Think back to your passion and reason for pursuing social work. In Week 3, you used that as the basis for a deep dive into a social problem or issue and a related policy analysis. This week, you bring these threads together in a policy paper. The goal of a policy analysis such as this is to analyze as many facets of an issue as possible and existing policy for the goals of either improving policy or innovating with new policy. From this process, you develop the reasons and rationale for pursuing change.
Resources
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
To Prepare
· Refer to your Week 3 Assignment and the feedback you received to apply to this Assignment. Note: You should not use your Week 3 Assignment verbatim, but you can draw upon what you established there to develop further for some aspects of this paper. WEEK 3 PAPER ATTACHED SEPARATELY.
· Refer to the Social Welfare Policy: Search Tips site listed in the Learning Resources for strategies for finding additional research. Also note that reputable non-profits and other organizations, some of which you will find throughout the Learning Resources in this course, can be good sources.
ASSIGNMENT BELOW
Submit a 5- to 8-page paper that addresses the following:
The social problem/issue
· Identify a social problem/issue you would like to address.
· Describe the context—historical and/or contemporary—of society’s perception and approach to this social problem/issue.
· What current research (including facts and statistics) supports the need to address the social problem/issue?
The policy
· Identify a specific policy that addresses the selected social problem/issue.
· Describe the historical context of the policy.
· Briefly provide enough detail about the social, economic, and political circumstances that inspired action.
· Include reputable references/resources to support current updates, implementation, and/or changes related to the policy.
The population and programs
· Identify the population served by the policy.
· What qualifies a client for inclusion in the policy?
· What successful or widely accepted programs have come out of the policy?
In practice
· What role(s) do social workers play in the success of the program?
· Does the policy work in practice as intended? Why or why not?
· Does the policy achieve its goals?
Social change
· Does the policy contribute to social justice? How? If not, explain how or why it does not contribute to social justice.
· Identify opportunities for improvement in the policy.
· Explain how you would go about improving the policy.
Sources
· You must reference a minimum of eight scholarly references, which may include electronic government documents and reputable websites.
· Your reference list should appear on a separate page, and it is not included in the 5- to 8-page requirement.