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Home Courses I teach Social Work Program MADONNA UNIVERSITY Social Work 4500 Social Policy Course Notes Chapter 1 - The policy based profession Chapter 2 - Overview of Policy Chapt 3- Policy Analysis Chapt 4 - Historical Analysis SW 4500 Social Policy Instructor: Dr. Karen Neuman Fall, 2001 Office: (734) 432-5565 Wed., 4:00-7:00 p.m. Neuman@smtp.munet.edu Course Description (Proposed Fall, 2001): This course explores contemporary social welfare policy in the United States
and critically analyzes the social, cultural, economic, historical, political
and philosophical forces influencing its development. Discusses national and
international trends and issues in social policy and distinguishes between
policies, programs and institutions. Explores the relationship between social
welfare policy and social work practice. Presents a framework for analyzing
social policies and evaluating their intended and unintended effects
particularly upon vulnerable populations including gays/lesbians, people of
color, the elderly, and women. Reviews the
political process and develops skills in using change and advocacy strategies to
influence social policies and empower individuals, groups, families and
communities obtain needed resources. Fourth Credit Hour Research The fourth credit hour will be fulfilled though the completion of a social policy analysis paper detailed further in the assignment section. Required Texts Popple, P. R. & Leighninger, L. (1998). The policy based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy for social workers. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Berlage, G. & Egelman, W. (1999). Understanding social issues: Critical thinking and analysis (5th Ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Course Objectives (Proposed Fall, 2001): At the completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Define social welfare policy and describe the relationship between policy and practice. 2. Distinguish between various levels of policies including agency, community, state, and federal levels. 3. Describe the historical development of social welfare policy in the United States and the political, social and economic values and philosophies on which it is based. 4. Discuss how various social policies and programs have disenfranchised segments of the population. 5. Identify current legislative, judicial, and administrative policies, trends and issues effecting social programs and populations at risk. 6. Describe the policy development process and identify key constituents who typically influence policy development. 7. Describe how economic and market forces influence social welfare policies and the distribution of resources. 8. Use a policy analysis framework to analyze a social welfare policy.. 9. Apply research methodologies and research findings to critically analyze the intended and unintended effects of social welfare policies. 10. Develop and implement a change strategy designed to bring about more just and equitable social policies and programs.11. Work as a member of a group to develop a policy, policy agenda or change strategy. 12. Advocate on behalf of vulnerable and at-risk populations and demonstrate a commitment to continue to work towards social justice by influencing social policies. Class Policies: Written Assignments: All assignments are to be type written, double spaced in a 10 or 12 point font. For technical reports and papers, you will use APA format. Narrative and reflection papers that primarily describe your personal experiences or the experiences of others do not have to follow APA. However, they must be coherent and follow an appropriate structure or outline. For every three grammatical errors, typos and misspellings, etc. a point will be deducted. Please make sure each page is numbered and that your name appears on each page. Do not put your papers in a binder, just staple the pages together. One point will be deducted each day a paper is late, papers will not be accepted more than one week late. Any information describing another individual, client, friend, colleague used in any assignments must be disguised to protect confidentiality. When describing people at an agency, it is customary to refer to them by title, such as "the social worker" or "the Director". Classroom participation: In addition to the required assignments, a number of in class exercises and small group activities will be offered through the term. Although most of these exercises will not be graded in the same sense that the required assignments will be, they will be collected. Completion of these exercises will be considered as part of the classroom participation and attendance requirements for the course. It is assumed that your classroom behavior is a reflection of your personal and profession conduct and your interpersonal skills. As such, your classroom behavior is an important indicator of your suitability to the social work profession. Behaviors such as inappropriate nonverbal behavior, disruptive comments, taking while others are talking, and reading other materials during class time are examples of inappropriate behavior that I consider unacceptable and unprofessional and which will affect your grade. Should repeated instance of these behaviors occur, you will be asked to leave the class and expected to make an appointment with me to discuss the conditions of your returning to class. Attendance: Students are required to attend all class sessions and to be on time. Final grades will be lowered by one whole grade for every two absences, tardiness or early departures. If you are going to be absent, it is expected that you contact the instructor to discuss making up the work. The final grade will also be affected by the student's professionalism, attitude in class and participation. The assignments are as follows and are discussed in detail in the assignments section. Assignments/grading Assignment 1 Policy Watch 10% Assignment 2 Berlage & Egelman Workbook 20% Assignment 3 Narrative Paper 20% Midterm Exam 10/24 20% Assignment 4 Policy Analysis Paper 20% Total 100% Grading Scale 96-100 A 91-95 A- 86-90 B+ 81-85 B 76-80 B- 71-75 C+ 66-70 C 61-65 C 56-60 D Course Outline Week 1 Course Overview, Introductions, Review of Syllabus Week 2 The policy based profession Week 3 Defining Social Welfare Policy Week 4 Social Welfare Policy Analysis Week 5 Policy analysis from a historical perspective Week 6 Policy analysis from a social/economic perspective Week 7 Politics and Social Welfare Policy Week 8 Midterm Week 9 Welfare Reform Week 10 Aging: Social security as an entitlement Week 11 Mental Health: Managed Care Week 12 Thanksgiving Break Week 13 Health: Medicaid and Medicare changes Week 14 Child Welfare: Family Preservation Week 