Social Science Week 5 Assignment: Gap Analysis
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u05a1Week5Assignment_GapAnalysis.pdf
LouisianaHabitualOffenderPolicy.docx
u05a1Week5Assignment_GapAnalysis.pdf
[u05a1] Week 5 Assignment: Gap Analysis 11/15/2026
200 Points Possible
In Progress NEXT UP: Submit Assignment
Attempt 1 Add Comment
Details
Overview This assignment is meant to guide you through a process that may prove useful as you continue in the social work profession. This assignment also builds on what you have done in the previous assignment, providing you an opportunity to dive deeper into the complexity and implications of inclusive programs and policies.
The second of four course papers, this assignment will ask you to prepare a gap analysis that starts with describing the current situation that was identified in the previous assignment discussing a local, state, or federal policy that is negatively impacting an oppressed population. You will include a description of the affected population and the ways in which they are being hurt. You will then describe the change opportunity and the desired state after improvement, explaining why the improvement is needed and what the desired outcome will look like. Remember to support all main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant, credible, and convincing evidence.
By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following competencies and behaviors:
EPAS Competency 5: Engage in policy practice. C5.GP.A: Use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services.
Related Assignment Criteria: Describe an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement. Describe the specific outcomes or goals for the proposed change to the public program or policy.
C5.GP.B: Apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Related Assignment Criterion: Analyze the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination that exist within the selected public program or policy.
Instructions For this assignment, in a 3–4 page paper:
Describe an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement. Explain why improvement is needed and meaningful in this area.
Analyze the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination that exist within the selected public program or policy. Explain specific discriminatory issues in the selected public program or policy.
Describe the specific outcomes or goals for the proposed change to the public program or policy. Discuss potential challenges or obstacles to these goals.
Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant, credible, and convincing evidence. Synthesize evidence to demonstrate its importance to your discussion or argument.
Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing. Demonstrate correct stylistic conventions, document structure, and source attributions.
Additional Requirements
11/12/26, 9:40 PM [u05a1] Week 5 Assignment: Gap Analysis
https://courseroom.capella.edu/courses/71759/assignments/1319275?module_item_id=3619037 1/4
Your assignment is expected to meet the following requirements:
Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message. APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting standards. Sources: A minimum four sources. Length of paper: 3–4 double-spaced pages (not including reference list). Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point. Due date: Assignment must be submitted to your instructor in the courseroom no later than 11:59 p.m. CST Sunday of this week.
View the Gap Analysis rubric to ensure you fulfill all grading criteria.
Competencies Measured By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 2: Apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. (C5.GP.B)
Analyze the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination that exist within the selected public program or policy. (C5.GP.B)
Competency 3: Use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services. (C5.GP.A)
Describe an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement. (C5.GP.A) Describe the specific outcomes or goals for the proposed change to the public program or policy. (C5.GP.A)
Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the social work profession.
Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence. Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
View Rubric
Week 5 Assignment: Gap Analysis
Criteria Ratings Points
Describe an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement. (C5.GP.A)
/54 pts
DISTINGUISHED
Describes an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement and explains why improvement is needed and meaningful in this area.
54 to >45.9 pts
PROFICIENT
Describes an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement.
45.9 to >37.8 pts
BASIC
Identifies an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy.
37.8 to >0 pts
NON_PERFORMANC
Does not identify an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy.
0 pts
11/12/26, 9:40 PM [u05a1] Week 5 Assignment: Gap Analysis
https://courseroom.capella.edu/courses/71759/assignments/1319275?module_item_id=3619037 2/4
LouisianaHabitualOffenderPolicy.docx
2
Policy Impact Analysis: Louisiana’s Habitual Offender Law
Maya Winfrey
Department of Social Work, Capella University
SWK5006
Dr. VonTija Dean-EL
November 1, 2026
Policy Impact Analysis: Louisiana’s Habitual Offender Law
Louisiana’s habitual offender law, known locally as the “multiple bills,” increases the sentence for those convicted of a felony who already have prior felony convictions. The statute is facially race-neutral but is applied in a unique way. This paper examines discriminatory patterns in the law, how the policy has changed, and who bears its consequences, and it connects each point to the social value of social justice.
Discriminatory Issues and the NASW Code of Ethics
The central issue is the racial imbalance in the distribution of enhanced sentences. Black people account for 79.4% of multiple bill sentences but are only roughly one-third of the population in Louisiana, and there is no evidence that any parish applies the multiple bills equally to black and white residents (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). The black multiple bill rate is almost eight times the white rate statewide and approximately nine times in Orleans Parish (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022).
