| Course | MSW 532 Social Work with the Aging and Their Families |
|---|---|
| Week | 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion post |
| Length | About 380 words |
| Format | Discussion post with APA 7 citations |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 532 Week 1
Week 1 Discussion: Initial Post
Naming the Person I Am Working For: E., 84, in a House Where a Daughter Does the Pharmacy Run, a Son Calls on Sundays and a Second Spouse Lives Apart, and the One Obligation That Settles the Next Decision
One Name
I am working for E., 84, who has moderate vascular dementia and lives in the house E. has owned for 40 years.
Everyone Else, by the Job They Hold
D., E.'s daughter, 52, moved in three years ago; she does the Thursday pharmacy run, manages pill boxes and cooks dinner. S., E.'s son, 55, lives 90 minutes away and telephones on Sundays; he handles E.'s taxes. M., E.'s second spouse, 79, lives in a senior apartment across town by choice since 2021 and visits on holidays. A grandson, 23, mows the lawn and drives E. to church when D. works a Saturday shift.
Obligations, Graded
Some obligations are legal: S. holds E.'s financial power of attorney. Some are practical: D. provides about 30 hours a week of help. Some are expected but not agreed: the family assumes M. will be consulted on any move, though M. has said, "That's for the children now." Family caregiving in the United States is carried mostly by relatives like D., often without pay and while working (AARP & National Alliance for Caregiving, 2020).
A Reading That Settles One Obligation
Family systems thinking treats a family as an emotional unit in which anxiety travels through relationships, often by drawing a third person into a two-person conflict (Kerr & Bowen, 1988). Read that way, the expectation that M. be consulted is less an obligation than a way for D. and S. to avoid deciding between themselves. M. has declined the role; the obligation is settled, and it is not M.'s.
The Decision That Turns on It
E. fell twice in September. The next decision is whether to bring in paid aide hours or begin looking at assisted living. With M. out of the decision, it rests on D., who provides the care, and S., who holds the money, with E.'s own wishes first.
For Replies
Who did your post name first, and does anyone in that family hold a job nobody has named?
References
AARP & National Alliance for Caregiving. (2020). Caregiving in the U.S. 2020. AARP. https://www.aarp.org/ppi/info-2020/caregiving-in-the-united-states.html
Kerr, M. E., & Bowen, M. (1988). Family evaluation: An approach based on Bowen theory. W. W. Norton.
What the MSW 532 Week 1 assignment asks for
The first discussion asks you to put one name in the first line: the person you are working for. Then describe the household as it currently runs, listing everyone else by the job they hold rather than by relationship alone, such as the daughter who does the Thursday pharmacy run. Grade the obligations: some are legal, such as a power of attorney, some practical, some only assumed. Use one reading or concept to settle one obligation, so the theory does work. Close with the decision that turns on it. Replies should ask a classmate about a job nobody in their family has named, or whether the person they named first is truly the client. Keep it to one screen.
How this MSW 532 Week 1 example is built
The post names E. first, then lists D., who lives in and provides about 30 hours a week, S., who calls on Sundays and holds the financial power of attorney, M., the second spouse living apart by choice, and a grandson who mows and drives. The obligations section separates S.'s legal role, D.'s practical role and the family's assumption that M. must be consulted, and cites AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving (2020) on unpaid family care. The reading section uses Kerr and Bowen (1988) on triangles to show that consulting M. lets D. and S. avoid deciding between themselves, and that M. has declined. The decision section frames aide hours against assisted living after two falls.
Reading the MSW 532 Week 1 grading rubric
Credit begins with the first line: one name, unhedged. A post that opens with the whole family, or with the caregiver as client by default, loses ground. Faculty then look for everyone else described by the work they do, with obligations graded rather than assumed equal. Using a concept to settle one obligation earns marks because it shows reading put to use. The decision that turns on the analysis should be specific. Any reading drawn on needs an accurate APA entry. A reply scores when it pushes a classmate to name an overlooked job or question their choice of client, rather than agreeing that families are complicated.
MSW 532 Week 1 help from the desk
The commonest problem is opening with a family portrait and never saying whose interests the worker holds. Another is describing relatives by feelings, such as a supportive daughter, rather than by tasks. Some posts list a theory without letting it decide anything. Others end without naming a decision. If your case is different, perhaps a grandmother raising grandchildren while her own health fails, the same order applies: one name, everyone else by job, graded obligations, one reading that settles something and the decision ahead. A post that works for your case will make clear in the first sentence who you would advocate for if the family split.
Get a MSW-532 Week 1 example written to your instructions
Send the posting instructions your section put up for this discussion, with the rubric and whatever family material came attached, and a custom example is written to them and returned inside 24 to 48 hours. The first one is free, at the length your section asks for and with the reply posts included.
More MSW 532 papers and MSW samples
- MSW 532 Week 2: Family Genogram Write-up
- MSW 532 Week 3: Caregiver Burden Assessment
- MSW 532 Week 4: Surrogate Decision-maker Memo
- MSW 532 Week 5: Family Conflict Case Study
- MSW 532 Week 6: Placement Decision Paper
- MSW 532 Week 7: Elder Mistreatment Write-up
- MSW 532 Week 8: Family Systems Reflection
- MSW 533 Week 1: Discussion Post
- MSW 531 Week 1: Nursing Home Belief in Numbers
- MSW 535 Week 1: Discussion Post
- MSW 529 Week 1: Closing Summary Routine Post
MSW 532 Week 1 questions, answered
The case material never lets the older man speak. Who is the client then?
He still is, and the post says why the material cannot show it. Name who supplied every sentence about him, say what has not been put to him, and state what the worker would need before recording anything as his view. Sections frequently build that silence into the case on purpose, and noticing it is the graded move.
Can the daughter be the client instead of her father?
Sometimes, and the post has to say which and why. Where a referral came in about the caregiver, or where the agency's own service is built for caregivers, she is the client and he is a collateral. What loses points is drifting between the two, so a post assessing his housing and then setting goals for her sleep has served neither of them.
Everyone in my section named the same person. What makes a reply worth points?
Putting a live request to the classmate's answer. Their client is the father; now his son asks that the diagnosis be kept from him. Ask what their post commits them to doing on Monday, and whether the obligation they listed for the son covers it. A reply agreeing and adding a general observation moves nothing anywhere.
Where can I find a free MSW 532 Week 1 sample paper?
You can read a full MSW 532 Week 1 discussion post that names an 84-year-old parent as the client here, with margin notes on obligations.
Which obligation does the MSW 532 Week 1 sample settle?
The family's assumption that the second spouse must be consulted on any move, which the post shows the spouse has declined and which mainly helps the two children avoid deciding.