Social Issues/Theory Paper

Cover Page, Reference Page, and Appendices

Social Issue: Dual Youth, crossover youth, multi-system youth – Youth who have contact with both systems (Department of Juvenile Services and Department of Social Services) are more likely to suffer a host of problems higher recidivism, higher rates of academic failure, mental health problems, and substance abuse.

Background, Prevalence, and Interventions (4-5 pages) – minimum of 6 references 5 of which must be peer-reviewed journals

v  Introduction

v  definitions, as relevant

v  statistics on prevalence or incidence of the issue

v  studies that look at risk and protective factors (more than one source)

v  describe briefly the issues relevance to social work 

v  social work interventions that have been utilized

v  present briefly an evaluation of the effectiveness of those intervention

v  Significance of the Issue – describe why this is such a problem for families, group of communities (1 page) 

Please discuss Federal Initiatives Focused on Dual-Status Youth –

Theory Application (2-3 pages) – minimum of 4 references 3 of which must be peer-reviewed journals

v  Introduction provide a summary of the social issue (from your social issues paper) to be analyzed (one paragraph, 8-10 sentences maximum)

v  Theories identify three theories, (two traditional perspectives and one alternative) History

v  Discuss two (2) traditional perspectives – Ecosystem Theory and Structural functionalism

o  History of development

o  Key proponents

o  Seminal message

o  Clear and thorough way the connection between social issue and the theory

v  Discuss one (1) alternative social structure theory

o  History of development

o  Key proponents

o  Seminal message

o  Clear and thorough way the connection between your example and the theory

Some websites for information and reference: