Based on your home address (101 Girard Pl Newark, NJ 07108), identify your state and federal Representatives and Senators
Look up their background information to get a sense of their position on different issues, including whether they have indicated support for your pending bill, or similar bills
Include contact information (i.e., where would you send the brief?)

OBJECTIVE: Create a policy brief on a pending bill or policy reauthorization that articulates your position on the legislation and then distribute that brief to state or federal lawmakers.

Working towards social change is one of the critical differences between social work and other professions. Not only is it part of our profession's ethical mandate to create social change, but it is essential to solving the social problems we address as social workers, including the many facets of violence against women and children.

One method for advocating on a given social/political issue is to present research and data in the form of a policy brief, usually written as a short position paper that provides evidence to support a particular position. A policy brief can provide public officials with valuable information about an issue that can help them justify their vote. Staff members and legislative committees often prepare policy briefs for lawmakers on particular issues.

This assignment assesses the knowledge dimension of the following CSWE Competencies:
Competency 3: Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice 3.1: Understand how social welfare policies and structural forces can promote the well- being of or oppress and marginalize individuals, families, and communities in our society
Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice 5.1: Recognize how our work with individuals, families, and communities can inform the policy making process

ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES: You are expected to create a policy brief and distribute it to policy makers. This brief must be on some aspect of a currently pending federal or state bill or policy reauthorization on topics covered in this course. You will be asking your legislator to do something specific, such as to support the bill, note against the bill, add something that is missing in the bill, etc.

This brief is divided into separate parts due throughout the semester. Each part has specific guidelines to follow; however, they build on one another. Each part should be submitted as its own Word document and is to follow APA format (12-point font, double-spaced, standard margins) and include proper in-text citations and references unless otherwise directed. A cover page and running headers are not needed.

Brevity, clarity, and creativity are important in writing an effective policy brief. Usually, lawmakers or their staff are working on numerous issues simultaneously and receive conflicting information on key issues. Most are unlikely to read anything that is long or complicated. Creativity is useful to catch the attention of the policy maker and their staff.

THE PARTS OF THE PAPER INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
Part One: Locate a Bill or Policy Reauthorization (Module 3) Do a search for pending bills by your chosen topic (i.e. sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, trafficking). Obtain as much relevant information about the bill as necessary for you to gain a thorough understanding of the key issues involved (i.e., be able to analyze and summarize the issue, the strengths & weaknesses of pending legislation directed toward alleviating the problem). Your choice of pending legislation must be approved by the instructor. Identify which bill you plan to analyze & use for your policy brief; make sure the bill is currently/pending Include whether federal or state bill Identify the # & title of the bill Provide a one paragraph summary of the bill Identify what social problem the bill addresses Include the government website for the bill Provide a few lines describing what you want your legislator to do about the bill: to support the bill, vote against the bill, add something that is missing in the bill, etc.

Part Two: Find your State and Federal Representatives & Senators: 1 page (Module 4) Based on your home address, identify your state and federal Representatives and Senators Look up their background information to get a sense of their position on different issues, including whether they have indicated support for your pending bill, or similar bills Include contact information (i.e., where would you send the brief?)

Part Three: Social problem analysis paper: 4-6 pages (Module 6) This is a research paper that focuses on the social problem you identified in the pending bill for your policy brief. This paper allows you to become more familiar in understanding the issue and why is important for policy. It should include at least 5 scholarly references (e.g., peer reviewed articles, government reports). Start with an introduction that includes an overview of the social problem Identify the way the problem is defined Who is affected? How many are affected? How has the problem been addressed in the past? Identify the cause(s) to which the problem is attributed and its consequences What causes this problem? What are the consequences/impact? Conclusion: Briefly summarize your thoughts & conclusion to the social problem analysis. References in APA style (not counted towards 4-6 pages) Evaluation will be based on how clearly you respond to the above, in particular: a) The clarity with which you introduce and describe the social problem; b) The depth, scope, and organization of your analysis of the social problem; c) Your ability to incorporate research & class materials to substantiate your analysis; and d) Your conclusions. e) How well you followed the guidelines

Part Four: Submit draft of your Policy Brief (1-2 pages) (Module 9) You will pick from the list below which key points you want to include in your brief. Remember, you are trying to convince your policy makers to adopt your stance. What is it you are asking of your legislator- to support the bill, vote against the bill, add something that is missing in the bill, etc? What information do you need to provide to get them to “buy” your “product”? How can you tie this in with previous positions they have taken? Background of the issue to include: The nature of the issue (describe it, define it, what does it include?) How widespread? Who is primarily impacted? What are the most recent stats on this issue? How can you highlight the problem and making it relevant for the legislator. Is there a price tag to this issue? Current status of relevant legislation to include: Is it pending, in committee – which committee, who introduced it and when? Who is supporting it? Has it been introduced before under a different bill number? If so how many times has it died in committee? Legislative options or possible policy alternatives to include: what are the gaps in service or benefits or programs? What is missing in the current approach to this social problem/issue? How would this legislation work? What resources or opportunities would this policy provide? Who will be covered by the policy and how? How will it be implemented? Identify short comings of current approach to issue Then introduce idea of current legislation and what that is. Your specific policy recommendations, and why to include: Should it be voted in as is? If so summarize briefly why? What are you asking your legislature to do? vote for pending legislation (so you should provide support to its passing), or, change pending legislation to include other suggestions (which you should outline and explain. Or, suggest a change for current law – to include new ideas (which you should outline and explain) Be as creative as possible! See these examples ranging from a 4-page to 1-page brief. Notice some use narratives; others use graphics Include references at the end as “works cited” but make sure to footnote all works cited Identify three lawmakers to send your policy brief. Include their names and contact information. Make sure if your policy brief is on a federal bill, that you choose your federal reps. If a state bill, you would choose your state reps. Examples: https://www.coastal.edu/media/academics/collegeofhumanities/ilpp/policybriefs/Domestic%20Violence%20and%20VAWA.pdf (Links to an external site.)

http://gph.ucsd.edu/cgeh/Documents/Campus%20Sexual%20Assault%20Brief.pdf (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)

http://knowledge.e.southern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgiarticle=1000&context=undergrad_socwork (Links to an external site.)

Part Five: Submit your final brief (Module 14) Make changes to your draft based on comments provided by the instructor & finalize brief Mail to at least 2 of your representatives; include a cover letter that includes: An introduction of yourself and why you are writing Clearly name the piece of legislation Clearly articulate what you want your legislature to do Introduce the policy brief that you enclosed to provide additional information Be sure to request a response and include your contact information. Include the cover letter with the materials you submit to the instructor Document that you mailed the brief by taking pictures of the envelope addressed to your policy makers

Part Six: Present Policy Brief (Module 14-15) Post your experiences with your policy brief and the actual brief to the discussion board Answer the following that outlines your experiences with the policy brief Describe your efforts to create this brief? Who did you send it to? Did you get any response? What did you learn from creating this brief? Post your policy brief as an attachment Review and respond to 2 other briefs provided by your classmates What were the strengths of the brief? What did you learn from this brief?