Advanced Social Policy:Aging-Critical and Practical Perspectives

Catalog description

Advanced Social Policy courses examine social problems from the perspective of their impact on individuals, families and communities, focusing on at-risk populations in the context of an urban environment. The course builds on the policy content offered in MSWPF-GS 2003 and links policy to practice and research skills that have been developed. Emphasis is placed on the link between social and economic justice and issues relating to diversity. This course focuses on social work relevant policy positions and processes in the US, particularly as they affect older persons, their families, and their communities. The methods of the course are based on contemporary critical digital pedagogies that foster critical thinking, policy analysis, social action, public engagement, and advocacy. Age-relevant social policies are analyzed from the perspectives of social justice, politics, communication, economics/financing, and the intersectionalities of age, race, ethnicity, ability/disability, and gender as they affect policy discourse. The first part of the course is an examination of the policy making cycle, inclusive of social problem definition, policy formulation, implementation and critical analysis of policy. A detailed section on evaluation of policies as they affect societal structures, communities, agencies, clients and practitioners is then discussed. Finally, a major section of the course presents strategies for practitioners to influence policies and promote change at the client level, the agency level, the community level and the broader society.