Critique of Policy and Advocacy Development. Students will submit a 7-page APA double spaced paper with APA first order headings (bold and centered) for require sections on the policy response to this social problem (focus of paper in Part 1 of this assignment. CHOSEN TOPIC for this part I was “Children and youth living in poverty”) and a description of an advocacy effort or Infographic. AND students will also submit a revised version of Part 1 of the assignment. Therefore, the total page count for Part 2 of this assignment is 12-13 pages. Students are strongly encouraged to incorporate the feedback from the graded portion of Part 1 of the assignment into their final papers.
Final papers are due on Day 7 of Module 14.
For Part 2, papers must include:
Part 1 of this assignment, incorporating a thorough description of the social problem, following all prompts from Part 1 of the assignment. It is expected that students will have modified and edited Part 1, based on graded feedback from the instructor.
Thorough description of the federal policy that you introduced in Part 1 of the assignment.
Identification of the title/name of policy.
When and why was it developed.
What are the major element/mandates of the policy?
Describe the federal branch AND local NJ agency that oversees the implementation of this policy.
Critical analysis of the adequacy of this policy.
Citing recent research literature, how effective has the policy been in addressing the social problem? Be very specific about how the research measures efficacy of the policy.
What outcomes inform the policy analysis? How adequate are these outcomes or indicators?
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 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 one advocacy option from the list below.
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.
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.
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).
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:
Infographic Tips and Tricks.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader Open this document with ReadSpeaker docReader
For more detailed instructions on how to download your infographic:
Infographic Instructions.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader Open this document with ReadSpeaker docReader
Example Infographics:
llam-infographic-2021 (002).jpg
https://www.adobe.com/express/discover/examples/infographic
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 (please disguise any identifying details about individuals involved with these settings).
