HSE 101: Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Overview Human services professionals work in a variety of settings such as hospitals, mental health centers, addiction treatment programs, child welfare, courts, probation, schools, and food banks. This course serves as your introduction to the field. In the final assignment, you will apply what you learned about the history of the human services field and about current trends, theory, ethics, the helping process, roles, and the variety of settings in which human services professionals are employed.

The project is supported by four formative milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, Five, and Six. The final submission will be due in Module Seven.

This assessment addresses the following course outcomes:

 Analyze the history of the field of human services for its relationship to current trends in the field  Describe theories, values, and ethics for guiding work as a human services professional  Differentiate between the various roles human services professionals employ facilitating the helping process  Research human services employment opportunities for informing career paths

Prompt For the final assessment, you will select an agency in which you would like to be employed. You will research the types of services this agency offers by looking at its website, visiting the agency (if possible), emailing or interviewing someone who works at the agency. Once you have gathered the information for this project, you will explain why you selected this particular agency instead of others, write about how history and current trends have influenced this agency, what theories, values, and ethical standards you would apply if you worked at the agency, and how your personal values might be challenged, what your role in the helping process might be, and what qualifications you would need to apply for a job at that agency.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Human Services Profession Choose a human services agency in which you would like to be employed.

a) What is the agency you selected, and what was your rationale for choosing this particular agency? What other agencies did you consider, and why did you not select them? Why would you like to be employed at this agency?

1

II. Agency Description Research the types of services this agency offers by looking at its website, visiting the agency (if possible), emailing or interviewing someone who works at the agency.

a) What are the main types of services offered? b) Describe what main type of professionals work within this agency, and describe their roles.

III. History and Current Trends a) Give a brief history of the development of the agency. Consider describing who established it, why it was originally established, and how it has

evolved. Include the mission of the agency and any other pertinent information. b) How is the history of the human services field similar to and different from the history of the agency? c) Describe current trends that impact the work of the agency. How do these trends relate to the history of the human services field?

IV. Theories, Values, and Ethics Review the code of ethics for human service professionals and theories learned in this class.

a) What is the importance of having a code of ethics? How would the code of ethics impact your provision of services in this agency? b) Which standards in the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals will be more and which will be less challenging to implement, and

why? c) What theory might you apply while working with clients in your selected agency? Describe an example of how you might apply this theory in

your work at this agency.

V. Role in the Helping Process Based on your research, what roles might you utilize at this agency in each stage of the helping process?

VI. Career Opportunities Research the careers available in the specific agency, and discuss the qualifications.

a) Choose an entry-level position you are interested in pursuing, and discuss the qualifications you would need to apply for the position. b) Detail the qualifications you possess and which skills you are lacking to qualify for the position.

VII. Summary of Learning To conclude this paper, summarize what you have learned in this course that you can apply to your everyday life.

Milestones Milestone One: Human Services Organization Identification In Module Two, you will select one agency in which you would like to be employed and write a one-page overview describing the agency, your interest in it, and the different roles and positions the agency maintains. Yo u will focus on this agency throughout the rest of the agency exploration assignment. This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric.

Milestone Two: Human Services Timeline Discussion In Module Four, you will reflect on the history of the human services field and the history of your chosen organization through a discussion. You will make a post that identifies the founding of your selected organization and highlights an important event or news story that has impacted the human services field. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.

Milestone Three: Helping Process Discussion In Module Five, you will select one client-facing role that is used by human services professionals within the organization you selected for your final project and create a post that names the role, explains the different responsibilities of the profession, and provides examples of how this role relates to the steps of the larger helping process. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.

Milestone Four: Summary of Learning In Module Six, you will describe, in a 1–2-paragraph written response, what you have learned in this course that you can apply to your everyday life. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Four Rubric.

Final Submission: Agency Exploration In Module Seven, you will submit your final agency exploration. The final submission is graded with the Final Project Rubric (see following page).

