Social Work Policy Children and Adolescents

In this weeks resources you explore the stories of Susana and the Bradley family. They are all in situations that need social work intervention and advocacy. What political strategies would you use to enact policies developed to assist these individuals? In this Discussion you develop political strategies to address one aspect of the situation(s) and problem(s) facing Susana and members of the Bradley family. To Prepare: Read and review Chapter 11 in your text. Read “Social Work Policy: Children and Adolescents” and “Social Policy and Advocacy: Violence Prevention”. View the Bradley Episode 7 in the media for this week. Respond to a colleague who chose a different political strategy than you. Offer a supportive insight based on your own experience as a social worker and/or policy advocate. Be sure to use reference. DB 1 Courtney— By Day 3: Post an explanation of the political strategies you would use to address one aspect of the situations/problems facing Susana and members of the Bradley family. In this week’s discussion I will discuss political strategies that relates to the case of Tiffani Bradley and Susana. According to Jansson (2018) Advocates use a sequence of actions and verbal exchanges that they believe will increase the likelihood that a proposal will be proclaimed which is knows as a political strategy.Therefore in the case of Tiffani Bradley a minor who was dismissed of her chargers of prostitution and sex trafficking due to the Safe Harbor Act. Tiffani was forced into prostitution and sex trafficking by her pimp John .T. (Plummer Makris & Brocksen 2014). Tiffani did not understand why her chargers was dropped andwhy John .T. was being arrested. Tiffani was confused and scared that he would come after her thinking she “snitch” (Plummer Makris & Brocksen 2014). In the case of Susana a 15-year-old female who was removed from her home for truancy. Susana had a difficult time attending school and was attached to her parents that lead to community based mental health support (Plummer Makris & Brocksen 2014). The family sought a lawyer to fight the decision and allow Susana to receive services in home (Plummer Makris & Brocksen 2014). In the case of Susana the policy that is currently in place put a challenge on Susana and her family. As social worker we try to keep kids in the home and offer services to prevent kids from being removed from the home. This policy needs to revise. In the case of Tiffani Bradley the policy was created to help adolescents who was forced in prostitution and sex trafficking and offering them services. The policy failed to protect them from their pimp. The policy could also be revised to include protection. The political strategy that I would apply in the case of Tiffani and Susana is Implementing Strategy. This strategy requires adherence to the convention or protocols of legislative politics regarding the use of lobbyist testifying media and writing letters (Jansson 2018). I would use this strategy to bring attention to the changes that need to be made to the policy. I would also work close with legislators and committees to get their vote and be a sponsor to have to changes heard and implemented. Having the public attention can bring awareness to the situation such as Susana and how it can affect her in the future. The family will be able to have their story heard to the public and individuals of higher power. These changes will offer services in the home for Susana instead of having her remove. In the case of Tiffani the changes will bring awareness of protection against her pimp and others who may come after her. Explain why you selected that strategy As a social worker we deal with a range of advocacy techniques that includes lobbying community organizing PACs political campaigning policy research and monitoring(McNutt 2011). Implementing strategy we are able to advocate for Tiffani and Susana by collaborating with legislators branching out to reach allies advocating through social media campaigns and writing letters. As stated above this strategy will be able to have Tiffany and Susana story heard to prevent it from happening to others and change the perspective of the policies for their best interest. Reference 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]. 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. McNutt J. (2011). Is Social Work Advocacy Worth the Cost? Issues and Barriers to an Economic Analysis of Social Work Political Practice. Research on Social Work Practice 21(4) 397–403. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731510386624 DB 2 Cheyenne— The political strategy I would use to address to support Susanna as well as the Bradley family is selecting power sources and the framing strategy. Based on the scenario Tiffany is afraid that her “pimp” would believe she turned him into the police since the charges have been dropped (Laureate Education 2013). The first step in this process is to create a strategy outline to guide the policy process. The next step in the policy process is to identify press representation and the important contacts needed. Next a committee should be formed to start a letter writing campaign and to alert the public on social media (Jansson 2018). The social worker must develop ways to mobilize the public to support the policy change. In this case the policy would be to have effective punishment for those who commit these crimes. Although human traffic victims are no longer prosecuted until those who are responsible are held accountable more persons will become victims. A key aspect part of the policy will be to protect vulnerable victims from retribution. Next a plan is made to draft the policy and send to legislatures. The framing strategy helps to frame the problem. It also suggests using power resources to influence the opinions and attitudes of the public. Without the support of the public it will be difficult to grab the support of important persons in power and legislators. Following the framing strategy the public is notified of the issue and a plan is put into place. Legislatures are also notified with letter emails and social media messages encouraging the legislator to support the new policy. A part of advocate is properly using power resources to benefit positive social change. Jansson B. S. (2018). (January 23 2020) Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice (8th ed.). Pacific Grove CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series. Laureate Education. (Producer). (2013). Bradley (Episode 7 of 42) [Video file]. In Sessions. Requirements: TBD