As a future social worker, I believe that it is important that everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, social class, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation deserve to be treated with dignity and worth. There are many barriers that prevent people from becoming successful. Often times, minorities have trouble finding financial resources to help them pay for college so that they will be able to move forward and have a successful future and career. Discrimination happens in the workplace towards minorities and women. There’s even discrimination that often happens in the field of social work itself. Capitalism often harms those who are unable to “pull themselves up by the bootstraps”. Fully competent social workers believe in social justice and practice the idea that everyone is to be treated as human beings and deserves rights. A way that economic justice can be promoted can be done at the macro level, where someone who works in the city council for the community can investigate ways where people who are at the low-income level can have better living conditions and also better job education programs to where those at the low-income level can find better employment. Those who work in public health are also social workers at the macro level to where they mostly promote environmental justice. This includes addressing major concerns such as diseases like HIV and AIDS, but also issues such how ethnic minority communities affected by disasters are unable to receive proper support and aid such as the African-American community in Flint, Michigan affected by the flood.
3A – Demonstrate autonomous application of critical thinking to diverse complex professional scenarios.
Course Evidence: Last semester, for my Advanced Administration I class, my group and I completed a project that involved creating a mental health and substance abuse program for teenagers who attend Ooltewah High School. This program is to help them gain control of their addictions to substances and be able to adjust to adulthood after their high school years. For the last class at the end of the semester, we were required to complete a project that demonstrated the specific concepts that we learned throughout the semester in the class. Completing this project is required myself and my colleagues to use critical thinking as to how a substance abuse program could implemented for high school students within the public school system. The way that critical thinking was applied for this project was analyzing the overall demographic of the high school students within the Chattanooga area and researching some of the determining factors for their suspension which was substance. Also, my colleagues and I collaborated on creating the best strategies for a program that would meet the needs of the students who are struggling with substance abuse.
Advanced Administration I Paper
Skills: The skills that were implemented for this project are program development and research.
Affective Process: The project itself was mainly a response to the mental health needs among the youth within the community of Hamilton County, Tennessee. It also allowed for a discussion about how mental health can be better addressed with teenagers so that they have the ability to adjust to adulthood after they finish high school.
Theoretical foundation: The theoretical foundation that is being used for this competency is Strategic Contingencies Theory. This theory is based on the idea that if a person has the skills and expertise to solve important problems, then they will be in high demand. The way that this theory applies to this competency and how it was executed is rooted in the concept of the program that my group and I created. The program would be in high demand because it addresses an issue that has gone unaddressed and would be key to the success of the young people attending Ooltewah High School.
3B -Design and implement social action strategies.
Field Evidence: During my time at my internship, I had the responsibility of creating a PowerPoint presentation about the most common types of developmental disabilities. Within this presentation, I discuss the major functions of specific types of developmental disabilities and also the best advocacy strategies that volunteers can use when coming into contact with this population. Also, I share resources where individuals can be involved to help improve the lives of those who are diagnosed with a developmental disability.
Developmental Disabilities Presentation.pptx
Knowledge: The knowledge that was implemented for this competency is from the information from my Advanced Administration class on the proper steps for creating programs and the research techniques that I used to help create the PowerPoint.
Values: The values being implemented for this competency are dignity and worth of the person and social justice. Dignity and worth of the person and social justice are applied here because the way that I am accomplishing this competency is by taking into account the well-being of all of my clients in both the Advanced Administration project and at Signal Centers. The PowerPoint presentation also advocates on the behalf of the humanity of those with developmental disabilities.
Cognitive Process: For this competency, I am demonstrating commitment to the participants at the agency by researching best practices that would accommodate the clients at Signal Centers that volunteers will be able to implement in order to build a therapeutic relationship with those with developmental disabilities.