Social Welfare Paper
• The main purpose of this paper is to research a specific social policy and program. This assignment allows students to explore how political, economic, racial, and cultural factors impact social welfare programs and policies.
The paper should be a minimum of 4-6 pages—this does NOT include the title page, abstract or reference page. Students must use a minimum of 2-3 references, APA format and cite ALL sources—students that plagiarize, do not have in-text citations or a reference page will receive a “zero” …you must cite the policy and ALL the sources that are being used. (Note: The topics below are very broad but each of them has a major impact on social welfare in the United States, so after you select “one” of the broad topics below please pick 1-2 issues on that topic to focus on.
• Poverty
• Welfare
• Immigration
• Substance Abuse
• Criminal Justice: choose juveniles or adults
• Health Care System: choose healthcare or mental health
The paper must address the questions outlined in policy and program papers to include the questions and statements below:
• Clearly outline the specific policy and program being discussed.
• Write a word essay – Evaluate the social services available for under-served and/or underrepresented populations. Be specific.
• What impact does the policy/program have on society, individuals, and communities?
• Why do you believe the policy needs to change? What are your recommendations?
• How does culture, environment, or social class impact this topic?
• Write a word essay – Evaluate how the availability of social services is influenced by this historical milieu (either focusing on the past or how the past affects present services).
• Provide a real-world example of the policies impact.
• What roles does privilege, oppression, diversity, and social justice play? Discuss the importance of diversity & difference in shaping life experiences in practice at the micro, mezzo, and/or macro levels. Be specific.
Policy Paper
This assignment is an evaluation of how policies affect the poor or working class differently than the middle class, and the wealthy in the United States. The following areas are the focus of your analysis: education, health care, voting rights, housing, and the criminal justice (juvenile or adult) system in the United States. This paper is worth 16% of your overall grade.
This paper requires several different tasks so it will be helpful to break the paper into sections with headings. That way you will have clearly identified what areas below are being addressed in each section. The structure of the paper should be as follows (use the list below as a checklist when completing your paper):
_____1. Introduction: Introductory paragraph to the topic. The introduction should include a preview of the main points and purpose of the paper. Include a thesis statement.
_____2. Explain the Policies: Clearly state, describe and explain policies that affect the poor differently than the middle class, and the wealthy, focusing on the education, health care, voting rights, housing, and the criminal justice (juvenile or adult) systems. (CRITT1)
_____3. Write a word essay – Evaluate the Policies: Write a word essay – Evaluate the social services available for under-served and/or underrepresented populations. Determine the unique consequences these policies have on the poor. (SLO1)
_____4. Conclusion: Identify a conclusion based on the research presented. Summarize the implications and consequences of the research presented. (CRITT5)
This paper will be graded on the above criteria and the following:
• The ability to communicate using proper English grammar and writing mechanics. This will include – but is not limited to- correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and word usage. Use Grammarly.com to check your paper.
• Use three or more credible sources to support the Social Work analysis. In-text citations and Reference page should follow the necessary guidelines for the documentation style (APA). See Purdue Owl in our course shell under the Research Assignment tab.
