Course Description
This course will develop students' awareness at an advanced level of the historical and contemporary social forces that influence policy development and the role of social workers in delivering, evaluating, and shaping services. Students will develop the ability to analyze and assess social welfare policy from social work perspectives and will learn about the processes of discrimination and oppression and the interrelations to social welfare policy. Three main areas will be covered: the historical context of social policy in the United States; models and approaches for policy practice and how to analyze social policy and the government policy-making process (including awareness of values, conflicting viewpoints, and competing interests); and major policy areas at the local, state, federal and international levels (with a focus on social justice and how policies influence populations that have received unequal treatment or been underserved).
Units
3
