...Social Policy Decisions Paper BSHS 355 Social Policy Decisions Paper Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and pushes for stricter alcohol policies. MADD was founded in 1980 in California by Candice Lightner after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver. This paper will discuss the following; why MADD was created; the problem that led to the creation of MADD; how the problem was identified as a social problem; policies created as a result of MADD’s influence; problems experienced while implementing the policies; the effects of these social policies on human services delivery. On May 3, 1980 Lightner’s daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunken hit-and –run driver at Sunset and New York Avenues in Fair Oaks, California (Wikipedia, n.d.). The 46-year-old driver, who had recently been arrested for another DUI hit-and-run, left her body at the scene. Candace later created MADD in her home to support others and to stop drunk driving on May 7, 1980. She discovered that the guy who killed her daughter would most likely not receive any punishments for his crime and justice for her daughter would not be served. She realized that this same tragedy happens to many families that have been hurt the same way she was. Candace stated ” I promised myself on the day of Cari's death that I would fight to make this needless...
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...9 chapter current controversies and issues Introduction The Clash of Values in Social Policies Welfare Euthanasia Government: How Much Support for the Needy? Target Populations: The Struggle for Support The AIDS Epidemic The Homeless Welfare Recipients Professionalism in the Human Services The Role of Human Services Workers Whom Do Human Services Workers Serve? A Basic Reading and Thinking Skill Ranking American Values References 324 Human Services in Contemporary America - © Cengage Learning c u r r e n t c o n t r ov e r s i e s a n d i s s u e s 325 INTRODUCTION You may have gathered by now that the human services field is quite complex. Complete agreement regarding philosophies, methods, goals, services, funding, or anything else just does not exist nor, from our point of view, should it. There are times when controversies and differences are stimulating, healthy, and valid and lead to creative solutions. At other times, they are repetitious, meaningless, and destructive. Too frequently they consume time, energy, and resources that might better be used providing needed services. To this end, we highly recommend that students become familiar with the books in the Opposing Viewpoints series, published by the Greenhaven Press, that deal with issues of concern to human services workers. The purpose of this chapter is to present a sampling of basic controversies and issues in the field of human services that have not yet been resolved and may never be resolved...
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...DEVELOPMENT STUDIES FACULTY OF PLANNING AND LAND MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING Social policy primarily refers to guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare. Social policy often deals with wicked problems. Social Policy is defined as actions that affect the well-being of members of a society through shaping the distribution of and access to goods and resources in that society It is sometimes referred as "public policy and practice in the areas of health care, human services, criminal justice, inequality, education, and labor. The term 'social policy' can also refer to policies which govern human behavior. In the United States, the term 'social policy' may be used to refer to abortion and the regulation of its practice, euthanasia, homosexuality, the rules surrounding issues of marriage, divorce, adoption, the legal status of recreational drugs, and the legal status of prostitution. Social policy aims to improve human welfare and to meet human needs for education, health, housing and social security. After Nkrumah’s era, successive governments, including military regimes tried to improve upon the social well-being of citizens in the nation. After 1996 the various governments instituted some social policies. The elaborations below highlight on the various social policies formulated by the various governments from 1969 to date. 1. Dr. K.A Busia (The Progress Party 1969-1972) The...
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...THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG Department of Social Work and Social Administration COURSE OUTLINE template Academic Year: 2014 /2015 1. Basic Course Information: Course Code: SOWK 1009 Course Title: Existing New Course: to be implemented in Semester 1 / 2 / S Reflective Practitioner 2. Course Instructor / Course Co-ordinator: Name Office Debbie Lam C0549 Kurtee Chu C0550 Grace Leung Chan Ki CO553 C0553 phone 3917-2082 3917-1153 3917-2090 3917-7145 email debbie@hku.hk kurteec@hku.hk gsmleung@hku.hk kichan@socwork.hku.hk 3. Required Pre-requisites (if any): __________NIL________________________ 4. Course Description (should be the same as the syllabus; so please just copy from the syllabus of your program that is available at the Department Website) Social work practice is carried out through interactions between social workers and individuals, families, organizations and society. Social workers are inevitably shaped by their own experiences, beliefs, upbringing and culture, which might affect their interactions with these systems. This course encourages the students to start the reflective journey in visiting issues of self in relation to the perceived identity, intimacy, loss, family, and society. Through reflective exercises, discussions, and assigned readings, the students will develop a deeper understanding of their values, philosophy of life and behaviors, and how these in turn impact social work practice. The course adopts an active-learning and experiential approach...
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...DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY guidance on the application of community development approaches to different aspects of anti-poverty and social inclusion work €10 Siobhán Lynam Bridgewater Centre, Conyngham Road, Islandbridge, Dublin 8 Tel: 01 670 6746 Fax: 01 670 6760 Email: info@combatpoverty.ie Website: www.combatpoverty.ie COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY Siobhán Lynam Community Development and Public Policy 1 © 2006 ISBN: 1-905485-11-5 While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate, no legal responsibility is accepted by the author or Combat Poverty for any errors or omissions. The views expressed in this publication are the author’s own and not necessarily those of Combat Poverty Agency. 2 Community Development and Public Policy CONTENTS Acknowledgements Preface 4 5 Introduction Background to the publication Structure of the publication 6 6 Section 1: Defining public policy 1.1 What is public policy? 1.2 How is policy made? 1.3 The public policy cycle 1.4 Example of a community organisation’s impact on policy 7 7 8 13 16 Section 2: A community-development approach to policy making 2.1 Giving voice to excluded groups 2.2 Characteristics of a community-development approach 2.3 Value of adopting a community-development approach 18 18 19 21 Section 3: Influencing public policy making 3.1 Develop a policy agenda 3.2 Make it an integral...
