The goal of this assignment is· to identify and discuss a socia

1. The goal of this assignment is:
· to identify and discuss a social problem that affects workers
and/or working families,
· to identify a current, pending or newly introduced policy
(federal, state or local) that addresses the social problem, and
· to consider how the legislation might affect the workplace and
the delivery of human services within the workplace.
During the first few weeks in class, you will need to identify a
social problem that affects workers and/or working families.
This social problem will be the focus of three policy related
assignments and will narrow to a specific topic throughout the
semester: 1) Social Problem Overview Paper; 2) Policy
Research Brief; 3) Individual “Executive Briefing” Presentation
with Handout. It is hopeful that each student will be able to find
a topic that is of genuine interest.
After you have selected a social problem from the list provided
in class, you will select a specific social issue that within the
broader social problem to examine throughout the semester.
For this Social Problem Overview & Social Policy Identification
assignment, each student will:
· discuss a specific topic within the social problem that you
have chosen to focus on;
· conduct research on the identified social problem using recent
news articles, government documents, policy briefs, etc.;
· select a social policy that addresses the identified social issue.
· The social policy could be at the federal, state or local level
and the policy could be current, recently passed or recently
proposed.
· Because the assignment requires you to assess the impact on
employers and employees the policy you select must have
relevance to workplaces. (i.e. minimal wage laws will require
businesses to increase minimum wage).
· For this assignment you are only identifying policy and noting
the objectives of the policy; a brief on this policy will done in

2. the next assignment.
· Prepare a 6-8 page double-spaced paper that uses the outline
below to 1) describe and discuss the overall social
problem and 2) identify one public policy that addresses the
issue.
The social problem overview and policy identification paper
will have two parts:
1. Social problem overview:
· Identify the social problem
· Discuss: what is the problem?
· Explain: how is the social problem defined?
· Describe: what is the scope of the problem?
· Discuss: who defines the problem?
· Discuss: what underlying causes or factors contribute to the
social problem?
· Describe: how does this problem affect working age adults
and/or working families?
· Identify the Goal:
· What is the general goal? (how is progress made to address
this social problem?)
· Are their sub-goals? (consider sub goals or mini goals that
need to be met in order to reach the general goal)
· Do sub-goals conflict? (what challenges come up in meeting
the goals?)
2. Policy Identification:
· Identify one public policy that address your identified social
problem. Your policy may be existing legislation, a recently
introduced bill that addresses the problem, or pending
legislation.
· Briefly, what are the objectives of the policies?
Format:
This is an academic paper, not an opinion paper. Your
comments should be based on facts and evidence and properly
cited. I would expect a minimum of ten (10) references to
support your work. Papers should be organized according to the
outline above and should use sub-headings that match your

3. discussion.
This paper should be approximately 6-8 pages in length
(double-spaced, not including a separate reference page).
Please keep in mind that this assignment will inform your final
two assignments—the social policy research brief and
individual presentation.