Deck 5: Tools for Determining Need and Analyzing Social Policy

Question 1

Social policies are designed to:

A) meet individual needs, at the expense of society's
B) meet societal needs, but always at the cost of individual needs
C) satisfy public opinion, no matter what
D) both meet the needs of the citizenry and support the social order

Answer 1

D

Question 2

A social problem becomes a societal concern when:

A) the data make it obvious that a problem exists
B) a sizeable segment of the public becomes convinced, often through collective action, that a problem exists
C) the National Association of Social Workers places it on their policy agenda
D) there is a dramatic change in a social condition in a short period of time

Answer 2

B

Question 3

As an example of the social construction of social problems, domestic violence was once understood as:

A) an expression of psychosis among abusive men
B) an understandable response to internalized oppression resulting from our capitalist economic structure
C) a man's prerogative to keep order in his home
D) nonexistent

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What data might a social worker practicing with adolescent girls experiencing depression use to construct social media usage as a 'social problem' for this population?

A) the percentage of teen girls who have smartphones
B) teen girls' reports that their social media usage causes them mental distress
C) parents' observations that social media usage compromises their daughters' well-being
D) B and C

Question 5

Which of the following best characterizes the role that values and self-interest play in social problem definition?

A) they don't; policies are developed based on documented evidence of objective need
B) they inform the ideology behind the problem definition, comprising the 'should statement'
C) they completely determine problem definition in today's polarized ideological climate
D) they only impact the language that we use to talk about problems, for example, the difference between 'handicapped person' and 'person with disabilities'

Question 6

When evidence reveals that two conditions are linked, for example, illiteracy and teenage pregnancy, policy analysts can know:

A) that the first condition causes the second, which is defined as the consequence
B) that the second condition causes the first, which is defined as the consequence
C) that the two conditions are linked in mutual causality
D) nothing; more study is needed to determine whether causality, or mere correlation, exists

Question 7

The process of connecting the social problem and resulting social policy, through concerted action and the exertion of rights and/or an appeal to social justice and/or utility is called:

A) claimsmaking
B) policy analysis
C) agenda-setting
D) lobbying

Question 8

A statement of the desired human condition or social environment that is expected to result from implementation of the policy is:

A) a mission statement
B) an agenda
C) a policy goal
D) a claim

Question 9

Publicly stated goals are called:

A) latent goals
B) manifest goals
C) public goals
D) unanimous goals

Question 10

Which of the following could be understood as a latent goal of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)?

A) reduce hunger and malnutrition
B) assist families in poverty by reducing the amount of their budgets that needs to be spent on food
C) shore up the U.S. agricultural industry by subsidizing consumption of its goods
D) improve health by improving nutrition

Question 11

Which of the following most likely reflects a strengths perspective of incorporating client perspectives into the development of policy goals?

A) TANF's emphasis on promoting two-parent families
B) programs for people with disabilities that focus on facilitating employment by preserving benefit eligibility with increasing levels of earned income
C) policy that makes households ineligible for housing subsidies if anyone in the family has a drug-related conviction
D) a program that aims to improve parenting skills among mothers receiving Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) assistance

Question 12

Eligibility rules:

A) determine how much funding will be available for a given program
B) define the social problem to be addressed
C) stipulate who receives the benefit or service provided by the social policy
D) are inherently unjust

Question 13

Means tests:

A) judge whether a potential recipient is among the 'worthy' poor
B) determine whether someone meets the income and asset limits for a particular program
C) only measure income levels
D) are always stigmatizing and should, therefore, be eliminated

Question 14

The single most important question to ask when evaluating the effectiveness of a service delivery system is:

A) "Can this system deliver services to clients in a cost-effective manner that achieves the desired outcomes?"
B) "Do clients have enough choices within this structure?"
C) "Are social workers adequately represented among those who will be delivering services within this system?"
D) "Does this system utilize indigenous workers to make sure that it is non-stigmatizing?"

Question 15

How would you explain the idea that problems are socially constructed to a colleague suspicious that this sounds like the concept of "alternative facts"?

Question 16

With what you know about Social Security and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, as well as the concept of 'worthy' and 'unworthy' poor that they enshrine, how are the different financing mechanisms of these policies related to the adequacy of their benefit levels?

Question 17

You are a social work policy practitioner looking for information about the goals of a policy that provides free college tuition to children aging out of the foster care system in your state. Where might you look to find this information?

Question 18

What are the benefits/services provided in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program?

Question 19

How would a strengths perspective view the decision of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to issue benefits through electronic benefit transfer rather than paper coupon?

Question 20

The National Association of Social Workers has focused much of its lobbying work on licensure requirements that restrict certain types of social service jobs to only licensed social workers. How would a strengths perspective analysis of service delivery systems view this?

Question 21

When analyzed using a strengths perspective on policy analysis, how would one evaluate the trend towards devolution in social service delivery and financing?