Week 2 Assignment: Exploration of Social Justice

Assignment Description

Social justice problems may affect different populations in unique ways. Social workers must understand the special challenges that may arise when providing services and supports for these populations, as well as the policies that may address the social justice problems that impact them.

Overview:

The four assignments for this course focus on a social justice issue and a corresponding social policy/program that addresses the identified need. Imagine you are a social worker at an agency dedicated to addressing social justice issues impacting a client or community. Your task is to critically assess the social justice issue, analyze its impact on the client and community, develop an intervention using an existing policy or program, evaluate its potential effectiveness, and create a presentation advocating for change with your recommendations and conclusions.

This first assignment focuses on social justice in the context of social policies.  You will introduce and critically analyze the social justice issue selected that impacts the client or community. Social justice issues might include access to health or mental health services, social services, immigration, veteran’s issues, child welfare, fair housing, criminal justice system, housing or food insecurity, poverty, discrimination, equal pay, education, etc.). The social justice issue you select should be a problem that presents current challenges for social workers providing services and support, and connects to professional practice. Once you have analyzed the social justice issue, you will review relevant social policies and select one for further analysis to assist your client or community.

In your assessment and analysis, you will investigate the various forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination, with a focus on anti-racism, equity, and inclusion within this social justice problem. You will consider intersectionality, social identities (gender orientation, sex, religion, class, race), and social structures in your exploration of the identified social justice issue. You will then identify policies that are currently enacted to address this problem. Ultimately, you will choose one of these policies to research and analyze in order to assist your client and community with the presenting social justice issue.

To ensure this is a viable scholarly topic, explore the literature in your area of interest by doing article and book searches through Capella library databases and other electronic resources, including government, educational, and organizational websites. Exploring scholarly, respected literature will be the preliminary work for this assignment. If you are exploring a federal-level issue, the United States CongressLinks to an external site. website will be an invaluable resource for your research during this assignment.

If you need additional support for conducting your research, it may be useful to consult the following:

• Evidence and APALinks to an external site..
• Get Critical Search SkillsLinks to an external site..
• What Is Scholarly?Links to an external site.
• Social Work Bachelor's Program Library GuideLinks to an external site..

By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following CSWE EPAS competencies and practice behaviors:

• CSWE EPAS Competency 1: Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior.
  • C1.GP.C: Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior, appearance, and oral, written and electronic communication.
    • Related assignment criteria:
      1. Create clear, well-organized, professional documents that are generally free of bias, errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. 
      2. Follow APA style and formatting guidelines for citations and references.
• CSWE EPAS Competency 2: Engage diversity and difference in practice.
  • C2.GP.A: Apply and communicate understanding of the importance of diversity and difference in shaping life experiences into practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
    • Related assignment criteria:
      1. Discuss the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination that exist within a social justice problem and their impact on a specific population or subgroup, including factors such as social identity, social location, and differences that shape life experiences.
      2. Discuss the ethical concerns associated with the selected social justice issue, addressing diversity and differences that shape experiences with support from scholarly sources.
• CSWE EPAS Competency 5: Engage in policy practice.
  • C5.GP.A: Identify social policy at the local, state, and federal level that impacts well-being, service delivery, and access to social services.
    • Related assignment criteria:
      1. Describe the current enacted social policies at the local, state, and/or federal level that address the selected social justice problem, selecting one for further analysis with a rationale for the selection.
• CSWE EPAS Competency 5: Engage in policy practice.
  • C5.GP.B: Assess how social welfare and economic policies impact the delivery of and access to social services.
    • Related assignment criterion:
      1. Describe the impact of current policies related to the selected social justice problem on a specific population or subgroup, addressing assumptions (cultural values, privilege, and power) upon which the policy is based, identifying intended and unintended consequences.
• CSWE EPAS Competency 5: Engage in policy practice.
  • C5.GP.C: Apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice.
    • Related assignment criteria:
      1. Compare advocacy methods for a selected social justice problem and provide specific examples related to change, including strengths and challenges with support, from the scholarly literature.
      2. Reflect on personal cultural values, beliefs, and identity, and consider how these factors influence perceptions of social justice, policy, and advocacy.

