Welcome to HN299: Associate’s Capstone Prof. Robin Cooper, LCSW (Thanks to Dr. Love)

Congratulations! On reaching this milestone on your educational journey. You have climbed a mountain. This course is a culmination of your readings, knowledge and learning from past courses.

Warm-up 1. Where do you live? 2. When do you graduate? 3. What population do you want to work with?

KU Reminders Facebook Page Human Services Club Writing Center APA Quick Reference Guide No book for this course Check email often Review syllabus

Reminders cont… Have you reviewed the projects (Unit 3, Unit 6 and Final Project/Unit 9)? If you haven’t, I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. The material that we will be discussing in our seminars will be very beneficial to you in regards to putting your projects together. Understanding what is expected in the projects will also help you connect everything together in this course. These projects are worth a lot of points and can make or break your grade. Grading Rubrics There is a grading rubric for the discussion board, seminars and the projects posted in the syllabus. Be sure to note things like total replies to your peers, expectations for participation during seminars, and even the little things like total word count.

Reminders cont… Kaplan’s week begins on Wednesday and ends Tuesday at midnight. ALL assignments must be turned in by Tuesday at midnight. I completely understand that “life” happens so if an emergency comes up and you need more time to finish an assignment or can’t attend seminar, please let me know as soon as possible (via email or AIM) and we will work it out. You will see that I am very flexible and I have no problem working with students as long as you are doing your part.

Reminders cont… Kaplan does a GREAT job of clearly spelling out for you what you need to do in each unit. If you read ALL of the material in each unit and follow the instructions you should do just fine in this class. There is an assignment “To Do” list posted for each unit. You can find it in the tabs at the top of each unit homepage. Have you been able to look at the classroom yet? If not, please do so as soon as you can. Become familiar with the layout and the resources for each unit. If you have questions, please ask so that we can make sure that you get off to a good start.

Seminars Thursdays at 6 PM EST Seminar for this class is required and is a great opportunity to reinforce the information for each unit, ask questions, get clarifications, and engage with classmates. I usually show up for seminar about 30 minutes before it starts (about 5:30) so we can use that time to chat about questions, concerns, etc. Transcripts are usually available about 24 hours after the actual Seminar. I recommend you review them if you are unable to attend the “live” seminar as we discuss important information that will help you with projects and assignments.

Discussion Board THE DISCUSSION QUESTION POSTS ARE DUE BY TUESDAY AT MIDNIGHT. (If you have an emergency and do not think you’ll be able to post, please contact me ASAP. However, please note you have a FULL week to complete the DQ. I’m pretty strict with discussion board deadlines and will deduct points for late posts.) The point of the these activities are to foster discussion about the material we are covering in the current unit, therefore please try to post initial response by Friday. This will allow us time to engage in a thoughtful and educational discussion. Please always keep in mind that these are graded. Be sure to answer the questions completely and be sure to use spelling and grammar check. Make sure you are also making frequent and direct references to the course materials or other resources or you will lose points. Review DB grading rubric.

Late DB Posts Again – I tend to be very strict with discussion post deadlines. However, in cases of unique circumstances, I will allow discussion posts to be submitted late. I will ONLY accept initial posts late (i.e., no responses to classmates will be accepted late so you will lose those points automatically) Late Discussion Board responses will also be penalized a deduction of 10 points per unit with a maximum allowance of 3 units. After the end of the third unit past the original due date, late discussion posts will not be accepted. This should be an exception – not the rule.

Grade Book Grades: Typically, I am able to grade assignments within a few days of when they are submitted. However, it may take up to 5 days so please be patient. If after 5 days from the day you submitted the assignment you still don’t have a grade please feel free to email me about it. Grade comments: Before you email me to ask why you earned a certain grade please make sure you read the COMMENTS section of the grade book as I will post an explanation there. If after reading my explanation you still have questions, please feel free to email or AIM me.

KU Tech Support If you have ANY technical issues, before you do this PLEASE contact tech support and make sure you get a ticket number. 866.348.1196 (Toll Free) TechSupport@Kaplan.edu Please remember that I have little to no technical savvy so please go to technical support if you have technical questions. They are extremely efficient and helpful.

How to Contact Prof. Cooper! Email: RCooper3@kaplan.edu Aim: Robincooper6 Phone: (941) 799-0559 (cell) "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire." - W B Yeats

Unit 1: Intro. the to Capstone Experience Welcome to the early stage of your career as a human services professional! During the next three units, you and your classmates will utilize the research and analysis skills developed through your work experiences and human services studies to solve problems commonly reported by clients. While you may work in a job setting different from those described in these units, the types of skills that are required for early stage human service jobs are similar. Developing your interview, problem-solving, research, and referral skills is critical to facilitating client success in receiving appropriate services and developing coping skills. Remember that many of the clients with whom you work will be in a crisis state of some type due to a specific problem in their lives. Your ability to assess your clients’ needs and to effectively link them to appropriate services is vital to their success and yours!

Unit 1: To do list Read over syllabus Review unit projects and final Read key concepts and materials from HN115 and HN144 Post in the Introductions and Discussion Board

Unit 1 Outcomes: Research the social issues and needs of the local community to determine current and future service needs.

Discussion Board In your prior classes, you have learned and applied the theories and concepts related to the organization that deliver direct services to clients. Agencies might offer one or two services, or a variety of services, depending on community need, funding availability, and services offered by other local agencies. In this unit, you will discuss the importance of using research skills to identify service gaps and trends, as well as to identify best practices in your community.

Discussion Board cont... Use this scenario to respond to this week's discussion question. Scenario: You are working as an outreach specialist in a substance abuse agency. Your primary job functions include traveling in the agency van during the day to visit parts of the city where substance abuse/addiction is known to be a prevalent problem. You talk with potential clients on the street and at community fairs. You also drive clients to and from treatment daily, meaning that you have the most direct, non-clinical contact with the agency clients. One day, you pull up to a house to pick up Sheila (client) and see that she and her three children are standing outside of the house with their furniture strewn around the yard. They have been evicted from their home.

Discussion Board cont... Using your research skills, pretend that this scenario occurred in your home town or city, determine the client’s three most immediate needs, describe what steps you would take next, and list what agencies that you would make referrals to so that the client and her children are stabilized. If there are no local agencies that provide the services that you determine are needed, explain this in your response, and explain how this trend (e.g., more money is available for mental health facilities than for substance abuse treatment) affects the community. Once you finish writing your response to the scenario, provide feedback to your classmates about their thoughts.

Questions?