Policy Issue Analysis

Overall goal of project: The goal of this assignment will be to research and analyze a particular issue and related policy (current or proposed) affecting children and families, including an examination of media coverage surrounding that particular issue and policy. This project will be completed in 3 parts. This document provides the expectations for Part I: Issue/Policy Proposal. Part I Description: Students will submit a 1-page written proposal describing the issue they will focus on for this project, including which specific policy (legislation) they will examine. This issue and specific policy will be the focus for the remaining parts of this assignment. Students should not begin the remaining parts of the assignment until the instructor has approved Part 1. This is designed to help get the students thinking about policy topics as well as allow the instructor to provide guidance on the appropriateness of the topic. Use the following guidelines for your 1-page proposal: –> Describe your idea for your proposed policy issue. What issue will you focus on? Why is this issue relevant for children and/or families? Why do you want to explore this issue for your project? (5 points) —>Find one specific current or proposed piece of legislation related to the issue you will focus on. The policy can be at the local, state, or federal level, and must be from within the last 5 years (see below for tips on finding a specific policy to focus on). Briefly describe the policy (What is it? Who is it intended to support? How does it directly or indirectly impact children and/or families?) Also please provide a link to information about your policy. (5 points) —>Formatting: For this part, you do NOT need to follow APA guidelines (but you will in the other parts). Your paper should be about one page, but there is no penalty for going over one page. Proper grammar and spelling are expected. Tips for choosing an issue: Note that you must choose an issue that either has a direct or indirect impact on children and/or families, and one that has a specific piece of legislation that is related to the issue (legislation must be within past 5 years). While some issues are specifically focused on children and/or families (i.e., Child Tax Credits, Paid Paternity Leave), others may not be directly focused, but have indirect impacts (i.e., Healthcare, Social Security). Some broad examples include: healthy habits across the lifespan; premarital education; suicide prevention; “going green;” military families; licensing standards in child care, assisted living, or nursing homes; adoption or foster care; individuals with special needs; etc. This is just a very brief sampling, and students should try and select a topic of interest to them, as they will use the same topic throughout all three parts of this assignment. Tips for finding a specific policy/legislation: You must find a specific piece of legislation (either current or proposed) from the last 5 years that is related to your topic of interest. The policy can be either at the local, state, or federal level. It is recommended that you find a smaller piece of legislation that will be more manageable for this project, as choosing a large piece (i.e., Affordable Care Act) will be quite cumbersome when you get to the Family Impact Analysis portion of the project. You don’t need to print the bill/policy, but be prepared to provide a link to the legislation in your reference list for your paper. This would include such items as a House or Senate bill at the federal or state level or an ordinance at the city or community level. Check various web sites such as the following to locate current legislation: http://www.senate.gov/reference/common/faq/how_to_bills.htm http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php