The document outlines a capstone project for a Master of Social Work program at the University of Minnesota, focusing on a systemic intervention proposal for a walk-in counseling agency. It covers various sections including the introduction, target population, literature review, evaluation, and personal career goals among others. The project aims to address mental health challenges faced by African Americans in Minnesota, particularly those affected by depression and barriers to accessing counseling services.

1. [Name of Capstone Paper]
[Student Name]
University of Minnesota
A Capstone Project
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Master of Social Work Program
University of Minnesota
Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs
Graduate School of Health and Human Services
[Enter Date]
Approval Page
Master of Social Work Capstone Project
[Enter title here]

2. Presented by:
Enter name here
Please indicate which option you selected for this Capstone.
___ Option 1: Systemic Intervention Proposal
___ Option 2: Client/Agency Intervention Proposal
Capstone Professor
_____________________________________________________
________
Program Director
_____________________________________________________
_______
University of Minnesota
[Enter Year]
Table of Contents
[Paper Title] 4
Introduction 4
Target Population 5
Macro-Level Systems Perspective 6
Literature Review 6
Current Services 6
Grand Challenges for Social Work 7
Best Practices 8
Proposed Systemic Intervention 9
Evaluation 9
Implications for Social Work Practice 10
Ethical Considerations 10
Level of Practice 10
Implications for the Profession of Social Work 10

3. Personal Career Goals 10
Conclusion 11
References 12
[ Paper Title]
[Introduction -- This section should be about 1-1.5 pages
doubled spaced. See syllabus and/or Canvas module for
details.]Target Population
[This section should be 1-2 pages double spaced. See syllabus
and/or Canvas module for details.]
Macro-Level Systems Perspective
[This section should be approximately 3 pages in length, double
spaced. Include a minimum of five peer-reviewed sources in this
section. See syllabus and/or Canvas module for details.]Grand
Challenges for Social Work
[This should be no more than 1-2 pages double spaced. See
syllabus and/or Canvas module for details.]Best Practices
[This section should be approximately 3 pages double-spaced.
See syllabus and/or Canvas module for details.]Proposed
Intervention
[This should be 2-4 pages double spaced. See syllabus and/or
Canvas module for details.]
Evaluation
[This should be 1-2 pages. See syllabus and/or Canvas module
for details.]Implications for Social Work Practice
[1-2 pages for section]Ethical Considerations
[See syllabus and/or Canvas module for details.]Level of
Practice
[See syllabus and/or Canvas module for details.]Implications
for Social Workers
[See syllabus and/or Canvas module for details.]
Personal Career Goals
[This should be 1-2 pages double spaced. See syllabus and/or
Canvas module for details.]Conclusion

4. [This section should be a maximum of 1 page double-spaced.
See syllabus and/or Canvas module for details.]
References
[All reference listings must follow APA style guidelines (7th
edition).]
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MSW690 Social Work Capstone Worksheet
Name:
Ciatta Kollie
Date:
8/10/2022
Field Agency Name:
Walk-In counseling
MSW Field Supervisor Name:
Jane
Instructions: This worksheet is designed to help you think
through the problem you seek to address in your Capstone. You
are encouraged to complete it with your MSW field supervisor
or task supervisor. Please answer all of the questions below.
The final step will be to develop your problem statement and
research question.
1.
Agency Information

5. In the space below, please answer the following questions.
· Where is your agency located? Please note the city and state,
as well as if your agency is located in a metropolitan, suburban,
exurban, or rural area.
· Who is the target population served by your agency?
· What services does the agency currently provide?
· What services has the agency considered adding?
The agency in which I am placed is in Minnesota. It is a walk-in
counseling agency that is open to all individuals irrespective of
their challenges. The services that the agency currently provides
include assistance with problems that affect individuals at a
personal level, such as grappling with additions, suicide
ideation, and coping with significant transformations in life,
such as the loss of loved ones. It also helps individuals to deal
constructively with relationship problems. The service the
agency considers adding is following up on the individuals
seeking help from the agency.
Review Notes:
2.
Target Population(s)
In the space below, please answer the following questions.
· Describe the demographics of the clients served by your
agency (age, racial demographics, ethnicity, occupations,
household income, etc.).
· How closely do client demographics represent the community
in which the agency is located?
· What barriers do community members or prospective clients
face when trying to access services related to their well -being
(e.g., transportation, lack of insurance coverage for specific
services, lack of evening and weekend hours, unavailability of
mental health services, etc.)?
My agency serves a population that have no insurance or can’t
afford counseling. It caters to the need of all those who walk in
seeking services. This includes clients from different cultural

