THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
COURSE NO. & SECTION:
SOWO 530 (Section 003)
COURSE TITLE &YEAR:
Foundations of Social Welfare & Social Work
Fall Semester 2013
MEETING TIME:
Tuesday 2:00 – 4:50 pm
INSTRUCTOR:
Paul Lanier, PhD
Tate Turner Kuralt Bldg. Room 324E
Phone: 919-962-6446
planier@unc.edu
OFFICE HOURS:
Tuesdays 11:30 – 1:30 and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Introduces public welfare policy through lecture and
discussion of the purposes of public welfare and describes the most important programs
created by those policies.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: By the end of this course, students will:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of current social welfare policies and programs in the U.S.
and the ideals which shaped existing public welfare structures;
2. Identify and describe the social concerns which those structures have or have not
been able to address successfully. Special attention will be given to their impact on
various family types.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of social work and effects of social
policy on historic and contemporary patterns of social welfare service provision;
4. Rigorously evaluate existing research related to social welfare policy and
demonstrate knowledge of the development and implementation of contemporary
social welfare policy;
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the values and ethics of social work that guide
professional behavior in the conduct of public policy activities;
6. Demonstrate skill in strategies for advocacy and social change that advance social
and economic justice;
7. Identify conditions that promote or deter equal access to resources for minorities
and women and be able to discuss concerns related to race, disability, gender and
sexual orientation.
SKILLS BASE ADDRESSED: By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Describe the origins and unique characteristics of the social work profession.
2. Assess clients for eligibility for major publicly funded programs and/or benefits.
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3. Analyze the effects of social welfare policies on well-being and opportunities for
lower-income individuals and families, as well as for other vulnerable populations.
4. Articulate the underlying values and principles shaping major public welfare
policies.
5. Describe how legislative and administrative policy is made and how to influence
policy development.
TEXT:
Dolgoff, R. & Feldstein, D. (2012) Understanding social welfare: A search for social
justice (9th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, Inc.
Additional required readings will be posted on Sakai.
TEACHING METHODS AND EXPECTATIONS:
Teaching methods will include lecture, discussion, multimedia presentations, and
small group activities. My perspective is that we all have much to learn AND much to
teach. Full participation is essential to your learning in the class, and will allow you to
successfully apply the course material in a way that is personally and professionally
meaningful.
You are expected to attend all classes and to complete the readings before class
begins. You are expected to participate in discussions by sharing information from
their reading and/or field experiences. I ask that you contact me, in advance, if you
will miss a class. Any student with significant difficulty with these requirements
should speak with me at the beginning of the semester so that alternative forms of
contribution can be identified.
POLICIES ON THE USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN THE CLASSROOM:
I expect that we will all be invested in creating a learning environment of respect and
engagement. Your attention is an important sign of respect to your colleagues, and an
important part of your learning. During class, cell phones should be turned off or
silenced. I welcome the use of laptops in class for taking notes or completing small
group tasks. However, I ask that you use them only for relevant activities – not for
checking email or surfing the Web. Please do not mistakenly assume that others
are unaware when you are doing so!! If distracting use of electronics is observed, I
will need to strictly limit their use to specific times during class.
OVERVIEW OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:
The following is a brief description of assignments – additional detail will be provided:
Social Construction Paper
This 4-5 page paper will assess your integration of readings, class discussions, and
personal thinking about history, social construction, and social work practice
addressed in the early part of the course.
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Budget Exercise
This exercise is intended to help you learn more about the struggles and dilemmas
that families face to meet their basic needs and the public and private sector resources
that may be available to them. You will be provided with a story of a family living in a
North Carolina county, along with their income and other resources. You will
conduct research (abundant resources will be posted on Sakai) to estimate what the
family will require to meet its basic needs, and what assistance is available.
You will enter your information on a worksheet (to be provided). Accompanying your
worksheet will be a brief (~ 3 pages) paper addressing your working assumptions,
conclusions about the bottom line, challenges encountered, and learning reflections.
