UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA



Revised Syllabus 1-05-2010

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

SoWk 535 Spring 2010

Ramon M. Salcido Associate Professor

Office Hours: Tuesdays: 11am - 11:30 pm or by appointment at MRF 343

Telephone: 213.740-2003 Email: salcido@usc.edu

Social Welfare Policy

The purpose of this course is to understand why and how social welfare policy is developed and implemented in the United States, the roles of social workers in all areas of practice in promoting social justice, and the integration of practice with policy. 

Understanding social welfare policy is vital to the practice of social work because it fundamentally affects the lives of those who are served by the profession.  Social welfare policy defines who gets what services, resources and opportunities and shapes service delivery systems.  For these reasons it is essential that social workers know about the issues and choices that are embedded in various responses to social problems, guided by an understanding of the ethical responsibilities as expressed in the NASW Code of Ethics, and by the analysis of processes that lead to the formulation and delivery of social welfare policies, to more effectively comprehend the ways in which you can be instrumental in shaping policy choices.

This course builds on the substantive understanding of policy development and critical thinking skills acquired in SoWk 534, and focuses attention on the analysis of selected current policy issues in key sectors of social welfare as well as in the processes and strategies of policy advocacy to redress various forms of social and economic injustice and empower less advantaged groups in our society. 

SoWk 535 provides a foundation for second year, concentration specific, policy courses (SoWk 630’s) in which students will apply policy analytic and policy advocacy skills to develop specific policy proposals in a particular service sector.

Course Objectives

The learning objectives for the course are:

1.      To understand the general provisions of major social welfare policies in several key institutional sectors as well as current pivotal issues that are central to the policy discourse in each sector.

2.      To analyze various policy options for addressing social problems and the social, political and economic issues that are involved in decision making.

3.      To learn to make ethically based, reasoned arguments for policy proposals.

4.      To acquire a detailed knowledge of how culturally sensitive social welfare policies are developed in response to social needs.

5.      To learn the roles and skills that social workers use to influence the policy process at organizational, community and institutional levels.

6. To develop tools for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of social welfare programs.

Campaign Objectives for Spring, 2010 classes:

The mission of the 2010 cohort of SW 535 students is to develop understanding and support for housing children with their parent(s) wherever appropriate and to reform institutional practices and policies accordingly. We will focus on Southern California, the state legislators who shape those policies, candidates for such offices, and their constituencies.

Our focus will be on children with homeless parent who are either homeless together with that parent (or parents) or have been placed in foster or institutional care and for whom reunification with the parent would be appropriate but for the lack of permanent housing.

We will document the need, the value and feasibility of appropriate services and alternative programs. In addition, we shall analyze current policy in the existing social systems which fail to provide adequate housing for families with children who are homeless. Students will have an opportunity to participate in the political arena and apply their policy practice skills by advocating for this population.

We will organize in partnership with community organizations, faith based institutions and the National Association of Social Workers to advocate for the issue and place it in the agenda of elected officials. We will join together with the National Association of Social Workers in a campaign to be launched in a congregate assembly, from 11 am-12:30 pm on Tuesday, January 12th at the Masjid Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque, 1025 Exposition Blvd, just west of our University Park campus.

Required Readings for the Course

Two primary texts are required for this course, each of which requires a purchase, available at the University Book Store.

Bruce S. Jansson (2008).  Becoming an Effective Policy Advocate: From Policy Practice to Social Justice.  Fifth Edition.  Brooks-Cole.

This book is the updated seminal text on “social work policy practice” and “policy advocacy.” It sets forth the historic basis, rationales, the context for social work policy practice and advocacy, and walks you through an understanding of the skills required, the procedures to be undertaken, the development of proposals, use of power, how to strategize and activate, finally how to assess your efforts.

We shall apply the lessons set forth by Prof. Jansson to the plight of homeless families and children.

Joel F. Handler & Yeheskel Hasenfeld, Blame Welfare, Ignore Poverty and Inequality, Cambridge University Press, 2007

The transcendent factor in homelessness, whatever else appears (also) to be causative, is the lack of funds for the homeless and for programs that seek to house them. Handler and Hasenfeld present a model of analysis for the public agency response to the state of poverty that characterizes the homelessness of families and children. They examine the forces that blocked a more logical, coherent, or humane response to poverty, factors that we shall have to engage in our advocacy for programs to house homeless families and children.

