MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT

  SW 3000 – Social Policy     

Any student needing to make arrangements for special considerations in assignments due to disabilities, including learning disabilities, are encouraged to discuss these arrangements with the instructor during the first week of class.  We are more than willing to make any accommodations necessary as specified by the Disabled Student Services Office.

Course Description

Three credits.  Prerequisite:  SW 257.  Emphasis on recurring themes in social welfare policy development processes historical turning points; societal ethics; causal relationship between social problems and social welfare policy.  Analytical frameworks for assessing social welfare policy and programs will be examined.

The course is a survey of social welfare policy and services.  Course content focuses upon the relationship between social problems and social welfare policy.  Principles involved in the analysis of social welfare policy and services will be examined.

Recurring themes in social welfare policy will be identified.  Emphasis will be placed upon the historical context of social welfare policy.  Activities, lectures and assignments, will focus upon how recurring themes result in the undermining of efforts to develop a socially and economically just and diverse society.

Students are required to assess the relationship between social movements and social policy.

Social justice will be defined and discussed.

The course will build upon the General Studies Requirements.  Students will be required to integrate the information from History 201 and 202 and Sociology 101 to course content.

Course Objectives

At the end of the course, students should demonstrate the ability to:

CO1    define social problems and social welfare policy and discuss their relationship. 

            (PO 8, 13)

CO2    identify social welfare policy within an historical context. (PO 5)

CO3    discuss the relationship between social movements and social welfare policy.

            (PO 8, 13)

CO4    identify recurring themes in social welfare policy.  (PO 5)

CO5    identify the historical relationship between the social work profession and social welfare policy.  (PO 5)

CO6            understand the relationship between social welfare services to historical developments in social welfare policy.  (PO 5)

CO7    define bioethics principles and discuss the relationship of bioethics principles to social welfare policy.  (PO 2, 4)

CO8    define justice, social justice and economic justice and discuss the relationship of justice to social welfare policy analysis.  (PO 4)

CO9    utilize critical thinking skills in analyzing social welfare policy.  (PO 1)

CO10  discuss social welfare policy as a mechanism for both liberation and oppression.  (PO 4)

CO11  relate social problems to ongoing social policy debates.  (PO 8, 13)

CO12  identify social policy issues related to biological, cultural, and social diversity.  (PO 2)

CO13  utilize research skills in social policy analysis processes.  (PO 9)

CO14  identify social work methods to be used in social change processes.  (PO 13)

CO15  relate social policy analysis data to university general education requirements.  (PO 8)

Course Requirements and Assignments

Text:

DiNitto, Diana.  Social Welfare:  Politics and Public Policy, 5^th Edition.  Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

THIS IS A WEB ENHANCED COURSE. SOME COURSE ACTIVITIES WILL BE CONDUCTED VIA THE INTERNET AND OTHER PARTS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM. TRAINING  ON HOW TO USE WEBCT WILL BE PROVIDED. STUDENTS MUST BE PRESENT  WHEN EACH TRAINING SESSION IS CONDUCTED. YOU WILL REACH WEBCT AT: http://www.mtsu.edu/webct

Course Attendance and Participation

Points will not be deducted from your grade should you not attend class. However, attendance is  important because critical social policy issues not covered in the text are covered during classroom  discussions and if you are absent you will miss many valuable points raised.

Evaluations and Grading

1. Quizzes: (20 points)

There will be 4 mini exams each worth 5 points.  The average of exam scores will constitute 20% of the total final grade.  The exams will be objective in style (multiple choice, true-false, etc.) and will be based on assigned reading from the text and classroom lecture and discussion.

2. Legislative Letter (10 points)

Each student will be required to write a letter to a state legislator about an issue that is important to you.  The assignment is different from the advocacy exercise listed below. This assignment is worth 10 points. (See Home page of WebCT for sample letter)

3. Advocacy Assignment.  (25 points)

Each student will also choose an advocacy exercise from the following options:(25 points)

1.  Organizing a political rally or protest. 
2. Attending and speaking at public meetings.
3. Attending and speaking at private meetings.
4. Visit a local or state public official and advocate your position on the issue of your choice (instructor must approve your choice in advance) Organize a letter writing campaign on an issue of your choice.
5. Organize a letter writing campaign on an issue of your choice
6. Organize and conduct a meeting of constituents from the following groups (Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing, Stand for Children, NAACP, NOW, Family Caregiving policy, etc. Instructor must approve your choice in advance)

Students may select an advocacy project other than one from the list above.  These assignments constitute 25% of the final grade and will require a detailed written summary of the event and your participation in it.  You will submit a draft proposal before the event, and the final summary after the event.  The final summary must be 4-5 pages in length. SUBMIT FINAL WRITTEN REPORT THROUGH WEBCT

