Social policy Reform : Power Point Presentation

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Becoming an Effective
Policy Advocate

Bruce Jansson, University of Southern California
�

PowerPoint created by

Gretchen Heidemann, MSW, PhD Candidate

University of Southern California

School of Social Work

Human Behavior in the Social Environment

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Chapter 7
Analyzing Problems in the First Step of Policy Analysis

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A Six-Step Framework

This chapter combines Task 4 (policy analysis) and Task 5 (proposal writing) into a six-step framework

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Step 1

Select a specific social problem or issue
Then ask:

What led to this problem or issue?

What remedies have been tried?

What are current expenditures on this problem and where does the money come from?

What consequences does the problem pose for people, communities, society?

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Step 1 (cont.)

Policy advocates then:

Research to understand how this problem develops in specific populations

Find out where affected populations go for assistance

Find out how affected populations perceive the problem

Examine the strategies currently used to solve the problem

Consider in what specific policy arenas remedies for the problem can be developed and enacted

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Step 2

Step 2: Brainstorm relevant policy, programmatic, and resource options that might define a strategy for addressing the social problem or issue

Policy advocates use research and theory to develop options that appear promising for addressing or solving the specific social problem

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Step 3

Analyze the relative merits of competing options

Policy advocates must first identify specific criteria they will use to contrast the options

Values

Effectiveness

Cost

Political Feasibility

Ease of Implementation

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Step 3 (cont.)

The criteria shape the recommendations of policy analysts, so they must be chosen with care

Based on the criteria, analysts decide which of the options is meritorious

They often face trade-offs when a specific policy ranks high on some criteria but lower on others

They might conclude that a specific policy option is preferred even though it does not rank high on all criteria

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Step 4

Draft a policy proposal that flows from the brainstorming and conceptual work of the preceding three stages

Proposals can be:

simple or complex

modest or ambitious

inexpensive or costly

brand new or modifications of an old policy

downsized or upsized based on feedback

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Steps 5 & 6

Seek supporters for the proposal

Make key presentations to public officials or decision makers

Try to persuade them that the policy proposal is meritorious

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Reasons to Analyze Problems

When proposals are not based on analysis, they may be dismissed as lacking a substantive base

Assessment of the social reforms of prior eras suggests that they often did not work because advocates lacked sufficient knowledge about the problems addressed by the reforms

Analysis minimizes the effects of power, tradition, fuzzy intentions, and intuition

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Using a Flowchart to Analyze Social Problems in Step 1

It is useful to diagram social problems when developing solutions
Flowcharts are particularly useful since they place the problems in a developmental context
The flowchart has five cells placed in a context

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Flowchart (cont.)

The first (far left) cell represents the Prevention Arena

Describes persons who have not yet developed a problem

Shows interventions we can use to stop persons from developing specific problems

Such as identifying at-risk factors

People who do develop specific problems move into one of the three cells in the middle of the flowchart

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Flowchart (cont.)

The middle three cells represent the Problem Development Arenas

The top cell describes persons who remain outside the orbit of all organized systems of care

The middle cell describes organized systems of care, such as social agencies, hospitals, clinics, schools, job-training programs, and professionals

The bottom cell describes programs that operate on an empowerment or self-help perspective, such as Alcoholics Anonymous

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Flowchart (cont.)

Relationships among the cells

People may move among the cells

One person may begin in organized services, drop out, and then be helped by a community-based empowerment program

Another may solve a problem with the help of family members and move back into the prevention arena

Others use different programs simultaneously

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Flowchart (cont.)

The last (far right) cell represents Assessment of Outcomes

Successful outcomes can include eradicating a problem or lessening its severity or impact

Unsuccessful outcomes can include failure to solve or redress a problem or to develop personal coping strategies

We can assess the effectiveness of specific programs by using a flowchart

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Flowchart (cont.)

It is useful in problem analysis to use a typology of recipients. They are classified with respect to:

Manifestations: outward behaviors, symptoms, or characteristics that differentiate them

Chronicity: How long recipients have been using services

Demographic characteristics

Flowchart (cont.)