Expert Panels & Advocacy Briefs: Social Welfare & Social Justice Intersections
This assignment will give you the opportunity to develop competence in (a)
researching social policy legislation, (b) analyzing bodies of legislation related to a
particular issue, (c) developing and articulating a position on a given policy, and (d)
designing social work advocacy agendas. Below are brief descriptions of issues to be
considered (these are negotiable, depending on students’ interests):
Disability
Examples of issues: Inclusion, equal rights, employment, education, parenting
Examples of legislation: ADA, Ryan White, mental health parity, IDEA
Criminal Justice: Focus on Adults
Examples of issues: Racial profiling & disproportionalities, criminalization of
mental illness &/or homelessness, hate crimes, war on drugs, death penalty
Examples of legislation: Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (1994);
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009); Racial Justice Act;
syringe exchange policies; death penalty legislation
Criminal Justice: Focus on Youth
Examples of issues: School violence, juvenile sentencing policies
Examples of legislation: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (2001);
Raise the Age
Family Violence & Child Welfare
Examples of issues: Child abuse (physical, sexual) & neglect, partner violence,
adoption for LGBTQI families, inter-ethnic adoptions, kinship care
Examples of legislation: Adoption & Safe Families Act, sex offender registry laws;
Violence against Women Act; U-Visas; Indian Child Welfare Act; second parent
adoption policies
Reproductive Rights & Health
Examples of issues: Abortion, parental consent, teen pregnancy and childbirth, sex
education, reproductive rights in the military
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Examples of legislation: Abstinence-only education; TANF provisions re: teen
parents; Burris Amendment; emergency contraception legislation
Immigration
Examples of issues: migrant worker policies, health care, education, citizenship,
criminalization, amnesty
Examples of legislation: 287 g; DREAM Act; amnesty/refugee resettlement
legislation
The assignment has a group component and an individual component, summarized
here:
Group Component/Expert Panel: You will team up with classmates based on
shared interests in social welfare policy issues with significant history, landmark
legislation, continued social injustices, advocacy efforts, & success stories. You will
work in teams to develop a presentation of about 45 minutes that:
1. Addresses the history or evolution of the social welfare system’s
response to the population
2. Summarizes multiple perspectives on the issue
3. Analyzes key legislation relative to the issue (one piece of legislation per
student) -- including political, economic, ethical, and practice
dimensions –critically appraises that legislation in terms of its
underlying assumptions and internal consistency/inconsistency.
4. Describes advocacy efforts and successes; and
5. Proposes an agenda for action that is consistent with the NASW Code of
Ethics
Individual Component/Advocacy Brief: Focusing on the policy or legislation
that you discussed in the expert panel, you will develop one of the following: (a) a
letter to the editor of a news publication, (b) an editorial or blog post, or (c) a fact
sheet. Your brief should be factual and evidence-based, and should clearly
articulate a recommendation or position on the issue. Guidelines for each of the
above formats will be provided and discussed.
Assignments will be scored as follows:
Social Construction Paper
Budget Exercise
Expert Panel Presentation
Advocacy Brief
Meaningful Participation
Total:
20 points
20 points
30 points
20 points
10 points
100 points
4
H:
P:
L:
F:
94 and above
93-80
79-70
69 and below
EXPECTATIONS FOR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS:
You are expected to adhere to appropriate scholarly writing guidelines and to use APA
formatting. A portion of the points for each assignment will be allocated to writing
quality. Please use the writing resources provided at orientation. The web sites listed
below provide additional information:



http://ssw.unc.edu/index.php?q=students/academic/advising (Academic
resources from the School of Social Work, including an APA quick reference
guide)
http://www.apastyle.org/apa-style-help.aspx (APA Style basics)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html (general
information about documentation using APA style)
POLICY ON INCOMPLETES AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS:
Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the day noted. You must notify me
at least 3 days before a due date if you would like to request an extension. If this
does not happen, you will lose 10% of the assignment’s points per day
(including weekends, and including the date on which the assignment was due,
if submitted after the beginning of class).
Incompletes may be granted if (a) there are extreme and unforeseeable circumstances
that affect your ability to complete the semester’s work, and (b) you meet with me in
advance to develop a plan and timeline for completing your work.
POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
I assume that all students follow the UNC Honor Code. Please ensure that the Honor
Code statement “I have neither given nor received any unauthorized assistance in
completing this assignment”, with your signature, is on all assignments turned in. In
keeping with the Honor Code, if reason exists to believe that academic dishonesty has
occurred, a referral will be made to the Office of the Student Attorney General for
investigation and further action as required.
Please refer to the APA Style Guide, the SSW Manual, and the SSW Writing Guide for
information on attribution of quotes, plagiarism, and the appropriate use of assistance
in preparing assignments.
POLICY ON ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
If you have a disability that affects your participation in the course and you wish to
receive accommodations, you should contact the University’s Disabilities Services.
They will then notify me of the documented disability, and we can meet to design the
appropriate accommodations to support your learning.
CLASS SCHEDULE & ASSIGNED READINGS
Date
Topics Addressed
Readings
Week 1
Aug 27
Welcome & Overview:
 Introductions
 Syllabus
 Introduction to Social
Constructionism
 Viewing of The Life &
Times of Rosie the
Riveter
None
Week 2
Sept 3
Context, Framework for
Exploring Social Welfare
 Social Construction
 Definitions of Social
Welfare
D & F:
Ch. 1: Socioeconomic Structure, Human
Needs, & Mutual Responsibility
Ch. 3: Social Values & Social Welfare:
England from the Middle Ages Onward
Ch. 4: Social Values & Social Welfare: The
American Experience I (read through
p. 58)
Ch. 12: Social Work: The Emergence of a
Profession (read pp. 291-296).
History to 1900
 Elizabethan Poor Laws
 Colonial America
 Civil War Era &
Reconstruction
Early Social Work Practice
 Charity Organization
Societies
 Settlement Houses
Week 3
Sept 10
The Progressive Era
 Industrialization
 Social Reforms
 Social Darwinism
 Eugenics
Social Work in the
Progressive Era
 African American
Pioneers
 Social Work
Approaches to
Progressive Reforms &
Eugenics
Due
Articles/Chapters:
Schneider A & Ingram, H. (1993) Social
construction of target populations:
Implications for politics & policy. The
American Political Science Review 87(2),
334-347.
D & F:
Ch. 4: Social Values & Social Welfare: The
American Experience I (pp. 59-78).
Ch. 5: Social Values & Social Welfare: The
American Experience II (pp. 81-83).
Ch. 12: Social Work: The Emergence of a
Profession (read pp. 297-301).
Articles/Chapters:
Carlton-LaNey, I. (2001). African American
leadership: An empowerment tradition in
social welfare history. Washington, DC:
NASW Press. Read: Chapter 2: African
Americans & social work in Philadelphia,
1900–1930
Schoen, J. (2011). Reassessing eugenic
sterilization: The case of North Carolina.
In P. Lombardo (Ed.), A Century of
Eugenics in America: From the Indiana
Experiment to the Human Genome Era
6
Date
Topics Addressed
Readings
Due
(pp. 141-160). Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press.
Optional:
Blau, J. & Abramovitz, M. (2010). Chapter 7:
Social welfare history in the United
States. In J. Blau & M. Abramovitz.
Dynamics of Social Welfare Policy (pp.
237-250). New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
Park, Y. & Kemp, S. (2006). “Little alien
colonies”: Representations of immigrants
& their neighborhoods in social work
discourse, 1875-1924. Social Service
Review, 80(4), 705-734.
Week 4
Sept 17
The Great Depression
 New Deal
 Social Security Act
 Video: CCC
D & F:
Ch. 5: Social Values & Social Welfare: The
American Experience II (pp. 83-84).
Ch. 12: Social Work: The Emergence of a
Profession (read pp. 302-304).
