Power imbalance or struggle

  Using the Grand Challenges for Social Work Statement “Policy Recommendations for Meeting the Grand Challenge to Smart Decarceration”, choose one of the four policy recommendations suggested to answer the following sections listed below. Please use additional research and resources to support your argument. Chosen Recommendation: Recommendation 3: Remove Civic and Legal Exclusions (copy of document attached) Coinciding with the era of mass incarceration has been the proliferation of civil disability policies, also known as collateral consequences policies, which revoke or restrict legal rights and privileges because of a criminal conviction. Examples include ineligibility for housing assistance, student loans, professional licensure, and employment, as well as denial of voting and parental rights. There are now an estimated 40,000 such laws nationwide. This patchwork of policies severely limits the rights and daily behaviors of people with criminal convictions. Many civil disability policies stand in direct tension with rehabilitative aims such as educational attainment, employment, social support, and reunification with family. As decarceration efforts proceed, it is imperative to investigate how to align public policies and rehabilitative practices to support reforms and ensure that people with criminal convictions have the greatest possible chance of success. Civil disability policies that do not directly advance public safety and well-being should be revoked or curtailed to eliminate their counterproductive effects. Please cover the following in your assignment: A. Understanding the problem 1. What is the problem the policy aims to address? Try to break the problem down into its most fundamental parts, and provide a one-sentence problem statement. 2. How are any relevant terms defined? Are there different definitions of any of the terms? How might differing definitions shape the extent of the problem or solutions to the problem? 3. What is the history of the problem in the U.S.? When was it first seen as a problem? Has our understanding of the problem changed over time? 4. What are the various theories about the central causes of the problem? What do you think are the most important causes and why? 5. What is the extent of the problem? How big is it? 6. Who defines this as a problem? 7. Who believes that this is not a problem? 8. What are the conflicting social values and beliefs of those who believe this is a problem and those who think it is not a problem? Is one side or the other better supported by social work values and ethics? Explain why you think so. 9. What is likely to happen with this problem if we make the policy choice to “do nothing?” B. Power imbalance or struggle