Typologies are useful because:

They divide groups into smaller subgroups

They force practitioners to develop an array of interventions

The facilitate evaluations of programs/policies

They allow practitioners to establish priorities

Flowchart (cont.)

Criticisms and issues involved with typologies

Subgroups may not be mutually exclusive

If too few categories are used, it is difficult to develop specialized programs for them

If too many categories are used, practitioners may fail to see the commonalities of persons in different subgroups

Analyzing the Causes of Social Problems in Step 1

Problems are caused by a multitude of factors, including:

physiological

personal

familial

community

societal

These factors operate not only singly but together to produce the problem

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Analyzing the Causes (cont.)

Policy advocates use both quantitative and qualitative research
Four common approaches:

Compare persons with a social problem to persons who do not have it

Follow people through time to discover why they develop a problem

Evaluate existing programs to find clues to a problem’s causes

Get information directly from persons who experience a specific problem by observing or interviewing them

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Analyzing the Causes (cont.)

When researchers examine the causes of social problems, their perspectives influence their work

Researchers with an ecological perspective emphasize occupational, economic, familial, peer, and neighborhood factors

Those with a radical perspective implicate economic and social inequalities, reduced economic opportunities, and the practices of corporations as causal factors

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Analyzing the Causes (cont.)

Those who use medical or disease models explore the physiological factors associated with specific problems

Those who emphasize intrapsychic factors explore personal and familial causes of social problems

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Analyzing the Causes (cont.)

Some persons adhere to behavioral frameworks, contending that social problems can be redressed only by providing rewards and disincentives

Some people emphasize deterrent strategies that penalize persons with social problems

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Analyzing the Causes (cont.)

These different approaches often cause vigorous debates among theorists, analysts, and researchers
These various frameworks and causal factors are not mutually exclusive because causes interact
Policy advocates should take leading roles in critiquing social policies that are premised on simplistic analyses of social problems

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Developing Interventions and Programs in Step 1

Policy advocates devise interventions to solve specific social problems

Policy initiatives might emphasize a deterrent, public health, or radical approach

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Preventive Programs (cont.)

Primary Prevention:

Preventing persons from experiencing problems in the first place

Secondary Prevention:

Persons with a problem are given assistance in its early stages to avert a full-blown or serious problem

Tertiary Prevention:

Halting a well-developed problem by using interventions that stop it from evolving further into a catastrophic condition

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Preventive Programs (cont.)

Many preventive strategies have been shown to be effective at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels

Ex: lifestyle changes

Early treatment stops the progression of an array of medical, mental health school, and job performance problems
Prevention interventions should be targeted to persons with identifiable at-risk factors

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Preventive Programs (cont.)

Factors that Impede Prevention:

The problem of efficiency

Our ability to predict which people will and will not develop a specific problem is imperfect

Prevention further declines in efficiency if we cannot help persons actually avert a problem

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Preventive Programs (cont.)

Factors that Impede Prevention:

Problems in getting people to participate

Efficiency declines when we fail to persuade people who are at risk to participate

Active prevention helps people make corrective lifestyle changes or personal decisions to forestall a disease or problem

Passive prevention changes the environments of people to diminish the likelihood that they will develop a problem

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Preventive Programs (cont.)

Factors that Impede Prevention:

Difficulties in marshaling evidence of the effectiveness of preventive programs

It can be difficult to find proof that a program actually prevented a specific problem

Researchers must follow subjects over a period of time, rule out the effects of other factors, and demonstrate a magnitude of prevention that justifies the costs of the preventive program

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Preventive Programs (cont.)

Factors that Impede Prevention:

The power of special interests

Special interests often oppose meritorious prevention projects

Ex: Cigarette companies, automobile manufacturers, abstinence only supporters, those who operate from a medical model

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Preventive Programs (cont.)

Factors that Impede Prevention:

Competition with curative programs

Preventive programs must compete for funds with programs that help people who already have specific problems

Advocates who want resources to prevent a problem have to convince legislators to divert resources from curative programs

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Measuring the Magnitude of Problems in Step 1

It is relatively simple to measure the magnitude of certain problems because public authorities issue data about them

Ex: welfare dependency

Other problems are more difficult to measure because people who have these problems often do not seek public services

Ex: homelessness and substance abuse

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Measuring the Magnitude (cont.)

