As the politics of decision makers, executives, staff, clients, and social workers begin to influence the implementation process, their beliefs—and subsequent actions—determine the fate of the policy.

When a policy is launched, its success is  dependent on a variety of stakeholders. As the politics of decision  makers, executives, staff, clients, and social workers begin to  influence the implementation process, their beliefs—and subsequent  actions—determine the fate of the policy.

Often  a social worker must step out of the comfort of his or her social  service world and may find himself or herself making difficult decisions  about ethical issues and/or may find himself or herself involved in  implementing policies that he or she feels is against his or her social  work values. How does a social worker handle the intricacies and  challenges of policy implementation on both a personal and professional  level?

In this Discussion, you explore policy implementation and the challenges faced by social workers during policy implementation.

By Day 3

Post your thoughts on whether  social workers might try to undermine the implementation of specific  policies. What ethical issues might they confront? Discuss how social  workers can implement policies that they feel may be against their  social work values. Discuss a specific policy’s impact that you would  try to mitigate in the implementation phase. Provide an experience you  have had with a policy you had difficulty implementing or a policy you  are aware of that you would have serious qualms about implementing.

Discuss on how multiple factors contribute to the failure  of people to implement specific policies. In your opinion, do you think  frontline social workers are perceived as people who cause specific  policies to not be implemented?

Be sure to support your post with specific references to this  week’s resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to  provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice  (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.
Chapter 13, “Troubleshooting the Implementation of Policies in Task 7” (pp. 460-487)

Lane, S. R., & Humphreys, N. A. (2011). Social workers in politics: A national survey of social work candidates and elected officials. Journal of Policy Practice, 10(3), 225–244. doi:10.1080/15588742.2011.582809.