Reflections on Social Policy and Advocacy

Order Description
Sharing your experiences of social policy practice and social advocacy with others is important because it often encourages them to respond to their interests and concerns and increases the likelihood that they may also become involved. You will also be able to share your strategies, successes, mistakes, lessons learned, and skills developed. As you share these experiences with your colleagues, they will also share theirs, and you will learn from each other.
For this Discussion, consider the topics of the course by reflecting on the experiences of your colleagues. Choose three posts from three different colleagues in the previous discussion (Discussion 3), and reflect on:
The insights you gained from your colleagues
How your colleagues’ experiences/opinions affected your own
The varied perceptions of social work professionals and how they reflect professional ethics
Post by Day 5 a brief description of the insights you gained from the three Discussion posts you selected. Then, explain the impact the experiences and opinions of your colleagues have had on your own experiences and opinions. Finally, explain the varied perceptions of social policy advocacy for social work professionals and how these perceptions might be reflected in social work practice

Here’s on of the students discussions that she posted. Clarissa Harris RE: Discussion – Week 3 COLLAPSE Effects of the Social Welfare Policy Luisa is in an abusive marriage that necessitated her entry into a domestic violence shelter. For her to be eligible for services from the shelter, she must apply for benefits to facilitate her enrolment for the service. The social welfare policies place Luisa in a dilemma. The social welfare policies are restrictive to Luisa as she is financially dependent on her abusive husband. The policy that restricts her from receiving welfare benefits negatively affects Luisa, as she is unable to sustain herself independently without being confined to her current abusive relationship. However, her enrollment for benefits means that she is not able to prove her ability to support herself and her daughter. Consequently, she will not be able to sponsor her son to the United States if she subscribes for welfare benefits thus denying the son essential maternal care (Plummer, Makris, and Brocksen, 2014). The policies thus deny Luisa the right to equal protection and parental care for the son. How Policies Affect Social Agencies and How Social Agencies Work with Clients According to the National Association of Social Workers, policies affect social agencies through regulation of the necessary therapeutic roles of professional workers. Policies also protect and promote social agencies through the provision of education and training facilitated through the channeling of funding. Policies also come up with programs in different areas of mental health, aging societies, and general health. Additionally, policies affect how social workers work with clients through the provision of a regulatory and ethical baseline. The baseline often provides a framework in the work of social workers. An example of paradigm is how social workers are required by policy to ensure patient confidentiality. Social workers are also required to provide accurate guidance when executing their duties. It is important to note that lack of knowledge of these policies is not an admissible defense (Popple and Leighninger, 2015). References Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore: MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader]. Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2015). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Here’s the 2nd student’s post Fallon Brice-Williams Luisa is a 35-year-old Latino female who immigrated to the United States. Luisa is in an abusive marriage that has brought her to seek refuge at a domestic violence shelter. The shelter requires Luisa to apply for benefits to remain enrolled for services which present as an issue. Social welfare policies hinder Luisa because she if completely dependent on her husband Hugo who is abusive thus potentially forcing her to remain in the relationship. Luisa is unable to provide for herself or children on her own without the assistance of Temporary Assistance for Needed Families program (TANF). TANF provides financial support to help pay for food, shelter, utilities, and expenses other than medical. Luisa success or failure is determined by a policy that restricts her from receiving welfare benefits. Consequently, she will not be able to sponsor her son to the United States if she applies and receives TANF. It’s Luisa responsibility to prove that she can provide for her child to maintain sponsorship. (Plummer, Makris, and Brocksen, 2014). The policies thus deny Luisa the right to equal protection and parental care for the son. National Association of Social Workers, (2008) teaches that policies influence social agencies through control of the vital remedial parts of expert specialists. Policies also secure and advance social organizations through the arrangement of instruction and preparing encouraged through the diverting of financing. Policies additionally think of projects in various regions of psychological well-being, maturing social orders, and general wellbeing Polices will always affect social agencies, as well as how practitioners deal with clients. National Association of Social Workers, (2008) teaches that social workers are the voice of change and policy reform by mobilizing resources, public opinion, interacting with agencies whose responsibilities are to serve the needs of vulnerable populations are ways social workers champion the rights of individuals, communities and society at large through active participation in the political process. The goal of social policy is to raise the quality of life and enhance human welfare while addressing human needs for better public assistance and social insurance. Many policies fail, or are much less successful than they could be, simply because they are based on an inadequate understanding of the behavioral dimensions of the problem being addressed (Popple and Leighninger, 2015). Here’s the 3rd student’s post Pamela Wanner In Social Work Policy: Benefit Administration and Provision (Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014) Tessa has multiple issues of homelessness, mental illness, and domestic violence. Tessa has been denied benefits due to policy dictating that she needs to provide her legal name and social security number to social services. This is a common roadblock for victims of all three of Tessa’s presenting problems. Many homeless persons simply do not know or have access to proof of their social security number. Many mentally ill persons who seek assistance are paranoid about providing their name and social security number and do not wish to be “counted” in any database. Many domestic violence victims are hesitant be entered in a database where their abuser could possible track them. This policy does provide some positive benefits of ensuring services are being provided to U.S. citizens or non-citizens who are here legally, ensuring that benefits are not being provided to criminals who are being sought by law enforcement, and ensuring duplicate benefits are not being provided to a recipient. However, the policy prohibits providing “effective and equitable services to client” (Popple & Leighninger, 2016, p. 47) to those who are seeking refuge from abuse and from those who are in fear of providing required information. Policies such as this one affect social service agencies and how social workers interact with clients by creating a hurdle which clients may not be able to overcome in order to access services. In Tessa’s case, her worker went outside her agency policy to gain permission from the state to use a temporary pseudonym for Tessa. Realistically, this simple act must have taken several hours on the phone and a meeting with the agency supervisor. A worker at the Division of Family Development passed Tessa’s case to the Department of Human Services. If Tessa had been passed to a less seasoned or less aggressive worker she may have been passed on to another agency and then to another, essentially rendering all involved agencies ineffective in assisting those most in need. References Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. (. (2014). Social Work Policy: Benefit Administration and Provision. Social work case studies: Foundation Year, 74. Retrieved from http://www.vitalsource.com Popple, P., & Leighninger, L. (2016). The Policy-Based Profession: An Introduction to Social Welfare Policy Analysis for Social Workers. Pearson.