Rates, prevalence, and incidence are commonly used to measure the magnitude of social problems

Rates (expressed as percentages) measure the ratio of a group of persons to a larger reference group

Ex: The number of white males ages 18 to 25 who were arrested for drunk driving in 2009, compared to the total number of white males in this age bracket

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Measuring the Magnitude (cont.)

Incidence (also expressed as a percentage) measures the ratio of new cases to a larger reference group

Ex: The number of new arrests in 2009 of white males aged 18 to 25

Measuring the Magnitude (cont.)

Prevalence (also expressed as a percentage) measures the ratio of persons who are currently experiencing a social problem to the total population

Ex: the number of persons currently being prosecuted for drunk driving to the total number of drivers on a specific day

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Measuring the Magnitude (cont.)

Researchers can also use measures of felt, expressed, expert, and comparative need

Felt need measures persons’ belief that they have a problem

Expressed need measures persons’ actual search for specific services

Expert needs are measured by asking experts for their estimates of the severity of specific problems

Comparative need measures unmet needs by comparing the services offered in different communities

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Measuring the Magnitude (cont.)

Decision makers do not spring into action merely because policy advocates present them with data about the prevalence of a problem
They often ignore overwhelming data about a problem, particularly when they are not subjected to strong pressure
They may take action only when the public believes it is becoming more important or when party leaders believe they can improve their political fortunes by taking action

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Locating Problems Spatially

Social science tools to locate people with certain problems:

The U.S. Census data

Local public health offices, various state agencies, municipal and county authorities, and some federal agencies regularly collect and compile various kinds of population-based data

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Social Problems as Slippery Concepts

Are social problems real or invented?

Because social problems are invested with human meaning, all of them are “invented”

Although we can be relatively confident in declaring some conditions to be problems, others are called problems without credible evidence

Some social conditions are so complex, it is difficult to know when they are problems.

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Social Problems (cont.)

Social workers and policy advocates should view problems with healthy skepticism

They should be careful not to treat subjects unnecessarily, label them, or apply remedies to conditions that do not require treatment

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Social Problems (cont.)

Most social problems are complex phenomena that do not lend themselves to one-size-fits-all solutions

Yet people frequently demand panaceas

They are sometimes prompted by class and racial prejudice

Such solutions do not take into account the realities of the lives of those affected

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Social Problems (cont.)

Solving problems requires persistence rather than time-limited crusades

Many social problems cannot be solved but merely ameliorated through continuing efforts

Social Problems (cont.)

Priorities are not chosen rationally

Decision makers do not always rely on research to shape public priorities

Politics ultimately shapes the selection of most priorities

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Social Problems (cont.)

Solving One Problem Can Create Others

Sometimes when a problem appears to be solved, another emerges in its wake

Ex: Decreasing welfare roles in the 1990s led to increased homelessness, foster care placements, and possibly family violence and substance abuse

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Social Problems (cont.)

Variations in Problems

There can be differences between groups within a population that is experiencing a problem

Ex: Alcoholism has different causes and takes different forms in men and women

Cultural differences can affect responses to services

Culturally sensitive practice stresses the need to adapt programs to specific populations

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Social Problems (cont.)

Problems of oppressed populations can be caused or exacerbated by the hostile environments and extreme poverty that they encounter

Empowerment helps us reconceptualize the services that we provide to persons in such high-stress environments

Challenges for Policy Advocates

Policy advocates who help oppressed populations encounter particular challenges because their issues are frequently unpopular

The broader population views the problems of stigmatized conditions through prejudiced lenses

Problems of oppressed populations are often viewed as relatively hopeless and unsolvable

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Challenges (cont.)

When policy advocates try to address inequalities in society, they are often dismissed as left-leaning radicals

American society lacks a strong radical tradition, and the rhetoric of social equality is often dismissed

Challenges (cont.)

All of this emphasizes the need for policy advocates to:

Educate people

through the media or discussions with officials

Contest the definitions and conceptualizations of specific social problems

such as equating welfare with bad character

Resist stereotypes

by arguing that certain groups do, in fact, have different needs and problems

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