Professional Development Plan

HSL 4850 Human Services Programs: Community, Culture, and Intersectionality

Professional Development Plan Part II: Activism

The goal of the Professional Development Plan is to 1) analyze aspects of professional ethical

conduct, 2) articulate a specific area & areas of activism, and 3) Develop a professional plan for

your career in this area. Part II will focus on your selected area of practice and advocacy within

that topic area.

For this assignment you will complete a paper of no more than 3 pages (not including your

cover page and reference page) with three sections/headings, as seen below. Please use

these headings in your paper to delineate sections.

Specific Area of Human Services

Explain the specific area of human services in which you are interested in working (e.g., family

services, corrections, child welfare, teaching). It can be a broad area if you’re unsure or a more

specific role/job title if you know. This section can just be a sentence or two.

Identification of Specific Issue

Identify a specific issue within your area of interest that is a problem. This can be a policy issue, a

practical issue, or something else that stands out to you about the field. Use the literature to

support your argument. You should include citations to at least 3 sources that include statistics

and/or information about the problem. The literature should be used to provide evidence of the

problem and contextual information. Be sure to cite in APA format. For example, in child

welfare, you might discuss the lack of adoptive homes and the fact that children sometimes age

out of the system without being adopted, resulting in a lack of permanence. You could provide

statistics on the numbers of children in foster care, an article on the lack of adoptive homes, and

information specific to this problem in Illinois.

Ways to be an Advocate

Identify at least two ways you could be an advocate for your selected population in relation to the

problem you identified in the previous section. Discuss & provide examples of what your

advocacy might look like. Don’t just say speak out or be an advocate – be specific.

Grading Rubric

Assignment requirements (5 points)

The assignment is no more than 3 pages of content, double-spaced, uses 12 point Times New

Roman font throughout, has 1” margins, each section is clearly labeled with an appropriate

heading. No points will be earned if these criteria are not present.

Writing, Spelling, Grammar (5 points)

The paper has correct spelling and grammar with no/few mistakes and is well-written.

References in APA format (5 points)

References are provided in correct APA format, both in-text and on a reference page.

Specific area of human services (5 points)

This section is included and clearly describes the area of human services in which the student is

interested in working.

Identification of specific issue (10 points)

This section is included and clearly identifies a specific issue in the student’s area of interest.

The issue is clearly discussed/explained and at least 3 sources are used to support the student’s

argument.

Ways to be an advocate (10 points)

This section is included and clearly discusses at least two ways to be an advocate for the selected

population in relation to the problem identified in the previous section. Advocacy efforts are

explicit and clearly explained.