25 Feb Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice

Order Instructions
In this assignment, students will develop their policy advocacy skills by: New Jersey is the chosen state

Identifying their representatives at the federal and state levels, including their party affiliation, their policy priorities, and their contact information
Learning the steps of the legislative process and tracing the legislative history of a proposed bill
Writing a letter to one of the appropriate representatives above advocating for a specific policy to address a social problem related to the student’s field placement or other area of interest
This assignment assesses the knowledge dimension of the following CSWE Competencies:

Competency 3: Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice

3.1: Understand how health care policies and structural forces can promote the well- being of oppressed and marginalized individuals, families, and communities in our society

Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice

5.1: Recognize how our work with individuals, families, and communities can inform the policy making process

Specifically students will:

Identify who represents them (their district) in the US Senate and the US House of Representatives:
Identify their names and which legislative body they are in (House or Senate)
Identify each of their political parties
Select one of these people and identify one of his/her policy or legislative priorities related to health care policy
Identify who represents them (their district) in the STATE legislature
Identify their names (there should be at least 2 people, but each state differs), and which legislative body they are in (each state has different names for their legislatures; e.g. in NJ there is the State Senate and the State Assembly)
Identify each of their political parties
Select a social problem that is related to your field placement or one that is of particular interest to you. Write a letter describing the social problem and advocating for a particular policy position with regards to this social problem. Ideally this would be an aging policy and social problem in which one of your representatives has an interest – though this may not always be possible. The letter should be clear and concise – no more than two double-spaced pages and should contain the following elements:
Definition and description of the social problem and the specific population whom it affects, including a brief description of the scope of the problem
Description of the aging policy and its potential to address the social problem and the affected population
Advocate for a position that you would like the elected official to take regarding the policy
Discussion of how the proposed health care policy contributes to the advancement of human rights and social, economic or environmental justice and its potential to improve the well-being of the affected population
Description of how social work training and experiences (using examples from field practice or other social work experience) are key to understanding and defining the social problem and the effects of social forces and policies on the individuals, families, communities, and organizations with whom we work
Be well-written, with proper language, grammar, mechanics, and structure