Assignment: Public Assistance Programs

Assignment: Public Assistance Programs

Assignment: Public Assistance Programs

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INSTRUCTIONS: Read and follow the policies described in the document Assignment Instructions for SW 230-I01 Introduction to Social Work: Policies Regarding Submission of Work for Course Assignments.  Work submitted which does not comply with the policies described are not eligible for credit, and the grade earned for the Assignment will be “zero”. Assignment Instructions_SW230_I01_Sum2016.docx

Utilizing the specific References, answer each of the following questions according to the policies described in the  Instructions document named above.

Reference for Questions 1 and 2: Website www.va.gov/ (Links to an external site.)  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (or VA)

Question 1 The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (or VA) is a vast federal agency comprised of a complicated system of services for active duty service members and veterans.From the homepage, click on these three separate tabs to review information about the three administrations (often referred to as divisions or departments) of the VA: the Health tab, then the Benefits tab, then the Burials and Memorials tab. After reviewing the information (it is a lot, so just scan through it), write a paragraph about each of the three administrations which summarizes the main responsibilities of each one, being sure to clearly label the name of each one in your response: (a) Veterans Health Administration or VHA, (b) Veterans Benefits Administration or VBA, and (3) National Cemetery Administration or NCA. [You will write three separate paragraphs.]

Question 2 To learn about social work in the VA system: on the homepage, from the tab About VA  select Careers at VA, then typesocial work into the search box. Review the information in the sections Social Work and Social Worker. After reviewing this information, write one paragraph that describes at least four points that you find interesting or significant about the services provided by social workers in the VA.

Reference for Questions 3 and 4: Website www.va.state.al.us/ (Links to an external site.) Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (or ADVA) [Note: Each state has many local offices of the federal VA organization described in Question 1 and Question 2. The next two questions focus on specific programs provided by the federal agency in Alabama. Although this website information is organized as State Benefits and Federal Benefits it is still the federal VA organization—it is just called state to indicate the specific programs added by the State of Alabama. All the federal benefits described in the federal website are available to every eligible veteran in every state, as well as the individual state’s programs.

Question 3 From the Benefits and Services tab, click on State Benefits then  Alabama Homeless Veterans Benefits: (a) summarize the services offered by this program, and (b) describe reasons why veterans become homeless, and the responsibilities of the Homeless Veterans Coordinator.

Question 4 From the Benefits and Services tab, click on State Benefits then Alabama Veterans Homes. Regarding the Alabama State Veterans Home Program, describe the client population targeted, and the locations (cities) in Alabama where the Veterans Homes are located.

Reference for Question 5: Website www.ssa.gov (Links to an external site.) Social Security Administration [referred to as OASDHI in textbook chapter 8]

Question 5  From the homepage, click on the Menu tab at the top, then the link for each of the five programs specified in (a) through (e) below which is listed in the Benefits section. For each of the following benefits, click on the program name, scan the information presented in at least two sections/links for each specific program, and then write two points which you find interesting

(a) Retirement Benefits
(b) Disability Benefits
(c) Medicare Benefits
(d) Survivors’ Benefits
(e) Supplemental Security Income Benefits
Reference for Question 6: Website http://www.tanf.us/ (Links to an external site.) TANF  Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

Question 6 From the map or the list at the bottom of the homepage, select one state to review: go to the selected state’s website, review the information, then write a paragraph which describes at least four significant or interesting points. Be sure to clearly identify the state you selected. [Note: every state has the option to select a new name for their TANF program; for example, the State of Alabama selected the title Family Assistance for Alabama’s TANF program].

Reference for Question 7: Website www.fns.usda.gov/snap/  (Links to an external site.) SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called Food Stamps)

Question 7 From the homepage, (a) read and then summarize the main points of information regarding the goals/purposes of SNAP, and (b) select one of the links or tabs, explore the selected section of the SNAP website, and write a paragraph which describes at least four points which you found to be interesting or significant; as an alternative, you can choose to review several sections and write your comments based on several sections as long as you identify the specific sections you reviewed.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

 

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.