- Students will submit a 6-7–page double spaced paper on the policy response to this social problem (focus of paper in Part 1 of this assignment) and a description of an advocacy effort or Infographic.
- in the first half of the paper attached, utilize and include far more information and data regarding the scope, breath and seriousness of the social problem. You also need to identify the organization charged with oversight, administering, and managing the legislation mentioned at the end of the paper.
- Provide a thorough description of the federal policy that you introduced in Part 1 of the assignment.
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- Identification of the title/official name of policy.
- What is the year the law/social policy was passed/enacted? Have there been amendments? Latest amendment?
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- When and why was it developed. What is the overarching intent of the legislation/social policy?
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- What are the major elements/mandates of the policy? Are there articles or subgroups of the legislation?
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- Describe the federal branch AND local NJ (or other state – if you live in another state) agency that oversees the implementation of this policy.
- Critical analysis of the adequacy of this policy. THIS SECTION REQUIRES- data, stats, research, studies, etc.
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- Citing recent research literature, data, stats, etc. how effective has the policy been in addressing the social problem? Be very specific about how the research measures efficacy of the policy.
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- What outcomes inform the policy analysis? How adequate are these outcomes or indicators?
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- How effective has the policy been in addressing issues related to any of the following: race/ethnicity, gender, sexual and gender diversity, socioeconomic class, political disenfranchisement, poverty and/or inequality; promotion of child well-being.
- Design and develop a hypothetical advocacy effort or infographic. Students do not need to implement this effort but do need to explain why they chose this strategy. And students need to explain what the advocacy plan is. Additionally, students need to explain how you will know if this advocacy plan is effective. Students should prepare as if it were being implemented. The advocacy effort must address how to improve the policy and/or how to better address the social problem. Choose any one of the advocacy options from the list below.
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- Write a 750-word letter to a Senator, Representative, State Assembly Representative. In the letter, you must articulate why you are choosing this recipient and why they are an appropriate outlet for improving the policy/addressing the social problem.
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- Write a 750-word Op-Ed piece for a newspaper or news outlet. It can be any state or national news outlet, and the rationale for your selection must be articulated in the Op-Ed.
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- Design a 1-page Infographic along with a 1 paragraph description of the Infographic (who it is intended for and brief description of intent of the graphic). The infographic can describe/define the social problem or resources to address the problem or the efficacy of the policy in addressing the problem (or any combination of these).
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To create your infographic:
Piktochart or Canva are free resources for you to use. Please note that Piktochart has a limit on the number of free infographics you can make, so if you have used it in another class, you may need to use Canva instead.
For help planning and designing your infographic, please review this document:
For more detailed instructions on how to download your infographic:
Example Infographics:
NOTE: Students are encouraged to review Chapters 9 and 10 from the Handbook of Policy Practice to inform this part of the assignment (covered earlier in the semester).
- Finally, students are expected to write a thoughtful Conclusion section in which they describe how social work training, and experiences can inform understanding of the social problem and how social workers can participate in the policy solution. Students should draw on their own field/work experience to describe the relevance of this policy (or policy advocacy in general) for children, families, and communities in New Jersey (or the state in which you live) (please disguise any identifying details about individuals involved with these settings). Students are permitted to utilize first person in the section ONLY.