Several mechanisms produce this result. First, the decision to file a multiple bill is solely at the discretion of the district attorney, and the choice is unreviewable (Kellner, 2022). After enhancement is proven, judges lose sentencing discretion (Street, 2022). Secondly, previous convictions increase the enhancement, and this inequality of enforcement accumulates with time. Black Louisianians were 3.4 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white Louisianians in 2018 (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). Third, the threat of enhancement causes defendants to plead guilty rather than assert their right to trial (Kellner, 2022; Street 2022). Notably, Louisiana’s Chief Justice Johnson, writing in dissent, linked the law to Reconstruction-era “Pig Laws” designed to re-enslave African Americans (Kellner, 2022). Lastly, experimental studies of comparable repeat offender laws reveal that they rely on automatic associations between repeat crime and Black and Latino individuals (Levinson et al., 2025).
These patterns are in opposition to the social justice aspect of the NASW (2021) Code of Ethics, which is dedicated to challenging social injustice. The NASW (2021) also encourages social workers to work to prevent and remove racism in line with standard 6.04(d).
Changes Over Time
The first Louisiana habitual offender law was passed in 1928. It was serious: a fourth felony conviction meant life imprisonment and judges had no discretion to reduce the sentence (Street, 2022). Due to inconsistent implementation and judicial concerns about its severity, in 1942 lawmakers made several changes to the statute, including reducing the ranges of sentences, having a parole release after one-third of the sentence, and providing for a five-year elapse period (Street, 2022). The current structure grew from the anti-crime politics of the 1990s (Street, 2022).
Reform came back in 2017, with the passage of the Justice Reinvestment package, which lowered many mandatory minimums, eliminated the ability of many fourth-time offenders to earn life sentences for nonviolent crimes, and shortened the number of years old felony convictions counted for new nonviolent crimes (Street, 2022). The legislators wanted to reduce the extremely high incarceration rate in the nation and the strain it places on taxpayers (Street, 2022). The package was estimated to reduce the prison population by 10%, with further savings going into reentry programs (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). In 2019, some non-violent felony sentences were removed from enhancement consideration (Street, 2022) and in 2021, parole eligibility after 15 years was expanded for individuals serving multiple bill sentences (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). Reform remains incomplete because courts apply the version of the law in effect when the offense occurred, which means that those sentenced earlier are not eligible for relief (Street, 2022). Article 930.10 was added in 2021 to allow for an agreement between prosecutors and defense attorneys to modify a person's habitual offender status after conviction (Kellner, 2022).
Impacted Population and Real-World Examples
In 2020, 3,591 individuals, or 13% of the state prison population, were incarcerated on multiple bill sentences, with most of them serving sentences for nonviolent offenses (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). Their average sentence was 40 years, while the average sentence for the total prison population was 18 years, and more than half were serving more than 20 years or life without parole (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). The law is said to be depopulating Black communities, as about 4 in 5 are Black (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). Sixty-nine percent of incarcerated men are Black, and large parishes, especially Orleans and Caddo, are characterized by high rates of incarceration and some of the highest rates of poverty (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022).
These numbers are illustrated through individual cases. In 1997, Fair Wayne Bryant was sentenced to life under the law for attempting to steal hedge clippers and spent 24 years behind bars before being granted parole (Kellner, 2022). A man who was robbed of a wallet was automatically sentenced to life without parole due to past drug convictions by another man who is a client of the author, Kellner (2022). He also received his freedom later by Article 930.10.
Conclusion
There is historical evidence in Louisiana that the law can change, but disparities continue due to partial changes and gaps in prosecutorial discretion. In keeping with Standard 6.04, social workers should advocate for retroactive relief for those who were sentenced under the prior version of the statute (Street, 2022), and for periodic sentencing review hearings (Kellner, 2022). Filing data should be publicly tracked, as disparities across parishes vary widely (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). These steps also reflect the Code’s emphasis on the dignity and worth of every person (NASW, 2021). Social justice requires that a policy be judged by whom it harms in practice.
References
Armstrong, A., & Kondkar, M. (2022). Louisiana justice: Pre-trial, incarceration, & reentry. Public Welfare Foundation. https://www.incarcerationtransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PWF-Data-Report-Final-Compressed-Nov-2022.pdf
Kellner, M. (2022). Excessive sentencing reviews: Eighth Amendment substance and procedure. The Yale Law Journal Forum, 132, 75–104. https://www.yalelawjournal.org/forum/excessive-sentencing-reviews
Levinson, J. D., Cohen, G. B., & Hioki, K. (2025). Racializing three strikes. Arizona Law Review, 67, 919. https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/arizlrev/article/id/10286
National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
Street, H. G. (2022). Breaking the chains of a habitually offensive penal system: An examination of Louisiana’s habitual-offender statute with recommendations for continued reform. Louisiana Law Review, 82(3), 963–1000. https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev/vol82/iss3/12
u05a1Week5Assignment_GapAnalysis.pdf
[u05a1] Week 5 Assignment: Gap Analysis 11/15/2026
200 Points Possible
In Progress NEXT UP: Submit Assignment
Attempt 1 Add Comment
Details
Overview This assignment is meant to guide you through a process that may prove useful as you continue in the social work profession. This assignment also builds on what you have done in the previous assignment, providing you an opportunity to dive deeper into the complexity and implications of inclusive programs and policies.
