SocW 320
Social Welfare Policy

Instructors for Winter 2008:

• Mary Lou Balassone*

Description:

This course provides a brief overview of American social welfare policy and systems and will then explores the current political, economic and institutional frameworks that structure public social welfare options. The course emphasizes the growing prevalence of economic inequality and the distribution of poverty and examines various social interventions addressing these problems. Students will examine and analyze the policy formation process through the lens of human diversity and structural oppression and discrimination. The class will also focus on understanding how the "reluctant" or "partial" American welfare state operates, how it is changing (or not changing) in response to local, national, and global pressures.

Soc Wf 320 is designed to meet the following BASW Program Learning objectives:

• Understand and describe the comparative history of social welfare and social work systems in the United States as well as the emergence of social work as a profession.
• Articulate the growing prevalence of economic inequality, the distribution of poverty and social remedies to resolve these problems.
• Analyze the impact of social policies on people (clients and workers), agencies, communities, service systems, and nations, including American Indian and Alaska Tribal Nations.
• Demonstrate understanding and appreciation for differences based on gender, ethnicity, race, nationality, religious creed, age, sexual orientation, class, and physical and developmental disabilities

Course Learning Objectives:

1. To introduce students to the American political and policy process, and how various institutions (legislatures, the media, advocacy groups, etc.) contribute to and shape this process, from the designation of an issue/problem through implementation and evaluation.
2. To acquaint students with a basic understanding of the American social structure, particularly economic issues of poverty and inequality, homelessness and hunger, how and why these problems are growing, and the various causes and consequences of these problems.
3. To provide an overview of the major social welfare programs, especially those intended to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality, and how well they work or do not work.
4. To understand the impact of racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ableism, and other ideologies that deny/denigrate some persons the ability to function fully in society based on differences (including, but not limited to, differences based on race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religious creed, age sexual orientation, class, and physical and developmental disabilities), particularly in social welfare, and how they are addressed by public policy.
5. To provide students with an understanding of the comparative history of social welfare and social work systems in the United States and the world, both developed and developing

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