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University of Minnesota School of Social Work
Syllabus
SW 8563-Advanced Policy Advocacy
Part I: Course information
SW 8563-Advanced Policy Advocacy
2 credits
Faculty Contact:
Name:
Email:
Phone:
Office Location:
Short Description:
Students are paired with social service, social policy and social justice
agencies and coalitions to gain an in-depth knowledge of agenda setting,
legislative research, and legislative advocacy in relation to specific
legislation being proposed in the Minnesota state legislature. Course will
tie policy theory to real-world practice.
Long Description:
In this concentration year course, students have the opportunity to work
directly with an agency or coalition currently engaged in policy advocacy
at the Minnesota State legislature. Students will learn the nuanced
nature of the legislative policy making process, how organizations,
coalitions and interest groups influence legislation, the role of partisan
politics in policymaking, and the role of lobbyists in the policy process. In
addition, students will focus on how social workers working in all levels of
practice can be engaged in the policy advocacy process, including both
those whose job description includes policy advocacy as a job duty, as
well as other social workers who are engaged as part of their
responsibilities to their communities, clients, partners, agencies and/or
profession.
Pre-requisites:
1. This is an advanced social work class, and the material presented in this class is at an
advanced level. Social Work students enrolled in this course should have completed the
foundation classes listed below, or have advanced standing status.
SW 5051 - Human Behavior and the Social Environment
SW 5801 - Policies and Programs in American Social Welfare
SW 8151 - Social Work Practice Methods: Individuals and Systems
SW 8152 - Social Work Practice Methods: Families and Groups
2
SW 8153 - Models of Community Intervention
SW 8841 - Social Work Research Methods
2. If you are not a Social Work student, you need permission of the instructor
Clinical Licensure Hours:
This course contains some clinical content, as required by the Minnesota Board
of Social Work for eligibility for the Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker
(LICSW). The number of hours in each required category is listed below:
Area
Differenti
al
Diagnosis
Assessme
nt based
treatment
planning
Hour
s
0
0
Clinical
Evaluation
Interventio methodologi
n Methods es
0
2
SW
value
s and
ethic
s
10
Culturally
specific
clinical
assessme
nt
0
Othe
r
area
s
18
Part II: COURSE OUTCOMES
Course Objectives:
Students will be able to:
1. Articulate a theoretical, conceptual and practical knowledge of the state
legislative, budgetary and bureaucratic policy making processes and structures.
2. Understand the democratic process and the role of compromise within the
legislative process.
3. Frame issues
4. Describe the key action points within the policy making processes in which
professional lobbyists, legislators, social workers and citizens can influence policy
making.
5. Demonstrate the ability to use tools for following the legislative processes, such
as the daily calendar, committee schedules, etc.
6. Demonstrate the ability to use policy advocacy and lobbying techniques that are
tailored to the particular issue, organization and political climate, such as
agenda-setting, coalition building, legislative visits, letter/call-in campaigns,
hearings, media relations, online advocacy, social media, actions etc.
7. Develop an advocacy campaign based upon an understanding of the legislative
processes, the political climate, and the organization/coalition’s values and
positions.
8. Discuss how social workers can be involved in the policy advocacy process.
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Social Work Practice Competencies
Successful completion of this concentration course implies that the student has achieved
competency in the following advanced practice behaviors:
Competency: 2.1.1 – Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly
Social workers serve as representatives of the profession, its mission, and its core values. They know
the profession’s history. Social workers commit themselves to the profession’s enhancement and to
their own professional conduct and growth. Social workers:
Covered in class through
Practice Behavior
(i.e., activity, reading,
Assessed
content)
Weeks 4-6, readings and
Journal and Reflection
• Apply knowledge of social services,
lecture, policy advocacy
Paper
policies and programs relevant to
project
their area of practice
Competency: 2.1.2 – Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice
Social workers have an obligation to conduct themselves ethically and to engage in ethical decisionmaking. Social workers are knowledgeable about the value base of the profession, its ethical standards,
and relevant law. Social workers:
Covered in class
Practice Behavior
through (i.e., activity,
Assessed
reading, content)
Journal
• Identify and analyze value-based and Week 12
ethical dilemmas that arise in their
area of practice, using professional
codes of ethical standards and
through appropriate professional
consultation.
