Class 1 : (Social Welfare, Policy, and Policy Analysis)

Define Social Welfare

A network of social services (non-material) and income security programs (material) to maintain the well-being of individuals and families

What are examples of Social Services?

• Mental Health Counselling

• Universal Health Care

• Child and Family services

What are examples of Income Security Programs?

• Employment Insurance (EI)

• Canadian Pension Plan (CPP)

• Old Age Security (OAS)

Who Provides Social Welfare?

• Government or “The State” (all levels)

• Not-For-Profit organizations (voluntary sector)

• Community

• Private Sector

• The Market

• Families

What is Social Welfare comprised of?

• Services

• Institutions

• Speciallized personnel

• Polices (e.g., legislation, regulations, organizational policies/protocols)

What are the “Big Questions” about Social Welfare?

• Who should be helped?

• Why should they be helped?

• How much should they be helped?

• How should they be helped?

• What kinds of help should they receive?

• Who decides about the kind of help?

• Who should help them?

Define Policy

• Principles, guidelines, or procedures that serve the purpose of maximizing uniformity in decision-making (Popper & Leighniner, 2004)

• Statements that prescribe courses of action (Midgely, 2000)

• A course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a given problem or interrelated set of problems (Pal, 1987)

Define Social Welfare Policy

• Overall rules, regulations, and laws that set the framework and objectives for social welfare activity

• Intentions and activities of governments that are broadly social in their nature

• Example: dental care benefit for lower income families

What is Policy Analysis?

• Is the process of carefully studying a problem and figuring out the best way for the government or an organization to solve it

• A systematic analysis of any/all components of the policy process

  • Policy choice/formulation

  • Polict implementation

  • Evaluation

Define Policy Practice

• “Using social work skills to propose and change policies in order to achieve the goal of social and economic justice” (Cummins et al., 2011, p.2)

• Despite its recent attention, policy practice has been a key part of social work since its very beginnings

• Policy practice is an integral component of social work at all levels

  • Micro (clients, services users)

  • Mezzo (organizational, community)

  • Macro (local, provincial, federal, and international)

Policy Practice speaks to what core mission of Social Work?

• Social Justice

What are the 6 KEY VALUES FOR SOCIAL WORKERS? (CASW)

1. Respect for the inherent dignity and worth of persons

2. Pursuit of social justice

3. Service to humanity

4. Integrity in professional practice

5. Confidentiality in professional practice

6. Competence in professional practice

What does Policy Practice focus on?

• Similar to “individual practice” where it seeks to change “individiuals”, “policy practice” focuses on changing policy (Barusch, 2002)

  • Creating new policies

  • Improving existing ones

  • Defearing proposed (bad) policies

  • Resisting (bad) policies

What does Policy Practice include?

• Policy analysis

• Policy advocacy

What can social workers do with Policy Practice?

• Engage in policy analysis

• How to place issues on policy agendas

• Develop policy proposals

• Enact policies

• Implement policies

• Evaluate policies

• Engage in policy advocacy

Why study social welfare policy? (As a profession)

Social work has always operated within the context of social policy

• Agency policies, protocols, standards of practice, guidelines

• Accreditation/licensing regulations

• Ethical guidelines

• Provincial and federal legislation

• Court rulings

Why study as Social Work Practitioners?

• Practice is heavily tied to policy

  • Social Workers carry out policy-specified tasks; we work within the context of policy

  • Determines who we work with, how we work with them, and why we work with them

  • Social Workers implement (or don’t implement) policy

Whole environment in which social workers and clients/service users exist is policy determined

Why study as Social Work Researchers and Policy Analysts?

• To conduct research/analyses on policy development, implementation, and evaluation

Why study as Policy Advocates?

• Social workers help clients/service users to navigate policy systems

• Social workers advocate to change policies

• Social workers can use policy to be an instrument of social justice

• Social workers have a professional responsibility to use policy to protect/promote/further people’s social, political, economic, and civil rights (Harding & Jeyapal, 2019)

What are Social Work Skills and Policy Practice?

• Generalist social work practice skills equip social workers to engage in policy practice:

  • Engagement skills

  • Assessment skills

  • Communication skills

  • Problem solving and negotiating skills

  • Networking and collaborating skills

“Social work is a ____-_____ profession” (Popper & Leighninger, 2011)

policy-based