Course Syllabus

SWK-D 505 - Social Policy Analysis and Practice (3 cr.)

Course Information:

Semester Year: Summer 2026

Section Number: 7256

Course Description

This course examines the processes that influence the development of social policy and social services. Included are the legislative and political processes, models of policy analysis, service delivery and policy implementation. Effects of these on people are considered from global, political, economic, environmental, and social policy perspectives.

This course is developed around the general proposition that social workers utilize knowledge and skills to carry out roles and functions critical for practice. Such knowledge and skills include the application of social policy analysis, the legislative process, the role and impact of politics and political choice on the quality of life of people, and the effect of economic-social policy decision and judicial actions on social services. In addition, the course examines the variability of the common and uncommon attributes of service delivery systems.

Course Competencies

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) 2022 EPAS Competencies addressed by this course:

• Primary: Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice
  • Social workers: Social workers use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services. Social workers apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic and environmental justice. (CSWE, 2022, EPAS, p. 10-11).
• Secondary:
  • Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
  • Competency 3: Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in practice 

Course Objectives

• D505-01: Distinguish the common attributes of all service delivery systems, such as auspices, organizations, decision-making processes, need-demand factors and provider-consumer relationships. Evaluate and apply research literature related to social work practice.
• D505-02: Assess the impact of the variability of the common attributes of service delivery on social service systems. Demonstrate a beginning understanding of the uses and methods used in single-system and program evaluation designs.
• D505-03: Analyze the differential benefits of the major service delivery systems for people of color, women, gay and lesbian people, and other populations at risk and the factors related to influencing such differential benefits.
• D505-04: Assess the dilemmas and trade-offs involved in the major issues related to service delivery, such as integration, normalization, and privatization.
• D505-05: Assess the nature of power and control in the political and legislative process, the management and control of information by lobbying forces, and the positive and negative aspects of social policy practice.
• D505-06: Assess the impact of social and economic policies on the advancement or hindrance of social and environmental justice and human rights.
• D505-07: Evaluate relationships of social work values and ethics to service delivery, policy goals, and the political process.
• D505-08: Assess and evaluate how the social constructions of problems relate to poverty, inequality, and systems of stratification, and apply analytic methods in advocating for special population groups, significant social issues, and political or legislative goals.
• D505-09: Evaluate the changing nature of individual, group, community, and societal policy interdependency from a comparative global perspective.

Required Course Materials

• Karger, H. and Stoesz, D.  (2022). American social welfare policy: A pluralist approach (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn Bacon.

Course Content

Be mindful that academic and experiential content in social work courses may trigger an emotional response, especially in individuals who have prior trauma history. As social workers, it is our responsibility to be present for clients who have experienced trauma; therefore, it is necessary to cultivate compassionate self-awareness and address our personal histories in a timely manner for competent social work practice. If you are triggered in the virtual classroom, your priority is self-care as well as continuing to gain knowledge for practice. You may need to seek consultation from faculty as to your readiness for practice and/or how to better prepare for social work practice.

This course equips students to demonstrate ethical and professional behavior and to advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice in and through policy practice.

The major evaluation of students' progress in accomplishing the learning objectives of this course is the signature Policy Analysis Paper, which allows students to demonstrate their learning by utilizing social work values and ethics along with a social work policy analysis framework to analyze a bill and assess its potential impact on social, economic, and/or environmental justice along with human rights, clarifying both a grounded social work position regarding the policy and then, in the name of that position, developing a strategy that could be used to build coalition, inclusive of civil society and the political realm, to move the position from paper to reality.

Course Outline

• Module 1: The Nature of Social Policy 
• Module 2: Social Policy Analysis Frameworks and Research 
• Module 3: Historical Values Influencing Social Policies and the Social Work Profession 
• Module 4: Capitalism, Class, Poverty, and Income Supports and Housing 
• Module 5: Making of Government Policy 
• Module 6: Child Welfare Policies and Social Justice 
• Module 7: Health and Mental Health Polices and Social Justice 
• Module 8: International Policies and Human Rights 
• Module 9: Engaging in Policy Practice 
• Signature Assignment 

Assessment and Grading

Specific instructions for each assignment are posted in Canvas, and I am happy to answer any questions you have. Please reach out by email or phone.

All assignments (i.e., papers) should be typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins on all sides. They should be carefully edited and proofread. They should use a 12-point font, and they should conform to APA style.

