This course examines contemporary family life and the impact of government laws, policies, and programs on family life over time and across contexts and cultures. It examines both the intended and unintended consequences of policies for families across a variety of policy matters, from anti-poverty policies to health and workplace policies. It also explores the varied effects those policies and programs can have on different types of families and different aspects of family functioning and well-being.

• Textbook: Bogenschneider, K. (2024). Family policy matters: How policymaking affects families and what professionals can do (4th ed.) Routledge. [ISBN: 978-1-032-31832-5; Ebook ISBN: 9781003311577].
• Other reading materials will be available on Canvas.

This course is designed to enable students to do the following:

1. Discuss and apply a family perspective to policy-making and policy analysis (NCFR 8).
2. Articulate how families and government interact through family laws and policies in explicit and implicit ways throughout historical and contemporary US society (NCFR 8).
3. Identify and apply concepts and approaches within a family policy impact analysis and policy evaluation using policy research/writing and analytical tools (NCFR 8).
4. Evaluate family laws and policies in terms of their sensitivity to and supportiveness of diverse families and diverging family values using a family policy impact analysis (NCFR 8).
5. Design, develop, and create professional and public scholarship on a specific family policy (NCFR 8).
6. Explain how family policy is influenced by demographic changes and values about child and family well-being.
7. Explain the relationship between research, policymaking, and policy implementation.
8. Compare current policy issues in terms of their supportiveness of diverse contemporary families.
9. Describe different roles family professionals can play in informing and shaping family policies.
10. Apply their intellectual and writing skills to communicating knowledgeably and effectively with policymakers, practitioners, and the public.

Format

• This course is offered entirely online in an asynchronous format.
• Course content, discussions, announcements, and assignments will be presented on Canvas. It is the student’s responsibility to consistently check Canvas for updates and any changes related to the course.
• This course will operate in a modified asynchronous format; that is, we will not have specific times to meet online, but activities and assignments will have specified date ranges during which they need to be completed.
• Readings and other activities will be assigned in time-specific modules.
• Points earned will be based on various activities, including quizzes, exams, answering questions, synthesizing the assigned readings, and engaging in online discussions. It is expected that students will recognize the importance of these activities toward their learning by participating fully and being prepared to demonstrate well-articulated thoughts for these assignments.
• This course will progress on a weekly schedule, beginning on Wednesdays at 12am and ending on Tuesdays at 11:59pm.
• Learning online requires careful time management and discipline. I suggest you schedule “class time” for yourself during the week, just as if you were attending a course in person. Having time allocated for this course will help you stay on track and fully enjoy the learning experience. Plan on spending at least 2-3 hours of study time for every hour of class time (i.e., about 6-9 hours per week).
• Complete all written assignments thoughtfully, accurately, and on time.
• Anticipate the course requirements and engage in good time management to be able to complete out of class requirements associated with assignments and course discussions on time (e.g., attending policy meetings outside of class).

Assignments

1. Weekly Assignments. Weekly assignments include 10 reading reflections, 10 quizzes, and 2 discussion posts. Instructions for each assignment are outlined in Canvas under a specific assignment. These assignments should be written carefully, with attention paid to APA style and grammar (225 total points)

Writing Assignments

1. Check Your Own Personal Biases Assignment (20 pts). Using APA guidelines (i.e., 1-inch margins, double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman), write a 2.5–3-page paper on your own possible biases. For this, choose two people: one person whom you admire, and one – not so much (you have a hard time getting along with that person or maybe that person is no longer actively in your life). These individuals can be your family members, friends, or colleagues. For this assignment, it is preferred that you know these individuals well. You may wish to structure your paper as you deem appropriate, but once I finish reading your paper, I should be able to clearly decipher the following:

Person you admire (1 page) (5 pts):

• Why do you admire that person? What kind of qualities does that person possess? What draws you to that person?
• Aside from your admiration, has that person done anything wrong? Has their wrongdoing affected your relationship? Why or why not?
• Did you need to justify their wrongdoing, and if so, how have you justified that person’s wrongdoings? Explain.

Person you dislike (1 page) (5 pts):

• Why do you dislike this person? What kind of qualities does this person possess that makes you not want to be around them?
• What has this person done right in their life? It may be hard for you to think of something positive, but dig deep. Most of us have a combination of good and bad qualities because what we deem as good or bad can be subjective.
• Have you considered their good deeds to better your perception of them?

Reflection (1 page) (10 pts):

• What have you learned from this exercise?
• Do you think you had favorable biases toward the person you admire?
• Do you think you had unfavorable biases toward the person you dislike?
• Do you think it is possible to divorce your perception of a person from a person’s act? In other words, can you be unbiased?