Competency: 2.1.3 – Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments
Social workers are knowledgeable about the principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and reasoned
discernment. They use critical thinking augmented by creativity and curiosity. Critical thinking also
requires the synthesis and communication of relevant information. Social workers:
Covered in class
Practice Behaviors
through (i.e., activity,
Assessed
reading, content)
Readings and Lecture,
Analysis of Bill, Reflection
• Identify and synthesize multiple
Weeks 4-6, policy advocacy Paper
sources of knowledge to understand
project
policy and practice issues related to
their area of practice
EP 2.1.5 – Advance human rights and social and economic justice
Each person, regardless of position in society, has basic human rights, such as freedom, safety,
privacy, an adequate standard of living, health care, and education. Social workers recognize the global
interconnections of oppression and are knowledgeable about theories of justice and strategies to
promote human and civil rights. Social work incorporates social justice practices in organizations,
institutions, and society to ensure that these basic human rights are distributed equitably and without
prejudice. Social workers:
Covered in class
Practice Behaviors
through (i.e., activity,
Assessed
reading, content)
Lecture & Readings,
Journal and reflection
• Gain a full comprehension about
Weeks 2-6
paper
disparities and their development,
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contribute to knowledge about
institutional barriers to equality and
apply concentration-appropriate
strategies to advance social and
economic justice.
Competency: 2.1.8 – Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being
Social work practitioners understand that policy affects service delivery, and they actively engage in
policy practice. Social workers know the history and current structures of social policies and services;
the role of policy in service delivery; and the role of practice in policy development. Social workers:
Covered in class through
Practice Behavior
(i.e., activity, reading,
Assessed
content)
Whole class?
Analysis of Bill, journal
• Understand, compare, analyze,
and reflection paper
formulate and advocate for policies in
an area of practice
PART III: COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Required texts and materials
Haynes, K.S. & Mickelson, J.S. (2009). Affecting change: Social workers in the political
arena. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Gelak, D. (2008). Lobbying and advocacy: Winning strategies, resources,
recommendations, ethics and ongoing compliance for lobbyists and Washington
Advocates: The best of everything lobbying and Washington advocacy. Washington:
Thecapitol.Net, Inc.
In addition, students are expected to regularly read the daily legislative report in the
Minnesota Star Tribune or the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
ASSIGNMENTS
List and briefly describe all assignments and due dates.
The following are the major assignments for this course:
Policy Advocacy Project
The major project for this course involves working on a current legislative
advocacy campaign. Students are to spend at least 30 hours participating with
a local organization or coalition that is working on legislation. Students are
expected to negotiate a participatory role with a social service agency, a
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coalition, or an advocacy group that is engaged in advocacy work at the state
legislature. Students whose field placement agencies are engaged in legislative
advocacy work may elect to work on issues with that agency. Those who do
not have access to legislative advocacy work in their current field placements
will be given a range of choices of agencies or interest groups who have agreed
to assist with this learning experience. (Some representatives from these
groups will present opportunities in class # 2).
Students will select one or two bills - of interest to themselves and to the
group with which they are working - to follow through the legislative process.
It also will include participation with the advocacy group chosen and
attendance at various allied organizations or community groups involved with
the issue chosen. Activities will vary based on the particular advocacy
campaign, but students are required to have at least two legislative visits,
attend at least two hearings, attend a community meeting, and participate
regularly in advocacy planning activities. Other activities will vary, but may
include legislative research, facilitating a mass campaign, media relations,
online advocacy, or a variety of other advocacy strategies. To facilitate this
experience, students will not meet in the classroom weeks 8, 10, 11, 13 and 14.
There are several assignments required related to this project.
1. Participation Contract (Due Week 3)
Students are to develop a contract and action plan detailing the advocacy
campaign on which they are working and their expected activities.
(These of course will be subject to change!)
2. Bill or Issue Paper (Due Week 4)
Students are to develop a two page paper describing the bill they will be
working on, including its sponsors, its committee assignment, a brief
history of the bill and/or the problem it is intended to address, and the
groups for and against it. If the bill has not yet been introduced, then an
overview of the Issue.
3. Online Log, Bill Tracking & Journal (Weekly beginning Week 3 – Week 16)
Students will keep a weekly log of all activities connected with following,
analyzing and promoting the bill(s) or issues you have chosen. Activities
may include meetings with the advocacy group you have joined,
community meetings related to the subject, visits to the House, Senate
and their respective legislative committees, interviews with prime
players, phone calls, e-mail, internet and other media research, and
letters written.
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Your log should include the date, the location and the length of time of
the activity. (Hours should be tallied up at the end of the Log) A short
narrative of what transpired and a critical analysis of the activity should
be included with each entry.
The log week will be from Friday to Thursday. Students can turn in the log
for the previous week anytime from Thursday of the end of the log week
until Monday evening of the previous log week (I will put specific dates in
here when I know when it is being taught). Logs that are turned in after
Monday at midnight will lose one point per day. This log will be on the
Moodle website, and will be viewable by the instructor and other
classmates.
