Social Issues/Theory Paper
Cover Page, Reference Page, and Appendices
Social Issue: Dual Youth, crossover youth, multi-system youth – Youth who have contact with both systems (Department of Juvenile Services and Department of Social Services) are more likely to suffer a host of problems higher recidivism, higher rates of academic failure, mental health problems, and substance abuse.
Background, Prevalence, and Interventions (4-5 pages) – minimum of 6 references 5 of which must be peer-reviewed journals
v Introduction
v definitions, as relevant
v statistics on prevalence or incidence of the issue
v studies that look at risk and protective factors (more than one source)
v describe briefly the issues relevance to social work
v social work interventions that have been utilized
v present briefly an evaluation of the effectiveness of those intervention
v Significance of the Issue – describe why this is such a problem for families, group of communities (1 page)
Please discuss Federal Initiatives Focused on Dual-Status Youth –
Theory Application (2-3 pages) – minimum of 4 references 3 of which must be peer-reviewed journals
v Introduction provide a summary of the social issue (from your social issues paper) to be analyzed (one paragraph, 8-10 sentences maximum)
v Theories identify three theories, (two traditional perspectives and one alternative) History
v Discuss two (2) traditional perspectives – Ecosystem Theory and Structural functionalism
o History of development
o Key proponents
o Seminal message
o Clear and thorough way the connection between social issue and the theory
v Discuss one (1) alternative social structure theory
o History of development
o Key proponents
o Seminal message
o Clear and thorough way the connection between your example and the theory
Some websites for information and reference:
