Two pieces of evidence that demonstrate knowledge, values, skills, and/or cognitive & affective processes in Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice:

- One from your practicum experience (identify learning activity(ies) that best exemplify the competency)

- One from Social Programs and Policies (5534)

A paragraph rationalization for each piece of evidence chosen. 

Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice

Social workers understand that human rights and social justice, as well as social welfare and services, are mediated by policy and its implementation at the federal, state, and local levels. Social workers understand the history and current structures of social policies and services, the role of policy in service delivery, and the role of practice in policy development. Social workers understand their role in policy development and implementation within their practice settings at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels and they actively engage in policy practice to effect change within those settings. Social workers recognize and understand the historical, social, cultural, economic, organizational, environmental, and global influences that affect social policy. They are also knowledgeable about policy formulation, analysis, implementation, and evaluation.

Social workers:

• Identify social policy at the local, state, and federal level that impacts well-being, service delivery, and access to social services;
• assess how social welfare and economic policies impact the delivery of and access to social services;
• apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice

Practicum Example: “By May 1st, I will research policies that negatively impact racial disparity and the LGBTQ and homeless population as evidenced by my personal placement notes.”

This was a part of a literature review I wrote for my research methods course last semester and it provided me with a lot more knowledge about the population I’m working with at my practicum. I learned about anti-homeless policies that many cities employ, such as harsh no-loitering laws, police raiding and destroying homeless camps, and installing fixtures like benches with armrests to prevent people from sleeping on them. A lot of our houseless young adults are either LGBTQ+, a racial minority, or both. They fall into the crosshairs of a lot of different policies that all affect them in different ways. There are various barriers that stand in between them and being successfully housed, mainly fueled by prejudice against LGBTQ+ individuals and racial minorities.

5534 Example: “Social Policy in the United States: Identifying Gaps, Areas of Needs, and a Path Forward Through Advocacy” group project

Four student groups with one of the following focuses: Health & Health Care Access, Housing, Criminal Justice & Policing, Voting

1. Conduct a formal historical analysis of their assigned social policy topic and its impact on the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.
1. The students will be responsible for providing a thorough historical overview of their social policy area.
2. Identify theories that have influenced the historical policies and practices associated with their policy area
2. Groups will have identified all literature necessary for the historical analysis section of your final presentation; additionally, students will provide a detailed outline of the historical section to instructor (references included at the end)
3. Students will need to submit a copy of their work – this is not a standard paper but instead a grouping of all of the content found and utilized for the historical analysis of their area of focus. This work should resemble a richly detailed literature review outline. You can either have one group member submit your work or each group member can submit the same document. If you decide to have one classmate submit for all of you please include everyone's name on the document.

1. Research the gaps that are present in their social policy area and thus the needs of individuals, families and communities that are created by these gaps
2. By the end of week 8 groups will have identified all literature necessary for the analysis of the current social policy section of your final presentation; additionally, students will provide a detailed outline of the current section to instructors (references included at the end).
1. Your group will also be required to search for, identify, and explain community level data that relates to your social safety net area: Data identification of community-level social determinants 

1. Students will need to submit their work again; this submission will include the historical content as well as the analysis of the current state of their social policy topic including the community level data. Again, this is not a standard paper but a collection of the literature and research that will help to support your final project and presentation. You can either have one group member submit your work or each group member can submit the same document. If you decide to have one classmate submit for all of you please include everyone's name on the document. 

1. Identify a path forward regarding their social policy area. They will compose a strategic work plan, educational materials (identifying presentation formats), and a succinctly written policy based in a relevant theoretical foundation that closes the gaps and offers a strong social policy for those impacted by their area of focus.
1. Strategic work plan – what has been done with this area historically, what does it look like currently and what needs to be done to “fix” or update the social policy. Included in this section your group will need to identify agencies in the Kansas City area that provide services related to your social safety net area
2. Once you have identified agencies in the KC Metro area who provide relevant services you will need to identify the most common practices they utilize, research these practices, and determine whether or not the agency is using best practices in your area of focus
3. Policy – students will create a policy that addresses the inadequacies of the past and of the current policy in their social safety net area. This policy should also provide a pathway forward that adequately serves the individuals impacted by your area of focus (2 Pages)
1. Educational materials – create materials that can be used to educate the general public about your area of focus, create them (handouts, videos, presentations), and then identify venues where your education materials can be presented and or submitted (pages determined by presentation format, a.k.a. brochure, online, public presentation)
2. Students will need to submit their work again; this submission will include a detailed summary of all of the work that your group has completed thus far. Again, this is not a standard paper but a collection of the literature and research that will help to support your final project and presentation. 

1. Prepare and record a professional presentation covering their area of focus. This presentation will thoroughly cover the historical, current and future analysis of their social policy area.
1. The presentation must include an analysis of former and current underlying theories that influence policy and program development as well as theories that should influence policy and programming in their area of focus.

My group covered issues of housing in the KC Metro area. I don’t have a copy of my project anymore, so I cannot remember what our intervention was or anything, but it did provide me with an insane amount of knowledge about what housing looks like in KC and the policies that affect it. The amount of affordable/subsidized/low-income housing in KC is miniscule compared to the number of people who need it. The city has not seemed to make it a priority despite there being options for them to provide more housing, such as converting all of the empty lots and condemned buildings owned by the city into affordable apartment complexes. Instead, the city actively works to support policies that work against citizens experiencing houselessness.