4. Final Reflection Paper (Week 16)
The final course paper will be a roughly 8-12 page paper based on their
particular advocacy experience. This paper will include a history of the
bill, a brief analysis of the bill, an analysis of the strategies and tactics
used by those both inside/outside legislature on all sides regarding the
bill, the status of the bill as of May, and an analysis of the bill in light of
social work values, policy and practice. This paper MUST include
references to course readings and materials, as well as interviews with
legislators and others on both sides of the bill, and local media reports.
Students will also provide a personal reflection of their experience in this
process, including an analysis of their own policy advocacy competencies.
5. Final Presentation (Week 16)
On the last day of class you will be asked to give a three-minute mock
“press conference” in which you will advocate for (or against) the bill you
have chosen to follow. Or you may choose to “testify” on this bill in front
of a legislative committee. Class members not presenting will be
expected to act as members of the press, legislative committee chairs,
and committee members.
Additional instructions and guidelines for completing the above assignments will be
distributed in class, as well as criteria for the grading of each assignment.
GRADE DISTRIBUTION AND ASSIGNMENT WEIGHTING
The grade weight and due date for each assignment is listed below:
Assignment
Contract
Analysis of Bill
Due Date
Week 3
Week 4
Grade Value
5
10
7
Weekly Log
Weeks 4-16 (except
week 9) each worth 5
Week 16
Week 16
Final Paper
Final Presentation
48
32
5
In this course, students do not earn additional grade points for
attendance/participation. However, students are required to attend and to participate
in all class sessions, unless they have notified and received permission from the
instructor in advance.
EVALUATION AND GRADING SCALE
A =
A- =
B+ =
B =
B- =
C+ =
C =
C- =
D+ =
D =
93
90
87
83
80
77
73
70
67
60
- 100
- 92
- 89
- 86
- 82
- 79
- 76
- 72
- 69
- 66
To complete the course successfully all students must complete and receive a passing
grade for each assignment.
Course Policies
There are many University and School of Social Work policies that govern this
course. Please go to
http://www.cehd.umn.edu/ssw/Documents/SSWCoursePolicies.pdf to see a
complete description of all the policies.
Part IV: SESSION PLANS
Describe your class sessions with more than simply a topic title. Include full citation for
required readings; describe class exercises, videos, speakers and the topic they will
address.
Week #1:
Topic:
Introduction to the course
Introduction to the Legislative Process
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Introduction to Advocacy projects
Week #2:
Topic:
Readings:
Legislative Process (continued)
Social Work & Policy Advocacy
Guest speakers from coalitions/advocacy groups
Students link with coalitions/advocacy groups
Gelak, 1 and 4;
Haynes & Mickelson, 1, 2 & 3
Rocha, C., Poe, B. & Thomas, V. (2010). Political activities of social
workers: Addressing perceived barriers to political participation.
Social Work, 55(4), 317-325.
Session #3
Topic:
Readings:
Week #4:
Topic:
Readings:
Week #5:
Topic:
Orientation to the State Legislature (Meet at State capitol)
Minnesota State Government Series. Read entire 9 part
series providing an overview about Minnesota, its history and the
structure and functioning of the government.
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/govser/govser.htm
Policy Models for Advocacy
Issue Drivers
Gelak, 3
Haynes & Michelson, 4 & 5
Social Workers Role in Lobbying
Developing an Advocacy Strategy/Campaign
Lobbying tools
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Readings:
Week #6:
Topic:
Readings:
Gelak, 5
Haynes & Mickelson, Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10
Campaign & Lobbying tools, continued
McNutt, J. G. (2006). Building evidence based advocacy in
cyberspace: A social work imperative for the new millennium.
Journal of Evidence Based Practice, 3, 91-102.
Bergan, D. E. (2009). Does grassroots lobbying work? A field
experiment measuring the effects of an e-mail lobbying campaign
on legislative behavior. American Political Research, 37, 327-352.
Week #7:
Topic:
Readings:
Week #8:
Topic:
Effective Communication and Media
Gelak, 8 & 10
No Class
Work at Legislature or with Advocacy Group.
Week #9
SPRING BREAK
Week #10:
Topic:
Coalition building
Readings:
Week #11:
Topic:
Gelak, 9
No Class
Work at Legislature or with Advocacy Group.