Recommended Supplement:

Diana M. DiNitto (2007),. Social Welfare: Politics and Public Policy. Sixth Edition, Pearson Education, Inc.

Shultz, J. (2002).  The Democracy Owner’s Manual. Rutgers University Press.

Other required readings are available through the internet; some may be acquired upon request, free of charge:

Interagency Council on the Homeless, “Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve: Findings of the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, December, 1999.

National Alliance to End Homelessness, “A Plan: Not a Dream: How to End Homelessness in Ten Years.

Supplemental readings to be distributed or made available electronically will be required but need not be purchased.

Class Format

This class will include a variety of teaching learning modalities.  The instructor will provide lectures but classes will be designed to be interactive and students will be encouraged to bring questions and comments for discussion.  Selected sessions may feature videotapes or speakers to illustrate the topic under examination.  Students will be engaged on panels focused on specific tasks or components of the particular problem of homeless families and children addressed by the class as outlined in the syllabus and may engage in role playing exercises or present testimony on pending legislation or before neighborhood groups or coalitions.

Course Expectations

Students are expected to attend and participate in all class sessions and to select a project for program development which will emerge from the class and include at least fifteen hours outside of class in an experiential dimension of social welfare advocacy.

Grading Policy

Within the School of Social Work, grades are determined in each class based on the following standards which have been established by the faculty of the School: 

(1) Grades of A or A- are reserved for student work which not only demonstrates very good mastery of content but which also shows that the student has undertaken a complex task, has applied critical thinking skills to the assignment, and/or has demonstrated creativity in her or his approach to the assignment.  The difference between these two grades would be determined by the degree to which these skills have been demonstrated by the student. 

(2)  A grade of B+ will be given to work that is judged to be very good.  This grade denotes that a student has demonstrated a more-than-competent understanding of the material being tested in the assignment. 

(3)  A grade of B will be given to student work that meets the basic requirements of the assignment.  It denotes that the student has done adequate work on the assignment and meets basic course expectations. 

(4)  A grade of B- will denote that a student’s performance was less than adequate on an assignment, reflecting only moderate grasp of content and/or expectations. 

(5) A grade of C would reflect a minimal grasp of the assignments, poor organization of ideas and/or several significant areas requiring improvement. 

(6)  Grades between C- and F will be applied to denote a failure to meet minimum standards, reflecting serious deficiencies in all aspects of a student’s performance on the assignment.

You are expected to attend class regularly, participate in class discussions, and submit work promptly. 

(NOTE:  Please refer to the Student Handbook and the grading procedures.)University Catalogue for additional discussion of grades and grading.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend all sessions of all classes. The social work program is one of professional preparation.  In addition to acquiring theoretical knowledge, students are expected to acquire professional values, to integrate knowledge from a range of courses, to develop professional skills and be socialized into the profession.  The faculty of this School of Social Work is convinced that this cannot be accomplished through independent study alone.  Thus, attendance at classes is suggested unless legitimate and special reasons exist for absences or tardiness.  Any absences or tardiness may be discussed directly with the course instructor.

University of Southern California policy permits students to be excused from class, without penalty, for the observance of religious holy days.  This policy also covers scheduled final examinations that conflict with students’ observance of a holy day.  Students must make arrangements in advance to complete class work, which will be missed, or to reschedule an examination, due to holy days observance.

Grade Allocation:

Descriptive paper                     10% (P/F)

Analysis and Proposal  20%

Experiential dimension (including reports to class) 20% (P/F)

Presentation/ paper for policy makers 15%

Final including Assessment of project 25%

Class participation 10% (P/F)

Aggregating Student Input for Social Transformation (ASIST)

While studying how to become an effective policy advocate through the assigned readings, you will also get some hands-on experience, geared to illustrate and amplify the concepts presented in the literature. We have developed the ASIST model (Aggregating Student Input for Social Transformation) specifically for Soc.Wk 535 students at USC.

In order to effectively engage in any campaign, one must first understand the nature and dimensions of the problem, what social agencies are and are not doing about it, analyze possible solutions, know who is doing what to contest or compound the problem, and select an appropriate course of action. Through ASIST, we will take our findings to the community and seek changes in public policies to address the problem.