The second of four course papers, this assignment will ask you to prepare a gap analysis that starts with describing the current situation that was identified in the previous assignment discussing a local, state, or federal policy that is negatively impacting an oppressed population. You will include a description of the affected population and the ways in which they are being hurt. You will then describe the change opportunity and the desired state after improvement, explaining why the improvement is needed and what the desired outcome will look like. Remember to support all main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant, credible, and convincing evidence.
By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following competencies and behaviors:
EPAS Competency 5: Engage in policy practice. C5.GP.A: Use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services.
Related Assignment Criteria: Describe an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement. Describe the specific outcomes or goals for the proposed change to the public program or policy.
C5.GP.B: Apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Related Assignment Criterion: Analyze the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination that exist within the selected public program or policy.
Instructions For this assignment, in a 3–4 page paper:
Describe an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement. Explain why improvement is needed and meaningful in this area.
Analyze the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination that exist within the selected public program or policy. Explain specific discriminatory issues in the selected public program or policy.
Describe the specific outcomes or goals for the proposed change to the public program or policy. Discuss potential challenges or obstacles to these goals.
Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant, credible, and convincing evidence. Synthesize evidence to demonstrate its importance to your discussion or argument.
Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing. Demonstrate correct stylistic conventions, document structure, and source attributions.
Additional Requirements
11/12/26, 9:40 PM [u05a1] Week 5 Assignment: Gap Analysis
https://courseroom.capella.edu/courses/71759/assignments/1319275?module_item_id=3619037 1/4
Your assignment is expected to meet the following requirements:
Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message. APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting standards. Sources: A minimum four sources. Length of paper: 3–4 double-spaced pages (not including reference list). Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point. Due date: Assignment must be submitted to your instructor in the courseroom no later than 11:59 p.m. CST Sunday of this week.
View the Gap Analysis rubric to ensure you fulfill all grading criteria.
Competencies Measured By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 2: Apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. (C5.GP.B)
Analyze the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination that exist within the selected public program or policy. (C5.GP.B)
Competency 3: Use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services. (C5.GP.A)
Describe an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement. (C5.GP.A) Describe the specific outcomes or goals for the proposed change to the public program or policy. (C5.GP.A)
Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the social work profession.
Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence. Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
View Rubric
Week 5 Assignment: Gap Analysis
Criteria Ratings Points
Describe an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement. (C5.GP.A)
/54 pts
DISTINGUISHED
Describes an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement and explains why improvement is needed and meaningful in this area.
54 to >45.9 pts
PROFICIENT
Describes an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy and the desired state after improvement.
45.9 to >37.8 pts
BASIC
Identifies an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy.
37.8 to >0 pts
NON_PERFORMANC
Does not identify an existing change opportunity for the selected public program or policy.
0 pts
11/12/26, 9:40 PM [u05a1] Week 5 Assignment: Gap Analysis
https://courseroom.capella.edu/courses/71759/assignments/1319275?module_item_id=3619037 2/4
LouisianaHabitualOffenderPolicy.docx
2
Policy Impact Analysis: Louisiana’s Habitual Offender Law
Maya Winfrey
Department of Social Work, Capella University
SWK5006
Dr. VonTija Dean-EL
November 1, 2026
Policy Impact Analysis: Louisiana’s Habitual Offender Law
Louisiana’s habitual offender law, known locally as the “multiple bills,” increases the sentence for those convicted of a felony who already have prior felony convictions. The statute is facially race-neutral but is applied in a unique way. This paper examines discriminatory patterns in the law, how the policy has changed, and who bears its consequences, and it connects each point to the social value of social justice.
Discriminatory Issues and the NASW Code of Ethics
The central issue is the racial imbalance in the distribution of enhanced sentences. Black people account for 79.4% of multiple bill sentences but are only roughly one-third of the population in Louisiana, and there is no evidence that any parish applies the multiple bills equally to black and white residents (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). The black multiple bill rate is almost eight times the white rate statewide and approximately nine times in Orleans Parish (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022).
