Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:
Respond to the following:
Colleague 1
Summary of the policy proposal based on Iris’ situation
Iris is a Caucasian woman and a 78-year-old divorcee (Plummer et al., 2014). Her main source of income is the pension gotten from her 35 years of work as a teacher, and a monthly social security income. Two years after her divorce, Iris begins to notice challenges with her mobility, and at the age of 80, she has had three accidents that leads to her driver’s license to be suspended (Plummer et al., 2014). Iris now lives in the Older Adults Services Agency (OASA) new facility that includes two dozen other older residents. She misses her independence and the ability to do road trips because of her inability to drive, and this has made her depressed (Plummer et al., 2014). Because Iris’ major concern is depression, the policy proposal I would create for her is what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2011) termed Evidence-based practice (EBP) with regards to value-based criteria as described by Jansson (2018).
The purpose of the policy created
This purpose of EBP and value-based criteria policy is to find a middle ground for Iris to be comfortable in her new environment, and to realize that the changes that occurred are for her own good and for the betterment of her health. According to the U.S. department of Health and Human Services (2011), by understanding the preferred preference of treatment for Iris’ depression, I will be able to come up with a suitable intervention plan. With value-based criteria, intervention treatment will be created. Jansson (2018) stated that value-based criteria brings about equity, that is, the right to privacy, the right to receive accurate and honest information, and the right of self-determination (p. 269). When Iris realizes that the purpose of keeping her in the OASA facility is to keep her in safety and ensure her sound health through the help of the staffs, and her rights stated to her, probably her depression can be treated or alleviated.
The trade-offs used to develop my proposal
The term trade-off means evaluating the comparative benefit of policy options; the “policy practitioner seeks to discover which option has the most weight, that is, the greatest net score on the criteria that the policy analyst has identified and ranked” (Jansson, 2018). In the case of Iris, when I considered the benefit of the policy options available for seniors her age, the EBP seems to be the most ideal option to treat her depression. By providing EBP for Iris’ treatment of depression, her health would improve in the following ways: reduce or eliminate the symptoms of depression, lower the risk for suicide, improve physical health, and reduce functional disability (U.S. Depratment of Health and Human Services, 2011).
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.
Plummer, S.-B, Makris, S., Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Concentration
year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). The treatment of depression in older
adults. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/Dell/AppData
/Local/Temp/sma11-4631-practioners.pdf
Colleague 2
The Case of Jose, a 42-year-old, Latino, presents with addictive use of substances whereby he is mandated to attend a drug treatment facility (Plummer et al., 2014). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition classifies Mr. Jose with a diagnosis of Substance-related and addictive disorders due to alcoholism and substance abuse (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Plummer et al., 2014). As a social worker at the county’s mental health and substance abuse agency, my job is to help Mr. Jose in the rehabilitation process with resources and services (Plummer et al., 2014).
Intervention requires resources and services that reinforce the client's well-being and progress, leading to a successful recovery and referral for services after completing substance abuse therapy (Jansson, 2018; Plummer et al., 2014). Therefore, my focus is on referral services for housing, employment, trade school, job training, or on the job training, to provide Mr. Jose a means of stability, security, and income.
Policy proposal: The proposal goal is to allow Mr. Jose and clients without skills and employment to volunteer or gain on the job training to become gainfully employed within a company and by the company; because my agency does not offer job training skills and workshops or employment services. During the yearly budget process, I will propose funding a not-for-profit agency employment outreach program to accommodate Mr. Jose and other clients without a resume, job skills, and unemployed. My agency outreach program aims to partner with local job placement agencies, partnership with the Kansas Works, and the Kansas Department of Labor to provide employment services, training, or retraining (Kansas Department of Labor, 2020; KansasWorks, n.d.).
Trade-offs: The trade-off assesses the comparative advantages of policy options; in my proposal, the agency is taking a risk embarking on a new program/my program, or defunding an existing one (Chatterjee & Vadapalli, n.d.; Jansson, 2018). Another example is the agency's ability to hire new personnel to meet the new agency program's demands versus restructure of current personnel and in meeting budget limits.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
Chatterjee, P., & Vadapalli, D. (n.d.). The impact of social policy. https://class.content.laureate.net/25dfd1be0e94be01a383a6e193ec52a0.pdf
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.
Kansas Department of Labor. (2020). Benefits. https://www.getkansasbenefits.gov/Home.aspx
KansasWorks. (n.d.). https://www.kansasworks.com/ada/r/
Plummer, S.-B, Makris, S., Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Concentration year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