Social Welfare Advocacy for Homeless Families and Children of Homeless Parents

In Spring, 2010, students in all sections of Soc Wk 535 will unite to aggregate their impact on the problem of homeless families and children who now constitute 41% of the homeless in Southern California.

You will become acquainted with aspects of family and child homelessness, discover and analyze its immediate and long term costs (social, economic, personal) and its threat to community well-being, based on both research of the literature and your first hand acquaintance with agencies that serve them and wherever possible, a family or child who is homeless or threatened with imminent homelessness;.

Each class will target the community in which you and your cohorts did your immersion. You may focus on the related California State Senatorial and state Assembly Districts residing in Los Angeles.

While everyone will study the same assigned readings, there will be specialized experiential assignments in each class. Students in each section of 535 will be divided into teams, with each student serving on one of them. Each team will be expected to communicate with an elected official regarding their concerns for homeless families with children. This can be done during NASW Lobby Days or district meetings with the elected official.

(1) Four to six students will serve on the Resource/Service team, studying all of the resources/services (public and private community/faith based and governmental) that serve homeless families in the designated area. The team will also do a web-based search or literature on models of effective services for homeless families with children. The team will interview service providers as key informants and solicit information about the needs of the target population and what should be the optimal service for this population. A guide for asking questions will be developed and administered during the interviews. This team will analyze and assess the services currently being provided to homeless families, rate them and compare them to the model and report on the results of the study to the class.

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(2) Four to six students will serve on the Advocacy team, studying advocacy organizations or coalition groups including ( faith base, trade unions, civic associations, neighborhood councils etc ) in the designated area. This team will be responsible for understanding and assessing these advocacy groups (and their networks) that may support efforts to provide permanent supportive housing for homeless families and children. The team will also do a literature/web-based search on reports of model advocacy groups, organizations and coalitions focusing on homeless families and their children. The team will interview advocacy key informants and ask them about their approaches of policy practice, strategies and possible actions for helping our target population. An interview guide will be developed for asking questions and analyzing the responses. The organizations and the researched advocacy model will be analyzed using ( Current Models of Community Practice) and presented to class for knowledge building. The results of the interviews will also be presented and used developing policy strategies and acquiring knowledge of advocacy efforts.

(3) Persons in Environment (PIE) team: five to six students on the PIE team will identify and study a child whose parent(s) is either homeless or is in imminent peril of becoming homeless. This may include a child in foster care, or – with or without his/her parent -- in a shelter, on the street, in temporary quarters, or whose parent is currently paying a rent he or she is unable to sustain. Each partnership will analyze root causes for the peril faced by that family or child, the social and economic costs borne by them and by society, and how permanent supportive housing could alleviate their problems and save social and economic costs for them and for society. A literature search on evidence of the causes will also be conducted to support the observations made by team. Students will interview expert social workers who will provide professional information regarding the impact of homeless on the health, mental health and well being of families with children. An interview guide will be developed for soliciting information from the key informants. The case study(s) and expert opinions will be presented in class for knowledge building and awareness of the scope of the problems and its implications for the well-being of this population.

(4) Four to five students will form the Legislative team, responsible for work with the state legislature. The Legislative team will work the instructor to develop a strategy for each group and will do the actual planning, reporting of class information to elected officials and advocacy groups and participate in the end of year panel. An analysis will also be done on the state legislatures and key committee memberships and a profile will be developed for each elected official to be targeted. The results of the analysis and team actions will be presented to the class. This group may also organize the students from the class who will be participating at the State NASW lobby day event, possible hearings and key legislative visits. The team will do legislative visits to the selected officials or administrative assistants and report on the findings from the class.

All Assembly seats and half the Senate seats are subject to election by the voters: first in the June primary and then in the November finals. This is the ideal time to inject our findings into the campaign for election (or re-election), it is suggested that this team meet with key candidates for state office (i.e., running in the June primary) getting their support or interest for a policy on housing children of homeless parents with their parent(s) wherever appropriate.

(5) Two to three students may serve as the

Communications team, surveying the media and recording and publicizing the work and findings of the other five teams and synthesizing the findings, preparing presentations for delivery (by them or by spokespersons for any of the other teams) to candidates, legislators and advocacy organizations, preparing a book or a video presentation in which the class’s recommendations are heralded. The team will research the literature on effecting presentations and interview expert on how to develop the production to be presented and interview key persons on how to best organize and present the results to elected officials, community members and social workers.

