Assignment Description
Social justice problems may affect different populations in unique ways. Social workers must understand the special challenges that may arise when providing services and supports for these populations, as well as the policies that may address the social justice problems that impact them.
The purpose of this assignment is to explore a social justice problem that addresses a specific population or subgroup (for example, access to health care, access to social services, immigration, or veterans’ mental health and services). This should be a problem that presents current challenges for social workers providing services and support. You will need to investigate the various forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination within this social justice problem and identify policies that are currently enacted to address this problem. Ultimately, you will choose one of these policies as the topic for your policy analysis in the coming assignments in this course.
To ensure you choose a viable and scholarly topic, explore the literature in your area of interest by doing article and book searches through Capella library databases and other electronic resources, including government, educational, and organizational websites. Exploring scholarly, respected literature will be the preliminary work for this assignment. The United States Congress website—located in the Assignment ResourcesLinks to an external site. reading list—will be an invaluable resource for your research during this assignment if you are exploring a federal-level issue.
https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics
https://www.congress.gov/
By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following CSWE EPAS competencies and practice behaviors:
CSWE EPAS Competency 3: Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice.
C3.GP.B: Demonstrate cultural humility by applying critical reflection, self-awareness, and self-regulation to manage the influence of bias, power, privilege, and values in working with clients and constituencies, acknowledging them as experts of their own lived experiences.
Related assignment criteria:
Analyze the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination that exist within a selected social justice problem and their impact on a specific population or subgroup.
Analyze the ethical problems associated with the selected social justice issue with support from scholarly sources.
Analyze the feasibility of policies related to the selected social justice problem.
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 criteria:
Assess the impact of policies related to the selected social justice problem on a specific population or subgroup.
Describe the current enacted policies to address the selected social justice problem.
Compare advocacy methods for the selected social justice problem.
Assignment Instructions
To complete this assignment:
Choose a social justice problem that addresses the needs of a specific population or subgroup that interests you. Use the Capella library, Internet, United States Congress website (located in the Assignment ResourcesLinks to an external site. reading list), or any relevant state or local website that provides policy and social justice information to help guide your research. Also, refer to the resources above as needed to help guide your search.
After you have chosen a problem, write a 4–6 page exploration of the topic and address the following:
Analyze the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination of your chosen population or subgroup that exist within this social justice topic (for example, based on race, religion, disabilities, gender orientation, socioeconomic status, or access to services).
In your analysis, describe how the oppression and discrimination impacted this population or subgroup.
Support this with data on the number of people affected that you have found during your research.
Analyze ethical problems associated with your selected social justice problem.
Use the NASW Code of Ethics web page, located on the Assignment ResourcesLinks to an external site. reading list, to guide your analysis:
What ethical considerations in your selected social justice problem must be addressed?
What are implications for social work practice and positive client outcomes?
Describe the current enacted policies for this social justice problem.
Research current enacted policies that seek to address this social justice problem. Important: These policies must be passed legislation currently in practice. Legislation can be at the local, state, or federal level.
Analyze how effective these policies are in addressing the needs of your chosen population or subgroup.
Do the policies effectively address the social justice problem? Provide a rationale that includes scholarly, peer-reviewed research.
Assess the impact these policies have had on your selected population or subgroup.
What policy constraints exist for this population or subgroup?
Compare advocacy methods for the selected social justice problem.
What are the strengths and challenges of the advocacy methods? What additional steps could be taken to address the challenges?
Guidelines
Review the Exploration of Social Justice rubric for information on how your work will be graded.
Refer to the Federal PolicyLinks to an external site. page from the Social Work Masters Program (MSW) Library GuideLinks to an external site. for guidance on how to conduct your research.
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 five scholarly sources. Most literature cited should be current, with publication dates within the past five years.
Length of paper: 4–6 typed, double-spaced pages.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
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)
Describe the current enacted policies to address the selected social justice problem. (C5.GP.A)
Assess the impact of policies related to the selected social justice problem on a specific population or subgroup. (C5.GP.A)
Compare advocacy methods for the selected social justice problem. (C5.GP.A)
Competency 2: Demonstrate cultural humility by applying critical reflection, self-awareness, and self-regulation to manage the influence of bias, power, privilege, and values in working with clients and constituencies, acknowledging them as experts of their own lived experiences. (C3.GP.B)
Analyze the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination that exist within a selected social justice problem and their impact on a specific population or subgroup. (C3.GP.B)
Analyze the ethical problems associated with the selected social justice issue with support from scholarly sources. (C3.GP.B)
Analyze the feasibility of policies related to the selected social justice problem. (C3.GP.B)
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.
Topic
Advancing Mental Health Equity for Children in Foster Care
