Developing Rural Services Paper (SA) (EPAS 2.1.1a): Rural social workers can find themselves faced with client(s) with presenting problems requiring a level of care or intervention that is not readily available. Social work practice requires us to have effective assessment skills but also the capacity to accurately identify an area of need that is not being met and develop ways to meet these needs. In addition, social workers have a responsibility to advocate for client access to social work services especially in underserved rural areas. To that end, use the needs assessment data you have gathered and propose a creative solution to provide and advocate for accessible social work services to meet the identified unmet needs.

Use the following questions to organize your paper which should be about 7-8 pages with at least 5 professional references (academic journal articles) and use correct APA style. Use the rubric criteria as headings for your paper to keep yourself focused.

1. Introduction - Clearly state the problem ( who is affected including demographics,of affected clients, how does it affect client(s), what has created the problem (i.e., economics, policy, oppression, attitudes). Be specific - don't just say "lack of resources." This section is basically a brief summary of the data collected during your needs assessment findings.

2. Literature Review- Brief review of the literature. Are there any best practices or effective approaches already being used? (2 page synthesis of what have researchers said about this problem and how to effectively address it in rural underserved areas.) This means you have to review, summarize and cite in APA style using academic journal articles. If you don't have citations in this section of the paper then it is basically your opinion and that is not what the assignment is asking for here.

3. Discuss the current efforts to address this problem locally. What are people, groups, or organizations doing to ameliorate the unmet need? What local, state, or federal policy influences the problem? Discuss any social or political action group(s) that may support or oppose the problem. Summarize NASW policy regarding this issue.

4. Your specific and detailed proposal to address the unmet need as identified in your needs assessment. This should include your specific plans for advocating for client access to services you are proposing to develop. It is not enough to say "Start a homeless shelter" or "network with other agencies to find resources." Identify how your proposed solution is connected to the knowledge, skills and values of the social work profession. (3-4 pages - NOTE this part is the primary focus of the paper.
Below is the rubric for grading: The paper is on the Lack of housing and support services for mental health individuals in my community. The paper needs to obtain real collected data from individuals for the statistics.