Week of Jan. 12: Serving Objectives 1 & 5:

Session One:

IN ADDITION TO YOUR REGULAR CLASS, ALL STUDENTS ATTENDING CLASSES on the UNIVERSITY PARK CAMPUS or at the CIVIC CENTER ARE to ATTEND the OPENING SESSION with GUEST SPEAKERS on HOMELESS FAMILIES AND CHILDREN.

For those who cannot attend, a tape will be made available.

January 12, 2009: 8:00 am class will convene at 9:30am and from 11 am to 12:30 pm, will assemble at the Masjid Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque, 1025 Exposition Blvd, just across the street from the University Park campus.

Week of Jan. 19: Serving Objectives 1, 2, & 5

Session Two:   Overview of Policy Practice Framework

What is Policy Practice and Why Should Social Workers Become Advocates?

B. Jansson

      Chapter One:  Joining a Tradition of Social Reform

and Chapter Two: Articulating Four Rationales for Participating in Policy Advocacy

Homage to Martin Luther King, Jr: and relevance to purposes of SW 535

Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”

Discussion and video segment, “Eyes on the Prize.”

Individual students sign up for Teams (SEE pp. 5 – 6, above):

4-6 students on the Resource/Service Team

Initial assignment (Descriptive paper): Identify resources/services for homeless families and children , key informants -literature/websites and describe your preliminary results and plan for finalizing the goals. Details to be worked out.

4-6 students on the Advocacy Team

Initial assignment (Descriptive paper): Identify advocate organizations and potential advocates for homeless families and children in the designated area and describe each, indicating their focus, membership, and sources of their support. Develop a plan for doing interviews.

4-6 students on the PIE team

Initial assignment (Descriptive paper): Identify and describe circumstances of at least two homeless families and children and professional social workers who work with this population in the designated area. Develop an interview schedule and plan developing case studies and testimonies.

2-4 students on the Legislative team.

Initial assignment (Descriptive paper): Identify and summarize the background of the key candidates for state assembly and if the state senate seat is open and up for election or re-election, do the same for all candidates for senate in your district. Identify key elected officials to be contacted and to set up a specific appointment with each candidate to discuss the policy issue with the candidates. A general strategy should be developed for each team to make contact with an elected official and what format.

2 students on the Communications Team

Initial assignment (Descriptive paper): Using Lexis and other search engines, survey news stories about homelessness and catalogue the source and journalists who wrote such articles for future reference. Distribute relevant articles to class.

Identify and describe media, newsletters, and systems of communication circulating in the designated area. Develop the plan for how the information from the articles, interviews from each team , data and case-studies will be broken down and presented to the elected officials, community persons and social workers.

ALL DECRIPTIVE PAPERS ARE DUE DURING THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 2nd.

 Week of Jan. 26: Serving Policy Objectives 1, 2, 3, & 4:

Session Three: The Political Economic Climate: Diversity and Poverty in the

Southern California Region

Handler & Hasenfeld, Chapter One: The State of Poverty: TANF Recipients

Inter-University Consortium Against Homelessness, on line publication: Talking_Sense_About_Homelessness_in Los Angeles.clean doc.(show underscoring between words of title), Draft of 11/26/06.

Students are to spend time in class discussing their initial findings from visits to community, on-line research (as ), literature review, or other investigations and to solicit advice and guidance from one another: and to determine how they will identify and characterize their target assignments. The descriptive paper will also include a plan for doing the tasks.

Week of Feb. 2: Serving Policy Objectives 2, 4, & 5.

Session Four:  Understanding Government’s Role and the Legislative Process

B. Jansson : Chapter 3:  Obtaining Skills and Competencies for Policy Advocacy

Handler & Hasenfeld, Chapter 3: The Response to Poverty and Inequality: The Welfare State

Optional reading:

D. DiNitto, Chapter Two, Government and Social Welfare

Initial (descriptive) paper is due:

Written submissions are to be made by each individual member of the team reflecting her/his input and concerns, and the team will make a joint oral presentation, inviting in-class discussions):

The Legislative team will report on a profile of the candidates and legislators who (seek to) represent the district selected by your class and the schedule for meeting with the candidates for assembly member(s) and senator.