Social Work Practice
Optional:
Blau, J. & Abramovitz, M. (2010). Social
welfare history in the United States. In J.
Blau & M. Abramovitz, Dynamics of
Social Welfare Policy (pp. 257-271). New
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Week 5
Sept 24
CLASS
WILL
NOT
MEET
THIS
DAY
History
 WWII & Postwar
America
 The Great Society
 Federalism
 War on Poverty
 Civil Rights
Movement
 New Federalism
Social Work Practice
Week 6:
Oct 1
Contemporary Social
Welfare Policy
 The Importance of
Ideology
D & F:
Ch. 5: Social Values & Social Welfare: The
American Experience II (pp. 84-97)
Social
Construction
Paper Due
Articles/Chapters:
Linhorst, D. (2002). Federalism & social
justice: implications for social work.
Social Work, 47(3), 201-208.
Optional:
Blau, J. & Abramovitz, M. (2010). Social
welfare history in the United States. In J.
Blau & M. Abramovitz. Dynamics of
Social Welfare Policy (pp. 270-294). New
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
D & F:
Ch. 6: Concepts for Social Welfare
Ch. 7: Examining a Social Welfare Program
within the Context of Social Justice
7
Date
Topics Addressed
 Types of Social
Welfare
 Dimensions for
Analyzing Social
Welfare Policy
 Policy Development
Universal Social Welfare
Programs
 Social Security
 Medicare
Readings
Due
Ch. 9: Current Social Welfare Programs:
Economic Security (pp. 186-206)
Ch. 10: Social Welfare Programs: Sustaining
the Quality of Life (Read section on
Medicare, pp. 225-228)
Additional Articles/Chapters
Abramovitz, M. (2010). Chapter 5:
Ideological perspectives & conflicts. In J.
Blau & M. Abramovitz. Dynamics of
Social Welfare Policy (pp. 131-138, then
review the remainder of the chapter as
desired). New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
Thyer, B. A. (2010) Social justice: A
conservative perspective, Journal of
Comparative Social Welfare, 26(2), 261 –
274.
In addition, please go to
www.politicalcompass.org & complete the
online inventory
Week 7
Oct 8
Examining Poverty
 Rates & definitions
 Poverty line & critiques
 Impact of poverty
Residual Social Welfare
Programs
 Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families
(TANF)
 Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program
(SNAP)
 Housing assistance
 Supplemental Security
Income (SSI)
 Medicaid
Week 8
Oct 15
Critique of Welfare &
Governmental Response
to Poverty
 Impact of TANF
 Ideological Battles
D & F:
Ch. 8: The Welfare Society & its Clients (pp.
153-174).
Ch. 9: Current Social Welfare Programs:
Economic Security (pp. 207-214)
Ch. 10: Social Welfare Programs: Sustaining
the Quality of Life (Read section on
Medicaid, pp. 229-233, & Nutrition, pp.
240-251).
Articles/Chapters:
Action for Children North Carolina (2011).
Children in the recession (Economic
Security Issue Brief). Read: pp. 4-16.
Boushey, H. & Weller, C.E. (2005). What the
numbers tell us. In J. Lardner & D.A.
Smith (Eds.), Inequality matters, (pp. 2740). New York: The New Press.
D & F:
Ch. 9: Current Social Welfare Programs:
Economic Security (pp. 216-218)
Articles/Chapters:
8
Date
Topics Addressed
Readings
Market-Based Approaches
to Poverty Relief
 Asset Building
 Individual
Development Accounts
Berlin, G. (2010). Rethinking welfare in the
great recession: Issues in the
reauthorization of Temporary Aid to
Needy Families. Washington, DC: MDRC.
Due
Cooney, K. & Shanks, T. R. (2010) New
approaches to old problems: Market‐
based strategies for poverty alleviation.
Social Services Review 84(1) 29-56.
Rank, M. (2011). Rethinking American
poverty. Contexts (10), 16-21.
Rector, R. & Johnson, K. (2004).
