For Part 1 of your Key Assessment (KA), your goal is to select an issue, problem

For Part 1 of your Key Assessment (KA), your goal is to select an issue, problem

For Part 1 of your Key Assessment (KA), your goal is to select an issue, problem, or trend that impacts children today (and in turn impacts their family, their community, or school). Consider the Brofenbrenner learning you did last week (mesosystem in particular). I would suggest focusing on a “problem” that is close to your heart and more local in nature instead of a global issue of enormity (for example you may opt to focus on inadequate child care options in Fairfield County for working parents instead of global food shortages and famine due to climate change on the African continent). The focus of your work for Part 1 should then turn into a targeted plan for advocacy in Part 2.
In presenting this “problem” you will then make connections to broader contexts, (*for example broader contexts related to the “problem” can include things like: economic adversity, structural inequalities, limited access to mental health support services). The goal is to be very specific in Part 1. As you prep for Part 1’s narrative, look ahead to the next parts of the Key Assessment for what your next steps will be as you dive deeper into your “problem”. This problem you describe in Part 1 will become the focus of your plan for advocacy in Part 2. It is important to be thinking ahead as you work on Part 1.
Description of what you will do in Part 1:
Key Assessment, Part 1: Present the Problem: (6a) in narrative form 3 or more pages.
What are the broader contexts and challenges, current issues and trends that affect children, families and/or communities related to the selected topic?
What are the facts about this problem and cite your references?
How are children, families or the community affected by this issue?
Is this a local, community, statewide or national issue? (*I advise you to keep to a local/community level problem for Part 1).