Communications team takes notes and explores ways to tell the class’s story.

P.I.E. team reports on their results..

Resource team reports on shelters for homeless children with their parent in the district selected by your class.

Week of February 9: Serving Policy Objectives 4 & 5:

Session Five:   Policies to Prevent and Cure Poverty

Jansson,      Chapter Four:  Understanding the Ecology of Policy in Governmental, Electoral, Community and Agency Settings

Handler & Hasenfeld, Chapter Four: Demonizing the Single Mother Family: The Path to Welfare Reform

Interagency Council on the Homeless, “Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve: Findings of the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, December, 1999, pp. 39 - 58

Recommended supplement:

J. Shultz, Chapter Three:  Taxes and Budgets: Following the Money

Di Nitto, Chapter Four: Preventing Poverty: The Social Insurance Programs.

Chapter Five: Helping the “Deserving Poor”: Aged, Blind, and Disabled

The Legislative Team will report on its progress, problems, proposed modifications, and will analyze the nature of its support and resistance by the various candidates (and any incumbent senator not running for re-election) and those who strongly influence them.

Resource Team: Make presentation to class on how resources serve homeless families and children in the designated area..

P.I.E. Team reports on at least one other child and her/his homeless parent.

Each of the other teams will respond with how they can advance the goal, report on their progress, and gather input from colleagues.

Communications team presents a draft of “talking points” for Advocacy and Legislative teams to take on their visits to community groups and candidates.

Week of February 16: Serving Objectives 2. 3. & 5

Session Six:   Building Agendas

B. Jansson,         Chapter Six:   Committing to an Issue: Building Agendas

Handler & Hasenfeld, Chapter Five: The Welfare Bureaucracy

Recommended supplement:

D. DiNitto, Chapter Six: Ending Welfare As We Knew It

In-class discussions with teams on their development of paper on analysis of the issue (20% of grade) due week of March 9.

Resource /serviceTeam: Analyze factors in the bureaucratic structure of service agencies that would support, resist, or seek to modify the legislative goal, propose plans to advance support and overcome resistance. In particular, relate to Handler & Hasenfeld’s analysis of the welfare bureaucracy.

Advocacy Team: Analyze sources of support and resistance for targeted issue; propose a plan for mobilizing support and defusing resistance to advance goal.

PIE Team: Analyze the impact that the failure to adopt the proposed issue would have on each of the families and children that you have identified and described. Include immediate and long-range social and economic costs as well as impact on the subject individuals. In your proposal for the planned legislative goal, analyze how it would change each of these factors.

Communications Team: organize notes, analyze the materials being developed by the other teams for purpose of presentation in a video, a news/ feature story to go to the media, or a collection of papers to go to the candidates.

Week of February 23: Serving Objectives 2, 3, & 5

Session Seven:    Analyzing Problems

B. Jansson

        Chapter Seven:   Analyzing Problems in the First Step of Policy Analysis

Handler & Hasenfeld, Chapter Six: Work and the Low Wage Labor Market: Mothers and Children.

Recommended Supplement:

D. DiNitto, Chapter Ten: Providing Social Services

Interagency Council on the Homeless, “Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve: Findings of the Nation al Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, December, 1999, pp. 69 – 78.

For class discussion:

Resource Team: compare forces analyzed by Handler & Hasenfeld to those in the DCFS bureaucracy with respect to the plight of homeless parent(s) and children today.

Advocacy Team: How will you build a more fully mobilized advocacy effort together with and in behalf of homeless parents seeking restoration of their children? What local institutions will you involve?

PIE Team: How are the homeless families and children you have identified affected by the welfare policies analyzed by Handler & Hasenfeld?

Legislative Team: What pressures came from elected officials and candidates in the scenario analyzed by Handler & Hasenfeld, and what does this suggest for the planned support of the class’s legislative target?

Communications Team: What kind of press fed into the values and arguments for handling women and children in the Handler & Hasenfeld paradigm and how does that instruct us to seek public support for the class’s target?

