Reference no: EM133781823

Assignment: Polished Project

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

Cover Page and Executive Summary. Your paper should begin with a cover page or other audience-appropriate heading that identifies who you are (your name, the organization you are imagining you work for, and your imagined title within that organization), and the intended audience for the analysis (e.g., a particular policymaker, a legislative committee, leaders from a potential ally organization, leadership in your own organization, etc.). You should also include a very brief executive summary of the social problem and legislation being considered. The cover page and summary should use language and a format appropriate for your selected audience.

Background. In this brief introductory section, you will put the legislation under consideration in context, as a preface to explaining your organization's position. Specifically, you should use the background analysis you have completed earlier in the course to:

A. Briefly examine how major social, political, and economic events and other legislation have set the stage for the specific legislation you are considering. Be sure to provide specific examples in your response.

B. Briefly analyze the effectiveness of previous and existing human services legislation on the selected topic. Do the policies or programs effectively address the needs of the intended beneficiaries? Why or why not? Provide evidence to support your answer.

C. Succinctly examine whether previous and existing policies address the human services challenge in ways that are sensitive to meeting the needs of a diverse clientele and explain why or why not. Provide evidence to support your answer.

D. Argue for why is it particularly urgent to address the social issue in the legislation and any related policy weaknesses now. Your reasons should use audience-specific language and be supported by evidence. Keep in mind that policymakers, lobbyists, and private sector leaders have multiple competing priorities, respond to pressures from different groups, and have limited time. Your arguments will be critical to getting and keeping their support.

Your Position. In this section, you will lay out your organization's position on the specific legislation being considered. It should be evident from your analysis that you have reviewed a full copy of the legislation and have researched the related issues and debate. Specifically, you should address the following points:

A. Is your organization for or against the legislation? Why? Your answer should analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the legislation in terms of potential effectiveness, cost, public acceptance, and political feasibility. In other words, how might economic, social, or political factors (including other legislation) help or hinder the policy's implementation and effectiveness? What specific concerns does your organization have?

B. How might cultural, socioeconomic, and other diversity issues impact the quality and equity of services provided under the selected legislation? What concerns does your organization have? Provide examples to support your position.

C. What legal or ethical matters related to the legislation is your organization concerned about, if any? Explain your answer and provide examples, if appropriate.

D. Based on your analysis, how could the legislation in question be redesigned to better address the needs of intended beneficiaries? Be sure to address the following points and provide evidence to support your recommendations.

E. How could the legislation better address diversity in meeting the needs of intended beneficiaries?

F. How could the legislation better address legal or ethical concerns in meeting beneficiaries' needs? If there are no concerns specific to this legislation, make suggestions for how the legislation might help prevent legal or ethical concerns in future policies. Support your suggestions with evidence.

G. What other changes to the legislation would make it more effective in serving intended beneficiaries? Consider the cost, public acceptance, and political feasibility issues you identified above in making your suggestions.

H. Be sure to use language and communication strategies appropriate for political or organizational leaders in explaining your organization's position and recommendations. Remember the goal is to convince your audience that your analysis is credible without burdening them with undue detail.

Stakeholders and Coalition-Building. This section should cover which groups, individuals, and organizations support this legislation, which oppose it, and why. Specifically, you should address:

A. Who should be responsible for developing, implementing, and paying for the changes you propose? Why? Your reasons should take into consideration the policy development process for human services legislation and different groups' resources.

B. Have the intended beneficiaries taken a position on the legislation being considered? If not, why not? If so, what is their position? How have they communicated it? Support your answer.

C. What other groups, organizations, or individuals have an interest in the legislation? Do they support the legislation or oppose it? Why? For example, are there lobbyists, legislative groups, governors, celebrities, or other organizations that are strongly for or against the legislation? Why do they support or oppose it? Provide evidence to support your answer.

D. What strategies would you recommend in building support for the changes you suggest? Be sure to identify potential allies as well as activities they might undertake to influence the policy process. You might want to consider how different levels of advocacy (e.g., community and grassroots campaigns, national advocacy groups, business, the media, global activism, etc.) could help build support for your position.