Archive for month: January, 2024

Week 9: Political Strategy in Policy Advocacy

Political strategies evolve as a result of a sequence of actions and verbal exchanges with policy makers and stakeholders. A social worker and policy advocate may find himself or herself in the role of political activist as well.

This week you examine how to use power resources to create and put into action a political strategy that has been designed to increase the chances that a policy proposal will be successfully enacted to change and improve the lives of people. You develop a series of political strategies to address one aspect of the situations and/or problems facing family members in the families you are introduced to through case studies presented in the readings and the media of this week. You also write a proposal for a policy practice or social advocacy that will seek to change a social/organization/legislative policy or advocate for the amelioration of a social problem.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze political strategies related to social work
• Analyze policy alternatives
• Analyze issues related to policy alternatives

Learning Resources

Required Readings

SOCW 6361 Webliography
These websites will be required throughout the semester. Become familiar with these websites, especially when doing research for your assignments.

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice  (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.
Chapter 11, “Developing Political Strategy and Putting It into Action in the Policy-Enacting Task” (pp. 372-419)

Plummer, S.-B, Makris, S., Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Concentration year.Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
“Social Work Policy: Children and Adolescents. The Case of Susanna” (pp. 57–60)
“Social Policy and Advocacy: Violence Prevention” (pp. 53–55)

McNutt, J. (2011). Is social work advocacy worth the cost? Issues and barriers to an economic analysis of social work political practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 21(4), 397–403.

Sherraden, M. S., Slosar, B., & Sherraden, M. (2002). Innovation in social policy: Collaborative policy advocacy. Social Work, 47(3), 209–221.

Required Media

Laureate Education. (Producer). (2013). Bradley (Episode 7 of 42) [Video file]. In Sessions. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.

Discussion: Developing Political Strategies

In this week’s resources, you explore the stories of Susana and the Bradley family. They are all in situations that need social work intervention and advocacy. What political strategies would you use to enact policies developed to assist these individuals?

In this Discussion, you develop political strategies to address one aspect of the situation(s) and problem(s) facing Susana and members of the Bradley family.

To Prepare: Read and review Chapter 11 in your text. Read “Social Work Policy: Children and Adolescents” and “Social Policy and Advocacy: Violence Prevention”. View the Bradley Episode 7 in the media for this week.

By Day 3

Post an explanation of the political strategies you would use to address one aspect of the situations/problems facing Susana and members of the Bradley family. Explain why you selected that strategy.

Be sure to support your post with specific references to this week’s resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

Waynnesha Wedlow RE: Discussion – Week 9COLLAPSE

Both Susana and Tiffani are minors, although their situations are different, they are each being impacted by laws set to protect them. Susana is a 15-year-old who is continuously truant from school (Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014). By laws her parents are to be held accountable for her missing school although they encourage her to go. When a social worker becomes involved due to ongoing truancies the social worker learns Susana has a good relationship with her parents, has few friends, stays home all the time, and is very attached to her mother. The social worker referred Susana to be assessed at a community mental health center. However, the judge over the case ruled for Susana to be removed for the custody of her parents and placed in an institutional setting. This ruling is not beneficial for Susana because she is not a delinquent as truancy is a dependent act.

In the case of Tiffani, a 16-year-old who has been involved with sex trafficking, a law has been put in place for her protection. The law identifies Tiffani as the victim as she is a minor (Laureate Education, 2013). With this law Tiffani is now able to receive treatment for the trauma she has experienced and also vocational services to learn skills she can use when she returns to society (Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014). Recently, Tiffani learned her former pimp has been busted and is afraid of retaliation. The law that has been enacted does not include safety precautions such as a protection program to keep the victims safe when they return to society.

