Engage in Policy Practice

Overview

This Signature Assignment fulfills the BASW Program Learning Outcome (PLO) 5: Engage in Policy Practice This includes the following behaviors that demonstrate achievement of this competency:

• Identify social policy at the local, state, and federal level that impacts well-being, service delivery, and access to social services.
• Assess how social welfare and economic policies impact the delivery of and access to social services.
• Apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice.

Be sure to review all rubric criteria prior to submitting your assignment.

Directions

Step 1:

Question #1 Identify Policy: Identify a policy topic that you will discuss in this assignment.

1. Provide an example of a federal policy that addresses this topic. Indicate the name of the policy and provide a brief (no more than 1-2 paragraphs) description, in your own words, of the main purpose or goal of the policy.
2. How does this topic relate to a policy at the state and local level? Provide an example of a related policy issue at the state level and one at the local level.

Question #2 Assess Service Impact: Critically assess how your federal policy impacts well-being, access to, and delivery of a resource, right, or social service.

1. Are there eligibility requirements to receive this benefit? Does the criteria or eligibility requirement include only certain groups?
2. How will the resource be administered or distributed, and by whom? What type of organization will administer the resource?
3. Discuss how a and b impact access or service delivery of this service, right, or resource to the intended group. You can consider historical or current issues related to access and service delivery of this resource.

Question #3 Analyze and Formulate Policy: Select one of your identified policies. Apply critical thinking in discussing the following:

1. What is the need, problem, or issue that led to development of the policy? Provide evidence and cite your facts.
2. Identify a strength of this policy and a suggested change to the policy.

Question #4 Advocacy: Critically discuss advocacy issues related to this policy.

1. If you were to advocate for this policy issue or a change to the policy, what are two specific advocacy strategies that you would implement and why?
2. What outcome would you expect from these strategies and why?

Question #5 Rights and Justice: Describe how your position and advocacy for this issue promotes each of the following: human rights, social, economic, and environmental justice for the intended population group or society.

Step 2:

Writing Format: Follow these instructions for the assignment.

• Use APA style for student papers.
• Title page (not included in the page count)
• Write your responses to each part of the sections using complete sentences. For example, “An advocacy strategy that I would select is..” Write your responses in a series of paragraphs, as indicated in APA style format for student papers.
• Use headings and subheadings to organize your assignment. Respond to each part of the sections in the order of the assignment, clearly identifying each of the topics that you are discussing in your writing.
• When discussing issues in your responses, provide an example, evidence, and include information from the textbook and at least two other evidence-based sources to support your response.
• References (not included in the page count): Include references for the policies, textbook, and at least two other evidence-based sources used in completing the assignment.
• The assignment should be primarily in your own words. Significant use of quotations with little original writing, will not meet this requirement.
• Submit your assignment in Turnitin.

The final deliverable will be 5-7 pages of content in a double-spaced paper, presented in a MS Word document format. Please use proper APA Standards formatting and referencing and use Times New Roman size 12 font. Submit your paper to the Turn it in Assignment area in Blackboard