Social Policy History Scavenger Hunt - Essay Example

Social Policy History Scavenger Hunt Assignment Social Policy History Scavenger Hunt Assignment Theme: Role of Government “Conflicting marijuana laws make a case for finding solution in federalism” (Reisert, 2015) The above headline shows the conflict between federal and state laws which often contradict each other. The above headline concerns marijuana where some states including Washington and Colorado have legalized both recreational and medical use of the drug. Many other states have still not legalized the drug and most importantly, the drug continues to be illegal under federal law. It is therefore visible that there is an inconsistency between state laws as well as a contradiction between state and federal laws (Reisert, 2015). However, the issue is that state laws only apply to citizens of a particular state whereas federal law applies to all citizens of the Unites States. Federal law is therefore binding on all states and is superior to state law. Historically all social policies directed towards marijuana have considered its essentially negative impact on the society. The legal history of marijuana shows that the drug has regularly been regulated by the government through different Acts. The role of government has been central in the implementation of laws pertaining to marijuana usage. On several occasions throughout history, regulations restricting marijuana usage have been relaxed and tightened. Since laws vary from state to state, laws pertaining to marijuana usage have also seen many inconsistencies. Despite federal law being superior to state laws and having made marijuana illegal, state laws continue to legalize marijuana usage. In such a case, there is increased confusion regarding what laws should be followed and how states can handle the issue. Federal law has been relatively more consistent with its stand on marijuana usage. However, state laws differ on their stand on marijuana usage. With Washington and Colorado having legalized medicinal and recreational use of marijuana within their states, many other states have been joining in. However, the vast majority of the states still continue to prohibit the use of marijuana. This is due to the social costs of marijuana legalization as a result of which social policy has historically shown great concern for marijuana legalization. The association of marijuana usage with other social vices such as crimes has led social policies to be focused more towards restricting marijuana usage. This stance is aligned with federal law which states that marijuana is illegal. The inconsistencies between state laws have also encouraged people to look for permanent answers in federalism (Reisert, 2015). The similarity between the marijuana legalization issue and social policy surrounding marijuana is that the government at both levels, state and federal, occupies a central place in shaping the legalities of marijuana usage. However, the most marked differences include the inconsistencies in state laws although the federal law has clearly prohibited marijuana. Social policy regarding marijuana has also historically regulated marijuana usage placing restrictions on the use of marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes. Therefore, the differences are more marked and show the role of government in the issue. Additionally, the differences highlight the need for citizens to refer to federal law when state laws contradict. Theme: Milieu Influences “How the United States Immigration System Works: A Fact Sheet” (American Immigration Council, 2014) The headline reflects the US policy on immigration. Immigration is an important subject in social policy making. The social policy highlights ways in which US immigration can occur including family based immigration, employment based immigration, permanent immigration, refugees, and asylums (American Immigration Council, 2014). The main rationale behind the immigration policy can be easily understood considering the political and cultural environment surrounding the matter. Firstly, the US is a major hub for employment among immigrants from developing countries. A large inflow of immigrants occurs from developing countries. Such immigrants are often seeking jobs in the US considering the availability of job opportunities. Secondly, the political landscape throughout the world is such that many immigrants arrive as refugees or as asylum seekers. The War on Terror in Afghanistan is an example where huge number of immigrants flooded in the United States and other European countries. So political factors are also important in determining the environment in which immigrations occur. Cultural factors are very important when looking at immigration policies. In particular the family based immigration is greatly influenced by cultural factors. The influx of immigrants from different countries especially from Asia has provided USA with labor force. These immigrants are able to get jobs and sponsor their family members. Hence, the number of immigrants increases in almost an exponential fashion. Another cultural factor is that the presence of USA near Latin America has resulted in the influx of immigrants from surrounding neighboring countries. The US has a large number of Spanish speakers and hence many Latin American and Mexican immigrants have arrived in the USA. Political