Description
Assume or pretend you are a recent appointee to a National Organization for Human Services committee tasked with writing a new reference book for Human Services. The book must include several chapters on historical pioneers in Human Services and is titled History and Foundations of Human Services in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Historic pioneers are those persons who helped create a field of study or made significant advancements in solving a social problem or improving social welfare through direct service or political advocacy. The editors of the book have asked all authors to nominate a person who made extraordinary contributions to the field of human services (or social work) in the nineteenth or twentieth century. An external committee will vote on the nominations and those authors whose nominations receive the most votes will write a chapter on their nominee for inclusion in the book.
History and Foundations of Human Services in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries is a basic reference book, so your submission should target 9th grade level readers. To ensure this, you will include a SMOG readability analysis in an appendix to your nomination submission.
Here are the rules for the nomination process.
Overview
Write a 1,200-word, APA style essay in which you:
Name the nominee and give biographical information, including birth date and place, formal education, religion (if relevant), military service (if relevant), the nominee’s career and positions held in public agencies, faith-based organizations, universities, military hospitals, state legislature, Congress, or even the White House.
Identify and describe the person’s most significant contribution to the field and assess their impact on the emerging field of human services (or social work).
Eligible topical areas include services for at-risk and vulnerable populations, including the poor, the disabled, the elderly, children, the homeless, immigrants, and those in need of health and mental health services.
Describe the geographic region and work setting in which the work took place.
Work settings might include hospitals, reservations, universities, state, or federal legislatures, or direct service agencies.
Discuss the pioneer’s legacy by explaining how and in what ways the pioneer’s work is relevant today.
If the pioneer set up an organization, does it still exist?
Are there modern counterparts that can trace their existence to the pioneer’s work?
If the pioneer wrote an important policy or law, is it or some newer version of the policy or law still in effect?
Your essay should include a well-developed introduction with a statement of purpose, sub-sections with (centered) first-order headings, and a conclusion. Include a SMOG readability analysis of your essay. Refer to Chapter 4 in Writing Clearly for Clients and Colleagues by Ames and Fitzgerald for more information on a SMOG readability analysis. Be aware that the SMOG analysis does not count towards the 1200-word count.
Suggested Pioneers
Jane Addams, Dorothea Dix, Ida Wells Barnett, Marian Wright Edelman, Jeannette Rankin, Edith Abbott, Grace Abbott, Frances Perkins, Edward Devine, Harry Hopkins, Clara Barton, Joseph Rowntree, William Beveridge, Richard Clark Cabot, Charles Loring Brace, Janie Porter Barrett, Julia Lathrop, and Carrie Steele.
Note: You must cite and give a complete reference for at least three sources for this paper. You must use and cite at least one book on the pioneer.
Suggested Resources
Biography in Context [find in FSCJ Library database]
Biography Reference Bank [find in FSCJ Library database]
Encyclopedia of Women in American History [find in FSCJ Library database]
Encyclopedia of Action and Social Justice [find in FSCJ Library database]
Points of Flight.
How to Write the Paper
Use the template provided. The template has preset margins, font, and spacing. Be sure to offer in-text citations and a complete reference for each source at the end of your document. Word template
Create a descriptive title that mentions the pioneer by name.
Include an appendix for the SMOG readability analysis.
Note: We adapted this assignment from the NASW Foundation National Programs: NASW Social Work Pioneer Program.