6. and ethnic backgrounds, social-economic backgrounds, ages,
and gender. In addition, it serves those people who grapple with
various social, mental, or emotional problems and homeless
individuals in need of counseling services. It also gives
counseling services to couples, families, or members of groups
who have pressing issues that need to be resolved. The
demographic of the clients who visit the agency closely
resemble those who live in Minnesota. The main barrier limiting
individuals from seeking the agency's services is the lack of
transportation for those from poor socioeconomic backgrounds.
This is because the agency does not charge its clients any fee
for accessing its services. It also has an adequate number of
psychiatric professionals to serve clients.
Review Notes:
3.
Client and Agency Statement of Need
In the space below, please answer the following questions.
· Take a few moments to think about one of the clients with
whom you have interacted in the last week.
· Describe this client. Please include age, race/ethnicity,
estimated household income, education level, and other
pertinent demographic information.
· In your own words, describe the needs, situation, strengths,
and challenges this client experiences.
An example of a client I have handled in the recent past is a
client who was depressed and needed help coping with the
challenges he faced daily such as work pressure and family
problems. He indicated that lately, he could not concentrate on
his work and preferred to stay away from his wife and children.
Also, he stated that he had difficulties falling asleep and ate
very little. The client was an African American who belonged to
the working class status. He was a forty-eight-year-old man who

7. seemed sad and depressed. His spoken English was poor,
indicating that he was his educational level was low. He seemed
like he would benefit from the services of a professional
counselor.
Review Notes:
Figure 1
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory
4.
Systems Assessment
Take a few moments to think about one of the clients with
whom you have interacted in the last week. Using Figure 1,
Bronfrennbrener's Ecological Systems Theory:
1. Identify two to three examples for each system that may
impact that client.
2. Identify one or two systems that are currently having the
greatest impact on the client, and explain why.
The systems that impact the African American client who was
depressed include the macrosystem and the chronosystem. An
example of how the macrosystem affects the client is his
ethnicity (Crawford, 2020). As an African American, he was
vulnerable to several stressing factors, such as language barriers
and stigmatization die to the culture’s ethnic beliefs on mental
health issues (Woodland et al., 2021). The members of the
community believe that the mental health issues are caused by
witchcraft, hence those with the condition are often stigmatized
(Woodland et al., 2021). Another example is poverty. Often,

8. African Americans have low educational levels; hence they fail
to secure lucrative jobs with good remunerations (Woodland et
al., 2021). On the other hand, an example of how the
chronosystem impacts the client is through the process of being
an immigrant settling in a new country. The process exposes
him to challenges such as lack of employment and language
barriers that impede him from prospering (Chang, 2019).
Another example is historical events. Since time immemorial,
African Americans have been grappling with social injustices
such as discrimination that derails their progress and exposes
them to problems such as poverty.
Review Notes:
5.
Formulating the Proposal Topic
Using the information you have reported in the tables above,
please complete the following statement.
Problem Statement Language
Proposal Topic
Fear of stigmatization
Fear of stigmatization affect over 1000 African Americans with
depression who need counseling services in Minnesota
affects over 1,000 African Americans with depression who
need counseling services
in Minnesota
Review Notes:
Example: Lack of secure housing affects an estimated 200
LGBTQ youth in Portland, OR each year.

9. Research Question Language
Proposal Topic
How effective is cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing
episodes of depression among African American clients
How effective is cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing
episodes of depression among African American clients in
Minnesota walk-in counseling agency?
In Minnesota walk-in counseling agency
Review Notes:
Example: How effective is Trauma Informed Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy for decreased behavioral reports in school
for youth living with 5+ ACEs in the Minneapolis Public School
District?
References
Please list at least five (5) peer-reviewed articles on your topic.
These must be academic journal articles found in the SMUMN
library, which are no more than ten (10) years old. You must
format these according to APA 7 style guidelines.
Review Notes:
References
Alegria, M., Falgas‐ Bague, I., & Fong, H. F. (2020).

10. Engagement of ethnic minorities in mental health care.
World Psychiatry,
19(1), 35.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6953572/pdf/W
PS-19-35.pdf
Chang, C. D. (2019). Social determinants of health and health
disparities among immigrants and their children.
Current problems in pediatric and adolescent health
care,
49(1), 23-30.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2018.11.009
Cook, B. L., Hou, S. S. Y., Lee-Tauler, S. Y., Progovac, A. M.,
Samson, F., & Sanchez, M. J. (2019). A review of mental health
and mental health care disparities research: 2011-2014.
Medical Care Research and Review,
76(6), 683-710.
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1077558718780592
Crawford, M. (2020). Ecological Systems theory: Exploring the
development of the theoretical framework as con-ceived by
Bronfenbrenner.
J Pub Health Issue Pract,
4(2), 170.
https://doi.org/10.33790/jphip1100170
Woodland, S., Kahler, M., Blue Star, J., & Fielding, B. (2021).
Borrowing Bronfenbrenner: An Argument for Increasing the
Intersection of Diverse Theoretical and Applied Models.
Child Care in Practice, 1-15.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2021.1924120
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