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...Good Afternoon Mr. Davis, I also believe as social workers we are so caught up in the current state of social policy we often forget social policy mistakes and the effects it has on child welfare. However, with the lengthy social policy process many social workers chose not to take part in this field of social work often leaving other occupations to make decisions that affect social workers and their client base. Martin Luther King Jr. stated “I fear I have integrated my people into a burning house,” people of the time believed he was referencing the burning house to the then political system which minorities had no hand in policy decision( Deferring the “Dream”, 2008). I am referencing the same quote, however, I am comparing the burning...
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...well formulated article clearly endeavors to exonerate the theme whether the public administrators are free from any accountability in the decisions that they make and the influences that directly affect the decisions that they make in the day to day running of the affairs of the government in the service to the citizens. However, the paper is somewhat confusing in the first paragraphs of introduction of the topic. We are cognizant of the fact that moral values are intrinsic and vary from one person to another depending on various issues such as the environment of upbringing that is the society that surrounded the individual and what they perceive as the good morals an indivi9dual should uphold in the society. The values differ significantly from one community to another and that brings the difference in the universal moral values that should be followed in the public service for the benefit of all the citizens. The big issue arises when there is a conflict between the moral values and the accountability policies that are stipulated to be followed by all the public administrators in the nation. The accountability policies may call for particular set of rigid rules that repudiate the internal moral values that an individual has. In the case, the person will be more inclined to apply his moral values as opposed to the accountability policies for all public servants in the government. According to the article Pesch postulates that the accountability is the ability of an individual...
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...of economics that studies how the actual decision-making process influences the decisions that are reached. The standard economic theory is known as neoclassical economics. Neoclassical economics stops short of trying to explain where people’s preferences come from, but it does not take account of the direct influence of other people’s behavior and social standards on our behavior. The theory imagines we independently know what we want and that our preferences are permanent. This standard theory is very good at explaining short-term decision-making (I want green vegetables and choose beans as they are on special offer) but cannot explain longer-term changes in preferences (I now only choose organic food). Along the same lines the importance of institutions – both formal institutions such as regulations, and informal ones, for example, how people organise markets – and the evolution of the whole economic system are not subjects of neoclassical analysis. This has significant implications Behavioral economics has evolved to be a separate branch of economic analysis which applies scientific research on human and social, cognitive and emotional factors to better understand economic decisions by consumers, borrowers, investors, and how they affect market prices, returns and the allocation of resources. Behavioral economics is that branch of one, which deals with the study and application of analysis with scientific approach on social, emotional factors for understanding the...
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...Unit: Comparative and Global Social Policy (SP1) Assignment Title: How and to what extend has the EU become a social policy regime? Submission Date: 28/01/2014 Table of Content 1. Introduction 3 2. Definition of Social Policy 3 3. Key characteristics of social policy in the European Union 4 4. How has the European Union become a social policy regime? 5 5. To what extend has the European Union become a social policy regime? 7 6. Conclusion 9 Reference List 9 Introduction Every European Union member states have their own social policies yet the European Union has a significant influence on the member state’s social policies development as the EU tries to align and harmonise policies within the EU to achieve same or similar standards and levels in the member states. This assignment discusses the main characteristics of the EU social policy and explains how and to what extend has the European Union becomes a social policy regime. Definition of Social Policy It is fairly difficult to define social policy as there is no agreed, unified and specific definition of social policy. But the term is more defined by its traditional content and areas it contains, and it is associated with welfare. Yet scientist, researchers and authors attempt to...
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...Introduction : 1 The social and political context evaluation research: the utilisation of evaluation results : 2 Negotiating the evaluation : 3 Process of evaluation research : 3 Conceptualisation and Diagnosis : 3 Appraisals, Needs, and Impact Assessments : 4 Formative evaluation : 4 Programme monitoring and process evaluation : 5 Effectiveness and efficiency Assessment : 5 Evaluation design : 6 Purposes of evaluation research : 6 How will evaluation research be used : 6 Guidelines for maximising the utilisation of evaluation research results : 7 Conclusion : 8 Bibliography : 9 Introduction Evaluation research, sometimes called programme or project evaluation refers to a type of research rather than a specific research method (Babbie, 2001). It concerns itself with determining whether a social intervention, policy, or programme has produced or not produced the intended result (Cloete, 2006). Rossi, Freeman, and Lipsey (2004) define programme evaluation as the use of social research procedures to systematically investigate the effectiveness of social intervention programmes. Patton (1986) has defined programme evaluation as the systematic collection of information about the activities, characteristics, and outcomes of programmes for the use by specific people to reduce uncertainities, improve effectiveness and make decisions with regard to what those programmes...
