Discussions: Assessing Policy: Toward Evidence-Based Policy
Evidence-based policies are ones that achieve positive outcomes where they are evaluated with research.
-Bruce S. Jansson, Becoming an Effective Policy Advocate: From Policy Practice to Social Justice, 8th ed.
Social workers hope that a proposed policy will be effective and make a significant impact toward social change. However, as Jansson (2018) points out in the introductory quote, you will not know if your policy is effective until it has been evaluated with research and has a significant body of evidence that supports the policy's goal.
In this course, you discuss evidence-based policies and evidence-based practices that support effective policies. In addition, you discuss the significant role that values play in determining the evaluation of specific policies. Finally, you also discuss the hard realization that even when policies and programs are evaluated and show great promise for effectiveness and success, they are not always enacted and implemented.
Learning Objectives
o Analyze influence of values on policy evaluation
o Analyze practices of policy advocacy
o Analyze advocacy roles of social workers
Discussion A: Policies and the Influence of Values
Ideology, politics, and the influence of values often override evidence-based policy. When there is evaluation conflict, a policy advocate must be prepared to defend his/her reasons for wanting to implement a policy. Because almost all proposed policies are circumscribed by politics (for reasons brought up by Jansson throughout the course when discussing the subtleties of policy implementation), you should be prepared for some conflict, ranging from having your research ignored, to having the accuracy of your data questioned, to having your personal values brought into question.
In this Discussion, you consider the assertion that the evaluation of specific policies is often strongly influenced by values. You also examine and evaluate ways to mitigate evaluation conflict to defend the feasibility of your policy.
Post a response to Jansson's assertion that evaluating specific policies is strongly influenced by values with respect to the case of the evaluation of special services. How do the values of evaluation conflict adhere to social work values? What practices would you use to defend the feasibility of and effectiveness of your evidence-based policy?
Respond to a colleague with a discussion of why the evaluation of policies is often controversial and political and how the values of evaluation conflict adhere to social work values. What policy advocacy skills can social workers use to ensure that appropriate evaluations are being conducted on policies?
Discussion B: Becoming a Lifelong Advocate
It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act. -Tenzin Gyatso.
As this course comes to a close, consider and reflect on how you can become a lifelong advocate for social change in your future social work practice. As a motivated policy advocate and social worker, your actions in your chosen profession will reflect your motivation to help relatively powerless, disenfranchised groups of people improve their resources, their opportunities, and their quality of life.
In this Discussion, you reflect upon your responsibility as a social worker, politically and professionally.
Post your thoughts on this question: As a social worker, what is your responsibility to engage in political action? Identify an area of social welfare where social work policy advocacy is needed.
Respond to a colleague with suggestions on how he or she can put his or her policy advocacy into action. Discuss which policy advocacy skills you can use as a social worker in all levels of practice.
The response should include a reference list. Double-space, using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.