LRP SWK501, Revised 8/18/18 Apply the following scenario to writing assignments 1-3: You are a social worker who has been asked by your boss, a state legislator and social worker, to review the information available on a policy topic and provide them with recommendations for future policy. Writing assignment 1:
Description of a Social Problem (2 pages, plus title page & references)—5 points Provide background information on the historical development of policy in an area of your interest. If you like, you can start with the social problem you identified in SWK 500. In your paper, please accomplish/answer the following:
•Describe a social problem. How has the problem been measured? What data currently provides evidence of this problem (data from the last 10-15 years)? What populations are affected by this problem? Has this problem changed over time?
•Describe the history of policy solutions to this social problem. In what different ways has this problem been conceptualized? What policies have been introduced in the past to address this problem?
Who were the key figures (i.e. legislators) and groups supporting or opposing past policy efforts?
What were their political perspectives? •Paper length is 2 pages, not including cover and reference pages. Any tables presented must be at the end of the paper and are not included in the overall page count. Citations and references are to be formatted in APA style. •Assignment
1 must include at least
2 reputable references related to data and facts about the social problem and at least 3 references from original, peer-reviewed research articles related to the history of the social problem. In total, you need at least 5 references for Assignment 1