Policy Analysis

Assignment Description

This assignment builds on the previous assignments in the course, where you identified a social problem and selected a local, state, or federal policy that affects it.

In this assignment, you will analyze the local, state, or federal policy you chose to address your social justice issue, including providing background on the development of the policy and evaluating its effectiveness and feasibility.

Remember that the feasibility of a policy relates not only to its economic feasibility but also to its political and social impact. You will also identify the policy constraints that inhibit the policy from most effectively reaching your targeted population.

Continue to consult the United States Congress website (located in the

reading list), the Government Accountability Office, public policy analysis research and reports, and other peer-reviewed research to support your analysis. Also, use the NASW Code of Ethics web pagelocated in the

reading listto guide your analysis.

By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following CSWE EPAS competencies and practice behaviors:

• CSWE EPAS Competency 5: Engage in policy practice.
• C5.GP.A: Use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services.
• Related assignment criterion:

1. Analyze the development of the chosen policy.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of the policy with respect to the target population.
3. Evaluate the feasibility of the policy.
4. Identify the policy constraints that inhibit the policy from fully addressing the problem for the chosen population.

Assignment Instructions

For this assignment:

• Analyze the development of your chosen policy.
• Analyze the historical background that led to the development of the policy.
• Define the goals of the policy and how these goals are intended to be met, including services and programs intended to achieve the goals.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the policy with respect to the target population.
• Consider how well the policy has met the needs of your target population and to what extent it improves the social justice problem you initially researched. Does the policy seem to ignore, impede, or strengthen the social functioning of the target population?
• To what extent does the policy meet or improve the social values of the target population?
• To what extent does the policy adhere to best practice ethics and best practice standards?
• If the outcome of your analysis is that best practice ethics and standards are not being adhered to, include that information in your analysis as well.
• Evaluate the feasibility of the policy.
• Is the policy politically, economically, and administratively feasible? Provide details and rationale.
• Identify the policy constraints that inhibit the policy from fully addressing the problem for the chosen population.
• Have other constraints arisen since the passage of the policy that have made conditions worse or better for the chosen population?

Guidelines

• Support your claims and recommendation with clear rationale and support from scholarly, peer-reviewed literature.
• Review the Policy Analysis rubric for information on how your work will be graded.
• Review the feedback you received for the previous assignments to improve the quality of your submission. Further feedback from this assignment will help you improve your work for the final Policy Analysis and Recommendations assignment.

Additional Requirements

The assignment you submit is expected to meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting standards.
• Cited resources: A minimum of six scholarly sources. Most literature cited should be current, with publication dates within the past five years.
• Length of paper: 57 typed, double-spaced pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
• Due date: Assignment must be submitted to your instructor in the courseroom no later than Sunday, 11:59 p.m. CST, this week.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and rubric criteria:

• Competency 1: Use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services. (C5.GP.A)
• Analyze the development of the chosen policy. (C5.GP.A)
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the policy with respect to the target population. (C5.GP.A)
• Evaluate the feasibility of the policy. (C5.GP.A)
• Identify the policy constraints that inhibit the policy from fully addressing the problem for the chosen population. (C5.GP.A)
• Competency 3: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the social work profession.
• Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the social work profession, referencing at least six scholarly sources.