| Course | PAC 411 Social Work as a Profession |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 5 |
| Paper type | Social justice paper |
| Length | About 1,035 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 411 Module 5
A Conviction That Keeps Sentencing: Social Justice, Human Rights and a Young Man Locked Out of Housing and Work
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 411: Social Work as a Profession
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
A Conviction That Keeps Sentencing: Social Justice, Human Rights and a Young Man Locked Out of Housing and Work
DeShawn is twenty-three and lives with his mother in north St. Louis. At nineteen, police stopped him walking home and found a small amount of cannabis; he pleaded guilty to possession, served probation and has not used cannabis or other drugs in three years. His roommate at the time, a white student from the suburbs who sold cannabis to friends, was never stopped. DeShawn now works part time at a fast food restaurant and wants a full-time warehouse job and his own apartment. This year, a warehouse rescinded a job offer after a background check, and two landlords rejected his rental applications, citing his record. He came to Westgate Community Services, the composite St. Louis agency in these papers, for help with job readiness. This paper applies social justice and human rights perspectives to his situation. DeShawn is a teaching composite and Westgate is invented; the research is real.
Social Work as a Human Rights Profession
Healy (2008) traced the history of social work's engagement with human rights. Early leaders in the United States, including settlement workers, campaigned for the rights of immigrants, workers, women and children, and later international social work organizations adopted codes that explicitly referenced human rights. Healy noted that social work's record was uneven: the profession at times participated in practices that violated rights and at times focused narrowly on individual adjustment. She argued that human rights provide a powerful framework for social work because they connect individual needs, such as housing and work, to universal entitlements and to the obligations of governments.
The profession's own code makes social justice a core value, asking social workers to pursue change with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed people, particularly around poverty, unemployment and discrimination.
Who Gets Arrested
Mitchell and Caudy (2015) used a national longitudinal survey of young people to examine racial disparities in drug arrests. Black youth were substantially more likely than white youth to be arrested for drug offenses. But the disparity was not explained by differences in drug offending: Black youth were not more likely to use or sell drugs than white youth. Part of the disparity was associated with differences in the neighborhoods where young people lived, where policing was more intensive. The authors concluded that racial disparities in drug arrests reflected enforcement practices rather than differences in behavior.
DeShawn's experience, arrested while his roommate who sold cannabis was not, matches the pattern the study describes.
A Wider System
Alexander (2010) argued that the war on drugs and mass incarceration created a system that functions like a racial caste. In her account, drug enforcement concentrated in Black neighborhoods produced convictions that then triggered lifelong legal discrimination in housing, employment, public benefits and voting, effectively relegating many Black men to second-class status after they left prison or probation. Her argument has been influential and debated; some scholars emphasize other causes of incarceration, such as violent crime, while agreeing that drug enforcement fell unevenly. For social work, her central point is that the consequences of a conviction often extend far beyond the sentence.
The Consequences of DeShawn's Record
| Area | Consequence | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Employment | Job offer rescinded after background check | Ongoing; affects most large employers |
| Housing | Rejected by two landlords; may face limits on some public housing | Ongoing |
| Education | Wondered whether he could get financial aid for community college | Needs checking under current federal rules |
| Family | Cannot move out of his mother's crowded apartment | Ongoing |
| Recovery and health | Stress and discouragement could threaten his three years without use | A risk to monitor |
Individual and Structural Action
Social justice practice works at both levels. Individually, DeShawn's social worker will connect him with a legal aid clinic to determine whether his conviction can be expunged under Missouri law, which would remove it from most background checks. She will help him draft a brief statement about his record and his three years of stability, gather references from his current manager and his pastor and identify employers in the region who follow fair chance hiring practices. She will write, with his consent, a letter to a landlord he is considering, describing his participation in the program.
Structurally, Westgate will join a coalition advocating for broader automatic record clearing for low-level drug convictions and for limits on the use of old records in housing decisions. With his permission, DeShawn may choose to share his story at a public hearing, though he will not be pressured to do so.
Recovery Under Pressure
DeShawn has not used cannabis or other drugs in three years, and his recovery is a strength the plan must protect. Repeated rejection is discouraging, and he told his social worker that after the second landlord turned him down, he thought, "What's the point of staying clean if it doesn't count?" That question deserves a serious answer. His social worker acknowledged that the rejections were unfair and that his three years do count, to his family, to his current manager and to himself, even when the background checks do not show them. She connected him with a peer mentor, a man in long recovery who had cleared his own record two years earlier, so that DeShawn could see the path working for someone like him.
Diverse Perspectives
Not everyone sees DeShawn's situation the same way. Some employers and landlords argue that background checks protect workers and tenants. A social justice approach takes these concerns seriously while asking whether a single low-level possession conviction four years ago is a reasonable basis for denying someone housing and work. Research on disparities, like Mitchell and Caudy's, adds that such rules fall more heavily on Black residents for reasons unrelated to their behavior.