Organizing a team to further develop the two polices discussed here is an efficient strategy to address areas overlooked by the current polices. A group must have someone in a leadership position to that delegates tasks to members of the team (Jansson, 2018). Tasks the team can work on are (1) how the current policy is working (2) research (3) policy proposal. Developing a team for the case of Susana would consist of developing alternatives to the current policy which holds the parents accountable. The team developed would need to research reasons why children would intentionally be truant from school that have supportive families and healthy family relationships. Community resources should be identified to determine alternatives to keep the youth out of the justice system that do not present with delinquent behaviors. As Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen (2014) stated, you do not want to mix delinquent youth with non-delinquent youth. I selected this strategy, because research is needed to understand the needs of youth like Susana. Understanding the needs of the population will ensure the policy adequately addresses those needs. This strategy can be used for Tiffani as well. There is a lot of research available on sex trafficking of youth, which can be reviewed. Youth are an extremely vulnerable population and need to be protected. Organizing a team to identify resources that can be used to protect these youth from revictimization is important. The team can focus on (1) research on the issue (2) resources (3) outcomes of current policy. By obtaining all this information the team should be able to understand what is going on and develop an adequate policy to protect sex trafficked youth once they return to society.

References

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice. (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.

Laureate Education. (Producer). (2013). Bradley (Episode 7 of 42) [Video file]. In Sessions. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014a). Sessions: case histories. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

Plummer, S.-B, Makris, S., Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Concentration year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

By Day 5

Respond to a colleague who chose a different political strategy than you. Offer a supportive insight based on your own experience as a social worker and/or policy advocate.

Project: Part 4: Identification of a Policy Alternative

As an astute social worker and professional policy advocate, once you have selected and identified a social problem, you begin the process of creating and implementing a policy that addresses that social problem. One of the first things you do in the implementation process is an analysis of the social policy you identified. There is always the possibility that the policy created and implemented to address the social problem you identified is not viable for a variety of reasons. In this case, you must explore a policy alternative.

In Part 4 of your ongoing Social Change Project assignment, you identify a policy alternative to the social problem you identified.

By Day 7

Complete Part 4 of your Social Change Project.

Address the following items within a 3-4 page paper:

• What is the policy alternative?
• What, if any, change(s) in the policy alternative are necessary and where will they need to occur (local, state, national, and international)?
• Is this policy alternative congruent with social work values? Explain.
• What is the feasibility of the alternative policy (political, economic, and administrative)?
• Does the policy alternative meet the policy goals (e.g., social equality, redistribution of resources, social work values, and ethics)?
• What are the forces that are for/against the policy?
• What policy advocacy skills can be used to support the policy alternative?
• How does the current policy affect clinical social work practice with clients?
• What changes could be made in the policy to support the needs of clients seeking clinical services?
• Provide an update on the advocacy activities your proposed in the Week 6 Assignment.

Make sure that your assertions are supported by appropriate research and reputable resources.

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SOCW 6311 wk 11 discussion 2 peer responses 

Respond to at least two colleagues’ by doing the following:

Respond to at least two colleagues by offering critiques of their analyses. Identify strengths in their analyses and strategies for presenting evaluation results to others.

Identify ways your colleagues might improve their presentations.

Identify potential needs or questions of the audience that they may not have considered.

Provide an additional strategy for overcoming the obstacles or challenges in communicating the content of the evaluation reports.

Name first and references after every person

Instructor wants lay out like this:

Respond to at least two colleagues ( 2 peers posts are provided) by doing all of the following:

Identify strengths of your colleagues’ analyses and areas in which the analyses could be improved.

Your response

Address his or her evaluation of the efficacy and applicability of the evidence-based practice,

Your response

[Evaluate] his or her identification of factors that could support or hinder the implementation of the evidence-based practice,

Your response

And [evaluate] his or her solution for mitigating those factors.

Your response

Offer additional insight to your colleagues by either identifying additional factors that may support or limit implementation of the evidence-based practice or an alternative solution for mitigating one of the limitations that your colleagues identified.

Your response

References

Your response

Peer 1: Cedric Brown 

RE: Discussion 2 – Week 11

COLLAPSE

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Post an analysis of how you can apply new knowledge and skills related to research and evaluation, acquired in this course to your future career.

