This assignment is designed to connect classroom learning about social welfare policy with real-world advocacy practice. By attending an advocacy event, students will critically examine how policy change is pursued, whose voices are elevated, and how social workers function as policy actors within broader social movements. The paper should integrate policy analysis, critical reflection, and professional role identification.
Students must attend one policy-focused advocacy event during the semester. Examples include (but are not limited to):
- Legislative advocacy days (local, state, or federal)
- Rallies, marches, or demonstrations tied to a specific policy demand
- Public hearings, town halls, or budget hearings
- Advocacy trainings hosted by professional organizations
- Coalition meetings or organized lobbying efforts
The event must be tied to a specific social policy issue (e.g., income maintenance, housing, healthcare, immigration, child welfare, criminal legal reform). I work for Long Island Against Domestic Violence where we do have advocacy services or you can put that I went to an ICE protest?
Follow Below:
I. Description of the Advocacy Event (11.5 pages)
Provide a concise but substantive overview of the event:
- What was the event? (Who organized it? Where and when did it occur?)
- What issue(s) or policy area(s) did it address?
- Who participated (e.g., community members, advocates, legislators, social workers)?
- What strategies were used (e.g., speeches, storytelling, lobbying, media engagement)?
Focus on context and purpose, not just logistics.
II. The Policy Issue and Proposed Change (22.5 pages)
Analyze the policy issue at the center of the advocacy effort:
- What specific policy, law, regulation, or funding decision is being challenged or promoted?
- What problem does this policy create or fail to address?
- Who is most affected, and how?
- What change(s) are advocates seeking?
Situate the policy within its historical, political, and structural context, drawing on course materials where appropriate.
III. Policy Analysis and Power Dynamics (22.5 pages)
Critically assess the advocacy effort:
- What level(s) of government are targeted?
- How does power operate in this policy space (e.g., who benefits from the status quo)?
- What opposition exists, if any?
- What barriers or facilitators to change were evident?
In this section, demonstrate your ability to apply policy analysis frameworks (e.g., structural inequality, administrative burden, neoliberalism, racialized policy design).
IV. The Role of Social Workers in Policy Advocacy (1.52 pages)
Explicitly connect the event to the professional role of social workers:
- Were social workers present or involved? In what roles?
- How does this advocacy align with social work values and ethics?
- What skills do social workers bring to policy advocacy (e.g., systems analysis, client storytelling, coalition building)?
- What tensions exist between professional neutrality and advocacy?
Reference the NASW Code of Ethics and course discussions of social workers as policy actors.
V. Critical Reflection and Professional Growth (11.5 pages)
Reflect on your experience and learning:
- How did attending the event shape your understanding of policy change?
- What surprised or challenged you?
- How did the event complicate or reinforce ideas from the course?
- How might this experience inform your future role as a social worker?
This section should be reflective but analytically grounded.
Writing & Evidence Expectations
- Use course readings, empirical research, and policy sources to support your analysis
- Cite at least 68 scholarly or policy sources
- Avoid purely descriptive writing; analysis is required
- Use professional, academic language
- APA
