SOCIAL POLICY IN ACTION: COMMUNITY CARE POLICY AND PRACTICE
In this assignment, you will bring 'life' to the key principles covered in the module to this point which link social and economic policy.
Your central task is to undertake a critical review of how policies for a specific needs group are delivered by assessing the impact of welfare policies on this needs group
There are a number of specific needs groups you could consider in your analysis. For example, you could consider:
Young homeless people; Homeless families
Ex-offenders
Victims of domestic violence
People with a learning disability
People with a mental health problem
People with a physical or other form of disability
Gypsies and travellers
People with a HIV positive diagnosis.
Use the structure below to produce your critical review of welfare policies in respect of your specific needs group.
Step 1: Gather data on your selected needs group.
Prioritise material which provides a critical overview of the needs of your selected group. For example, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation through its 'Findings' series provides accessible policy reports on a range of topics. What recurring themes have you identified about your group? What particular difficulties has your group experienced to accessing government and other welfare services?
Step 2: Begin to develop your critique on the position of your group in 'mainstream' society.
Step 3: To what extent has your selected needs groups been included or excluded
Step 4: Explore current government interventions in terms of policies and the impact these policies have on your selected group.
Step 5: Distinguish between the roles of the statutory sector i.e. governed by 'statute'. (local authority; social services; probation service; NHS; police) and the voluntary sector (e.g. housing support; victim support; faith groups; mental health support; Citizen's Advice Bureau etc).