SW 4144: Social Policies and Issues - Praglin

"Social policy may be defined as any formal government enactment that affects the well-being of people, including laws, regulations, executive orders, and court decisions."

Source: Mizrahi, T., & Davis, L. (2008). Encyclopedia of social work (20th ed.). Washington, D.C. : New York]: NASW Press.

For the Policy Analysis Paper, it's easiest to focus on legislation (a bill = a proposed law). Talk with your professor if you'd like to focus on a different policy type such as a federal agency regulation or international agreement.

• Tired of politics as usual? Think about policy research as about issues you care about, not about politics. The political process is one way society gets things done, even though it can be frustrating at times.
• Bill = proposed law. Enacted = signed into law. Res = resolution (not usually policy issues so avoid these). Glossary of Legislative Terms
• Federal bills tend to be a bit easier to research than state bills.
• Depending on the time in the legislative session, there may lots of bills or not very many. To get more options, you can search bills from previous years using most of the suggested tools on this guide.
• Don't worry too much if the % chance of a bill passing is pretty low. That's common & doesn't make the issues any less important.
• In the Iowa legislature, the "funnel" deadlines mean that most bills that aren't out of committee are "dead".
• Keywords matter when you search. A search for an Iowa bill using the keywords school vouchers may not turn up results because that phrase is not in a bill. But a search for school choice or scholarships may show results. Try synonyms and related (broader/narrower) terms.
• Don't know the bill number? Don't understand bill language? Look at news articles to help you.

If selecting state-level legislation, focus only on the state where you are registered to vote.

What if I can't find opposition? Finding opposition for "no brainer" bills can be hard. For example, no one is going to come out and say we want to increase child abuse when there is a related bill introduced. But opposition may come from:

1) A funding argument. How will the proposal be paid for?
2) The "better solution" argument. Does the opposition think there is a more effective way?
3) The "someone else" argument. Does the opposition think someone else should be responsible (ie. states instead of the federal government or private organizations instead of a government agency).