Homework: Community Assessment
Chosen community is Tacoma Washington with a homeless population crisis.
The purpose of this homework is to broaden your understanding of a community, develop analytical skills regarding communities in relation to specific populations and their needs, and to better plan and develop interventions to address issues and problems facing the community.
This homework has three parts: Part 1 Understanding Your Community, where you will consider the current demographics of the community and analyze how that has changed over the past 20 years; Part 2 Community Assessment, where you assess your community and a problem within your community; and Part 3 Community Action Plan, where you develop a specific action plan to address the problem you identified. As you reflect on the learning resources and concepts, be sure to explain what you have learned about the policy's effect on various groups. Consider how will this knowledge assist you with your community action plan.
Submit a 4 to 6 pages paper. The paper needs to be well-researched and written. Data should come from at least five sources.
Part 1: Understanding your Community
o Analyze how your community has changed over the past 20 years. Use policy and community concepts and theories from the learning resources to support your analysis.
o Describe your community, using research and statistics to describe socio-demographic make-up. (For example: How many persons live in the city and/or in the town? What were/are their cultural/racial characteristics? What were/are their incomes, ages, political affiliations, etc.?)
Part 2: Community Assessment
o Describe a problem that the community is currently experiencing.
- Assess the duration, intensity, and frequency of the problem.
- Analyze the probable etiology of the problem, supporting your analysis with resources.
o Analyze the key elements and characteristics of the community that make it vulnerable to this problem.
o Analyze the key strengths of the community that give the community resilience and the potential for overcoming the problem.
o Identify major institutions (e.g., schools, factories, churches, attraction sites, etc.) and explain how these institutions contribute to or inhibit the community's ability to address the problem?
o Explain which groups are most affected by the problem.
Part 3: Community & Policy Action Plan
o Describe your proposed plan for community change.
o Explain the strategies and tactics you would you use to bring about change. Consider if you would need multiple strategies, and if so, explain which strategy would be used for each target.
o Explain any policies that may influence the ability, either supportive or prohibitive, to influence proposed community change.
o Explain what policies would need to be in place to ensure proposed plans are sustainable.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Resources:
• Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice. (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.
o Chapter 4, "Understanding the Ecology of Policy in Government, Electoral, Community, and Agency Settings" (pp. 100-140).