Analyzing and researching social welfare policies
Chapter 4
Analyzing and researching social welfare policies
© 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
© 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
1
What is policy analysis?
Investigation and inquiry into the causes and consequences of public policies (Dye, 1998)
The study of public policies, which reflect the social and political consensus of policy-makers and voters
© 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The development of social welfare policy – underlying dynamics
Rationalism – form of public policy development that stresses knowledge of all values, possible policy alternatives, and consequences of those alternatives when making policy
How realistic is this approach?
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Incrementalism
Public policy is developed through small changes to existing policies
History is full of examples of social welfare policy being developed as a collection of small changes implemented over time
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Window of Opportunity
The time period in which political or social events or changes in personnel open the way for a policy to be adopted
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Magnitude in policy making
Dramatic events create openings for the development and passage of public policies
For example, the Great Depression was the catalyst for major government intervention and the creation of numerous programs, particularly Social Security
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Implementation of Policies
What develops as policy and what actually gets implemented as a program or service goes through a process, and that process shapes the outcome of the policy
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Street-level Bureaucrats
After policy is implemented, it goes through the delivery process
The influence and impact on the delivery of social welfare services by those who are directly responsible for its delivery is known as street-level bureaucracy (Lipsky, 1980)
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Street-level Bureaucrats
Critical analysis of social welfare policy
Social welfare policy is created in the context of power struggles
Critical analysis takes into account who has power, who does not, who makes decisions, and for whom those decisions are made
Based on Critical Theory
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How is social policy created?
Legislative action – Congress
Executive Orders – presidential edicts
Judicial decisions
Influence of advocacy groups – lobbying and voting
Tribal governance
Campaigns – public forums for discussion of social welfare issues
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Models of Social Welfare Policy Analysis
Typical Model – follows a logical pathway
Critical Theory Model – follows pathway and includes analysis of power and impact of forces of discrimination
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Critical Theory Model
Identify a social issue or social problem
Identify the balance or imbalance of power
What is the public reaction to the issue?
What policy or legislation was developed in response to this issue?
How was the policy implemented?
What were:
The public’s expectations?
The actual impact? The Intended impact?
The affected population?
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Rationalism in Policy Making
Policy making does not follow a rational course, rather is greatly influenced by values and beliefs
How do we create social welfare policies that promote social justice and respond to the wide array of values and beliefs?
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Social Welfare Policy Research
The best way to stay informed is:
To track public policy resources
To follow current events
Today the internet can provide access to excellent policy research sources
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Sources
Data and statistics – consider U.S. Census Bureau; CDC
Government agencies and research offices – e.g. HHS; CBO; GAO; CRS
Legislative information – gov.com; Thomas; Lexis Nexis
Advocacy groups
State and local agencies and groups
© 2016 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
