Social Work 400: Social Problems and Social Work Today

This undergraduate elective course familiarized students with the profession of social work and recruited undergraduate students into the school's MSW program. The course provided an overview of the social context for the kinds of roles, interventions.

Final Assignment

This assignment aims to have you research and present the various roles, levels of intervention, and fields of service in which social workers practice. In this presentation, students will also describe the various value dilemmas, political controversies, and societal challenges faced by the profession of social work (chosen field of service for presentation) when it approaches selected social problems. Your group may choose one of the following social problems below:

A) Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Historically Marginalized Population

B) Access to Public Transportation and Socioeconomic Status

C) Environmental Justice & SES

D) Barriers for Immigrant & Undocumented Populations

E) Intersection of Health, Race, and SES

Social Worker duties
This survey of 314 agency directors identified six social work roles that define the generalist practice of baccalaureate social workers. It also investigated factors that influence agency directors' role expectations for these workers. Data indicated that generalist practice has no single definition but varies according to the expectations individual agency directors ascribe to the position.
Social Worker Duties
A shortage of behavioral health clinicians impedes access to mental health services nationwide in the U.S., with shortages most acute in federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (mHPSAs). Retaining behavioral health clinicians currently working in mHPSAs is thus critical. This study sought to identify behavioral health clinicians’ assessments of various aspects of their work and jobs that are associated with their anticipated retention within mHPSA practices.

Last Updated: Dec 3, 2025 2:13 PM