Discussion 1: Classifications of Life-Span Development

When did you become an adult? Was it the day you graduated from high school? Or, was it the day you moved out of your parents' or caregivers' home? Your description of what it means to be an adult and how and when an adolescent transitions into adulthood may differ from that of your colleagues.

The authors of your course text, Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, use the term young and middle adulthood to identify the life-span time period between age 18 and 65. This classification distinguishes this time in the life of an individual from childhood and adolescence and from the later years of adulthood.

Is the authors' young and middle adulthood classification a useful one? What is especially useful and not useful about the classification? What changes would you make to the authors' classification to make it more applicable to your role as a social worker?

For this Discussion, you analyze the author's life-span classification and suggest ways to improve it.

Post:

o A new classification (or possibly multiple classifications) to replace the authors' young and middle adulthood classification

o A definition of your new classification(s)

o Support for your new classification(s). for example, this support may include references to theory and empirical research findings and should reflect the current understanding of biological, psychological, and social development

o An implication your new classification might have regarding social work practice

Be sure to support your posts with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

References (use 2 or more)

Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Chapter 10, "Biological Aspects of Young and Middle Adulthood" (pp. 469-497

Discussion 2: Policy Development

Often, policymakers develop policies in response to a recent societal problem or event. Whereas some societal problems, such as homelessness, unemployment, and poverty, require long-term policy development and refinement, society sometimes demands immediate policy implementation in response to events or problems that proved dangerous for society at large. For example, the U.S. terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the subsequent terrorist threats heightened airport security and created item restrictions for airplane carry-on luggage. Over time, policymakers adjusted these policies as the danger appeared less imminent due to the development of other policies.

What policies are you aware of that policymakers developed in response to a societal problem or event? Are those policies effective responses to the problems or events? If not, how might you change them in order to make them more effective?

For this Discussion, review this week's resources. Using reputable news and education sources, search for an event that led to the formation of a social policy. Then, consider what changes you might make to the policy that resulted from this event. Finally, think about the role of social work (as a profession and political lobby) in the formation of the policy.

Post a brief explanation of the event you selected that led to the formation of a social policy.

· Then, explain what changes you would make to the policy that resulted from this event and why.

· Finally, explain the role of social work (as a profession and political lobby) in the formation of the policy.
Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

References (use 2 or more)

Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2015). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Chapter 11, "Politics and Social Welfare Policy" (pp. 245-261)

Discussion 3: Ideological Perspectives of Population-Specific Policy

Social workers often are very aware of and informed about the needs of the specific populations with which they work. As a result, it is important that social workers get involved in the policy-creation process by sharing their experiences and perspectives with others, including policymakers.

For this Discussion, select a population of particular interest to you. Then, select three to five policies (including two to three state-level and two to three federal-level policies) related to that population. Finally, subscribe to a variety of blog alerts concerning the population and the policies you selected. Note that you will be discussing about these policies throughout the course. You will also critically review the published opinions of bloggers outside of this course, who write about the policies you identified.

· Post a brief description of the population you selected.

· Then, provide a description of three to five policies (including two to three state-level and two to three federal-level policies) related to that population.

· Finally, explain the relationship between the policies and the population you selected.

Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

References (use 2 or more)

Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2015). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

The Library of Congress: Thomas. (n.d.). How our laws are made. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html