There has been several different skills that I think this course has helped me be able to apply in my future career. One of the most important skills that I feel has become so vital in research is communication. Communication is so important especially when you have to have focus groups or presenting the findings of the research. So, there is communication in all aspects of the social work career, so I intend on continuing to enhance it and become more confident in it.

Identify specific knowledge and strategies and how you intend to apply them.

I will apply what I learned about how to communicate with others and how to conduct focus groups properly. So, I will take what I have learned and apply it to future social work endeavors. One way to utilize communication skills is by being competent of the work that I will be doing. By continually working to increase professional knowledge and skills while applying them to practice (NASW, 2008).

Identify those skills that you believe will be most applicable to achieving your future goals.

Communication will probably be most applicable because it not only involves verbal, but nonverbal communication and that goes a long way in the social work profession. You use communication in a lot of ways and as long as there is proper communication you will be able to communicate to the clients and coworkers going forward.

Reference
NASW Code of Ethics. (2008). Washington, DC: NASW.

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Peer 2: Katie Otte 

Top of Form

Initial Post: By Day 4 (Thursday) post an analysis of how you can apply new knowledge and skills related to research and evaluation, acquired in this course to your future career.

The ethical standards branched within the NASW code of ethics include evaluation and research as a core standard for social workers (NASW, 2017).  Thus, the knowledge and skills acquired in this course will help me adhere to that standard in my future work as a mental health therapist. Specifically, I will be able to better evaluate new interventions and programs that I might use in my practice.  I will have the ability to understand outcome evaluations related to specific interventions or programs and make informed decisions.  Additionally, I feel competent in my ability to participate in research efforts pertaining to mental health.

Identify specific knowledge and strategies and how you intend to apply them.

A specific skill that I might apply in my mental health profession is using Likert scales to assess clients before, during, and after treatment.  Additionally, I have a better understanding of what stakeholders have an interest in and can design evaluations to meet those needs.

Identify those skills that you believe will be most applicable to achieving your future goals.

I think the research skill that will be most applicable to my future goals in mental health is the ability to read evaluation reports-both process and outcome versions.   I have a clear understanding of the difference between outputs and outcomes and I believe this is important when reviewing research and using it to make decisions.  For example, I may read a program evaluation for a new program the agency is considering adopting.  The evaluation may include both outputs and outcomes and because of what I have learned in this class, I will be better able to determine if outputs that appear to be positive actually result in positive outcomes.

References

National Association of Social Workers. (2017).  Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers.  Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

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The problem-solving model was first laid out by Helen Perlman. Her seminal 1957 book, Social Casework: A Problem-Solving Process, described the problem-solving model and the 4Ps. Since then, other scholars and practitioners have expanded the problem-solving model and problem-solving therapy. At the heart of problem-solving model and problem-solving therapy is helping clients identify the problem and the goal, generating options, evaluating the options, and then implementing the plan.

Because models are blueprints and are not necessarily theories, it is common to use a model and then identify a theory to drive the conceptualization of the client’s problem, assessment, and interventions. Take, for example, the article by Westefeld and Heckman-Stone (2003). Note how the authors use a problem-solving model as the blueprint in identifying the steps when working with clients who have experienced sexual assault. On top of the problem-solving model, the authors employed crisis theory, as this theory applies to the trauma of going through sexual assault. Observe how, starting on page 229, the authors incorporated crisis theory to their problem-solving model.

In this Final Case Assignment, using the same case study that you chose in Week 2, you will use the problem-solving model AND a theory from the host of different theoretical orientations you have used for the case study.

You will prepare a PowerPoint presentation consisting of 11 to 12 slides, and you will use the Personal Capture function of Kaltura to record both audio and video of yourself presenting your PowerPoint presentation.

