Artifact Reflection

In Fall 2021, I created an Advocacy Presentation for Professor Alexandria Lewis’ “Policy and Advocacy for Empowered Aging” course. This presentation provided an overview of the barriers to accessing home and community-based services (HCBS), a description and analysis of a policy intended to address these barriers, and ways to advocate for aging in place, which refers to an older adult’s ability to live in the home and community of their choice. For many older adults, receiving services in their home rather than transitioning to “institutional care,” such as nursing homes, promotes privacy, autotomy, comfort, and an ongoing connection to their communities. My presentation was designed to persuade my classmates, acting as stakeholders with limited knowledge about my topic, to support my proposed solution, which included contacting their representatives to voice support of the Better Care Better Jobs Act.

My Advocacy Presentation was the final step in a semester-long social policy analysis process. My initial steps included selecting HCBS access as my social issue and the Better Care Better Jobs Act as the policy that I wanted to research, describe, and analyze. From there I identified positive outcomes and action steps needed to achieve them. I synthesized the information from my Social Analysis Report and Advocacy Plan to create the PowerPoint for my Advocacy Presentation. I used VoiceThread to narrate my slides and include additional commentary to demonstrate the pervasiveness of the barriers to HCBS, the impact of these barriers, and how and why to support policies that promote aging in place.

Equity within home and community-based service access is something that I feel passionate about as I worked as a personal care attendant for over two years, assisting individuals in their homes and in long-term care facilities. I am doing my advanced clinical practicum at The Bluffs, a skilled nursing facility. In both settings I have witnessed the value of aging in place as well as advocating for older adults to have a variety of service options that meet their individual needs. For my artifact, I chose the PowerPoint from my Advocacy Presentation, without the recorded component, because it demonstrates my ability to analyze social issues and propose meaningful solutions. I made some minor changes to the PowerPoint text to increase clarity for the reader and streamline important information. A strength of my assignment is that I clearly communicated the impact of this issue and broke down my proposed solutions into manageable goals with action steps. This is important when communicating with stakeholders because they need to understand how the issues could affect them and their next steps towards a solution.

Competency Reflection

Before entering this program, I rejected the idea of doing “policy work,” as it fell outside  of my comfort zone due to my lack of background experience. Advocating for legislation felt daunting and I was unsure that I had the skills necessary. Because of this I pictured myself working inside a sort of micro practice bubble. I knew that I might advocate on behalf of my clients to their insurance or other providers, but I did not picture myself using my practice experience to engage in political action. This program has improved my ability to communicate the impact of unjust policies to legislators. My classes and field experiences have increased my understanding of why engaging in policy practice is essential to social work practice. Our Code of Ethics stresses the importance of disrupting systems that maintain marginalization. I believe that changing policies is a huge component of this.

During this program I have learned the importance of appealing to stakeholders’ values, whether that be freedom, financial gain, or the desire to help others. I have demonstrated my ability to be clear and compelling in written and verbal communications. In an advocacy document I completed for Fundamentals of Social Work Administration, I provided a detailed and evidence-driven explanation of how gender affirmative care is a form of suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth. After explaining the issue and potential impact, I included easy ways to look up legislators, tips for writing letters advocating for or against a policy, and the link to a petition. This was done to increase the likelihood of other people sending letters to their representatives to influence policy change.

In my practicum at The Bluffs, I am engaging in policy practice by identifying patterns in client outcomes as well as their reports related to quality of life and access to necessary services, rights, and resources. I am using this information, as well as empirical data, to communicate key issues and their impact to stakeholders to achieve outcomes such as increased Medicaid reimbursement rates and mental health service coverage. This semester I am also tracking the Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act of 2021 by monitoring its progress and researching the unintended consequences of similar legislation. I am going to send a letter to my state representatives with an analysis of this bill, including strengths and weaknesses, and what steps I urge them to take related to nursing home staffing, reporting, and quality measures. In the future, I hope to use what I learned about policy in this program to propose socially just solutions and gain the support of stakeholders.