Social Welfare Policy History

Social Welfare Policy History

Page Length: 5-8pages, not including cover page and reference page 10 citations

Upload to canvas

Please include a title page with the following information:

Name, Semester, Date

Social Problem/Policy area (example: child abuse & neglect/ child welfare)

Policy focus (example: Child Abuse Prevention and Training Act of 1974)

In this paper you will write a brief history of a social policy/social problem area (for example, child abuse, intimate partner violence, homelessness, mental health) that has been addressed by a federal policy.   Your paper will include 2 parts.

• In part 1, you will present the social problem that the policy you have chosen seeks to address. For the example above, this would be child abuse and neglect.  You will discuss how this social problem was recognized over time, how did it come to the attention of policy-makers?

• In part 2, you will discuss policy that has been introduced, enacted and/or implemented at the federal level. For the example above, this would be the Child Abuse Prevention  and Training Act of 1974 (CAPTA).  You will describe how the policy was meant to address the social program, politics and legislative history, and what has been the impact of this policy.  You will also address if this policy is in line with social work values, and how it might be improved, and your own opinion based on this research.

• Throughout your paper you should consider how ideology and politics shapes the policy process (the policy process = recognizing, developing, and implementing policy).

In your paper please address the following questions:

Part 1: History of the Social Issue (2-3 pages)

• Describe the history of this social problem
  • How did it come to be recognized?
  • Which populations are impacted?
  • Who has advocated for change?

Part 2: Enacting Federal Policy to Address the social issue (3-5 pages)

• Describe the policy meant to address the social problem
  • What does the policy provide/do?
  • How is it supposed to work?
• Describe the political/legislative process
  • How was the policy developed, introduced?
  • Who supported the policy during the legislative process, and who opposed it?
  • What has been the impact of the policy?
• Evaluation
  • Is this policy in line with social work values?
  • How might the policy be improved?
  • What do you think?

Part 1 of your paper will be due on week 8 of class. You will use feedback on your part 1 to improve your final paper (Including parts 1-3), which is due on week 15 of the class.

Upload to canvas

Writing tips

• Check out chapter 7 of Blau and Abramovitz for historical context.
• Check out the Karger &Stoesz text, which contains some policy history in the various topic specific chapters.
• Give yourself time to do research, read and make notes, then write up the notes.

Topic Suggestions: These are only suggestions, there are other options.  Please check your topic with your professor.