SWRK 203, Social Welfare Policy II

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SWRK 203, Social Welfare Policy II

• Policy Practice and Policy Analysis

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In this class, we will talk about

• How government policies are connected to social
  work practice.
• The social workers responsibility for developing
  new policies and promoting changes in policies
  that are not beneficial to clients, communities,
  or the profession of social work.
• How to analyze the content of policies.
• How to examine the process of policy-making.
• How to influence the policy-making process
  through lobbying, the use of the media, policy
  analysis and report writing, and electoral
  politics.

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Textbooks for this Class are

• Jansson, B. (2008). Becoming an effective policy
  advocate From policy practice to social justice
  (5th ed). Belmont, CA Thomson Brooks/Cole.
• Chambers, D., Wedel, K. (2005). Social policy
  and social programs A method for the practical
  public policy analyst (4th ed.). Boston, MA
  Allyn Bacon.
• The reading list also includes articles posted on
  the Internet and articles in the librarys
  Electronic Reserve system.

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Class Assignments

• Assignment 1 Internet Exercises on Analyzing
  Policy statements and positions
• Assignment 2 Tracking Legislation
• Assignment 3 Content Analysis of a Policy
• Assignment 4 Advocacy Action Plan
• Attendance
• Note Assignments 2,3, 4 will focus on the
  state budget recently proposed by Governor Arnold
  Schwarzenegger

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Attendance Attendance will be taken during each
class. Excused absences will be granted for
reasonable cause only if the instructor is
notified in advance prior to the absence. Points
will be deducted from the students attendance
grade for unexcused absences.
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Extra Credit Assignments are listed in the course
syllabus. For extra credit you can write letters
on policy issues to newspapers or elected
officials. You can also volunteer for election
work or develop a webpage on a policy or
political issue.
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Methods of Instruction Include

• Lectures
• Class Exercises
• Videos and Films
• Demonstration of Policy Analysis Techniques Using
  the Internet
• Discussion of Current Policy Issues and Political
  Processes
• Analysis of the State Budget

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All course material can be found at

• http//zimmer.csufresno.edu/donnah

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Jansson uses the terms policy practice and policy
advocacy in the book.

• In social work, the term policy practice is
  generally used to indicate that advocacy for
  policy change is an inherent part of social work
  practice.
• Can you think of how government policies have
  affected what you can do in your internship?

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Jansson uses these two terms differently.

• He defines policy advocacy as Efforts to change
  policies in legislative, agency, and community
  settings, whether by establishing new policies,
  improving existing ones, or defeating the policy
  initiatives of other people (p. 14).
• He defines policy advocacy as policy practice
  that aims to help relatively powerless
  groupsto improve their resources and
  opportunities (p. 14).

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Some examples of policies that affect social work
practice.

• Social work licensure rules.
• Federal child welfare policies that give
  preference to adoption and kinship care.
• 5 year eligibility limit for TANF.
• Immigration laws.
• The requirement that reimbursement for mental
  health services be based on a diagnosis from the
  DSM-TR

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Are these policies consistent with social work
principles and values? Should they be?
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What are some of the principles that social
workers believe should be upheld by policies? Do
all social workers believe in these principles?
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One of the principles we will be talking about in
class is distributive justice, the principle that
resources should be distributed equitably to all
people in society. Do you think most resources in
the U.S. are distributed equitably? Why?
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We can think of policies as a stew or a garbage
can in which a variety of things contribute to
what the final policy contains. The composition
of the stew includes

• Individual decision-makers.
• The political affiliations, ideological
  perspectives, and vested interests of the people
  making the decisions.
• The historical, political, and economic context
  in which the decision or policy is made.
• Previous legislation or judicial decisions.
• The power, influence, and vested interests of
  people influencing the change.
• Who is voted into office and the likelihood that
  they will be voted out of office because of the
  decisions they make.
• Public opinion and societal values.
• The power and influence of the media.

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Much of the course will focus on these factors
and examine

• The content of policies.
• The policy process.
• How politics and the media influence policy
  decision-making.
• How social workers can influence the policy
  process.