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Week #12:
Topic:
Ethical issues in Policy Advocacy
Evaluating Policy Advocacy Efforts
Readings:
Gelak, 2
Patton, M. (2008). Advocacy impact Evaluation. Journal of
multidisicpinary evaluation, 5(9),
http://evaluation.wmich.edu/jmde/
McNutt, J. (2010). Is social work advocacy worth the cost?
Research on Social Work Practice. (Publication information will be
firm by time course is offered). DOI: 10.1177/1049731510386624
Week #13:
Topic:
Week #14:
Topic:
Week #15:
Topic:
No Class
Work at Legislature or with Advocacy Group.
No Class
Work at Legislature or with Advocacy Group.
Social Workers as Politicians’
Readings:
Haynes & Mickelson, Chapters 11
Lane, S.R. & Humphreys, N.A. (in press). Social workers in politics:
A national survey of social work candidates for elected office.
Journal of Policy Practice
Week #16:
Topic:
Readings:
Lessons learned.
Class presentations
Course Wrap-Up
Haynes & Mickelson, Chapters 11
ADDITIONAL READINGS
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Anderson, S.G. and Gryzlak, B.M. (2002). Social work advocacy in the post-TANF
environment: Lessons from early TANF research studies. Social Work, 47(3), 301-314.
Croteau, D. and Hicks, L. (2003). Coalition framing and the challenge of a consonant
frame pyramid: The case of a collaborative response to homelessness. Social Problems,
50(2), 251-272.
Donaldson, L. (2007). Advocacy by nonprofit human service agencies: Organization
factors as correlates to advocacy behavior. Journal of Community Practice, 15(3), 139158.
Ellis, R.A. (2003). Impacting social policy: A practitioner’s guide to analysis and action.
Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks Cole-Thomson Learning.
Hick, S.F. and McNutt, J.G. (2002). Social policy and advocacy in cyberspace. In S.F. Hick
and J.G. McNutt (Eds.), Advocacy, activism, and the internet. Chicago: Lyceum Books.
Hoefer, R. (2007). Controlling the levers of power: How advocacy organizations affect
the regulation writing process. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 34(1), 83-108.
Jurkowski, E., Jovanovic, B. and Rowitz, L. (2002). Leadership/citizen participation:
Perceived impact of advocacy activities by people with physical disabilities on access to
health care, attendant care and social services. Journal of Health Social Policy, 14(4), 4961.
Kaufman, R. (2002, Jan.). Coalition activity of social change organizations in a public
campaign. Journal of Community Practice, 9(4), 21-41.
Kleinkauf, C. (1981). A guide to giving legislative testimony. Social Work, 26(4), 297-303.
Lens, V. (2005, July). Advocacy and argumentation in the public arena: A guide for social
workers. Social Work, 50(3), 231-238.
Mizrahi, T. (2001, Jan.). Complexities of coalition building: Leaders’ successes, strategies,
struggles and solutions. Social Work, 46(1), 63-78.
Moon, S.S. and DeWeaver, K.L. (2005). Electronic advocacy and social welfare policy
education. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 25(1/2), 57-68.
O’Donnell, S. (1993). Involving clients in welfare policy-making. Social Work, 38(5), 629635.
Oleszek, W.J. (2007). Congressional procedures and the policy process. Washington, DC:
CQ Press.
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Queiro Tajalli, I, McNutt, J., and Campbell, C. (2003). International social and economic
justice and on-line advocacy. International Social Work, 46(2), 149-161.
Richan, W.C. (1996). Lobbying for social change. New York: The Haworth Press.
Rome, S.H.,Hoechstetter, S., and Wolf-Branigin, M. (2010). Pushing the envelope:
Empowering clients through political action. Journal of Policy Practice, 9(3-4), 201-219.
Schneider, R.L. and Lester, L. (2001). Social work advocacy: A new framework for action.
Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Shambaugh, G.E and Weinstein, P.J. (2003). The art of policy making: Tools, techniques,
and processes in the modern executive branch. New York: Longman.
Shaw, C. (2000). The campaign manager: Running and winning local elections. Boulder,
CO: Westview Press.
Shaw, R. (1996). The activist’s handbook: A primer. Berkeley, CA: University of California
Press.
Sherraden, M.S., Slosar, B., and Sherraden, M. (2002). Innovation in social policy:
Collaborative policy advocacy. Social Work, 47(3), 209-221.
Stone, D. (2001). Policy paradox: The art of political decision making (3rd ed.). New York:
W.W. Norton.
Toobin, J. (2002). Too close to call: The thirty-six day battle to decide the 2000 election.
New York: Random House.
Vance, S. (2009). Citizens in action: A guide to influencing government. Bethesda, MD:
Columbia Books, Inc.