14 Conclusions, Lessons from policy analysis Assignments Assignment One: The Policy Watch and Social Action Throughout the course we will be engaged in a Policy Watch. We will be particularly vigilant about emerging policy events particularly relevant to women and minorities (including the elderly and disabled). Each student will be assigned a day to present policy information to the class. In preparing for the information presentation, listen to PBS, watch a news broadcast, read a newspaper, magazine, or professional journal to identify a policy issue that concerns you. Pay careful attention for how women and minorities often are effected by policies in different and less favorable ways than men and majorities respectively. However, sometimes it's the other way around. Part One of the assignment is to prepare a brief oral presentation for the date assigned and provide an overview of the issue and identifies the source of the information (such as date of broadcast, date of publication, etc.). Part two of the assignment is to initiate or participate in some form of social action related to the issue. This could be writing letters to at least two legislators, council representatives, mayors, etc. and providing me with copies of your letters, emails, etc. Your letters must LETTER PERFECT and in the accepted format for communicating with legislators. Other types of acceptable social action activity ares attending a public hearing or working on an election campaign and describing the experience in a brief paper. The written component of the paper must include a brief overview of the issue and your position on it and is due 11/29. Each component is worth 5 points for a total of 10 points. Assignment Two: Berlage & Egelman "Understanding Social Issues" Workbook We will be using a series of ten modules from Berlage and Egelman. The purposes of these exercises are to help you develop your critical thinking skills in reading articles, interpreting graphs and statistics, and in formulating opinions on social issues and policies. You will complete the exercises on the assigned date, and we use a peer review grading system each night. In addition, I will check progress in your workbook three times during the semester. So, KEEP UP WITH YOUR WORKBOOK! For every exercise not completed as scheduled by the turn in date, two points will be deducted from the final score. You will not be graded down for your opinions and positions as long as your argument is well reasoned and supported with evidence. Each exercise is worth two points, for a total of 20 points. Assignment Three: Narrative Assessment of an individual affected by social policy You are to interview an someone who has been positively or negatively affected by a social policy. You may interview the person directly or someone in their family, such as parents who may be trying to get services for their child. Examples include: a disabled individual about ADA or about mainstreamed education; someone trying to get inpatient substance abuse or psychiatric services after deinstitutionalization and managed care; someone who has had difficulty after welfare reform; someone trying to get residential care for a developmentally disabled child; or someone who is trying to improve the quality of care for a family member in a nursing home. You should consider this a kind of assessment, and review and review your materials on assessment. Your paper does not have to follow APA format, but must be well organized with appropriate headings. Length should be between five to eight, double-spaced pages, with 1" margins. This assignment is worth 20 points and should generally follow this outline:
Assignment Four: Policy Analysis Paper This paper fulfills the 4th credit hour requirement of this class and is worth 20 points. The purposes of this assignment are to develop: 1) critical thinking skills by analyzing and critiquing a social policy, 2) the ability to formulate and express a well reasoned position on a social policy and 3) to identify and describe the relationship between of social policy to social work practice. While it is acknowledged that these skills cannot be fully developed in the context of this course, this activity is a beginning toward developing this necessary professional skill. This is a written paper to designed to investigate a substantive social policy or policy issue and to analyze the implications of that social policy or policy issue for your field placement or your place of employment. You should select a social policy that directly influences your field agency or place of employment. For example, the policy might involve managed care, person centered planning, affirmative action, civil rights protections, eligibility policies, or welfare reform. You are required to discuss your selection of the policy with me and to provide a brief, written statement of the policy that you will be analyzing for my approval. You are encouraged to select this topic as early as is reasonably possible, but the you must have your written statement to me no later than The policy analysis must follow the outline presented by Popple and
Leighninger on pages 35-37. Class time will be used to go over the text material
and to develop an analysis "from scratch," so to speak, from a policy
selected. The paper must: (1) explicitly apply the analytic framework noted
above, (2) show efforts at scholarly agency document research, (3) specifically
describe how the policy affects the agency, staff and clients, (4) make a
recommendation, at the end of the paper, based on your analysis, to
either continue or change existing policy, (5) be a professional product
provided at the undergraduate level, and (6) be approximately ten double-spaced
and typed pages. If your paper is less than ten pages, you should review the
material to make sure you have not missed anything. Your paper must be in APA
format and include a minimum of five sources, three of which must be
professional journal articles. You must attach a documentation of your
literature search and the first page of every article you site. Student Name_______________________ Berlage & Egelman "Understanding Social Issues" Workbook Peer Review Check List Score: 2 points for complete/almost all correct 1 point partially complete/partially correct 0 for incomplete complete/mostly incorrect
Completed: Yes Partially No Number wrong/incomplete________ Score: 2 1 0 Comments:
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Exercise 7: Date:_______________ Reviewer's Name ___________________________ Completed: Yes Partially No Number wrong/incomplete________ Score: 2 1 0 Comments:
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Total Points____________________________________________
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