SW 342 - Social Welfare History and Policy II (S) (W)

3 Credit(s)

This undergraduate social work course is the second of a two-course sequence examining social welfare policy. The first course (SW 341) focused on the historical development of social welfare policies and services in Western society and their emergence in the United States. A major purpose of this second course is to introduce students to the arena of social welfare policy: the socio-political environment in which social welfare policy is formulated and developed as a species of general public policy in competition with other public policy areas. The course provides an overview of the political and economic dynamics of policy formation, development, and enactment; the roles of various critical actors in the policy-making process; and the issues and components of social welfare policy design. A primary intent is to develop an essential capacity for the examination and critical analysis of social welfare policy. To this end, selected areas of social welfare policy are examined using theoretical and analytical principals that have broad application. This enrichment of students’ understanding of the central role of policy in U.S. social welfare and the enhanced ability to scrutinize, analyze, and evaluate current and proposed social welfare policies are primary course objectives. This is a writing enriched and service learning course.