Conclusion
DeShawn's record continues to sentence him long after his probation ended. Healy shows that social work has long seen such barriers as human rights concerns, Mitchell and Caudy show that the disparity behind his arrest is documented and Alexander shows how such convictions can build a lasting system of exclusion. A plan that pursues expungement and fair chance employment for DeShawn while advocating for broader change answers the profession's commitment to social justice at both levels.
References
Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. The New Press.
Healy, L. M. (2008). Exploring the history of social work as a human rights profession. International Social Work, 51(6), 735-748. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872808095247
Mitchell, O., & Caudy, M. S. (2015). Examining racial disparities in drug arrests. Justice Quarterly, 32(2), 288-313. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2012.761721
PAC 411 Module 5 instructions, in plain terms
Social justice and human rights are the fifth module of PAC 411, and assignments typically ask you to examine how injustice shapes a client's situation and what social workers can do about it. The Module 5 page in your Aspen course is your prompt; DeShawn is a composite. Explain social work's commitment to social justice and human rights. Present evidence on a specific injustice, such as racial disparities in enforcement. Show how it affects the client's life concretely. Distinguish individual help from structural change and plan both. Consider diverse perspectives on the issue. Cite each source in APA 7, and describe the client by his goals, not only by his record. Check the actual law in your state, such as expungement rules. Get consent before using the client's story publicly.
How this PAC 411 Module 5 example is built
DeShawn was arrested at nineteen with a small amount of cannabis; his white roommate, who sold to friends, was never stopped. Healy's International Social Work article supplies social work's human rights history. Mitchell and Caudy's Justice Quarterly study shows that Black youth were arrested for drugs more often than white youth despite similar offending. Alexander's book The New Jim Crow places such arrests in a wider system. A five-row table maps the consequences of his record: housing, work, student aid, voting and family. The plan includes legal aid for record expungement, a letter to the landlord, a fair chance employer list and the agency's testimony for broader record-clearing laws.
Where the marks sit in the PAC 411 Module 5 rubric
Social justice papers earn credit for connecting evidence of injustice to a specific client and planning action at several levels. This example uses Mitchell and Caudy's study to show that DeShawn's arrest reflects a documented disparity, not just bad luck. Healy's history grounds the profession's mandate. Alexander's argument is presented as a strong critique, with its claims attributed. The table makes the long reach of a minor conviction concrete. The plan joins individual help, such as legal aid, with policy advocacy, which is what the profession's commitment requires. DeShawn is described by his goals throughout, and his recovery is treated as one strength among several. His consent governs any public use of his story.
PAC 411 Module 5 help: mistakes that cost marks
Social justice papers often speak in general terms about oppression without evidence or a specific client. Use research on a specific injustice and show how it affects one person. Distinguish individual help from structural change and include both. Present strong critiques, such as Alexander's, as arguments with their sources. Consider perspectives you may disagree with fairly. Describe clients by their goals and strengths, not their records. Know the actual law in your state, such as record expungement rules. Protect the client's privacy in any advocacy, and get his consent before using his story publicly. Monitor how discouragement affects his recovery.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More PAC 411 and Psychology and Addiction Studies sample papers
- PAC 411 Module 1: The Social Work Profession and Its History
- PAC 411 Module 2: Generalist Practice and Fields of Practice
- PAC 411 Module 3: Values and Ethics
- PAC 411 Module 4: The Strengths and Empowerment Perspective
- PAC 411 Module 6: Human Behavior and the Social Environment
- PAC 411 Module 7: Populations at Risk
- PAC 411 Module 8: Social Policy and Services
- PAC 302 Module 4: Validity
- PAC 320 Module 4: Outpatient Treatment
- PAC 115 Module 2: Building and Decoding Terms
- SBS 200 Module 7: Late Adulthood
PAC 411 Module 5 questions, answered
What does PAC 411 Module 5 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 411 covers diversity, social justice and human rights here, so examining how injustice shapes a client's situation and what social workers can do is typical. Check the Module 5 prompt.
Is social work a human rights profession?
Healy traced social work's human rights commitments to its early leaders and international codes, while noting the profession's uneven record.
Are Black Americans arrested more for drugs than white Americans?
Mitchell and Caudy found Black youth were more likely to be arrested for drugs, and the disparity was not explained by differences in drug use or selling.
Where can I find a free PAC 411 Module 5 sample paper?
Read the full paper above: social justice and human rights applied to a young man whose drug conviction blocks housing and work.
What are collateral consequences of a drug conviction?
Legal and practical barriers beyond the sentence, such as denial of housing, jobs, licenses or student aid, that can last for years.