| Course | MSW 517 Advanced Social Work Practice Across Systems |
|---|---|
| Week | 6 |
| Paper type | Agency practice memo |
| Length | About 400 words, 4 pages |
| Format | Memo with APA 7 citations |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 517 Week 6
Memorandum
To: Intake supervisor, family services agency
From: MSW student intern
Date: November 4, 2026
Re: Adding one question to the school attendance referral form by December 1
The Rule as Written
The school attendance referral form our agency uses has eleven fields: student, grade, school, parent and phone, days missed, reason given, prior contacts and four checkboxes for concerns (academic, behavioral, health, family conflict). There is no field asking whether the student helps care for anyone at home.
Two Instances
Case 26-1187: a 13-year-old missed 14 days. The form's reason field said "illness." The student had been helping a parent with multiple sclerosis on the home health aide's days off. That took two weeks and a home visit to learn.
Case 26-1203: a 12-year-old missed 9 days, checkbox "family conflict." The student was translating for a grandmother at dialysis appointments. The counselor knew; the form had nowhere to put it.
Both students were referred for the right reason, absence, and both referrals sent us looking in the wrong direction first.
The Change
Add one question to the form: "Does the student help care for a family member who is ill, disabled or elderly? Yes / No / Unknown." That is all.
In Your Terms
The district contract asks us to report the reasons behind attendance referrals. At present those reasons fall into "illness" or "family conflict." One question would let us count a group the district does not see. In a Florida county survey, about half of middle and high school students reported caregiving roles, and most of those said it had cost them school time (Siskowski, 2006). Even a fraction of that in our district would be a reportable finding.
What the Short Form Protected
The form is short on purpose, so counselors fill it in. A caregiving question could feel intrusive or lead families to fear a child protection report. I propose the "Unknown" option for that reason and a line in our counselor guidance saying the question is for support planning only.
Scope and Date
One question, on the existing form, from December 1 through the end of the school year, with no change to any other field. In June we review how often it was answered yes and whether those referrals were handled differently. Young caregivers are often unacknowledged by services (Kavanaugh et al., 2016), and this is a small step toward seeing them.
References
Kavanaugh, M. S., Stamatopoulos, V., Cohen, D., & Zhang, L. (2016). Unacknowledged caregivers: A scoping review of research on caregiving youth in the United States. Adolescent Research Review, 1(1), 29-49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-015-0015-7
Siskowski, C. (2006). Young caregivers: Effect of family health situations on school performance. The Journal of School Nursing, 22(3), 163-169. https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405060220030701
What the MSW 517 Week 6 assignment asks for
The agency practice memo is one or two pages addressed to a person, not to the organization. Name the rule in the form the agency uses: a field on an intake sheet, a waiting time, who may book a home visit or what a shift note must contain. Show the rule doing something in a specific case, briefly, without turning the memo into a case study; two short instances are usually enough. Ask for one change stated plainly enough that the reader could approve or refuse it. Answer in the reader's currency, such as workload, contract terms or risk. Concede what the existing rule protects. Keep the scope small and give a date for review. Avoid asking for awareness, training or culture change.
Inside the MSW 517 Week 6 example
The memo is addressed to the intake supervisor and quotes the referral form's eleven fields, noting there is none about caregiving. Two instances follow: a 13-year-old listed as absent for illness who was helping a parent with multiple sclerosis, and a 12-year-old marked family conflict who was translating at a grandmother's dialysis visits. The change is one item with yes, no and unknown options. The reader's currency is the district contract's reporting on referral reasons, supported by Siskowski (2006). A concession section credits the short form for getting counselors to complete it and answers fear of child protection reports with the unknown option and guidance. Scope runs from December 1 to June with a review, citing Kavanaugh et al. (2016) on unacknowledged caregiving youth.
MSW 517 Week 6 rubric: what full points look like
The heaviest deduction is for a request that cannot be granted by the person reading it, such as more training or a change in culture. Faculty look first for one change stated so plainly that a manager could say yes or no on a Tuesday. Next comes the rule itself, named in the agency's own terms. Instances should be specific and brief, not feelings about how the rule works. Answering in the reader's currency earns credit, as does conceding what the rule protects. Small scope with a date shows the change can be tested. Memo format, a named addressee and accurate sources in APA style complete the main criteria.
MSW 517 Week 6 help from the desk
Memos most often lose points by asking for awareness or sensitivity, which nobody can grant. Another costly habit is writing to the agency as an abstraction, so no reader can tell the request is theirs. Evidence made of impressions, such as staff feel the form is limiting, earns less than two short cases. Some memos never acknowledge what the current rule protects, which invites refusal. If your agency's rule is different, perhaps a waiting list policy or a home visit requirement, the same structure works: the rule as written, two instances, one change, the reader's terms, the concession and a date. A memo drafted for your agency would name the person who can say yes.
Get a MSW-517 Week 6 example written to your instructions
Send the memo instructions, the rubric and whatever agency scenario your section supplied, including any policy text. A custom MSW-517 Week 6 memo is written to that reader and that rule, back inside 24 to 48 hours, the first one free. Name the addressee if your assignment sets one, since the register changes with who is reading.
More MSW 517 papers and MSW samples
- MSW 517 Week 1: First Action on a Referral Post
- MSW 517 Week 2: Practice Frame Inventory
- MSW 517 Week 3: First Move Memo
- MSW 517 Week 4: Two Workers One Session Contrast
- MSW 517 Week 5: Young Caregivers Group Plan
- MSW 517 Week 7: Macro Practice Write-up
- MSW 517 Week 8: Practice Integration Paper
- MSW 516 Week 6: Community Level Self-Efficacy Reading
- MSW 515 Week 6: Mixed Methods Data Analysis Plan
- MSW 514 Week 6: Workforce Nonprofit Analysis
- MSW 513 Week 6: Advocacy Conflict Post
MSW 517 Week 6 questions, answered
Does the memo need data from the agency?
Not usually, and inventing figures is worse than having none. Two described instances carry the argument, and where a number would help you can name the one you would ask for and who holds it. Faculty read a request for a specific figure as competence, whereas an unattributed statistic reads as filler and invites a question you cannot answer.
How is this different from a policy paper?
Scale and address. A policy paper argues about what should be true generally; this memo asks one person inside one agency to change one thing they control, and it succeeds or fails on whether they could act on Monday. The practice evidence stays close to the situation you have been carrying since the opening week.
What if the rule is set outside the agency?
Then say so and aim at the discretion that remains. Funders and licensing bodies set plenty a manager cannot alter, but almost every external rule leaves local choices about order, wording and who gets told what. Naming that boundary accurately is graded better than a request the reader has no power to grant.
Where can I find a free MSW 517 Week 6 sample paper?
The complete MSW 517 Week 6 agency practice memo asking to add a caregiving question to a school referral form can be read below, margin notes included.
What does the MSW 517 Week 6 sample concede about the current form?
That it is short on purpose so counselors complete it, and that a caregiving question could feel intrusive, which is why it proposes an unknown option and guidance.