SOCW 4100 - Social Work Policy and Practice

(3) Credit Hours

This course is designed to develop analytical skills and the ability to engage in critical thinking concerning social welfare programs, policies, and social problems that create implications for policymaking. The course covers the history of social welfare policy, the context of past and current social welfare policies, and implications for the social work profession. Topics such as social welfare programs, poverty, health care, mental health, children and youth, criminal justice, and services to the elderly will be covered. Emphasis is also placed on critically assessing the appropriateness and adequacy of current social welfare policies within the context of social work practice. The course will expose students to various frameworks for understanding the strengths and limitations of policies, as well as incorporate a social, economic, and political justice lens; a strengths based lens; and a multicultural lens (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, culture, income, family structure, disability/ability, etc.). Spring semester. Prerequisites: SOCW 4070, SOCW 4120, SOCW 4130 and SOCW 4170 or department head approval.