Understanding poverty in America.
Washington, DC: Heritage Foundation.
Retrieved from
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfa
re/upload/53977_1.pdf
Shapiro, T. (2004). Assets for equality (pp.
183-204). In The hidden cost of being
African-American: How wealth
perpetuates inequality. New York: Oxford
Optional:
Sawhill, I. (2003). The behavioral aspects of
poverty. The Public Interest (153), 79-93.
Week 9
Oct 22
The Current Health Care
Safety Net
 Healthcare coverage
& reform
 Health disparities
D & F:
Ch. 10: Social Welfare Programs: Sustaining
the Quality of Life (Read section on
the Affordable Care Act, pp. 234-240).
Budget
Assignment
Due
Articles/Chapters:
Horton, S. (2006). The double burden on
safety net providers: Placing health
disparities in the context of the
privatization of health care in the US.
Social Science & Medicine, 63(10), 27022714.
Keefe, R. H. (2010). Health disparities: A
primer for public health social workers.
Social Work in Public Health, 25(3/4), 237257.
Woolf, S. H. (2009). Social policy as health
policy. [Opinion]. JAMA: Journal of the
American Medical Association, 301(11),
1166-1169.
9
Date
Week 10
Oct 29
Topics Addressed
The Current Mental
Health & Substance
Abuse Safety Net
 MH reform in North
Carolina
 Intersections with
homelessness,
criminal justice, &
other safety net
systems
Readings
Due
D & F:
Ch. 10: Social Welfare Programs: Sustaining
the Quality of Life (Read sections on
mental health & corrections, pp. 262266).
Articles/Chapters:
Baillargeon, J., Hoge, S., & Penn, J. V. (2010).
Addressing the challenge of community
reentry among released inmates with
serious mental illness. American Journal
of Community Psychology, 46(3/4), 361375.
Newman, S., & Goldman, H. (2008). Putting
housing first, making housing last:
housing policy for persons with severe
mental illness. American Journal of
Psychiatry, 165(10), 1242-1248
Optional:
Scheid, T. L. (2008). Competing institutional
demands: A framework for understanding
mental health policy. Social Theory &
Health, 6(4), 291-308.
Week 11
Nov 5
Policies Impacting
Children & Families
D & F:
Ch. 10: Social Welfare Programs: Sustaining
the Quality of Life (read pp. 255-262)
Articles/Chapters:
Haskins, R., Paxson, C., & Brooks-Gunn, J.
(2009). Social science rising: A tale of
evidence shaping public policy.
Princeton, NJ: The Future of Children.
Retrieved from
http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchil
dren/publications/docs/19_02_PolicyBri
ef.pdf
National Conference of State Legislatures
(2013). The US Supreme Court and the
Indian Child Welfare Act. Retrieved
from http://www.ncsl.org/issuesresearch/tribal/the-supreme-court-andthe-indian-child-welfare-act.aspx
Norris, C. (2013). Dirty secret no. 1 in
Obamacare. Retrieved from
10
Date
Topics Addressed
Readings
Due
http://townhall.com/columnists/chuckn
orris/2009/08/11/dirty_secret_no_1_in_o
bamacare/page/full
Week 12
Nov 12
Policy Advocacy &
Activism
D & F:
Ch. 12: Social Work: The Emergence of a
Profession (read pp. 304-307, 313-317).
Articles/Chapters:
Faulkner, A., & Lindsey, A. (2004). Grassroots
meets homophobia: A rocky mountain
success story. Journal of Gay & Lesbian
Social Services, 16(3/4), 113-128.
Figueira-McDonough, J. (1993). Policy
practice: The neglected side of social
work intervention. Social Work, 38(2),
179-188.
Selections from NASW Legislative Summaries
from 2013
Week 13
Nov 19
Expert Panel Presentations
Week 14
Nov 26
Expert Panel Presentations
Date of
Final
Exam –
No Class
Letter to Editor, Editorial, or Fact Sheet Due
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