Social Work Vignette using systems and ecological theory

University of Southern California

School of Social Work

SOWK 503: HBSE I

Assignment #1, Fall 2014

(100 points; 15% of course grade)

Relates to student learning outcomes: 1-6 and 11-18

Due: Week 4, Sunday, Sept. 28, at 6:00 p.m.

Guidance for Theoretical Analysis of Case Vignette

In this assignment you will prepare a written theoretical critique of the attached vignette. Your paper should analyze the case vignette, and address the following:

1) Provide a developmental assessment of this client. Make sure that your assessment includes psychological, social, and biological development, including neurobiological development.

2) Apply systems theory to the vignette.

3) Apply the ecological perspective. Discuss the ways in which the client exhibits adaptation to his/her environment?

Academic Paper Guidelines

· The paper should be 5-7 pages in length (not including the title page or reference list), double-spaced, with 1-inch margins on all sides (12-font).

· Insert page numbers with the first page of the text labeled as page 1.

· Use subheadings (in bold font) to organize your paper.

· Throughout the paper, provide conceptual and empirical evidence to support your arguments, referencing a minimum of 5 scholarly works; at least 2 of which must be outside sources that are not on the course syllabus.

· Use editorial and referencing styles as specified in the APA Publication Manual 6th Edition ( http://apastyle.apa.org/ ).

· Proofread and edit your work.

· Submit only your original work. It is expected that students will be responsible for submitting their own work and not the work of other students. If you study with other students, be conscious of shaping and writing your own work, and not relying on a “group” consensus of what should go in the paper. Refer to the university guidelines on academic integrity and plagiarism if you have any doubts.

The title page should be formatted as follows:

SOWK 503- Fall 2014

Assignment #1: Theoretical Analysis

Student Name

Date

Course Instructor

Evaluation

The evaluation of the paper will be based on:

A. Responsiveness to prompts. You will be graded on how well and whether you addressed all aspects of the assignment.

B. Proper use of theory. You will be graded on the appropriate selection and use of theory and theoretical concepts that you choose to apply in your analysis.

C. Quality of graduate-level writing. You will be graded on the strength of your analysis, the depth-of-thought you demonstrate, and the quality of your written work (e.g., organization, flow, clarity, depth, mechanics of writing such as grammar, spelling, etc.).

D. Compliance with APA style. You will be graded on the correct application of APA style in every aspect of your paper (e.g., formatting, punctuation, citation, etc).

Submission Guidelines

A. Due date. Paper is due on Sunday, Sept 28, 2014, 6:00PM PST.

B. Electronic submission protocol. Note the two steps. Submit paper electronically to (1) [email protected] and (2) to turnitin via BlackBoard. A turnitin button for Assignment #1 will be created for you on BlackBoard.

i. Paper file name format:

“First name Last name_Section day_503_Assignment #1”

ii. Email subject line format:

Subject line: “First name Last name_Section day_503_Assignment #1”

C. Late paper policy. A late paper will be penalized 4 points for each day it is late. 

University of Southern California

School of Social Work

SOWK 503: HBSE I

Assignment #1, Fall 2014

(100 points; 15% of course grade)

Relates to student learning outcomes: 1-6 and 11-18

Due: Week 4, Sunday, Sept. 28, at 6:00 p.m.

Case Vignette

When Teresa was born four years ago, she tested positive for crack cocaine. This prompted the social worker at the hospital to take Teresa into custody.

Until her first court hearing when she was three months old, Teresa was in foster care. During this time, her mother, Emilia, was remanded to drug treatment, which she was unable to complete. Her father was nowhere to be found. Thus, it came to be that Teresa was placed in kinship care with her grandparents, where she remains.

Her grandparents are in the process of adopting Teresa, since, under the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1998, there must be some disposition of Teresa’s case. Teresa’s mother (Emilia) understands that her life is too unstable for her to be a responsible parent, but she would still like to work toward regaining a parental role in Teresa’s life.

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