? Who pays for these services?

c.How do elementary children in your city independent school district typically score on standardized achievement tests? What about as compared to other communities in Texas and the U.S.?  Do all elementary schools in your community have similar outcomes?      

d.How do high schools prepare students for college? Do the schools hold college fairs or other events to expose students to college options?

e.What is the graduation rate from the various high schools in your community?

f.What are student/teacher ratios in the schools in your city? What is a potential impact of these ratios? Are families in the community aware of these ratios?

g.How well do community educational programs adequately prepare adults to enter the work force?

Questions to guide conclusions and interpretations:

Are some students "left behind" or "left out" of programs to enable success?

Social Services

"service, such as counseling or health care, provided by a government or by a charitable organization 

to advance human welfare, especially for disadvantaged people." The Free Dictionary

In your city, find data that answers each of these questions:

a.What social services are readily available in the community?  (Identify all the agencies you find.)

b.What social services are missing in your community?

c.In what ways are some who live in your community vulnerable to having inadequate health care, education, and/or social services?

d.How are community members' made aware of existing public resources and programs (for example, job training, meals for the elderly, or daycare programs)?

Questions to guide conclusions and interpretations:

Thinking of the physiological and safety needs of humans, how well are the needs for food, clothing, shelter, transportation, safe water, and physical security met in the community?

Community Life

In your city, find data that answers each of these questions:

a.What, if any, are the trustworthy newspapers available in your community? What is the circulation of the newspaper(s) in your community?

b.What, if any, neighborhood organizations or active community groups exist?  Do they monitor city services? Do they share information about community activities or needs?

c.How are residents made aware of future city plans and their impacts (for example, zoning changes or housing development)?

d.What recreational opportunities exist in your community? Are they adequate for the population? How closely do they measure up to national standards for park space per capita and recreational programs per capita?

Questions to guide conclusions and interpretations:

To what extent do community members or residents really understand what's going on in the community? (This is a conclusion you make based on the data collected.)

In addition to gathering data related to the specific aspects listed above, a part of your research is to determine the responsiveness of elected officials (city and school board) to residents of the city. You may either attend in person or watch on cable access two or three city council meetings OR you may read local newspapers (Ft. Worth Star Telegram or the Dallas Morning News) coverage of city council or school board meetings. You may want to watch televised meetings of the School Board meeting of your school district.

Your City Secretary can provide you with the information concerning televised meetings. In addition, the city's website and that of the school district should be a wealth of information; however, remember that since the city and school district produce the information, it may present information only in a very positive light. Please summarize your observations of these meetings in your analysis paper when you are discussing the responsiveness of elected officials and the "power" of residents to create change (See "conclusion of your paper" questions below.).

#3: ANALYSIS to determine the significance of the data collected

RESOURCES TO ASSIST YOUR ANALYSIS:

The "How to Conduct an Analysis Guide" at the end of this document.

#4: The Paper

 The lists you first created related to your observations will be the basis of your introduction.

Example: In my neighborhood, I observed the following matters... When thinking about my            neighborhood and the larger community in which I live, I thought about these specific

concerns..... My research has shown ....

The body of your paper will be the data you gathered in answer to the posed questions related to economic financial wellbeing, education, health care, social services and community life  AND most importantly your analysis.

The conclusion of your paper will be the answers to these questions:

a. In summary, what are the community's primary strengths?

b.In summary, what are the community's primary weaknesses?

c.What specific examples can you provide of the responsiveness of the elected community leaders to issues of concern expressed by the residents?

d.What recommendations do you have to empower the community?

e.A summary of your conclusions (analysis).

The Paper Itself:

Ø  The paper will be typed, double-spaced, 1" margins, 12-point Arial or Garamond font with a heading.

Ø  The paper should be 10+ pages, not including the bibliography and cover page.

Ø  The Bibliography will be a list of all the different sources you used to gather data. It will NOT be an "academic" bibliography.

Ø  Citations within the paper to credit data sources and information need not be parenthetical or footnoted. It is acceptable to simply state "According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,...."

Ø  Answer as many of the questions as possible with detail and the use of examples.

Ø  Attach a copy of the lists you first created.

How to Conduct an Analysis

Once you have gathered the required data for this assignment, the analysis part of the assignment needs to be completed. Most of your 8-10 page paper will focus on these deductions that you make. These steps are the "how to" analyze.

1. What does the data tell you? For example, do all elementary schools in your city have similar outcomes? When you compare the schools throughout the city do you find differences?

2. Why do those differences exist? What are some potential reasons/causes?

3. Who is impacted by the differences? How much, or to what extent, is this problem occurring? How many people are affected by the problem? How significant is it?

4. When did the problem become significant? Is this a new problem or an old one? Knowing this can give you added understanding of why the problem is occurring now.

5. How frequently does the problem occur? For what amount of time are people affected?                      

How severe is the effect?

6. How important is the problem perceived to be by city, school, or community leaders?  

An additional step to take that assists you in analyzing deeply:

The "but why" technique is a simple exercise that assists you to think deeply and differently, similar to the sociological imagination. Write down the differences, and then ask "Why does this difference exist?" Write down your answer. "But why does (the answer) occur?"

Example: children are performing poorly in school.

But why?

"Because they have a short attention span."

But why?

"Because they are hungry."

But why?

"They do not have food in the house."

But why?