Jansson Chapter Questions

Chapter 3

  1. Describe the six tasks of policy practice.
  2. What are the four policy practice skills (skill sets)?
  3. Choose a social policy and list at least six stakeholder groups.
  4. What are the four styles of policy advocacy?
  5. Discuss the use of power in policy practice.
  6. How can policy practice serve as a unifying model for the profession of social work?

Chapter 14

  1. How is policy assessing both the beginning and the ending of policy practice?
  2. Explain how you would use the logic model in policy practice. (This is not specifically in the text.)
  3. How is program evaluation a form of argument?
  4. How does evaluation design influence policy?
  5. How do politics interact with policy assessment?
  6. Explain the merits and limits of qualitative and of quantitative evaluation designs.
  7. How can all social workers appropriately be involved in policy assessment?

Chapter 5

  1. What are some variables that influence the issues that get on the legislative agenda at the state and national level?
  2. What are some variables that influence the issues that get on the agenda at the local community level?
  3. What are some variables that influence the issues that get on the agenda at the agency level?
  4. Explain the idea that streams of problems and of solutions are constantly present in the environment.
  5. How do professional developments and trends influence agenda setting?
  6. How do political realities influence agenda setting?
  7. Name and explain at least three essential elements of the softening stage.
  8. Name and explain the ten tactics of the activating stage.
  9. What are some things direct-service staff can do to help build agendas?

Chapter 6 (Remember that this chapter is very confusing. Your critical thinking may be more important than trying to make sense out of the writing.)

  1. How are the six tasks in figure 6.1 on page 169 similar to, and how are the different from, the six tasks in figure 3.1 on page 69?
  2. Describe a model of problem analysis.
  3. Why might it be important to evaluate the components of a problem that fall outside of a traditional social service program, e.g. those people with serious and persistent health problems who are cared for at home without services from professional health care providers? (Figure 6.2 on page 174)
  4. Explain how the concepts of typologies, manifestations, chronicity, and demographics can be helpful in problem analysis.
  5. Describe a multidimensional outline of causes of social problems.
  6. Describe four approaches to analyzing the causes of social problems.
  7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention?
  8. What are some factors that impede prevention?
  9. What is the difference between incidence and prevalence? Why is the distinction important in policy planning?
  10. What does it mean to locate problems spatially? How might spatial distribution of problems influence policy?
  11. Explain how the selection of evaluation criteria can influence the perception of whether a policy has been effective.
  12. When are social problems real, and when are they invented?
  13. In addition to geographic or spatial distribution of problems, what are some other variables that might influence the distribution of problems?

Chapter 7

(I recommend that you outline the content of this chapter.)

(The answers to several of these questions are opinions and are not specifically in the book.)

  1. What are the nine recurring issues in designing policies?
  2. Is mission better stated as a process or an outcome?
  3. When a policy legitimately involves more than one agency, how should responsibility for the policy be assigned?
  4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing detailed legislation instead of allowing details to be addressed in regulations?
  5. What are the pros and cons of allowing government funds to flow to for-profit, not-for-profit, and public organizations?
  6. What are the merits of block grants and of categorical funding?
  7. What are the merits of federal and of state/local control?
  8. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different sources of funds for social programs?
  9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of establishing funding mechanisms that removes programs from the government’s budget process?
  10. What are the pros and cons of the various funding channels?
  11. (Be prepared to discuss the advocacy challenge on pages 222 and 223.)
  12. How does selection of an orienting framework influence policy?
  13. What are the pros and cons of strict criteria regarding staff qualifications?
  14. What are the pros and cons of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention?
  15. Do you agree or disagree that all services will be rationed? What rationing methods do you think are better and worse?
  16. To what extent should policies require multiple service providers to work together versus creating multi-service agencies? Why?
  17. Who should serve on boards of nonprofit organizations? Why?
  18. Describe a method for systematically comparing policy options.

Chapter 8

  1. Why are persuasion skills important for policy practice?
  2. How does ideology influence policy?
  3. How may personal experience work in contrast with personal ideology?
  4. What are the two possible audiences in combative persuasion?
  5. What are some strategies that can be used to attack someone else’s position?
  6. When might coercive messages be effective?
  7. What are some dangers of using coercive messages?
  8. What are the advantages of win-win messages?
  9. Outline steps in persuasion.
  10. What are some techniques for working with hostile audiences?
  11. How is grant writing policy practice?
  12. What are steps in writing a grant proposal?

Chapter 4

  1. What five major roles do heads of government have in relation to policy?
  2. What three remedies do legislators have when they identify problems in social programs?
  3. What essential distinctions exist between legislators and members of public boards?
  4. How does the approach of political appointees to policy typically differ from the approach of civil servants?
  5. Would you categorize lobbyists who work for NASW as powerful lobbyists? Why or why not?
  6. What are the strengths and weaknesses of NASW as an interest group?
  7. How would you approach attempts to influence organizational policy if you worked in a large public agency? How would you approach the same challenge if you worked in a private non-profit organization?

Chapter 9

  1. Can a social worker function without being involved in politics?
  2. What is politics?
  3. What are the major components of a political model of advocacy?
  4. Can a social worker function without using power?
  5. What is power?
  6. What factors influence how much power an individual has?
  7. What are the five classic types of interpersonal power?
  8. How can interpersonal power be used to influence individuals who are not present?
  9. What kind of power should be used?
  10. What is substantive power?
  11. What is procedural power, and how might a social worker effectively use it?
  12. Explain tenor, tempo, scope, and timing as they apply to conflict.
  13. What are some advantages of affiliating with advocacy groups?
  14. What are some personal characteristics that distinguish those who effectively use power?
  15. How much discretion should policies allow individual practitioners to exercise? How might the view of this issue differ among members of an organization/
  16. How can a social worker avoid compliance with onerous policies? What are the ethical implications of these choices?
  17. When would whistle-blowing be ethical?
  18. What are some things one might do to enhance personal credibility?
  19. What are some strategies for building a personal network?
  20. What two dispositions might undermine assertiveness?

Chapter 10

  1. What four basic position choices do policy advocates have?
  2. What are the risks and benefits of each?
  3. What variables might influence one’s choice of positions?
  4. What variables might influence a choice regarding the extent of change to advocate?
  5. What variables might influence the time from in which one chooses to advocate change?
  6. What are some variables one would need to understand regarding the individuals who have the power to make policy decisions?
  7. What are some dangers of force-field analysis?
  8. How do past stances likely influence the positions people take on issues?
  9. How do vested interests potential influence positions?
  10. How does cohesion of proponents and opponents influence policy?
  11. What are some situational variables that influence policy?
  12. What are the seven recurring steps in strategy?

Chapter 11

  1. What are some specific activities that policy advocates can undertake within larger advocacy projects?
  2. What are some guidelines for organizing an advocacy team or coalition?
  3. Explain the concept of advocacy style, and explain why one style might be better than another.
  4. Outline steps in implementing an advocacy strategy.
  5. Compare policy advocacy within an organization to that with a legislative body.
  6. What are some reasons for policy practitioners to organize task groups?
  7. What are three different roles that policy advocates might take within a task group?
  8. What is the difference between a coalition and a network?