4. Policy Analysis Paper Assignment:  (30 points) Each student is required to complete an analysis of a particular social welfare policy.  It might be in the students’ best interests to analyze a policy related to your advocacy exercises.  You will be provided an outline/guidelines by which to organize your paper. The paper must be at least 10 pages (not including bibliography). The bibliography must include a mixture of references from multiple sources, such as journals, books, newspaper articles, television reports, documentaries, films, interviews, and not just websites!  This paper constitutes 30% of the final grade. SUBMIT FINAL REPORT THROUGH WEBCT.

Special Note: The Format For This Analysis Is Located On The Home Page of WebCt For This Course. You Must Follow The Format Exactly By Repeating Every Area Listed To Receive The Highest Grade For Your Work

5. Special In class Project (15 points)

Topics covered in the text and classroom discussions offer opportunities for students to conduct special projects related to those topics covered.  A list of these special projects has been developed and are posted on WebCT. Depending on class size at least three students will be assigned to each assignment on the list. Students will participate in not more than one assignment. This assignment is unlike the advocacy exercise described above. This assignment is worth 15 points.

The final grade will be based on the following scale:

90-100 = A; 80-89 = B;  70-79 = C;  60-69 = D;  and 59 or less = F

Assignments submitted late will be reduced one letter grade.  Assignments may be submitted through WEBCT. Assignments transmitted by e-mail outside WebCt, attachments to WebCt email, facsimiles or diskettes will not be accepted. 

COURSE OUTLINE AND CALENDAR

(Subject to revision by instructors)

CO (Course Objectives)

This course is divided into five learning modules related to the foundational definitions, processes, and issues of concern for social welfare policy in American society. Each module covers an aspect of social welfare policy that is relevant for the knowledge and values base needed by social workers to develop policy-making skills. Assignments and class exercises will provide the foundations for policy-making skills needed by entry-level social workers.

Week One August 18-22, 2003

Classroom discussion of social workers as policy. Students will be shown how to access and use the WebCt system. Discussion of course requirements.

                                                                  Weeks Two thru 5: August 25 to September 19, 2003

                                                                    (Labor Day September 1, 2003. No Classes)

PROPOSING A NEW THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR VIEWING SOCIAL POLICY AND SOCIAL SERVICES PO1, PO4
Topics are not covered in the text.

                                                               
1. TRADING PLACES: WHEN PRISONS SUBSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAMS
2. THE PRICE OF CRIME AND  PUNISHMENT 

QUIZ NUMBER ONE DATE TBA

Module One

PROBLEM DEFINITION, PROGRAMMATIC CONSTRUCTION AND EVALUATION, AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRAINTS ON POLICY-MAKING CO 1-15

Weeks 6 thru 8: September 22 thru October 10, 2003

In this first module, the process of social problem definition and the politics of policy-making will be described and discussed,  including the cultural and social factors that have limited the process in American society. Issues of discrimination, power, and ideology will be explored.

Chapter One: Politics, Rationalism and Social Welfare
a. Politics and Social Welfare Policy
1. Scope of Social Welfare Policy
2. Rational Approach
3. Political Approach
b. The Policy Making Process
c. The American Public and Social Welfare

Chapter Eleven: Challenging Social Welfare:  Racism and Sexism         

               a.   Gender Inequities

b.   Gay Rights

c.   Blacks, Hispanics, and Social Welfare

d.   Native Americans and Social Welfare

e.   Immigration and Social Welfare

f.   Social Class

g.   Identity

h.   Prejudice and Discrimination

Chapter Twelve: Implementing and Evaluating Social Welfare Policy:  What Happens After a Law is Passed   

               a.  The Politics of Implementation

b.      Evaluating Social Policy

SECOND QUIZ AT THE END OF THIS MODULE –Exact Date TBA

Module Two

THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS

CO 1-15

Week 9:October 13-17, 2003

                                                                                        Fall Break October 16-17, 2003  

In this module the historical development of the modern welfare state will be described with emphasis on the United States since the 1930s. The changing role of government in the shaping of social welfare programs is discussed from the New Deal era through the Great Society programs in the 1960s to the recent Welfare Reforms of the 1990s and the  rise of market-based services.

