In many ways, a social work agency exists as a result of the conditions of a community—in response to its needs and in service to them.

In many ways, a social work agency exists as a result of the conditions of a community—in response to its needs and in service to them.

Week 8: The Community Context of Practice
In many ways, a social work agency exists as a result of the conditions of a community—in response to its needs and in service to them. Agencies also exist in context with the community, meaning they are integrated and interrelated with the community. As a result, all the features of a community—politics, relationships, economics—are relevant to how the agency practices within that community.

Thus, practice skills related to empathy, humility, and a willingness to learn also are relevant to your approach to the full community in which you practice. This week, you engage with the community context of practice.

Learning Objectives
Students will:

Correlate a social work agency mission statement with a social problem
Identify a social work agency mission in relation to community needs
Identify gaps in social work agency services
Analyze a social work agency’s role in a community
Analyze the community context of a social work agency
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Garthwait, C. L. (2017). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students (7th ed.). Pearson.

Chapter 7, “The Community Context of Practice” (pp. 76–86)
Discussion: Preparation for Final Project Agency Presentation Conversation: Mission and Social Problem
This week, you work outward from the micro to the mezzo when focusing on community contexts of practice. Next week, you extend further into the characteristics of macro practice when engaging more fully with how a social work agency’s mission may relate to a social problem. In your identification and analysis of community context this week, perhaps you see connections between these various features of practice?

For this next Discussion in the Agency Presentation sequence, recall that you upload the indicated slide from your Agency Presentation for comparison and online Discussion this week, as well as possible Synchronous Video Conference Meeting Discussion next week.

To Prepare
Note the additional required prompts in this week’s Discussion that vary from the previous Agency Presentation postings.
Review the Week 9 Assignment instructions.
Develop the slide for the Week 9 Assignment, focusing on the agency’s mission statement and how that connects to a social problem.
Recall that the goal of the Agency Presentation is to examine the characteristics of your agency in reference to the field of social work and the types of services offered to clients.
Note: Your complete Week 9 Final Project submission requires a reference page. Be sure to continue compiling your reference list before your final submission next week.
By Day 3
Upload the slide from your Agency Presentation that relates to how the agency’s mission statement connects to a social problem.
Identify other organizations, in the community, that also address this problem.
Identify challenges to meeting the needs of the community faced by your agency and the ways in which your agency meets those challenges.
Does your agency have to refer clients to organizations outside your community? Why