Policy Scenario #3 – Immigration and Social Justice

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SOW 402 Social Welfare Policy

Policy Scenario #3 – Immigration and Social Justice

You work for Phoenix, an umbrella organization that oversees a group of community programs based on a model that aims to strengthen community capacity by providing comprehensive health, wellness, and education services to the community of Hillsdale. Programs within Phoenix include a mental health and addiction recovery agency, a family medical clinic, a home health care service, and a dialysis unit. Phoenix also provides health education and prevention including nutrition counseling, family planning, smoking cessation, and screenings for conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, certain cancers, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Phoenix is funded through a combination of public and private funding. In addition to government funding such as Medicaid, Phoenix receives contributions from private donors, charities, and other sources. As payment/reimbursement for services, Phoenix’s programs accept both private insurance and Medicaid.

Hillsdale, the community Phoenix serves, is diverse in terms of income, employment status, family structure, and racial and ethnic background. According to the recent census data, approximately 20% of the community is white of European descent, 40% are Black/African American, 30% are Hispanic/LatinX, 4% are Asian/ Asian American, and the remaining 6% represent other backgrounds or declined to respond. This community does not presently have representation from other demographics including from Indigenous/Native American populations. The community is predominantly working class and low- income. Many clients have Medicaid, although some have private insurance. Since Phoenix is in a Medicaid Expansion state, since 2015, it has seen an increase in the number of Medicaid-eligible clients over the last 4-5 years. However, there are residents who are still not eligible for Medicaid yet have no private insurance either. In these instances, some of Phoenix’s programs will offer services on a sliding- scale fee basis.

Hillsdale has experienced a significant increase in the number of immigrants in the community. Your supervisor and other leaders at Phoenix have wanted to become more involved both addressing the needs of immigrants in the community as well as lobbying in Washington to end the Muslim Ban. Yet lack of resources (financial and personnel) have been an obstacle.

Last week, however, Phoenix received a generous donation to be used to address immigration issues. The donor wishes to remain anonymous. However, the donor stipulates that the funds must be used for either serving the needs of immigrants already here in the United States (in Hillsdale) or for lobbying in Washington against the Muslim Ban. The donor further stipulates that the funds must be used fully for one or the other of these program options, not both. The donor also promises that if whichever program is implemented is successful, the funds will be renewed again next year.

You and your supervisor meet with the Imam of the local Mosque. He explains that his congregation is seeing a dramatic increase in Syrian refugees resulting from the Arab Spring. Many of these people have family members still trying to get into the United States, but these families remain separated due to restrictions imposed by the Muslim Ban. These families are being traumatized by this experience. The Imam urges Phoenix to devote the donation funds to lobbying to end the Muslim ban.

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You and your supervisor also meet with the Priest from the Spanish-speaking Catholic parish. He urges Phoenix to devote this funding to serving the immigrants already in the Hillsdale community. He points out that these people need help getting social services, ESL education, job training and placement, and navigating a path to citizenship. He and his parish are concerned that putting these donated funds towards immigration policy will actually be a disservice to the immigrant families already here in Hillsdale.

After these two meetings, your supervisor says she has two important things to tell you. First, she gives you the task of drafting a recommendation for which of these two programs the funding should be used. Should Phoenix direct the funds to social services for existing immigrants or for lobbying in Washington to end the Muslim ban so that people trying immigrate can safely enter the US and reunite with their families? Your supervisor explains that there is no wrong option. The only wrong option is one that is not supported with a rationale. She then tells you that whichever approach you recommend will become your job for the next year. You can either lead Phoenix in delivering social services to immigrant families currently in Hillsdale or lead Phoenix in lobbying Washington to end the immigration ban. Your supervisor says she will support whichever recommendation you make, as long as you fully explain your reasoning.

She wants you to write out your recommendation in a 3-4-page brief that addresses the following:

1. Which of these two ways should Phoenix use the donated funds? 2. What is your reasoning for taking this approach? 3. Which of these two types of social work do you most want to do? Do you feel most passionate

about addressing this policy issue by helping the people right in front of you (as the parish Priest is asking Phoenix to do)? Alternatively, do you feel most passionate about addressing this policy issue on the macro-level/systemic, structural level (as the Imam is asking Phoenix to do)? Explain your answer. What personal values, experiences, or other factors influence your choice?

4. Explain how your responses reflect professional social work values and ethical principles. 5. To support your argument, use at least three credible sources of information for your brief. So

that your audience can reference this information afterwards, be sure to cite your sources using APA format, both within your brief (in-text citations) and in a separate References section at the end of your brief.