This final assignment will culminate the learning of this course and will be built on the previous assignments. For your Signature Assignment, you will analyze the impact of a current problem on individuals, families, and communities. In this analysis, please work on the Grand Challenges problem/issue you began addressing in Week 1. Because the earlier assignments lead to this one, it is vital to integrate the feedback you have received from your professor into this assignment.

• 1 — Write an introduction that describes how the chosen social problem is defined
  • What are the observable signs by which this problem can be known?
  • What is the prevalence of the problem (locally, statewide, nationally)?
  • Who is affected by the problem? What specific groups or individuals?
  • Is the problem increasing or decreasing? Why?
  • Does the problem obstruct social justice?
  • Does this problem relate to your agency? If so, how?
• 2 — Provide a historical overview of the problem
  • How did it become a recognized social problem?
  • What values or ideology led the issue to be defined as a problem?
  • Discuss your chosen problem/issue within the context of social welfare and identify particular agencies that could best help the individual/family experiencing the social problem/issue.
• 3 — Identify the purported cause(s) of the social problem and the most serious issues associated with it
  • How is the social problem identified and defined? By whom?
  • Are there alternative ways to define this problem? Provide an example.
  • Do different groups disagree over the causes and extent of the social problem, and the best way to resolve this issue?
• 4 — Discuss the strengths of the affected population (the persons who are experiencing the social problem) and what impact do these strengths have on the social problem
  • Do others acknowledge these strengths?
  • How can these strengths be incorporated into problem-solving measures?
  • What strengths of the social system exist that pertain to this social problem?
• 5 — Identify a social policy or program developed to address the social problem
• 6 — Provide a brief overview of the literature
  • Examine the relevant literature and the best ways to intervene in this issue at the micro-level of social work practice.
  • Examine the relevant literature and discuss ways to intervene in this issue through mezzo social work practice.
  • Examine the relevant literature and discuss ways to intervene in this issue at the macro-level of social work practice.