Human rights and social justice and social welfare and services are mediated by policy and its implementation at the federal, state, and local levels. I understand the history and current structures of social policies and services, the role of policy in service delivery, and practice in policy development. My role as a social worker in policy development and implementation within my practice settings at micro, mezzo, and macro levels is fully involved. I will be actively engaging in policy practice to effect change within each of these settings. I can recognize and comprehend the historical, social, cultural, economic, organizational, environmental, and global influences that affect social policy. I will continually strive to be knowledgeable about policy formulation, analysis, implementation, and evaluation. I hope to identify social policy at the local, state, and federal level that impacts well-being, service delivery, and access to social services. I will assess how social welfare and economic policies impact the delivery of and access to social services. Applying critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice will be of paramount importance in my practice.
Evidence
5A – Advocate with and inform stakeholders to impact policy change
Course Evidence: During Advanced Administrative Practice 2, our group created policies for our organizational proposal. These policies included grievance policy, whistleblower policy, policy related to staff recruitment and employees, conflict of interest policy, and confidentiality policy. Please view Organizational Policies.
Field Evidence: During field practice, I served on a sub-committee for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS), which specifically addressed mental health and substance abuse-related issues for child and youth for Region 3. Region 3 consists of over 20 counties see TDMHSAS Regional Map. I was able to identify the needs of moving forward with an action plan for the sub-committee related to identified needs within the region. I crafted an email to inform the committee chair, which will be reviewed, and the council will implement a plan based on my recommendations. Please see:
5B – Develop and implement a policy and/or advocacy plan
Course Evidence: This semester in Advanced Policy, I am collaborating with a group from my cohort to create an Advocacy Action Plan. At this point in the semester, we are still working on completion; however, the steps involved in creating this plan are as follows: Selecting a topic to focus on throughout the semester which will determine what issue we will be advocating for, researching the issue, branding and mapping support, media campaign, crafting the advocacy plan, and finally comprehensive portfolio of the plan. Thus far, I have completed the first two steps involved. Please review Topic Selection and Researching the Issue. The impact we are seeking to change through our plan is based on current policies SB 8003-HB 8002, AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 56, and Section 63-1-155, relative to electronic health delivery care. The current stipulations of this policy extend the delivery of Telehealth services at the same rate of face-to-face visits covered by insurance providers through April 2022. Our group is advocating to change this limitation to extend indefinitely.