As an astute social worker and professional policy advocate, once you have selected and identified a social problem, you begin the process of creating and implementing a policy that addresses that social problem. One of the first things you do in the implementation process is an analysis of the social policy you identified. There is always the possibility that the policy created and implemented to address the social problem you identified is not viable for a variety of reasons.  

In this case, you must explore a policy alternative. 

In Part 4 of your ongoing Social Change Project assignment, you will identify a policy alternative to better alleviate the social problem you identified. 

To Prepare:

• Review the article by McNutt in the Learning Resources this week. 
• Review your previous Final Project Milestone Assignments and your Instructor feedback. Consider the following: 
  • Identification of a Social Problem (Week 2) 
  • Issue Statement (Week 4) 
  • Identification of a Policy (Week 4) 
  • Social Advocacy Proposal (Week 6) 
• Based on your work to date, including your insights into the selected social problem, careful analysis of a policy, and goals for advocacy, identify a policy alternative that would work to better alleviate the social problem while mitigating adverse impacts for the relevant populations. 
• Search for and select at least five scholarly articles to support your selection and review of a policy alternative. 

QUESTION

Submit a 3- to 4-page paper that addresses the following: 

• What is the policy alternative? 
• What, if any, change(s) in the policy alternative are necessary, and where will they need to occur (local or state)? 
• Is this policy alternative congruent with social work values? Explain. 
• What is the feasibility of the alternative policy (political, economic, and administrative)? 
• Does the policy alternative meet the policy goals (e.g., social equality, redistribution of resources, social work values, and ethics)? 
• What are the forces that are for the policy? What are the forces that are against the policy? 
• What policy advocacy skills can be used to support the policy alternative? 
• How does the policy alternative affect clinical social work practice with clients? 
• What changes could be made in the policy to support the needs of clients seeking clinical services? 

Be sure to incorporate at least five scholarly articles you found using standard APA format.

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice (8th ed.). Cengage Learning. 

• Chapter 10, “Developing and Using Power in the Policy-Enacting Task” (pp. 328–371)

Rocha, C., Poe, B., & Thomas, V. (2010). Political activities of social workers: Addressing perceived barriers to political participation. Social Work, 55(4), 317–325.

McNutt, J. (2011). Is social work advocacy worth the cost? Issues and barriers to an economic analysis of social work political practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 21(4), 397–403.

Required Media

Walden University, LLC. (2021). Professional insights: Policy alternatives that lead to social change [Video]. Walden University Blackboard. https://class.waldenu.edu

Time Estimate: 4 minutes

Transcript – Professional Insights: Policy Alternatives that Lead to Social Change [PDF]

Rubric Detail

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Name: SOCW_6361_Week8_Assignment_Rubric

