Benchmark - Program Evaluation Checklist and Essay

Topic 2: Cultural Competency in Practice and Research

Describe the environmental influences on your selected community (food infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, recreational facilities, etc.). How are these environmental influences affecting the mental and physical health in your community? (50-75 words)

Majority of the immigrants in Texas face a lack of formal employment due to poor education infrastructure. With only one district; located in their residential area, they are incapable of obtaining a quality education to earn them a good job. Thus, they are left to work in places like the recreational centers where they earn low wages. The earning are too small for them to acquire good food and afford to visit recreational facilities of entertainment.

What is the culture (ethics, values, customs, traditions, religious practices, etc.) of your community? (50-75 words)

Basically, the immigrants living in Arizona are Christians. Churches including the Catholics and Protestants are involved in organizing educational and awareness programs to solve the issues among the immigrants. In addition, the same institutions organize donations in the form of food, clothing, and other forms of beverages. They are on the watch out to ensure the wellbeing of the immigrants in the region.

Next, explain how the environment and culture in your community are affecting your target population/client. (50-75 words)

Lack of proper education together with inadequate documentation has been the major source of stress among the immigrants in Texas. Besides the low income earned from the informal jobs, the immigrants are also facing frequent deportation that results in distress among both the parents and children. The increase in the level of poverty has rendered the parents incapable of caring for their children. However, with the increased Christian activities in the region, they are able to receive aid to sustain them as they battle the social challenges.

Explain how the selected social issue affects your community. What risk factor might be driving patterns and behaviors related to your selected social issue? (75-100 words)

Among the most rampant social issues facing the undocumented immigrants in Texas are all grounded in the unbearable economy. Unemployment leads to small salaries that hinder people from living a decent life where they can afford good food, education, medication, as well as housing. Being undocumented immigrants worsen the situation as they live in fear of being deported back to their original country. They feel that they are the unrecognized part of the population in the state.

Next, use Step 2 of the SAMHSA Strategic Prevention Framework to guide you in assessing your community.

Although you will not be able to utilize all the information presented in the SAMHSA Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF), you will be able to use it as a guide. Summarize the second step in the SAMHSA SPF (50-75 words):

The second step involved capacity building among the state and communities. Basically, it entails having a closer look at the problem together with the gap in order to develop an action plan to curb the issue. Besides, it calls for raising awareness among the stakeholders to ensure more people develop an understanding of the importance of the prevention program. It is all about gathering the necessary resources and capacities to promote the program.

How will you utilize this information when planning your proposal? (50-75 words)

Understanding the availability of resources both in the form of finances, social amenities, and human resources aid in estimating how much of such and more resources that the organization needs to outsource. The information is essential for establishing whether or not the program has the required support to keep it moving.

Describe the characteristics and resources of your selected community (schools, faith-based resources, health and human service providers, etc.). Explain if these resources are easily accessible or not. (50-75 words)

The Arizona community has a limited number of resources. For instance, there is only one district school available to provide the education services. For that reason, the education is not accessible as it is in some other parts in Texas. Nonetheless, faith-based resources like churches are used to extend the awareness on the social matters.

Who are the stakeholders (police, businesses, schools, faith-based organizations, universities, etc.) in your community?

The key stakeholders in the community are the religious organization that engages in conducting various programs as a way to educate and empower the immigrants to fight against their challenges. The entire community is a part of the program; thus being stakeholders.

How can you, as a social worker, engage stakeholders in your community to help prevent the social issue that affects your community? What are the benefits to stakeholders for participating in your proposed program? (75-100 words)

The major institutions like schools and churches can be used to provide education on how to prevent and deal with the social issues. This can include providing them with the necessary skills as well as helping them obtain the legal documents that allow them to continue living in Texas. As a result, the number of families dependent on the help of the institutions will be reduced thus reducing the overall burden. The immigrants will also gain skills and capability that can help them in securing a well-paying job in the community. Thus, they will be in a better position to cater and care for their children without the fear of deportation.

Lastly, read the Cultural Competence page on the SAMHSA website. Citing two scholarly sources, explain how the culture of the community (ethics, values, customs, traditions, religious practices, religion, income level, education levels, geographical location, or professions) can be involved in all areas of preventing your selected social problem. (150-200 words).

According to the Cultural Competence, people in the community are supposed to integrate so that their challenges can be solved as a group altogether. The integration during the program would give the larger population in Texas to learn of the various challenges that the immigrants in the state undergo (Renzaho et al., 2013). Through the program, the immigrants together with the rest of the population can be educated on the importance of embracing and respecting each other’s culture. In addition, the American citizens can be requested to absorb the Immigrants in different institutions and give them an opportunity to learn and gain skills (Papadopoulos et al., 2016). As well, the immigrants should as well be encouraged to acquire the certification and at the same time be willing to work. Finally, all the affected people should also be motivated to mingle and live in other parts of the Texas state to enable them to learn more about others. Thus, they will be in a better position to understand and even gain more assistance in fighting the social problems.