Assignment Instructions

To complete this assignment:

Imagine you are a social worker at an agency dedicated to addressing social justice issues impacting a client or community. Your task is to critically assess the social justice issue, and analyze its impact on the client and community. Choose a social justice problem that addresses the needs of a specific population or subgroup that interests you. Use the Capella library, Internet, United States CongressLinks to an external site. website, or any relevant state or local website that provides policy and social justice information to help guide your research. Also refer to the resources above as needed to help guide your search.

After you have identified the social justice issue selected, write a 3–4 page exploration of the social justice issue and address the following:

• Describe your chosen social justice issue and its significance. Include background information, intersectionality, mechanisms of oppression and discrimination, and its impact on the specific population or subgroup. You might consider social identity and social location, e.g., race, religion, disabilities, gender orientation, socioeconomic status, or access to services.
  • Describe your chosen social justice issue and its impact on the identified community or subgroup.
    • Identify the social justice issue selected and the population or subgroup impacted including pertinent background information.
    • Describe the intersecting forms of oppression and discrimination that affect the community or subgroup. Consider how intersectionality (race, ethnicity, gender orientation, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, ability, religion, etc.) shape the experience.
    • Provide data on who is affected and the impact based on your research and experience.
    • Use relevant scholarly literature to support your analysis (try to use sources published within the last five years as a general rule). This might include research, empirical evidence, case studies, etc.
• Discuss the ethical concerns associated with the selected social justice issue, addressing diversity and differences that shape life experiences and its impact on the community. 
  • Use the NASW Code of EthicsLinks to an external site. web page to guide your analysis:
    • What ethical considerations must be addressed?
    • Consider cultural differences, respect for diversity, power dynamics and privilege, and autonomy and self-determination that shape life experiences. 
    • What are the implications for social work practice and positive client and community outcomes?
    • Use relevant scholarly literature to support your analysis.
• Describe social policies at the local, state, and/or federal level that impact well-being, service delivery, and access to social services.
  • Describe the specific social policies at the local, state, and/or federal level that address the social justice problem you selected. 
    • From these, select one for further analysis, providing a rationale for the selection with supporting evidence for the decision. You will use this specific policy for the upcoming assignments.
• Describe the impact of current policies related to the selected social justice problem on a specific population or subgroup, addressing assumptions (cultural values, privilege, and power) upon which the policy is based, identifying intended and unintended consequences. 
  • Assess the impact of these policies on the selected social justice issue on the identified population/community, addressing the assumptions upon which they are based (cultural values (think about dominant cultural values and their implications) privilege (unearned advantage based on social identities) and power (ability to influence policy or participate)
  • Identify the intended and unintended consequences of these policies.
  • Use relevant scholarly literature to support your selections (try to use sources published within the last five years as a general rule) 
• Compare advocacy methods for the selected social justice problem.
  • Identify various advocacy methods that align with the social justice issue identified and the population or subgroup.
  • Discuss how you would advocate for change related to the social justice problem identified.
  • Provide an analysis of advocacy methods. What are the strengths and challenges of the various advocacy methods? What additional steps could be taken to address the challenges?
  • Use relevant scholarly literature to support your comparison.
• Reflect on personal cultural values, beliefs, and identity and consider how these factors influence your perceptions of social justice, policy, and advocacy.
  • Discuss how personal cultural values, beliefs, and identity influence your perceptions of social justice, policy, and advocacy.
  • Explore how your personal biases and assumptions related to privilege, power, and cultural values may influence your perceptions of policies and their impact.
  • Use relevant examples and evidence to support your conclusions.

Guidelines

• Review the Exploration of Social Justice rubric for information on how your work will be graded.
• Refer to the Federal PolicyLinks to an external site. page from the Social Work Bachelor's Program Library GuideLinks to an external site. for guidance on how to conduct your research.

Additional Requirements

The assignment you submit is expected to meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting standards.
• Cited resources: A minimum of five scholarly sources. Most literature cited should be current, with publication dates within the past five years.
• Length of paper: 3–4 typed, double-spaced pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point, Courier New, 12pt, Arial, 11pt.
• Due date: Assignment must be submitted to your instructor in the courseroom no later than Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST this week.