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	Exceeds Expectation 90%–100%	Meets Expectation 80%–89%	Fair 70%–79%	Needs Improvement 0%–69%
Submit a paper that addresses the following: What is the policy alternative? What, if any, change(s) in the policy alternative are necessary and where will they need to occur (local or state)? Is this policy alternative congruent with social work values? Explain.	12.15 (13.5%) – 13.5 (15%) Meets expectations and exceeds by using specific examples from the code of ethics to support the connection between the policy alternative and the values of the social work profession.	10.8 (12%) – 12.02 (13.35%) The response evaluates a policy alternative for the chosen social problem, explains any necessary changes, and accurately incorporates social work values to support the selection of the alternative.	9.45 (10.5%) – 10.66 (11.85%) The response provides a policy alternative, but the evaluation is vaguely developed or the connection to social work values is unclear.	0 (0%) – 9.31 (10.35%) The response fails to or does not attempt to evaluate a policy alternative.
What is the feasibility of the alternative policy (political, economic, and administrative)? Does the policy alternative meet the policy goals (e.g., social equality, redistribution of resources, social work values, and ethics)? What are the forces that are for the policy? What are the forces that are against the policy?	24.3 (27%) – 27 (30%) Meets expectations and exceeds by drawing connections between political, economic, and administrative functions or by highlighting the potential impacts of the forces for or against the policy.	21.6 (24%) – 24.03 (26.7%) The response proposes political, economic, and administrative feasibility for the policy alternative and explains how the policy does or does not meet policy goals. The response accurately identifies the forces for and against the policy.	18.9 (21%) – 21.33 (23.7%) The response attempts to explain the policy’s feasibility and goals but lacks detail or does not accurately identify forces for and against the policy.	0 (0%) – 18.63 (20.7%) The response fails to or does not attempt to explain the policy’s feasibility and goals.
What policy advocacy skills can be used to support the policy alternative? How does the policy alternative affect clinical social work practice with clients? What changes could be made in the policy to support the needs of clients seeking clinical services?	24.3 (27%) – 27 (30%) Meets expectations and exceeds by incorporating specific examples from the policy alternative to support the response.	21.6 (24%) – 24.03 (26.7%) The response identifies specific and appropriate advocacy skills that can support the policy alternative. The response identifies potential impacts on clients and proposes logical changes to support client needs.	18.9 (21%) – 21.33 (23.7%) The response attempts to propose advocacy skills, but the skills are vaguely mentioned or not appropriate for the context or the response does not make a clear connection between the policy alternative and potential client impacts in a professional social work setting.	0 (0%) – 18.63 (20.7%) The response fails to or does not attempt to explore potential advocacy skills and/or address client impacts.
Search for and select at least five scholarly articles to support your selection and review of a policy alternative.	8.1 (9%) – 9 (10%) Meets expectations and exceeds by including relevant and/or added examples, either from additional scholarly sources or the Learning Resources.	7.2 (8%) – 8.01 (8.9%) Response accurately incorporates five relevant scholarly research articles.	6.3 (7%) – 7.11 (7.9%) The response attempts to incorporate five articles but some articles lack relevance, the response integrates three to four articles, and/or the additional sources are not scholarly.	0 (0%) – 6.21 (6.9%) The response contains fewer than three scholarly articles.
Competency – Engage in Policy Practice	4.05 (4.5%) – 4.5 (5%) Student demonstrates exceptional ability to engage in policy practice through in-depth and critical analysis of policy impacts on specific populations. Student applies critical thought to analyze and advocate for policies that advance social justice.	3.6 (4%) – 4 (4.45%) Student demonstrates clear ability to engage in policy practice through accurate identification and analysis of policy impacts. Student demonstrates ability to analyze and advocate for policies that advance social justice.	3.15 (3.5%) – 3.56 (3.95%) Student demonstrates some ability to engage in policy practice through identification and analysis of policy impacts. Analysis may be unclear or missing aspects of analysis. Student demonstrates some ability to analyze and advocate for policies that advance social justice. Analysis maybe be vague or not fully explained.	0 (0%) – 3.1 (3.45%) Student demonstrates little or no ability to engage in policy practice.
Writing	8.1 (9%) – 9 (10%) The paper meets length requirements, meets expectations, is generally error free (two or fewer), and further exceeds by showcasing an exemplary scholarly voice to develop its message or communicate ideas.   The paper appropriately paraphrases sources, using one or fewer quotes. Presents polished APA Style. Citations, reference list, and paper formatting are generally error free (two or fewer).  Tone and presentation of ideas are free from bias and objective, unless otherwise directed in the prompt.	7.2 (8%) – 8.01 (8.9%) The paper meets length requirements and is clear and coherent. Errors in grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation are minor, are minimal (three to five), and do not interfere with the scholarly message. The paper displays effective organization and focus to communicate ideas.   The paper appropriately paraphrases sources. The paper may use two to three short quotes but provides appropriate references, consistently documents sources in APA Style, and  uses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with a few minimal errors (three to five). The reference list is complete and contains only minimal errors (three to five). Paper formatting is appropriate.   There is a clear distinction between cited content and original thought. Tone and presentation of ideas are free from bias and objective, unless otherwise directed in the prompt.	6.3 (7%) – 7.11 (7.9%) The paper does not meet length requirements and is either somewhat too short or too long. The paper is somewhat clear and coherent. Errors in grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation are minor but frequent (five to 10) and occasionally interfere with the message. The paper lacks clear organization or occasionally strays from the focus.    The paper may rely on four short quotes or one to two long quotes (more than 40 words) and/or does not sufficiently paraphrase material from other resources into student’s own words. The paper attempts to document sources in APA Style and citations are present but contain frequent APA errors or omissions. A reference list is provided but is incomplete and/or contains frequent APA errors. The paper formatting may be incorrect (e.g., single-spaced or without a title page) and occasionally lacks a clear distinction between cited content and original thought.	0 (0%) – 6.21 (6.9%) The paper does not meet length requirements and is either significantly too short or too long. The paper lacks clarity and coherence. Errors in grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation are major, are pervasive (11+), and interfere with the message. The paper is not organized or lacks focus.   The paper relies excessively on quoting (five or more quotes) or three or more long quotes (more than 40 words), and/or uses quoted material without paraphrasing or referencing the source of the material. Little or no attempt is made to document sources in APA Style. Citations are infrequent or missing, and a reference list is not provided. Little or no attempt has been made to format the paper in APA Style.   There is no distinction between cited content and original thought.  Tone and presentation of ideas reveal bias and subjectivity.