HSS 102 Social Welfare Policy
Research Paper
“Social Welfare Policy is the collective response to social problems and Social Welfare Programs are the product of social welfare policies.” Identify a social welfare problem that interests you. Examples of social problems include poverty, homelessness, mental illness, unemployment, substance abuse, family violence, immigration, aging, child welfare, health care, social justice, racial discrimination, sexism, LGBT, and veterans.
Discuss the relevance of your social problem or issue with respect to the creation of social welfare policy.
For this assignment, you should,
1. Choose a social welfare problem or issue that interests you from the suggestions above. Please see
me if you need help in selecting a topic.
2. Conduct research on your topic. Your research must include
1. at least two (2) professional journal articles and
2. at least one (1) government publication from the internet.
To help structure your paper follow the required outline:
a. Identify a social problem or social issue and explain why it is a social welfare policy issue
b. What are the causes and impact of this social problem and what is the effect on society?
c. Describe the client population affected by this problem. How many people in the U.S.? Are they men and/or women? What is the general racial/ethnic background of this population? (Demographics)
d. What are the “values and beliefs” that affect how this problem is defined as a social problem?
e. What ideologies, theories, or paradigms of social welfare are relevant to define this problem?
f. Do a “critical analysis” of the social problem.
1. Who has the power in regard to this issue? Who does not?
2. What is the public reaction to the issue?
3. What policy or legislation was developed in response to the problem?
4. How the policy was implemented and was the program effective?
3. What are your suggested changes or approaches to the problem?