factors mainly relate to internal politics and the overall landscape in the global political arena. The periods in which there is an increased inflow of immigrants often correlates with the periods when there is a war. For example, growing number of Afghan refugees have fled from their country into the US and other European countries after the War on Terror was initiated. Therefore the milieu influences on the immigration policy involve cultural, political, and other social factors that directly impact the influx of immigrations. The increased inflow of immigrants from developing countries in Africa and Asia has triggered the US government to set a cap at the number of immigrants allowed which is distributed according to the region. The cap has limited the number of immigrants from each region for each year so that the total immigrant population is limited (American Immigration Council, 2014). The number of immigrants in the US is growing and the government has introduced the policy to limit the number of immigrants so as to prevent illegal immigrations and prevent them from becoming a burden on the government. The government has been recovering from the recession of 2008 as a result of which many checks have been put to place so as to optimize the benefits for citizens and legal immigrants only. Theme: Inter-professional Practice “Consider Fergusons health-care disparities” (Stroh, Collier, and Fairman, 2015) Healthcare is a vital facility provided by governments to its citizens. In the US, healthcare sector accounts for a large percentage of the government expenditure. While many issues surrounding the allocation of economic resource to the healthcare sector is often discussed, many ignore racial disparities in the rendering of healthcare services. Because of health and wellness are fundamental to all human beings, such disparities based on ethnic or racial grounds are invalid. As such inter-professional assessment provides a way for communities to improve their health and wellbeing as well as their quality of life. Inter-professional assessment can also be beneficial in strengthening the local community with better education and quality of life so that the standard of living increases thereby requiring lesser healthcare services. Inter-professional healthcare is a concept which allows collaborative efforts in order to give healthcare services to an individual. It allows different caregivers to work on a patient so that it can work smoothly in communities to provide services for those in need of care. This can mitigate disparities in healthcare as it allows caregivers to work closely with the community. The implication is that inter-professional assessment can serve to improve the quality of life among communities. However inter-professional assessment can also provide many barriers and limitations especially within the organization and among team members. The involvement of many caregivers can limit traditional caregivers who normally assume responsibility of healthcare service. This can come in the way of care giving as inter-professional care involves many caregivers. Team dynamics and performance can also be affected. With regards to disparities in the providence of healthcare services, a social action intervention plan can involve providence of accessible care to the people. This could ensure that high quality healthcare service is provided to people of all races. Betterment in healthcare services will be reflected by the drop in infant mortality rates. Furthermore, there should be an increase in the budget for healthcare institutions located in multi-ethnic areas so that more relief can be provided to the people from different socio-economic backgrounds. This will ensure that people from all sorts of backgrounds have access to quality healthcare. In addition to resulting in a better quality of life, this will also help reduce the racial disparity in the providence of healthcare services. An important factor for disparity in healthcare also comes from the fact that many people residing in multi-ethnic areas are low-income households. Poverty coupled with other social issues prevents accessibility to high quality care and equality in the providence of care. In this case, inter-professional care giving can work to empower local communities. Because the caregivers will work closely with the community, this will help reduce disparities and it will foster an environment of equality. Furthermore, this will result in a better quality of healthcare. Hence, this will lead to a drop in socio-economic motivated disparities in care. References American Immigration Council Immigration Policy Center,. (2014). How the United States Immigration System Works: A Fact Sheet. Retrieved 9 January 2015, from http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/how-united-states-immigration-system-works-fact-sheet disparities, E., Collier, T., & Fairman, J. (2015). Consider Fergusons health-care disparities. Philly. Retrieved 9 January 2015, from http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20150104_Consider_Ferguson_s_health-care_disparities.html Reisert, J. (2015). Conflicting marijuana laws make a case for finding solution in federalism - Central Maine. Central Maine. Retrieved 9 January 2015, from https://www.centralmaine.com/2015/01/09/conflicting-marijuana-laws-make-a-case-for-finding-solution-in-federalism/ Read More