Week of March 2: Serving Ojectives 2, 3, 5, & 6

Session Eight: Developing Policy Proposals

B. Jansson :         Chapter Eight:    Developing Policy Proposals in the Second, Third, and Fourth Steps of Policy Analysis

Handler & Hasenfeld, Chapter Seven: Welfare Reform and Moral Entrepreneurship: Promoting Marriage and Responsible Parenthood and Preventing Teenage Pregnancy

Class discussions:

PIE Team: How moralistic values have impacted the children and families identified and reports on at least one other child and her/his homeless parent.

Resource Team: Strategize on how resource agencies can be part of transition to permanent housing for homeless families.

Each of the other teams will respond with how they can advance the goal, report on their progress, and gather input from colleagues.

Communications team proposes media strategy. Do you tell the story in print or in video, or both?

Week of March 9: Serving Objectives 1, 2, 3, & 5.

Session Nine:  Participation of the Poor

B. Jansson: Chapter Nine: Presenting and Defending Policy Proposals

Handler & Hasenfeld, Chapter Eight: Addressing Poverty and Inequality

Recommended supplement:

D. DiNitto, Chapter Nine, Changing Paradigms: The Poverty Wars

Anna Deavere Smith, TWILIGHT, Los Angeles, 1992

Class review of goals and proposed mid-course corrections:

Legislative Team: Latest revisions to framework of possible legislation and to support by candidates /elected officials, or to team’s awareness and proposed strategies.

Resource Team: Developments in social service networks or in team’s awareness which may lead to modification of proposals

Advocacy Team: Changes in estimates of community support or in team’s perception of it to induce modifications to proposed course of action.

PIE Team: Reflections on what is best for families and children

Communications Team: Synthesizing the story to be told to public and their elected representatives; what more does this team need or what modifications does it propose?

MID-TERM PAPER DUE

It is to be written following the to be developed outline and developing a short section as though it were a draft report on findings to present to state legislators.

March 15 – 20: Spring Vacation

Week of March 23: Serving Objectives 2, 3, 4,& 5

Session Ten:   Advocating for Change

B. Jansson:     Chapter Ten:    Developing and Using Power

You will receive your midterm papers back and can edit them based on your instructor’s comments as reports for your visits to public officials for which you will now prepare.

Report by Legislative team students on meetings planned with candidates and elected officials in local offices; strategize to present data to them (or their staffs). Strategize for presentations; role play and assign real roles to students selected by class to speak for the homeless families and children in forums where you seek endorsement of the policy such as the City Council or County Board of Suprvisors.

Research Team: Give facts, figures, and comparative costs from studies, and effective arguments to legislative team to use in meetings with public officials and candidates.

Advocacy team: Identify individuals in the community who will join with the Legislative team members in visits to local offices of candidates and public officials, and what their roles could be.

PIE Team: Ask homeless parents to join with you and/or members of the Legislative team in meetings in local offices of and with public officials or their staff(s).

Absent that, be prepared to transmit their stories.

Resource Team: Advise Legislative, Communications, and Advocacy Teams on paucity of resources to house children with homeless parents.

Communications Team: Assemble the story to be told to elected officials in video or print; prepare it to circulate to media along with official’s response.

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Week of March 30: Serving Ojectives 2, 3, 4, & 6.

Session Eleven: Developing Political Strategy

B. Jansson, Chapter Eleven: Developing Political Strategy:   Doing the Research and Analysis

Legislative Team: Lead class discussion on results of meetings with candidates and elected officials (or their staffs) in local offices.

What additional data did we need?

Getting ready for Lobby Days.

Communications Team: Check draft press releases or video segment with participants in meetings.

Advocacy Team: report on role played by individual(s) from the community who supported our effort and strategize to get their continuing participation after our semester ends.

PIE Team: Report on efforts to secure housing for the homeless parents with whom you have been in touch.

Communications Team: Report on efforts to get press. Determine if you are developing a video or print presentation.

Week of April 6: Serving Objectives 2, 3, 4, & 5

Session Twelve:   Developing Advocacy Strategy

B, Jansson, Chapter 12: Putting Political Strategy Into Action

J. Shultz

        Chapter Six:    Developing a Strategy, Advocacy’s Road Map

        Chapter Seven: Research and Analysis, Advocacy by Fact, Not Fiction

Preparations for Lobby Days: designing approach for meetings; Clarifying what documentation is needed by those going to Sacramento.

In Class presentations on preparation for Lobby Days; assignments and role playing for meetings with elected officials in Sacramento. .

