SW 315 - Social Welfare Policy/Programs

Credits: 4

This is a social welfare policy course designed to introduce policy as a critical component of the social work profession. The history, philosophy, and structure of social welfare and social work within the American social system are presented in a model that students may use to understand social welfare issues, policies, programs, and services and to enhance social work practice with clients. This course provides students with a foundation for understanding social problems and social welfare policies in order to prepare them to become informed and competent providers of social welfare services. Based on the premise that effective social work practice is grounded in a solid foundation that includes knowledge of the larger social forces that have an impact on people’s capacity to meet basic human needs, this course will build and enhance this understanding and provide students with the basic analytical tools needed to engage in the process of revising and/or formulating policies and programs to serve clients and citizens more effectively. The role of social policy and the effect of policy on social work practice will be explored. Students will be taught to analyze current social policy within the context of historical and contemporary factors that shape policy. Course content will include the political, economic, and organizational processes used to influence policy, the process of policy formulation, and the frameworks for analyzing policies in light of principles of social and economic justice. Principles of policy/program development and analysis will be examined from a strengths perspective with an emphasis on social justice. In particular, the course will examine the ways in which discrimination and oppression have affected the structure of social welfare policies and programs. Emphasis is placed on major fields of social work service such as: income maintenance, health care, mental health, child welfare, corrections, and services to the elderly. The impact of professional and societal values and ethics on the development of social policy will be examined. The historical development of the social work profession and its roles within the social welfare system will also be studied. Prerequisites: SW 304, SW 305, SW 303.