To prepare:

• Review and focus on the case study that you chose in Week 2.
• Review the problem-solving model, focusing on the five steps of the problem-solving model formulated by D’Zurilla on page 388 in the textbook.
• In addition, review this article listed in the Learning Resources: Westefeld, J. S., & Heckman-Stone, C. (2003). The integrated problem-solving model of crisis intervention: Overview and application. The Counseling Psychologist, 31(2), 221–239. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1177/0011000002250638

By Day 7

PowerPoint presentation that addresses the following:

• Identify the theoretical orientation you have selected to use.
• Describe how you would assess the problem orientation of the client in your selected case study (i.e., how the client perceives the problem). Remember to keep the theoretical orientation in mind in this assessment stage.
• Discuss the problem definition and formulation based on the theoretical orientation you have selected.
• Identify and describe two solutions from all the solutions possible. Remember, some of these solutions should stem from the theoretical orientation you are utilizing.
• Describe how you would implement the solution. Remember to keep the theoretical orientation in mind.
• Describe the extent to which the client is able to mobilize the solutions for change.
• Discuss how you would evaluate whether the outcome is achieved or not. Remember to keep the theoretical orientation in mind.
• Evaluate how well the problem-solving model can be used for short-term treatment of this client.
• Evaluate one merit and one limitation of using the problem-solving model for this case.

Your 11- to 12-slide PowerPoint presentation should follow these guidelines:

• Each slide should be written using bullet points, meaning no long paragraphs of written text should be in the slides.
• Include a brief narration for each slide (i.e., the narration takes the place of any written paragraphs, while the bullet points provide context and cues for the audience to follow along).
• Record both audio and video for presentation.

Be sure to:

• Identify and correctly reference the case study you have chosen.
• Use literature to support your claims.
• Use APA formatting and style.
• Include the reference list on the last slide.
• Speak clearly.
• Dress professionally.

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Communication for Health Professionals

Take-home midterm

Please pick six of the following questions and answer each thoroughly but succinctly. Please put them in numerical order. Clearly label each question by question number and submit in a Word attachment through Isidore. All responses should be typed, double-spaced. Please make sure that you have enough to say about any particular question before you decide to answer it.

1. If one were observing and critiquing a health care provider-patient interaction, what behaviors would it be important to observe? What does it mean to also look at “missed opportunities” during such an observation? Please think about the things that you observed in your first observation analysis and the behaviors that were noted on the form accompanying that assignment.

2. In what ways can culture impact health communication, particularly health care outcomes? Consider the culture of both the provider and the patient/family. What are the stages in developing cultural competence? How can one become more culturally competent? How does your own cultural programming impact health communication? What ethical issues are related to health communication?

3. Based on your personal and professional experiences, identify the most serious and consistent communication problems that you have observed. Please give specific examples.

4. What barriers exist to the implementation of the kinds of communicative behaviors that have been advocated in the chapters in the text that we have read so far? Again, please give specific examples.

5. How do providers and patients co-create the relationship between the two of them? Give examples of the dyadic nature of communication that make apparent the interactive role of each participant and of their communicative behavior.

6. Please take a look at the following video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW-ZRo6GJnA Critique it utilizing everything that you have read about so far this semester, including presentation and analysis of what is done well and what is not done well. Analyze the behavior of both the health care provider and the patient. In addition to analyzing what is done, please also focus on what is NOT done well and what opportunities are missed.

7. What do we know about the history of health care in the US that influences health communication today?

8. What do we know about health care pedagogy that influences our understanding of health communication? In particular, what do we know about physician vs nursing culture/pedagogy and how they affect health communication?

9. How is communication used to build relationships in health care? What verbal and nonverbal competencies are especially important in health care? What role do narratives play in understanding health communication?

10. What is health literacy and how does it affect health communication? What demographic and SES variables impact health communication? How does this relate to stereotypes and marginalized populations?

11. How does capitalism and the business model impact how health communication operates in the US today? What organizational communication theories are particularly relevant to our understanding of health care organizations and the communication that occurs within them?

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