Write a social work welfare policy brief around a similar issue as your previous paper. A policy brief is (as you may have guessed) “brief” – concise and to the point. It can take many forms, but the general format you are to use is as follows:
1. Describe a problem or issue (preferably the problem or issue you have been addressing in the preceding assignment).
2. Present and describe a few options for dealing with the problem or issue (possibly the policies or programs you identified in Assignment 5 Discussion Board – Choosing a Social Welfare Response).
3. Present and describe your recommendations on the “best” policy or program option.
Your recommendations could involve adjustments in any of the key areas of policy analysis: social allocation (who), social provision (what), social service delivery (how), and/or financing (by what means).
Specifically, your brief should cover the following:
1) Description of the Problem or Issue
• What is the social problem?
• What is the scope of the current problem?
• What is (are) the cause(s) to which the problem is attributed, and what are the problem’s most serious consequences?
2) Description of Options for Response
• Present and briefly describe 3-4 possible ways to address the problem you have identified through public policies or programs
o These could include policy options that have been tried in the United States or elsewhere, but could also include options that have not been previously tried.
o These could include the policies or programs you identified in Assignment 5 Discussion Forum – Choosing a Social Welfare Response.
3) Recommendations
• What option for addressing the identified problem or issue are you recommending (could be a change to an existing policy or program or a new policy or program)?
• In what ways is(are) your proposed response(s) better than both the status quo and other plausible options?
• Forecast how your changes might affect the social work profession.
The following link (Overview only) provides a good description of a policy brief: http://www.policy.hu/ipf/fel-pubs/samples/PolicyBrief-described.pdf
Please note that the document linked above suggests that a policy brief be no more than 6-8 pages. Your policy brief should be 2-3 pages.
4) Format
Your policy brief should be single-spaced and in block paragraph style (please see templates below). As with any paper, all information retrieved from a source should be cited to that source. However, you may use either traditional APA format for your sources or footnotes or endnotes.
Please see the following sources for templates:
• http://www.slideshare.net/ruthdearnley/policy-brief-template-general
• http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/womens-and-childrens-health-policy-center/de/policy_brief/strong_brief.pdf
Due for submission on Tuesday, April 26 before 12 midnight EST.
Some references I’m already looking at:
http://www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/343/680
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinstitutionalisation
http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2012/Sept192012/
http://kevinturnquist.org/deinst.php
People as Pendulums: Institutions and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
http://www.sunrisegroup.org/learning-from-history-community-based-services/
*CHP Archives: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION THIRD EDITION