Chapter Two: Government and Social Welfare

a.      Historical Perspectives on Social Welfare

b.      The Expansion of Social Welfare

c.       Finances in the Welfare State Legacy of Reagonomics 

d.      Helping the “Truly Needy”

e.      The Presidential Years of Bill Clinton

f.        George W. Bush and “The Market” /Faith-Based Services/ /Education

Module Three

POVERTY & SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY: THE DEFINITIVE SOCIAL PROBLEM/ISSUE CO 1-15

                                                                              Weeks 10 thru 13: October 20 thru November 14, 2003

The problem of poverty in the wealthiest country in the world is a policy conundrum that has produced tons of research  material and often meager results for the poor. Welfare reform in 1996 did virtually nothing for the poor. The U.S. approach to fighting poverty has been an effort that in many ways is representative of how our whole social welfare system responds to social problems.  This module will describe the American response to poverty as the definitive social problem that illustrates the largely residual approach taken in social programs for the powerless. The efforts to define poverty, develop preventive programs, and help special populations will be covered. The persistent problem of hunger will be given special attention.

Chapter 3 :Defining Poverty:  Where to Begin?

               a.  What is Poverty?

b.   Poor and Homeless:  Not Invisible Anymore

c.   A Fundamental Shift

Chapter 4: Preventing Poverty:  The Social Insurance Programs           

               a.  Preventing Poverty through Compulsory Savings

b.   Unemployment Compensation

c.   Workers’ Compensation

Chapter 5: Helping the “Deserving Poor”:  Aged, Blind, Disabled        

               a.     Public Assistance for the Deserving Poor

b.   Rehabilitative Services for Individuals with Disabilities

c.   The Era of Civil Rights for People with Disabilities

d.   Disability Policy for Children

e.   Building a Better Policy on Disability

f.   General Assistance:  The State and Community Response to Welfare

g.   Federalism and Social Welfare

Chapter 6: Ending Welfare as We Knew It:  Temporary Assistance for Needy Families  

               a.    From Mothers’ Aid to AFDC

b.   Trying to Make Parents Pay

c.   Welfare and Work

d.   Why the Fuss about AFDC?

e.   An End to Welfare as We Knew It

f.   Families First

g.   Living Wages Campaigns

QUIZ NUMBER THREE - DATE TBA

Chapter 7: Fighting Hunger:  Nutrition Policy and Programs in the United States       

               a.  Malnutrition Amid Plenty

b.   Setting Nutritional Policy

c.   Tightening Food Stamps’ Belt:  The Welfare Reform of 1996

d.   Food Stamps Program Operations

e.   Nutrition Programs for Younger, Older and Disabled Americans

f.   Nutritional Politics

Chapter 9: Changing Paradigms in the Poverty Wars:  Victories, Defeats and Stalemates     

               a.  The Curative Strategy in the 1960’s War on Poverty

b.   LBJ and the Economic Opportunity Act

c.   Politics Overtakes the War on Poverty

d.   Why Hasn’t Head Start “Cured” Poverty?

e.   Fueling Employment:  Make-Work versus the Real Thing

f.   Building Communities through Service

Module Four

HEALTH CARE FOR ALL OR ONLY THOSE WHO DESERVE IT?

CO 1-15

Weeks 14 and 15: November 17 thru 28, 2003

Thanksgiving November 27-28, 2003. No Classes.

 The health care system in the United States is technologically the most advanced that has ever existed. Yet elderly people struggle to get medicines, many people forgo necessary and often basic medical treatment because they cannot afford it, and millions of people, including many children, have no medical coverage at all.   This module will describe and discuss the nature of the policy questions surrounding heath care services in the U.S. The emergence of the family caregiving issue will be given special attention in this section.

Chapter 8: Improving Health Care:  Treating the Nations’ Ills

               a.   Good Health or Medical Attention?

b.   Health Care Policy Today

c.   What Ails Medicine?

d.   The Politics of Health Care for All

e.   Health Care-Some Ethical Dilemmas

f.   Family Care-Giving

Module Five

CAN GOVERNMENT CARE ABOUT FAMILIES?

HOW CAN GOVERNMENT CARE FOR FAMILIES?

CO-15 Week 16: December 1-5,  2003

Social Workers are key actors in virtually all forms of social services in the United States. School social work,  mental health services, child protection, foster care, and the aging of America are all areas where social workers have responsibilities. This module will describe the development and structure of the social service system in the United States, social policy implications in that development and structure, and the actual and potential roles of social workers in shaping policy.

Chapter 10: Providing Social Services:  Help for Children, the Elderly and People with Mental Illness

               a.    Social Services in the United States

b.   Social Services for People with ADM Problems

c.   The Rights of Mental Health Service Consumers

d.   Child Welfare Policy

e.   Social Services for Older Americans

LAST QUIZ  #4– FINAL EXAM WEEK