In your reading for this week, you meet Jose and Iris, two individuals who are in situations that require assistance and guidance from a professional social worker and policy advocate. In this Discussion, create a policy proposal that will impact the situations faced by either Jose or Iris. Describe the trade-offs you used to develop your proposal. To prepare : In your text, review "Trade-Offs: Systematically Comparing Policy Options in Step 3" in Chapter 8. By Day 3 Post a brief summary of the policy proposal and its purpose that you created based on either Jose's or Iris's situation and the trade-offs you used to develop your proposal. Be sure to support your post with specific references to this week's resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references. By Day 5 Respond to a colleague who selected a different case from yours with another approach to address the identified problem. What is the responsibility of the social workers working with Jose and/or Iris to advocate for a change in the social policy? Required Readings SOCW 6361 Webliography These websites will be required throughout the semester. Become familiar with these websites, especially when doing research for your assignments. 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. Chapter 8, "Placing Policy Proposals in Policy Briefs in the Second, Third, and Fourth Steps of Policy Analysis” (pp. 246-283) 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]. "Working with Clients with Addictions: The Case of Jose" (pp. 65–68) "Working with the Aging: The Case of Iris" (pp. 68–69) Stuart, P. H. (1999). Linking clients and policy: Social work's distinctive contribution. Social Work, 44 (4), 335–347. Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases. Midgley, J., & Livermore, M. M. (Eds.) (2008). The handbook of social policy (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Chapter 6: "The Impact of Social Policy" (pp. 83–100) (PDF) Optional Resources MSW home page Use this link to access the MSW home page, which provides resources for your social work program. Working With Clients With Addictions: The Case of Jose Jose is a 42-year-old, heterosexual, Latino male. He had been booked and charged for vagrancy three times in the last 2 months. He had also been arrested six other times over the past 10 years for various minor offenses, such as trespassing, public drunkenness, and disorderly conduct. After this last hearing, the judge mandated him to a drug treatment facility and gave him 2 years’ probation. As a social worker at the county’s mental health and substance abuse agency, I was assigned to manage his case and to ensure he followed .

1. In your reading for this week, you meet Jose and Iris, two
individuals who are in situations that require assistance and
guidance from a professional social worker and policy advocate.
In this Discussion, create a policy proposal that will impact the
situations faced by either Jose or Iris. Describe the trade-offs
you used to develop your proposal.
To prepare
: In your text, review "Trade-Offs: Systematically Comparing
Policy Options in Step 3" in Chapter 8.
By Day 3
Post
a brief summary of the policy proposal and its purpose that you
created based on either Jose's or Iris's situation and the trade-
offs you used to develop your proposal.
Be sure to support your post with specific references to this
week's resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to
provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.
By Day 5
Respond
to a colleague who selected a different case from yours with
another approach to address the identified problem. What is the
responsibility of the social workers working with Jose and/or
Iris to advocate for a change in the social policy?
Required Readings

2. SOCW 6361 Webliography
These websites will be required throughout the semester.
Become familiar with these websites, especially when doing
research for your assignments.
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.
Chapter 8, "Placing Policy Proposals in Policy Briefs in the
Second, Third, and Fourth Steps of Policy Analysis” (pp. 246-
283)
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].
"Working with Clients with Addictions: The Case of Jose" (pp.
65–68)
"Working with the Aging: The Case of Iris" (pp. 68–69)
Stuart, P. H. (1999). Linking clients and policy: Social work's
distinctive contribution.
Social Work, 44
(4), 335–347.
Note:
Retrieved from Walden Library databases.
Midgley, J., & Livermore, M. M. (Eds.) (2008).
The handbook of social policy

3. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Chapter 6: "The Impact of Social Policy" (pp. 83–100) (PDF)
Optional Resources
MSW home page
Use this link to access the MSW home page, which provides
resources for your social work program.
Working With Clients With Addictions: The Case of Jose
Jose is a 42-year-old, heterosexual, Latino male. He had been
booked and charged for vagrancy three times in the last 2
months. He had also been arrested six other times over the past
10 years for various minor offenses, such as trespassing, public
drunkenness, and disorderly conduct. After this last hearing, the
judge mandated him to a drug treatment facility and gave him 2
years’ probation.
As a social worker at the county’s mental health and substance
abuse agency, I was assigned to manage his case and to ensure
he followed the judge’s ruling. My role was also to provide
resources and referrals and advocacy, when needed. We met
initially to complete the intake form so that I might get as much
information as possible to assist him. Jose informed me
immediately that he had no source of income, was homeless,
and was very interested in services to address his alcoholism
and substance abuse. He added that over the past 20 years, he
had tried many times to get clean and sober but had little
success. Jose identified himself as a “chronic relapser.” He was
concerned that he was going to have to pay for the drug
treatment facility and expressed surprise that the judge had not

4. placed him in jail as he had been in the past.
I explained that our state had recently passed a law that required
the judicial system to direct persons who were identified as
primarily having addictive problems out of or away from
incarceration and instead into alternative community-based drug
treatment programs. I told him that a class action suit had been
brought by a number of inmates for alternative services after a
recent study was published that reported that more than two-
thirds of state prison inmates had chronic and severe drug and
alcohol abuse problems and that almost half of this group’s only
convictions were for drug- and alcohol-related offenses. These
findings had propelled the state to put this new policy into
place. All of the counties quickly established a process to
manage a new model.
I learned that Jose had not been steadily employed for the past
12 years, although he had been gainfully employed for at least a
decade before then. He had graduated high school and appeared
to have above-average intelligence. He had never been married
nor had children. For the past 2 years, he said that he had
primarily been living under a railroad bridge near a major
freeway in the area. He reported no support or family in the
area, but said that he still has occasional contact with a sister
and an aunt in separate Southern states and a cousin on the West
Coast.
Jose shared that he had moved to the West Coast from the South
8 years ago, hoping that a change of location would help him
get sober. However, upon arrival and having no place to reside,
he ended up living on the street and in pursuit of alcohol and
cocaine. He was mostly supporting his habit by panhandling and
recycling.
Jose stated that he comes from a family with members who have
struggled with alcohol abuse and drug addiction. He said that

5. his mother was placed in a nursing home at the age of 42 (when
Jose was 8) and was diagnosed with dementia as a result of
long-term alcoholism. His father committed suicide at the age
of 47 (when Jose was 10). Jose said that his father suffered from
depression and was a heroin intravenous drug user. As a result
of his parents’ difficulties, Jose was almost completely raised
by his grandmother in an urban public housing project. Jose said
that he also had bouts of depression but had never sought
professional help to address it. It was not clear if the depression
was brought on by the substance abuse or if the drug abuse was
being used to address the depressive symptoms.
Based on the information provided, we created a plan of action.
After exploring alternatives for immediate assistance, I was able
to arrange for Jose’s admission the next day into a 5-day
detoxification center, followed by 30 days of inpatient treatment
at a county-supported program. Jose and Iwould either meet or
speak on the phone every week in order to track his progress so
that I could complete a written report for the judge and Jose’s
probation officer.
After Jose’s release from the inpatient program, we worked
together to decide goals that seemed feasible for him and would
continue his current trajectory toward a clean and sober life. A
bed was found for him at a local sober living environment
(SLE) house in the community that agreed to take him as long
as he could start paying rent within the first two months. He
seemed to adapt well to the new environment and reported that
for the first time in many years he was feeling hopeful and was
less depressed. The planned goals included continued and
consistent attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous™ (AA)
meetings, getting together with his sponsor for recovery
support, and seeking employment. We worked together to build
his resume and looked on the Internet for possible job leads.
Within a few weeks of living in the SLE, Jose was able to

6. obtain employment conducting telephone sales for a local
telemarketing company. Later that same year, Jose obtained his
driver’s license and began working for a valet parking
contractor. After 2 years he is still living in the same SLE
residence and says that his life is now stable and productive. He
is no longer mandated to meet with me, and his probation has
expired with no incidences. He is in a relationship with a
woman he met at work, and they plan to wed next year.