2. Current Issue Debate (35 pts). Students are expected to keep up-to-date on family policy issues currently being debated or decided by local, state, or federal governments, by advocacy groups, or by businesses or nonprofit organizations. Students should choose an issue and describe how this issue is being discussed through the lens of a liberal source and a conservative source. Write a 3 to 4-page analysis of the chosen issue using this format (from the third person's perspective; the narrator is not a character in the story):

• 1. Describe what the issue is and explain why it is an issue (2 and 3 pts, respectively - 5 total).
• 2. Locate a liberal source (be sure to name that source) and explain the issue from the liberal perspective (5 pts).
• 3. Locate a conservative source (be sure to name that source) and explain the issue from the conservative perspective (5 pts).
• 4. Comment on what both sources share in common. This may not be spelled out for you, and therefore you need to think what both perspectives are trying to communicate. For example, generally, neither liberals nor conservatives would want to see people being homeless, but the way they propose to end homelessness is likely to differ (7 pts).
• 5. Suggest a compromised solution. What would liberals have to give up to move closer to a somewhat mutually agreeable solution? You need to be realistic and think of what conservatives could accept. What would conservatives have to give up to move closer to a somewhat mutually agreeable solution? Same thing here -- you have to be realistic and think of what liberals could accept. The offer on both ends would have to be appealing (10 pts).
• 6. Writing organization, spelling, grammar, composition, APA style (3 points).

3. Letter to the Editor or Government Official (15 pts). Write a 200-word letter to the editor or a government official expressing your personal view on a current family policy issue. You can use the issue that you analyzed for the Current Issue Debate or another issue of your choice. This assignment should be written in journalistic style (for guidance see https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/direct-action/letters-to-editor/main). You are encouraged (but not required) to send the letter. If a letter to the editor is published or responded to, 5 points of extra credit will be assigned.

• 1. Specify to whom you are sending the letter.
• 2. If relevant, specify where the government official's take on the issue was aired/printed (e.g., the government official was a guest on a podcast or you read an article in a newspaper).

4. Diverse Views on a Controversial Family Policy (30 pts). Prepare a typed 5- to 8-page paper (using APA guidelines, i.e., 1-inch margins, double-spaced, 12-point Times Roman font) in which you demonstrate your understanding of the concerned/satisfied/impatient views and your ability to apply these concepts to a controversial family or social policy issue of your choice. Summarize how this issue would be viewed from the concerned, satisfied, and impatient views as discussed in Chapter 10 of the Bogenschneider (2024) text. For this assignment, use only the readings from the class to contrast the concerned, satisfied, and impatient perspectives. Use the questions below as headings for your responses.

Grading rubric:

• 1. What is your chosen controversial family policy issue? Clearly explain what is controversial about this issue (2 points)
• 2. Views of the issue (6 points total as divided below):
  a) What is the concerned view of your issue? 2 points
  b) What is the satisfied view of your issue? 2 points
  c) What is the impatient view of your issue? 2 points
• 3. Underlying values of the positions (6 points total as divided below):
  a) What are the values underlying the concerned position related to your issue? 2 points
  b) What are the values underlying the satisfied position related to your issue? 2 points
  c) What are the values underlying the impatient position related to your issue? 2 points
• 4. Policy agendas of the positions (6 points total as divided below):
  a) What would the policy agenda of the concerned position be in regards to your issue? 2 points
  b) What would the policy agenda of the satisfied position be in regards to your issue? 2 points
  c) What would the policy agenda of the impatient position be in regards to your issue? 2 points
• 5. Contributions using the theory of paradox (7 points total as divided below):
  a) What is the theory of paradox? (1-2 sentences) 1 point
  b) What can the concerned position contribute to informing good policy in regards to your issue? 2 points
  c) What can the satisfied position contribute to informing good policy in regards to your issue? 2 points
  d) What can the impatient position contribute to informing good policy in regards to your issue? 2 points
• 6. Writing organization, spelling, grammar, composition, APA style (4 points)

5. Report on Policy Meeting Attended1 (20 pts). Students must attend a meeting (in-person) in which issues that impact children and families are addressed. A meeting could be either one of the following: (a) Utah legislative hearing, (b) a local or municipal government meeting (e.g., Iron County board of supervisors, city council, or school board meeting), (c) judicial proceedings of the Utah Supreme Court, (d) an advocacy group meeting (e.g., Council on Children and Families, Children’s Trust Fund), (e) a political forum (i.e., League of Women Voter’s debate, political party caucus, political candidate speech), or (f) a nonprofit organization board or membership meeting (e.g., child care center board, church or religious council). Write a 1.5-to-2.5-page report on the meeting, which should include headings related to:

• 1. The name of the group that is meeting, the location of the meeting, the date of meeting (2 pts)
• 2. The approximate number and types of people in attendance (e.g., committee members, advocates, public)? (2 pts)
• 3. The total time you attended the meeting and whether this was a part of the whole meeting (1 pt)
• 4. The meeting agenda. Was the purpose of the meeting and agenda summarized at the outset? (1 pt)
• 5. What interactional processes did you observe? Who was in control? How were attendees allowed to comment or participate? What was the emotional tone (Relaxed? Tense? Respectful? Businesslike?) How were decisions made? (5 pts)
• 6. If decisions were made, what were they? (2 pts)
• 7. What are the implications of the meeting process or outcomes (decisions) for children or families? (3 pts)
• 8. What did you learn about the policymaking process? How did what you experienced compare to what you have learned in the class about policy making? (3 pts)
• 9. Attach any kind of brochure from the meeting (e.g., you can print a summon of the proposed meeting or include a meeting agenda, both of which should state the date/place the meeting took place) (1 pt).

1 A student will lose 5 points automatically for attending an online meeting

6. Evaluation of a Family Impact Analysis (30 pts). A family impact analysis is an analysis of how a policy or program may benefit or produce unintended negative consequences for families. The purpose of a family impact analysis is to inform policy makers and policy implementers and to provide direction for improving policy and programs. Pages 256-258 of the Bogenschneider (2024) textbook presents 5 principles or criteria for evaluating the impact of a policy or program on families. Each student will be assigned an example of a completed FIA. The purpose of this assignment is NOT to conduct an FIA. The purpose of this assignment is to critically read and evaluate the quality of an already completed FIA. Students will write a 5- to 7-page paper that evaluates how fully the assigned example of a FIA (provided by the instructor) addresses the Family Impact Checklist criteria. Write your evaluation of the FIA using the following outline:

• 1. Briefly introduce the family policy issue and describe the policy or program situation that the family impact analysis is addressing (3 points, 1 page or less)
• 2. The policy or program’s family impact according to the principles. List each of the 5 principles for assessing the impact of policies on families from the checklist. Study the checklist criteria and identify the degree to which the assigned FIA addresses the checklist criteria under each principle. Your assigned FIA may not list or identify the same principles or address all of the criteria as those listed in the text. For each principle: (5 X 3 points for each principle = 15 points)
  a) Identify and summarize what the author of the FIA stated are aspects of the policy or program that support the principle. If the author does not address the aspects that support the principle, say so.
  b) Identify what the author of the FIA stated are aspects of the policy or program that undermine or do not support the principle. If the author does not address this, say so.
  c) Rate the degree to which the author’s analysis addressed the criteria of the principle (from 0% to 100%). Give reasons for your rating and identify what you think was deficient or missing.

[continued]

• 3. Identify the key points raised in the Family Impact Analysis (over all of the 5 principles; you do not need to address each of the 5 principles) (4 points)
  a) What do you think are at least 2 potentially beneficial effects of the policy or program to families that might have been overlooked without this family impact analysis?
  b) What do you think are at least 2 potentially harmful effects of the policy or program to families that might have been overlooked without this family impact analysis?
• 4. Evaluate the overall quality of the family impact analysis (5 points)
  a) What are at least 2 strengths of the family impact analysis? In what important ways did the family impact analysis provide direction for improving policy or programs?
  b) What are at least 2 weaknesses of the family impact analysis? Were there family impact principles or important points or criteria that the writer overlooked?
• 5. Organization, spelling, grammar, composition, APA style (3 points)

Grading

Grades will be assigned based on the following percentage of points earned:

Student responsibility. Students are responsible for following the syllabus, knowing the readings, and completing work on time. Students can contact the instructor to appeal a grade within 7 calendar days of receiving said grade.

Email policy. The instructor will answer emails Monday through Friday between 9am and 5pm. Students will receive a response within 48-hours of their query, excluding weekends. For the security of your private educational information, all email correspondence should be sent through your SUU email account. If students have difficulty uploading their documents to Canvas or if Canvas is experiencing service interruptions, students need to email their assignment by the due date to the instructor.

Late policy and missing assignment policy. Please submit your work on time. Late assignments will not be accepted unless students can provide proper documentation (e.g., doctor’s verification). Students will not be allowed to make-up exams or any other activities without letting the instructor know ahead of time that they have a conflict of interest.

Please note that grades will not be rounded up (e.g., if you receive 89.9%, your grade will be a B, not an A).

Course fees: $3 per credit hour

Credits

3 credits.

Prerequisite(s)

SW 2100 - Prerequisite Min. Grade: C

Registration Restriction(s)

Social Work majors only