Several mechanisms produce this result. First, the decision to file a multiple bill is solely at the discretion of the district attorney, and the choice is unreviewable (Kellner, 2022). After enhancement is proven, judges lose sentencing discretion (Street, 2022). Secondly, previous convictions increase the enhancement, and this inequality of enforcement accumulates with time. Black Louisianians were 3.4 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white Louisianians in 2018 (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). Third, the threat of enhancement causes defendants to plead guilty rather than assert their right to trial (Kellner, 2022; Street 2022). Notably, Louisiana’s Chief Justice Johnson, writing in dissent, linked the law to Reconstruction-era “Pig Laws” designed to re-enslave African Americans (Kellner, 2022). Lastly, experimental studies of comparable repeat offender laws reveal that they rely on automatic associations between repeat crime and Black and Latino individuals (Levinson et al., 2025).
These patterns are in opposition to the social justice aspect of the NASW (2021) Code of Ethics, which is dedicated to challenging social injustice. The NASW (2021) also encourages social workers to work to prevent and remove racism in line with standard 6.04(d).
Changes Over Time
The first Louisiana habitual offender law was passed in 1928. It was serious: a fourth felony conviction meant life imprisonment and judges had no discretion to reduce the sentence (Street, 2022). Due to inconsistent implementation and judicial concerns about its severity, in 1942 lawmakers made several changes to the statute, including reducing the ranges of sentences, having a parole release after one-third of the sentence, and providing for a five-year elapse period (Street, 2022). The current structure grew from the anti-crime politics of the 1990s (Street, 2022).
Reform came back in 2017, with the passage of the Justice Reinvestment package, which lowered many mandatory minimums, eliminated the ability of many fourth-time offenders to earn life sentences for nonviolent crimes, and shortened the number of years old felony convictions counted for new nonviolent crimes (Street, 2022). The legislators wanted to reduce the extremely high incarceration rate in the nation and the strain it places on taxpayers (Street, 2022). The package was estimated to reduce the prison population by 10%, with further savings going into reentry programs (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). In 2019, some non-violent felony sentences were removed from enhancement consideration (Street, 2022) and in 2021, parole eligibility after 15 years was expanded for individuals serving multiple bill sentences (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). Reform remains incomplete because courts apply the version of the law in effect when the offense occurred, which means that those sentenced earlier are not eligible for relief (Street, 2022). Article 930.10 was added in 2021 to allow for an agreement between prosecutors and defense attorneys to modify a person's habitual offender status after conviction (Kellner, 2022).
Impacted Population and Real-World Examples
In 2020, 3,591 individuals, or 13% of the state prison population, were incarcerated on multiple bill sentences, with most of them serving sentences for nonviolent offenses (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). Their average sentence was 40 years, while the average sentence for the total prison population was 18 years, and more than half were serving more than 20 years or life without parole (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). The law is said to be depopulating Black communities, as about 4 in 5 are Black (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). Sixty-nine percent of incarcerated men are Black, and large parishes, especially Orleans and Caddo, are characterized by high rates of incarceration and some of the highest rates of poverty (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022).
These numbers are illustrated through individual cases. In 1997, Fair Wayne Bryant was sentenced to life under the law for attempting to steal hedge clippers and spent 24 years behind bars before being granted parole (Kellner, 2022). A man who was robbed of a wallet was automatically sentenced to life without parole due to past drug convictions by another man who is a client of the author, Kellner (2022). He also received his freedom later by Article 930.10.
Conclusion
There is historical evidence in Louisiana that the law can change, but disparities continue due to partial changes and gaps in prosecutorial discretion. In keeping with Standard 6.04, social workers should advocate for retroactive relief for those who were sentenced under the prior version of the statute (Street, 2022), and for periodic sentencing review hearings (Kellner, 2022). Filing data should be publicly tracked, as disparities across parishes vary widely (Armstrong & Kondkar, 2022). These steps also reflect the Code’s emphasis on the dignity and worth of every person (NASW, 2021). Social justice requires that a policy be judged by whom it harms in practice.
References
Armstrong, A., & Kondkar, M. (2022). Louisiana justice: Pre-trial, incarceration, & reentry. Public Welfare Foundation. https://www.incarcerationtransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PWF-Data-Report-Final-Compressed-Nov-2022.pdf
Kellner, M. (2022). Excessive sentencing reviews: Eighth Amendment substance and procedure. The Yale Law Journal Forum, 132, 75–104. https://www.yalelawjournal.org/forum/excessive-sentencing-reviews
Levinson, J. D., Cohen, G. B., & Hioki, K. (2025). Racializing three strikes. Arizona Law Review, 67, 919. https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/arizlrev/article/id/10286
National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
Street, H. G. (2022). Breaking the chains of a habitually offensive penal system: An examination of Louisiana’s habitual-offender statute with recommendations for continued reform. Louisiana Law Review, 82(3), 963–1000. https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev/vol82/iss3/12