Social Welfare Policy And Advocacy

Catalog description

This course provides an overview of social welfare and social work as a profession in context of social work values and ethics. It includes critical analysis of historical and current interactions of social welfare policies, programs, and services with diverse recipient populations. Particular emphasis is placed on the examination of different political and economic conceptions, as well as the ways in which they shape social programs and, in turn, social work practice. Attention is given to the controversies surrounding the “welfare society.” This course deals with the societal and social policy content that impacts professionals in their service roles. The general aim is to develop an analytic and critical approach to the study of how society politically and economically structures its caring responses. The course traces the development of and the interrelationships between social welfare policy and social work practice in the United States. It explicates the interests, values, belief systems, and assumptions that underlie the American social welfare system. The evaluation of social welfare policies and programs is placed in a socio-historical context and the social forces unique to the American experience are examined. Course Learning Outcomes 1. Describe and analyze the historical foundations of the contemporary US welfare state, social welfare policies and the social work profession. 2. Describe the concept of “social problems” and analyze the changing definitions of social problems. 3. Describe and critically analyze social welfare policies, from an evidence-based and value-based perspective. Apply a social, economic, and environmental justice and human rights framework to the analysis of social welfare policies and programs. 4. Describe and analyze the role of various levels of government, the market, and the voluntary sector in social welfare provision. 5. Describe and analyze the development and functioning of the main sectors of social welfare, such as health, income maintenance, housing, employment and training, and social services. 6. Analyze the impact of social welfare policies on varying and intersectional forms of social inequalities, including those related to race, class, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability status, immigration status and other social categories. 7. Describe and analyze historical and contemporary advocacy efforts, social movements, social work, and policy strategies that helped to eliminate structural barriers, promote social justice and ensure the more equitable distribution of social good and rights. View Class Schedule