Grading standards

Papers are graded on the quality of the final product, not on the effort you extended to complete them. The grade of A is reserved for truly outstanding work that goes beyond basic requirements.

In the Indiana University School of Social Work MSW program, grades of B are the expected norm. Reflecting competency and proficiency, grades of B reflect good or high- quality work typical of graduate students in professional schools. Indeed, professors typically evaluate students’ work in such a way that B is the average grade. Grades in both the A and the C range are relatively uncommon and reflect work that is significantly superior to or significantly inferior to, respectively, the average, high-quality, professional work conducted by most IU MSW students. Because of this approach to grading, students who routinely earned A grades in their undergraduate studies may conclude that a B grade reflects a decrease in their academic performance. Such is not the case. Grades of B in the IU MSW program reflect the average, highly-competent, proficient quality of our students. In a sense, a B grade in graduate school is analogous to an A grade in undergraduate studies. MSW students must work extremely hard to achieve a B grade. If you are fortunate enough receive a B, prize it as evidence of the professional quality of your work.

Grades of A reflect excellence. Excellent scholarly products and academic or professional performances are substantially superior to the “good,” “the high quality,” “the competent,” or the “satisfactory.” They are unusual, exceptional, and extraordinary. Criteria for assignments are not only met, but also are exceeded by a significant margin. Excellence is a rare phenomenon. As a result, relatively few MSW students earn A grades.

Grades of B signify good or high-quality scholarly products and academic or professional performance. Grades in the B range reflect work expected of a conscientious graduate student in a professional program. Criteria for assignments are met in a competent, thoughtful, and professional manner. However, the criteria are not exceeded, and the quality is not substantially superior to other good quality products or performances. There is a clear distinction between the good and the excellent. We expect that most MSW students will earn grades in the B range—reflecting the good or high-quality work expected of competent future helping professionals.

Grades of C and C+ signify work that is marginal in nature. The scholarly products or professional performances meet many, but not all, of the expected criteria. The work approaches, but does not quite meet, the standards of quality expected of a graduate student in a professional school. Satisfactory in many respects, its quality is not consistently so and cannot be considered of good or high quality. We anticipate that a minority of MSW students will earn C and C+ grades.

Grades of C- and lower reflect work that is unsatisfactory. The products or performances do not meet several, many, or most of the criteria. The work fails to approach the standards of quality expected of a graduate student and a future MSW-level professional. We anticipate that a small percentage of MSW students will earn unsatisfactory grades of C-, D, and F.

Grading scale

Grade minimums are as follows: (Note: Grades below C are unsatisfactory in the MSW Program.)

Grading scale

A	93%	Excellent, Exceptional Quality
A-	90%	Superior Quality
B+	87%	Very Good, Slightly Higher Quality
B	83%	Good, High Quality (expected of most MSW students)
B-	80%	Satisfactory Quality
C+	77%	Marginal, Modestly Acceptable Quality
C	73%	Marginal, Minimally Acceptable Quality
C-	70%	Unsatisfactory Quality

Expectations for writing

Effective practice of generalist social work requires excellent writing skills to communicate information accurately and concisely to others involved in helping client systems. For this reason, formal writing assignments in social work courses will be evaluated both for the content and ideas presented as well as for the clarity of that presentation. All formal papers will be typed, double-spaced and paginated. In order to support professional expectations of utilizing evidence to inform practice at all levels, APA style is to be used to cite academic sources, including in-text references and bibliography. The formal APA manual and other guides to writing in APA style are available in the bookstore and are an expected part of the textbooks for the MSW program.

Students experiencing writing difficulties are advised to seek assistance at the University Campus Writing Center.

Assignment Submissions

Students are expected to submit all assignments on time. If you need to extend a deadline, you MUST speak to your instructor in advance of the due date to get an approval and an agreement will be reached. Late submission (expect by prior agreement) will be marked down 10% per day late. IU has a subscription to the Turnitin plagiarism detection service, and faculty members have the right to submit student papers to the service to check for originality. The Turnitin.com service will be used for all student papers in this course.

Grade of Incomplete 

If for some reason you are unable to complete the work assigned, an Incomplete must be negotiated with the professor prior to the last week of class.  There are specific University policies that detail when a grade of Incomplete may be considered by the course instructor.  PLEASE consult the instructor if you are having problems likely to impact success in this course. 

University and School Policies

In addition to this course's policies, as outlined above, please refer to and become familiar with the University and School Policies. You can also access this information from the left-hand navigation of this course.