Volunteers and political officials in local communities often campaign to improve conditions and provide services to increase the well-being of individuals and families living in those communities. If

Volunteers and political officials in local communities often campaign to improve conditions and provide services to increase the well-being of individuals and families living in those communities. If you are the parent of young children, you might focus on improving the local school or creating safe places where children can play. If you are an individual in later adulthood or a caregiver for an individual in later adulthood, what community resources might be important to you? For this week’s Assignment, you evaluate the resources that your local community provides for its older members.

To prepare for this Assignment, research the resources available in your local community to support the issues and concerns of the older population. Note any gaps in these services and consider what improvements might be made to existing services as well as what services should be added.

By Day 7

Submit a 2- to 4-page paper that includes the following:

• A description of the services in your local community that support individuals in later adulthood
• An evaluation of the effectiveness of the services you identified
• A description of service gaps you identified
• An explanation of how to improve existing services
• A description of services that should be added, and why

Required Readings

Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA:  Cengage Learning.Chapter 16, “Sociological Aspects of Later Adulthood”

Optional Resources

Use the link below to access the MSW home page, which provides resources for your social work program.MSW home pageTucker-Seeley, R. D., Li, Y., Sorensen, G., & Subramanian, S. V. (2011). Lifecourse socioeconomic circumstances and multimorbidity among older adults. BMC Public Health, 11(4), 313–321.