SOCW 6361

Running Head: IDENTIFYING A POLICY ALTERNATIVE 2

IDENTIFYING A POLICY ALTERNATIVE 2

Identifying a Policy Alternative

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The problem that was being solved in society is domestic violence. Earlier, the chosen policy was Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Considering the major problems that are associated with the Violence Against Women Act, a good alternative policy is the domestic abuse act of Minnesota section 518B.01. An OTP is an Order for Protection, which means that the government protects domestic violence victims in terms of their information (Minnesota Legislature, 2019). This is because, for this, it involves two genders, although the new alternative policy seems to work even better.

There is a need for change in this policy alternative. The policy below is only applicable to the state of Minnesota and not the other regions. A good policy needs to be spread across the people in such a country that advocates so much for the fight against domestic violence. Therefore, the changes will need to take place at the national value as all cases of domestic violence will consider this. The detail of the order of protection is alright, and no major changes should be made to it.

The first social work value that is passed on by the policy is the fact that it dignifies and sees the worth of the person. This is a major value in social work since human life is very important. This is the reason why victims of domestic violence are usually given the right to conceal some details that they feel do not need to go out. If such information gets into the wrong hands, this is a violation of the individual's dignity and self-worth. Another value passed on is service, which a major part of social work. The policy explains how the system has to serve its people with what o be kept private or not. This, therefore, makes the victims enjoy services like never before.

In terms of the feasibility of policy alternative, it can be considered as conveniently done. First, in terms of the administrative effects, it is possible to be done. This is because the court is the major entity involved with the filling of order for protection (OFP) (Minnesota Legislature, 2019). In terms of the economic impacts, it can be done conveniently using low costs. This is because the whole thing is to be majorly handled by the courts. This is because the court is responsible for concealing information according to the victim's will.

In terms of the goals met by the alternative policy, the first is social equality. The policy does not assume that domestic violence victims are only women but also take men into consideration. This is right in both cases because it encourages the victim to make a report without failure f some details going out.

One of the forces that may be against the policy is some court employees. This is because involving the court in order for protection increases their responsibility and duties. Considering the overwhelming duties and responsibilities that have already been allocated to the courts, this will even go further to increase the burden. A group that will be for this policy are male rights groups. This is because the group helps address issues that men as a gender are going through. Considering that the current policy has solved the previous issue, male rights groups will also support this.

One policy advocacy skill that can be used to support this policy alternative is lobbying. This will help influence the decision-makers already in government that are involved in replacing this alternative policy with the previous one. This is usually easier if it is done by a lobby group other than individuals. This usually creates a more powerful combination of strong individuals with lobby groups, which gives them a voice now (Jansson, 2018). Another skill is the use of social worker power to influence inside decisions, which happens a lot.

On the current policy, the clinical workers rarely deal with domestic violence cases where the man is the victim, although these cases exist. What men will mostly fear is the information of violence and all other details getting out. This also because of the expectations set by society; a man is not mostly expected to be the victim of domestic violence. Based on the current policy, clinical workers have mostly been dealing with female victim cases.

The Order for Protection should not only be in the legal system but also in healthcare. This is because, through the clinical services offered to domestic violence victims, there is a need to protect so much information. This is to avoid disclosing vital information to the public. This will also help more to turn up in cases where they are victims. This is a very good example of the clinical services changes expected to happen.

On advocacy activities proposed in week 6, this will help serve as an update to the already existing advocacy skills. The advocacy skills used earlier proposes the direct use of those persons in government to influence decisions. As a social worker, this is an indirect power and influential. Currently, the use of the lobby groups is the updated advocacy skill in this case. This is because there is power in numbers rather than when carrying out such processes alone (Jansson, 2018).

References

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social

justice (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.

Chapter 11, "Developing Political Strategy and Putting It into Action in the Policy

Enacting Task" (pp. 372-419)

McNutt, J. (2011). Is social work advocacy worth the cost? Issues and barriers to an economic

analysis of social work political practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 21(4), 397

403.

Minnesota Legislature. (2019). Sec. 518B.01 MN Statutes. Revisor.mn.gov. Retrieved 31

October 2020, from https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/518B.01.