Deliverables

Milestone Deliverables Module Due Grading

1 Human Services Organization Identification Two Graded separately; Milestone One Rubric

2 Human Services Timeline Discussion Four Graded separately; Milestone Two Rubric

3 Helping Process Discussion Five Graded separately; Milestone Three Rubric

4 Summary of Learning Six Graded separately; Milestone Four Rubric

Final Submission: Agency Exploration Seven Graded separately; Final Project Rubric

Final Project Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Your agency exploration should be between 4 and 6 pages, double-spaced, use 12-point Times New Roman font, and be written in APA style.

Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Human Services Profession: Agency

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and rationale is especially clear and well supported

Selects an agency and gives rationale for choosing that particular profession

Selects an agency, but does not give rationale for choosing that particular profession, or rationale is weak

Does not select an agency 7.6

Agency Description: Services

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and description is especially clear and contextualized

Describes the main types of services offered

Describes the main types of services offered, but description lacks detail or accuracy

Does not describe the types of services offered

7.6

Agency Description: Professionals

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and descriptions are especially clear and contextualized

Describes the main types of professionals within the program or organization and their roles

Describes the main types of practitioners within the program or organization and their roles, but description lacks detail or accuracy

Does not describe the main types of practitioners and their roles

7.6

History and Current Trends: History

Meets “Proficient” criteria and utilizes sources to strengthen description

Comprehensively describes the development of the organization

Describes the development of the organization, but description lacks detail or is inaccurate

Does not describe the development of the organization

7.6

History and Current Trends: Agency

Meets “Proficient” criteria and utilizes sources to strengthen description

Discusses the relationship between the history of human services and the history of the agency

Discusses the relationship between the history of human services and the history of the agency, but information lacks detail or accuracy

Does not discuss the relationship between the history of human services and the history of the agency

7.6

History and Current Trends: Trends

Meets “Proficient” criteria and utilizes sources to strengthen description

Describes current trends that impact work in the agency, relating these to the history of human services

Describes current trends that impact work in the agency, relating these to the history of human services, but lacks detail or accuracy

Does not describe current trends that impact work in the agency, relating these to the history of human services

7.8

Theories, Values, and Ethics: Importance

Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides concrete examples to substantiate claims

Describes the importance of the code of ethics and how it impacts the provision of services in the agency

Describes the importance of the code of ethics and how it impacts the provision of services in the agency, but description is lacking detail or accuracy

Does not describe the importance of the code of ethics and how it impacts the provision of services in the agency

7.6

Theories, Values, and Ethics: Challenging

Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides concrete examples to substantiate claims

Details which standards will be most and least challenging to implement, providing justification

Details which standards will be most and least challenging to implement, providing justification, but justification lacks detail or accuracy

Does not detail which standards will be most and least challenging to implement, and does not provide justification

7.6

Theories, Values, and Ethics: Apply

Meets “Proficient” criteria and is well qualified with concrete examples

Describes a theory that applies when working in the agency and provides an example

Describes a theory that applies when working in the agency and provides an example, but lacks detail or accuracy

Does not describe a theory that applies when working in the agency and does not provide an example

7.8

Role in the Helping Process

Meets “Proficient” criteria and is well qualified with concrete examples

Identifies roles in the agency for each stage of the helping process, providing justification

Identifies roles in the agency for each stage of the helping process, providing justification, but lacks detail or accuracy

Does not identify roles in the agency for each stage of the helping process, and does not provide justification

7.8

Career Opportunities: Qualifications

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and description is exceptionally clear

Discusses qualifications of an entry-level position and compares to personal experience

Discusses qualifications of an entry-level position and compares to personal experience, but lacks detail and accuracy

Does not discuss qualifications of an entry-level position and does not compare to personal experience

7.6

Career Opportunities: Skills

Meets “Proficient” criteria and justifies assertions

Details the skills and needs to qualify for the entry-level position

Details the skills and needs to qualify for the entry-level position, but lacks detail and accuracy

Does not detail the skills and needs to qualify for the entry- level position

7.8

Summary of Learning Meets “Proficient” criteria and is exceptionally clear

Summarizes how coursework can be applied to real life and how it relates to career goals

Summarizes how coursework can be applied to real life and how it relates to career goals, but lacks detail

Does not summarize how coursework can be applied to real life and how it relates to career goals

4

Articulation of Response

Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format

Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization

Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas

Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas

4

Earned Total 100%