Social Work Practice with Vulnerable Populations

Catalog description

This course prepares students for social work practice with four vulnerable populations: the homeless, survivors of domestic violence, people living with HIV/AIDS, and undocumented individuals. In addition, this course is designed to examine (1) how societal views about these populations impact policy and services, (2) implications for micro, mezzo, and macro levels of social work practice, and (3) implications for political, economic and social inequality. Together, these factors shape individual behavior, how we think about prevention, and access to treatment. The course will attempt to answer five main questions: Who are these populations? How large is the problem? What are the causes? What has been the United States’ policy response? What has been the primary focus of U.S. social work interventions? Finally, we will examine how social workers can become true change agents when working with these populations. We will attempt to answer these questions through selected readings, reflection papers, panel discussions, group presentations, an 8-10 page paper and discussions reviewing the strengths and limitations of policy, services, and interventions for these populations.