Describe the agency through collection of various data, including journal research, analysis of existing data, you will describe the field agency in respect to the kind of problems with which it deals, its functions, its structure and processes, and its service provider role within the community.
1. Provide a brief history of your agency.
2. What is the mission of the agency?
3. Describe the primary sources of funding for your agency.
4. What are the major social problems your agency addresses?
5. Within what general field of social work practice or social welfare is the agency identified?
6. What service does the agency offer?
7. What service does your particular unit within the agency offer? (I worked in the unit of social service)
8. What population does your agency serve?
9. What are the primary referral sources to your agency?
10. What is the educational background of staff at the agency, i.e. what professions and disciplines are represented? What qualifications would you need to be considered for employment at your agency?
11. What are the roles of social workers in the agency?
12. What other services exist within the community to solve the same social problems as your agency? How do these agencies/services work together? What problems arise between them?
13. How does the agency evaluate the effectiveness of its outcomes?
14. Identify the sources of data (e.g. consumer surveys, numbers of services provided, types of services provided, number of consumers who recidivate, financial reports) the agency uses in their annual report, presentations, or reports to funders.
15. How diverse is the staff?