Final Assignment #3: Congressional Testimony
General Instructions:
As you think of your role as an advocate, apply the principles of problem identification, policy analysis and policy advocacy to a selected federal policy that impacts a client population. As you know, advocacy efforts can occur at the federal, state, and local levels. The role of an advocate may also be applied within an organization setting. However, the focus of this individual assignment will be specifically targeted at advocacy on a federal level, involving a federal policy. Using your critical thinking skills, you will develop a plan and write a formal congressional testimony advocating and recommending changes to a social welfare policy of your choice. It should follow the structure and formality of actual congressional hearings. Please use the link below to locate additional resources and sample hearings:
https://ask.loc.gov/law/faq/300694
This assignment will be completed in three parts consisting of 12 to 15 total pages (not including appendices). Part one will consist of an advocacy plan for your testimony. Part two will consist of your actual congressional testimony (written as a speech). Part three will be an annotated bibliography supporting your testimony. Please see instructions below for each part. This final written assignment is due October 20, 2024.
Part I: Advocacy Plan (3-4 pages)
Federal Policy:
Briefly describe the goals and objectives of the policy. Provide a brief overview of the social policy (e.g., history, key provisions, how it is administered, funding, and benefit). Include a summary and review of the key provisions of the policy and describe how the policy impacts the individual, family, organizational and/or community. Describe how the policy contributes to an anti-oppressive or oppressive system. Please use the link below to assist in the selection of a federal policy. Make sure the selected policy allows you to answer all aspects of the assignment.
Social Welfare Policy Summaries
Congressional Member Sponsor:
Please select a congressional representative(s) from the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives who will sponsor your testimony before a Congressional Committee. Select a congressional member based upon their congressional record/interest and provide a well-reasoned explanation as to why you selected the member. Identify and describe prior sponsored bills or legislation that that demonstrates their commitment to your policy. Please use the link below to select your Congressional sponsor:
https://www.congress.gov/
Congressional Committee:
You are a member of a panel of experts providing testimony to a Congressional Committee. Please explore the following weblinks to select an appropriate Committee/Subcommittee in either the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives that will be the host of your Congressional testimony. Please use the links below to select a Congressional Committee:
https://www.house.gov/committees
https://www.senate.gov/committees/
Advocacy Organization Affiliation
You are a member of an already established advocacy organization that works on behalf of individual, families and communities most impacted by your selected social welfare policy. In your own words, please describe the nature of the organization, their mission, organizational structure, budget (if available), and any prior or current advocacy efforts to address antiracist or anti oppressive systems. Please use the link below to identify an advocacy organization:
http://www.startguide.org/index.html
Part II: Congressional Testimony (6-7 pages)
Identify your role within the advocacy organization and write a congressional testimony presented at a congressional hearing about the social problem. Your congressional testimony should demonstrate a thorough explanation of a social welfare problem, an extensive analysis of a national social welfare policy, its social justice impact on vulnerable populations, the connection to social work practice, and well-reasoned recommendations to strengthen the policy You are encouraged to use examples from social work practice as well as statistical data and documentation from the literature to support your testimonial analysis. You may use data, graphs, or charts to enhance your presentation (Include as appendices). Please include applicable citations from the literature throughout your testimony. Your testimony should include the following elements:
Identification of the Social Problem:
Provide a general overview of the social problem.
Explain the magnitude and scope of the problem and the populations impacted by the social problem.
Provide specific data and information to explain the magnitude of the problem.
Describe how the social problem historically contributed to the oppression of marginalized populations at the micro, mezzo and macro levels.
Describe how data related to the social problem are being used to perpetuate social, racial, gender, economic and/or environmental justice inequality or the perception of inequality.
Social Welfare Policy Analysis:
Identify your social policy and briefly describe your basis for selecting it.
Address the effectiveness, efficiency, adequacy, responsiveness, and equity of the policy.
Assess how the policy affects the delivery of and access to social services from an anti-racist or anti oppressive perspective.
Provide a brief comparative analysis of a comparable international policy and what the U.S. could learn.
Human Rights and Social Justice Advocacy:
Explain how the policy impacts your social work practice.
Provide an emotional appeal of how the social policy impacts the client population (individual, family, organizations, or community).
Identify how the policy may contribute to be a system of oppression for marginalized communities.
Describe how you, as a social worker advocate, will incorporate the experiences of those from marginalized communities to disrupt or dismantle systems of oppression.
Policy Recommendations:
Identify three specific policy or program recommendations to strengthen the policy.
Provide a descriiption of how the policy recommendations would impact the individual, family, organization and/or community.
Provide a rationale of how your policy recommendations advance social, racial, economic and/or environmental justice.
Summarize what action you would like the congressional committee to take with respect to the social policy.
Part III: Annotated Bibliography (3-4 pages)
Your advocacy plan and congressional testimony needs to be well supported by the literature. Please include at least six (6) scholarly resources in your reference list (APA 7th). Of your total resources, three (3) of them need to be considered a peer reviewed journal article, book, or report generated from reputable think tanks. In addition to your reference list, please develop an annotated bibliography of three selected scholarly resources from your references. Your annotated bibliography must be at least one full page for each resource and include:
A summary of the resource’s main points (in your own words).
A brief descriiption of how the resource can inform policy makers and improve the policy.
A critical evaluation of the resource (is the resource reliable or biased, how does it support your advocacy position, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the resource, etc.).
Explain whether and how the article addresses anti-oppression.
A reflection of the resources (what did you like most or least about the resource).