In this step of the Signature Assignment you will collect and annotate sources that will be used for your final policy analysis paper that is due in MODULE 13 (peer review in M12).
In order to collect literature and sources, you should finalize the policy you would like to focus on for the assignment; hopefully the previous assignments have helped you to hone in on your chosen policy
*As a reminder, this can be a federal, state, or local policy that piques your interest and that is related to the practice of social work and vulnerable populations. Please be sure that you are looking at a current policy (e.g. the most recently reauthorized version of a policy if it has been reauthorized). Be sure you’re looking at something that has been codified in law – not something that has been introduced but not passed! Additionally remember that you’re looking for a POLICY – not a PROGRAM enacted as a result of a policy. Sometimes it is difficult to tease these out.
EXAMPLE 1: You’re interested in safety net supports for households so you want to look at TANF — TANF is a PROGRAM (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) that was created by the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity (PRWORA) Reconciliation Act — Public Law #104-193).That is a BIG piece of legislation – remember it amends the Social Security Act and Title 1 of that act that creates TANF replaces AFDC… “welfare” – as you’ve learned about in this and other classes… so, for the assignment you would be focused on the Act, but could specifically narrow your discovery and analysis to Title 1.
EXAMPLE 2: You’re passionate about affordable housing and you have family members who have served in the military – so you want to look at housing related policy specifically for veterans. You might google homeless veterans policy and find the Helping Homeless Veterans Act of 2021 — sounds great! BUT…WAIT — BILL TRACKER tells me this has been introduced, not passed:
This is a snapshot of a “bill tracker” outline that shows the different stages of a bill’s passage through congress. There are five stages — introduced, passed house, passed senate, to president, became law. In this example the tracker shows “introduced”
You would want to step back and research policies that have been enacted!
Example 3: You’re passionate about equity and inclusion and you live in Lexington, KY. You could research the Fairness Ordinance that was enacted in 1999 by the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council!
as always, consult your section instructor if you have questions about your chosen policy for the signature assignment.
TO COMPLETE THIS MODULE’S ASSIGNMENT — Collecting Evidence — please do the following:
1) Review the outline for the assignment here: 1. Signature Assignment Kickoff
2) be sure your policy is going to work for the assignment.
3) start to collect the resources you will need to answer the eight specific questions outlined in the assignment. Note that the expectation is that you’ll use a lot of sources — the minimum is 11 — in part that is because you need different kinds of sources to answer different questions.
you will need both research articles (peer reviewed, from the social work/related literature) and sources that provide you with statistics/facts about your topic (these may be government websites, sources, etc.)
you may also need sources that help you write about the history, etc. – these could include your textbook, other books with broad overviews of policy, websites that provide policy overview, etc.
for all of the sources, ask yourself if you’re looking at “good” evidence — if you’re looking at web-based sources are they from reputable think tanks or policy forums? Do they have a bias you need to understand as you read? Are they legitimate/good sources that you trust?