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... ET AL . Conclusion: Knowledge and Skills for Professional Practice Tim W. Clark Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale, Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative Murray B. Rutherford Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative Kim Ziegelmayer Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Michael J. Stevenson Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Most professionals beginning their careers in species and ecosystem conservation conceive of their future work in terms of hands-on tasks in the field (“doing something important in the real world”). Whether on the domestic or the international scene, typically the forester sees themselves laying out timber sales, the fisheries biologist looks forward to surveying streams, and the range specialist expects to be classifying grasslands. Current curricula in most universities largely mirror this common view. We train future foresters to address logging problems in the Pacific Northwest or in the tropics, or conservation biologists to design a reserve or study an endangered species. But in actual practice, most professionals spend only part—and sometimes a small part—of their time attending to technical tasks in the field. Professionals, over a career or a lifetime, participate in many activities well beyond fieldwork, and there is much more to building a successful professional practice today than skills...
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...current issues such as social and environmental accountability, the ethical and global dimensions of accounting and the political context within which accounting policy decisions are made. The unit will take a research focus in that the work of researchers in accounting will be discussed. Accounting Theory is designed to provide students with an understanding of historical and contemporary issues that influence the development of accounting thought. As it has developed accounting theory has three main approaches, the descriptive or positive, the normative and the critical viewpoints. Based on these theoretical perspectives this unit will examine current issues such as social and environmental accountability, the ethical and global dimensions of accounting and the political context within which accounting policy decisions are made. The unit will take a research focus in that the work of researchers in accounting will be discussed. Accounting Theory is designed to provide students with an understanding of historical and contemporary issues that influence the development of accounting thought. As it has developed accounting theory has three main approaches, the descriptive or positive, the normative and the critical viewpoints. Based on these theoretical perspectives this unit will examine current issues such as social and environmental accountability, the ethical and global dimensions of accounting and the political context within which accounting policy decisions are made. The unit...
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...International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 33(3), 136-151. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01443331311308203 * Problem Homelessness has been associated with isolation, marginalization and social exclusion. It is well understood that those impacted by homelessness often have fewer opportunities than the general population to participate in policy processes, especially in relation to decisions that affect them. Being homeless has many health and social consequences that affect an individual's life chances and opportunities for participation in decision-making over the life course. * Review of Literature Principles of inclusion in policy development have emerged in discourses on disability, the mental health consumer movement, and have begun to inform discussions of drug use. Without the voices and participation of those impacted by homelessness, there is a risk that important understandings essential to the development of effective solutions to homelessness will remain obscured. A search of peer reviewed and grey literature to generate recommendations for the development of guidelines for social inclusion of those impacted by homelessness as part of a community-based response to ending homelessness in effort to answer, how to foster social inclusion in programs and policy between housed and unhoused people? * Hypothesis The findings from the review constitute a beginning point for the development of future guidelines and policies to foster the meaningful and...
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...mission statement addresses the following: What are our economic goals? What is our operating philosophy in terms of quality, company image, and self-concept? What are our core competencies and competitive advantages? What customers do and can we serve? How do we view our responsibilities to stockholders, employees, communities, environment, social issues and competitors? The Role of Top Management and the Importance of Company Policy Introduction to Business Policy Chief Executive – serves as the head and has the knowledge about the nature of the company. Responsibilities of the Chief Executive 1. Elaborate the major policies of the firm. 2. Define the objectives of the firm. 3. Develop strategies and the long-range plan for achieving these objectives. 4. Must develop an organization which most efficiently carries out the company’s strategic plan. 5. Must develop the operating policies which ease the burden of decision-making to carry out the plan. 6. Be involved in controlling the operations of the firm and in problem solving. Definitions 1. Major Policies Major policies (or “company” policies) deal with the firm’s fundamental nature, its identity, and the direction in which it is expected to move. They provide a framework within which the objectives can be established. 2. Objectives The firm’s objectives or goals (these are two terms used interchangeably) specify, usually in quantitative terms (e.g., dollars, percentages, or time...
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...knowledge about social life. A number of full time research sociologists are employed by universities, government agencies, foundations or corporations and many sociologists divide their time between teaching and research. Another task of the sociologist as a scientist is to clear away the misinformation and superstition which clutters so much of our social thinking. Sociologists have helped to clear doubts about hereditary, race, class, sex differences, deviation and nearly every other aspect of behaviour. By helping replace superstition and misinformation with accurate knowledge about human behaviour sociologists are performing their most important role. Sociologists make sociological predictions. Every policy decision is based upon certain assumptions about the present and future state of the society. Most social science prediction consists not of predicting specific developments as the astronomer predicts an eclipse but of forecasting the general pattern of trends and changes which seem most probable. All such predictions or forecasts should be offered with certain humility for no certainty attends them. Instead social scientists offer them as the best most informed guesses available upon which to base our policy decisions and expectations for the future. Sociological prediction can also help to estimate the probable effects of a social policy. Every social policy decision is a prediction. A policy is begun in the hope that it will produce a desired effect. Policies have often...
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