Purpose

For this assignment, you will complete the first installment of your agency memo assignment (see Instruction section below).

In one to two pages, complete parts 1, 2, and 3 below ONLY by downloading and using this Memo Outline form.

Instructions

1. Population
Describe your target population and problem or issue experienced by members of that population (see examples below). In all likelihood, the information you will use to describe your target population will come from some government source such as the U.S. Children’s Bureau (Child Welfare Information Gateway), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), or the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), or some advocacy organization such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), or the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). Be sure to include appropriate citations in your response.

Examples of target populations and presenting problems:

MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT – individuals with end-stage renal disease who have been on dialysis for a long time and who are experiencing severe depression (problem or issue here is severe depression).

CHILD MALTREATMENT PREVENTION – Very young parents (age 16 and under) whose children are at extreme risk of abuse or neglect as a result of inadequate parenting skills (problem or issue here is inadequate parenting skills).

SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT – combat veterans returning from Iraq and/or Afghanistan with posttraumatic disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorder, or depression (or some multiple thereof) who are using drugs and/or alcohol to deaden the emotional effects of these disorders (issue or problem here is substance use disorder).

2. Available interventions
Identify at least three and no more than five evidence-based interventions that could be used to address the problem or issue faced by members of your target population. Be sure to document the evidence for intervention use in your response.

3. Evidence for intervention use
Select two interventions from the group identified in the previous step that show particular promise for addressing the problem or issue experienced by members of your target population.

4. Recommendation for intervention
Select the intervention with the most promise for addressing the problem or issue experienced by members of your target population. This is the intervention that you will be recommending to your agency supervisor.

5. Single subject design
Describe the steps you would take to implement a single-subject study of the efficacy of using the selected intervention to address the problem or issue for a single member of your target population. Be sure to follow all of the procedures used in implementing a single-subject design, including the charting of results.