● Remember, social policy is a response to a social problem (or a perceived social problem – not everyone will agree that something is a “problem). As such, to develop an understanding of social welfare policy, you must first develop an understanding of the problem(s) the policy is trying to address. This paper allows you to explore the problem and the policy response. ● An example to help with this clarification: in 2022 and 2023 we saw a huge uptick in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the United States. This included local and state level policies that ban drag shows, books, gender affirming treatment for trans youth, and more. As such, a “problem” has been defined by those who have pushed for these bills. So, if you were exploring Tennesses’s most recent anti-trans policy, you would have to look at/understand the “problem” that the legislation is trying to address as well as looking at/understanding how people are harmed/marginalized by the way that the “problem” has been defined. ● In your policy analysis assignment you will need to critically explore how problems are discussed/defined. ● Ensure that you are connecting the social problem you discuss to policy – we are defining policy as a specific piece of legislation at the federal, state, or local level. This paper requires you to assess an actual policy. so you're looking for the legislation that has been enacted as a response to the social problem. Programs are created by legislation but you're not doing an evaluation of the program, rather you're looking at the legislation itself. ● It is also important to remember that you must look at policy that has been enacted for this assignment. You will not be able to complete this assignment with something that was introduced but not enacted. In some cases, you may be looking at one part of a larger policy – e.g. one component of the Affordable Care Act, the Personal Responsibility And Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, etc. Work with your instructor to ensure you’ve selected an appropriate and “doable” topic for this paper.
■ What is the problem/how is it defined/who defines it as such? Is there disagreement about whether or not there is a problem? How is it defined? Explain. ■ Provide facts and data that describe the problem. ■ What, if any, conflicting social values and beliefs are at play in how the problem is viewed/understood? Are some
The Harmful Definition: When the problem is defined solely through the criminal justice lens, it harms and marginalizes individuals by imposing stigma, legal penalties, and barriers to employment and housing, making them less likely to seek treatment and more likely to relapse upon release from incarceration. The CARA legislation was, in part, a policy attempt to bridge these two definitions.
Facts and Data Describing the Problem
The scope of the opioid crisis illustrates the need for a comprehensive national policy response:
Prevalence: Since the late 1990s, the crisis has unfolded in three distinct waves: prescription opioids, heroin, and synthetic opioids (fentanyl).
Mortality: Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. surpassed 100,000 annually for the first time in 2020 and have remained elevated, with synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) being the driving factor in the majority of fatal overdoses (CDC).
Economic Impact: The opioid crisis costs the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually, factoring in healthcare expenses, lost productivity, and criminal justice costs (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021).
Prescription Practices: Although prescribing rates have generally declined since their peak in 2010, the over-prescription of opioids in the preceding decades created a large population dependent on the drugs and paved the way for the later waves of heroin and fentanyl use.
Conflicting Social Values and Beliefs
The response to the opioid crisis is fraught with conflicting American social values:
Individual Responsibility vs. Collective Responsibility:
Individual Responsibility (Conservative Value): The belief that addiction is a matter of personal choice and moral failure. The social response should be limited to individual accountability, emphasizing harsh penalties for drug dealers and requiring those with addiction to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps."
Sample Answer
The Social Problem: Opioid Addiction and Overdose Deaths 💊
Defining the Problem and the Conflict in Definitions
The social problem is the Opioid Crisis: the widespread misuse of prescription and illegal opioid drugs, resulting in escalating rates of addiction, non-fatal overdoses, and fatal overdose deaths across the United States.
How it is Defined/Who Defines it as Such:
Public Health/Medical Community (Dominant Definition): The problem is defined as a public health epidemic rooted in chronic pain management failures, over-prescribing by pharmaceutical companies and physicians, and the disease model of addiction. This perspective defines the affected individuals as patients suffering from a chronic, relapsing brain disease requiring access to treatment, harm reduction, and evidence-based medication (e.g., methadone, buprenorphine).
Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement (Conflicting Definition): Historically, the problem was often defined as a criminality issue involving individual moral failings, illicit drug use, and law-breaking. This perspective defines the affected individuals as criminals who require punishment and incarceration to ensure public safety, prioritizing supply reduction (drug busts, border control) over demand reduction (treatment).
Disagreement on the Problem: There is significant disagreement not over the existence of the crisis (the death toll is undeniable) but over its root cause and the appropriate response. The central conflict lies between the public health approach (treatment first) and the criminal justice approach (punishment first).
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