Advocacy Plan

For the Final Project, you conduct an interview with a professional in your community who works in a sexuality-related job (e.g., pregnancy counselor, sex therapist, OB/GYN) to: a) learn about his or her work, b) observe how the professional discusses the topic of sexuality, and c) identify social change related to human sexuality that, from the perspective of the professional, is needed to advance his or her work. Based on this information, you will outline an advocacy plan to address this need.
An advocacy plan outlines a problem that will be addressed through professional advocacy practices. Such a plan should include a description of the problem to be addressed through the advocacy activities, the goal(s) of the advocacy activities, and some specific activities that can be undertaken to make progress toward these goals. This plan should outline specific actions that could be taken by a counselor to effect change at various levels of the social context (e.g., within organizations, in the local community, and in public policy).
Use the following interview guide for your interview:
Describe the work you do and your work setting.
What kind of training do you have specific to sexuality?
What do you find helpful in talking to clients about sexuality?
What social change related to human sexuality is needed to better serve clients?
How do you see cultural, gender, and religious considerations impacting the clients you serve?
What client populations are most difficult for you to work with and why?
The project you submit will be a 10- to 15-page paper that outlines a plan for an advocacy effort to promote social change. It must include the following:
A description of common experiences of the client population served (literature review)
A description of the type of professional you interviewed (what type of work the person does and the organization in which he or she works)
A summary of your observations regarding how the professional communicates about sexuality (both how he or she communicated during the interview and how he or she describe this aspect of his or her work)
A summary of cultural, gender-related, and religious considerations discussed by the interviewee and a description of how these relate to current literature
A description of an area of social change related to human sexuality that the professional indicated would be needed to more effectively do his or her work
A description of how you would address this specific need through an advocacy plan (should include at least three actions you could take)
A description of the stakeholders involved and the issues you would need to consider when implementing the plan
As you write your Final Project, use the Assignment and Final Project Writing Rubric. A rubric is a guideline for evaluating your work. This rubric is in the form of a checklist. Your Instructor will also use this rubric to grade your Final Project. Be sure to address all aspects of the rubric if you want to earn full points on this Final Project assignment.