NOTE: This Assignment Is Based on NASW Policy Statements As They Appear in Social Work

NOTE: This Assignment Is Based on NASW Policy Statements As They Appear in Social Work

NOTE: This assignment is based on NASW policy statements as they appear in Social Work Speaks. It should be updated as new and revised policy statements are updated and published.

VALUE INVENTORY

FOR POLICY ADVOCACY

Instructions

  1. Read each statement below. Indicate your personal agreement (+) or disagreement (-) in the space to the left of each statement. You may also strongly agree (++) or strongly disagree (--).
  1. On a scale of 1-5, indicate how knowledgeable you feel about each issue (1 is “clueless” and 5 is “extremely well-versed”).

Agree/Disagree Knowledgeable NASW

(+/-) (1-5) (+/-)

___ 1. Gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry. ______

___ 2. U.S. government information and services should be provided ______

only in English.

___ 3. Grandparents and others who serve as foster parents for their own ______relatives should do so out of love, without government compensation.

___ 4. Affirmative action is an important tool in preventing and eliminating ______

discrimination.

___ 5. Workers’ efforts to unionize should be supported. ______

___ 6. Congress should adopt a minimum wage that reflects the realities of ______

the cost of living.

___ 7. HIV testing of pregnant women and their newborns should be ______

conducted routinely, with or without consent, in order to prevent

the spreadof AIDS.

___ 8. Convicted felons should have their voting rights restored once they ______

have completed their sentences.

___ 9. The death penalty is sometimes appropriate. ______

___ 10. The government should limit its support for sex education to ______

“abstinence only” programs.

Agree/Disagree Knowledgeable NASW

(+/-) (1-5) (+/-)

___ 11. Elderly people should be considered ineligible to serve as legal ______

guardians for children.

___ 12. All physical punishment of children should be abolished. ______

___ 13. Adolescents should be required to notify their parents before ______

having an abortion.

___ 14. Social service professionals should be mandated to report illegal ______

immigrants to federal authorities

___ 15. Agencies should seek to place children for adoption in two-parent ______

families before seeking placements with single adults.

___ 16. Women on welfare who continue to have children should be denied ______

additional benefits.

___ 17. Social workers should oppose assisted suicide and other end-of-life ______

measures.

___ 18. All working parents should have access to paid employment leave in ______

the event of the birth/adoption of a child, or the illness of oneself or

animmediate family member.

___ 19. For-profit ownership of essential safety net services for families ______

(such as welfare supports, job assistance, and schools) should be

discouraged.

___ 20. Quality early childhood education should be universally available. ______

___ 21. Business has a moral responsibility to embrace practices that protect ______

the natural environment.

___ 22. Funding for domestic violence programs should support treatment for ______

perpetrators, as well as for survivors.

___ 23. Needle exchange programs should be illegal because they promote ______

druguse and run counter to the public interest.

___ 24. Juveniles who commit serious felonies should be tried and sentenced ______

as adults.

___ 25. Prostitution should be decriminalized. ______

Instructions (cont’d)

  1. Once you have indicated your personal agreement or disagreement with each statement, your instructor will share NASW’s position on the issue. Use the far right-hand column to indicate whether our professional organization agrees (+) or disagrees (-) with each statement. Discuss, as a class, what social work value underlies each of these positions.
  1. Finally, looking back at the completed Inventory, compare your own personal opinions with those of the social work profession. Consider both the similarities and the differences. Write a cogent, thoughtful 2-3 page reflection that discusses (1) how the two compare, (2) your thoughts about why specific discrepancies might exist, (3) what the implications of the “match” between your values and the profession’s values might be, and (4) how, in the context of professional practice, you might address any value differences or conflicts you’ve identified. Finally, take a look at how you assessed your level of knowledge on the various issues in the Inventory. What conclusions can you draw?

VALUES INVENTORY FOR POLICY ADVOCACY

ANSWER KEY

NASW POSITIONS

  1. Agree
  2. Disagree
  3. Disagree
  4. Agree
  5. Agree
  6. Agree
  7. Disagree
  8. Agree
  9. Disagree
  10. Disagree
  11. Disagree
  12. Agree
  13. Disagree
  14. Disagree
  15. Disagree
  16. Disagree
  17. Disagree
  18. Agree
  19. Agree
  20. Agree
  21. Agree
  22. Agree
  23. Disagree
  24. Disagree
  25. Agree

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