NOTE: Participation in Lobby Days is not required, but it may be credited as part of your grade for the experiential dimension. Those unable to travel to Sacramento may make equivalent points in visits to local offices of candidates and public officials or in organizing local advocacy support for the policy.

Advocacy Team: Be prepared to share knowledge and experience with students from other schools of social work in Sacramento. Rehearse training roles.

Communications Team: If you are doing video segment, plan to tape scenes in Sacramento.

APRIL 11-12, 2010:

LOBBY DAYS in Sacramento

Week of April 13: Serving Objectives 4 & 6.

Session Thirteen: Community Based Organizing and Education

B. Jansson: Chapter Thirteen: Ballot based Policy Advocacy

S. DiNitto, Chapter Seven: Fighting Hunger, Fighting Fat: Nutrition Policy in the United States;

Chapter Eleven: Addressing Civil Rights & Social Welfare: The Challenges of a Diverse Society

Optional reading: J. Shultz

        Chapter Eight: Organizing; Bring People Together to Make Social Change

Report back on Lobby Days/

Class feedback, evaluation, and recommendations for next steps.

Communications Team: Shares draft or video segment and accepts critique and ideas from class,

Week of April 20: Serving Objectives 4, 5, & 6.

Session Fourteen: Coalition Building and Lobbying

Congregate and Community Assemblies

D. DiNitto, Chapter Eight: Improving Healthcare; Treating the Nation’s Ills

Optional Reading: J. Shultz

        Chapter Nine: Building and Maintaining Advocacy Coalitions

        Chapter Eleven: Lobbying, The Art of Influencing Public Officials

In Class presentations on building or focusing coalitions to continue advocacy for policies dealing with their particular problem of the homeless.

Another general assembly may be scheduled this week in which each class would select spokespersons to present their project(s) and recommendations to a panel of public officials. Time and place TBA.

Resource Team: Report on extent to which Resource agencies were made partners in the campaign and what should be done about it.

PIE Team: Report on the status of families you came to know and what is to be done for them.

Advocacy Team: Passing of the torch to community activists and how they are to be followed up with.

Research Team: Draft of findings to be incorporated by Communications Team in its telling of the story.

Communications Team: Final draft of the story of our effort on tape or in print.

Week of April 27: Serving Objectives 3, 4, & 5

Session Fifteen: Assessment and Review

B. Jansson

        Chapter Fourteen: Troubleshooting and Assessing Implemented Policies

Di Nitto, Chapter Twelve: Implementing and Evaluating Social Welfare Policy: What Happens After a Law is Passed.

Recommended supplement:

J. Shultz, Chapter Twelve: Initiatives, the Power of the Ballot

Greenwald, Robert (2002). Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election. Available at

At their option, the members of each section and the cadres with whom you have worked in the selected institutions as well as homeless family members with whom you have had contact may plan a meeting/ reception either in the community or you can invite them to your USC classroom to take place during your last class session.

Alternatively, your section may band together to invite the same persons as well as local and state elected officials and the broader community in a congregate setting.

Each section could develop a presentation on findings and recommendations for public actions to provide housing for families and children who are homeless or in imminent peril of becoming homeless.

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Final Exam

A final paper will critically examine the efforts in which the student engaged, the work of the organization with which you worked and both the manner and extent to which the efforts which were analyzed impacted on or provided a solution to the problems identified in the first and second papers. The final paper will summarize key issues in the campaign/policy-change effort.  The student will analyze, using the Jansson model, the policy problem and proposal in detail.  Why is this issue important and will the proposed solution be effective? The student will critically analyze the current service and new strategy being proposed and explain how it can be implemented.  Finally, the student will describe his/her own participation and learning,-providing an indication of his/her intended future policy practice activity.

The Final paper will build on prior assignments, and include implementation efforts to date, your role in the change effort, a critique of what worked and what didn’t, what needs to be done now, how change can be brought about for the children of homeless parents, and the identification of the next steps, and skills required for effective advocacy on the issue.

Research and citations, social work policy practice lessons and conclusions, social work values underlying the plan and its implementation should be included in this final report. This paper should be no more than 10 pages in length.

The Final paper will constitute 20% of your grade.

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May1- 4: Study Days.

May 5: Final exams due!

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