Social workDiscussion postSocial policy

Policy analysis and application: the case of Rita

The prompt asks for one policy change and a way to evaluate whether it worked. Both halves have to name something specific in Rita's case, and the evaluation half is where most posts stop being concrete.

Aug 15, 2026

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 15, 2026

Written by

Aaron Bishop

MA, Education

assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines

Reviewed by

Dr. Nathan Cole

PhD, Rhetoric & Composition

Argumentation and thesis development

On this page

Interpret the task
Assignment instructions
Deliverables
Proposed outline
Research plan
Reference shortlist
Final review

Section 6.04 makes this a policy question, not a practice one

Read the level this question is pitched at. The NASW standard it cites, section 6.04, is about social and political action — the obligation to work for policies that support healthy development, guarantee access and promote justice. That places the assignment above the level of Rita's individual treatment plan, and a post that recommends more counselling sessions or a trauma-informed approach has answered a clinical question the prompt did not ask. The change must be to a policy that affects the client, which means something written down somewhere that could be altered: an agency rule, a reporting requirement, an eligibility criterion, a funding condition, a statutory time limit. Naming the level explicitly at the start of the post is worth doing, because it demonstrates that you noticed what section 6.04 is about rather than treating the citation as decoration, which is how most posts use it.

Rita's case supplies an obvious candidate, and the prompt requires you to reference the case you selected, so use it. The ninety-day window after which her forensic evidence kit would be destroyed is a policy, it is jurisdictional, it varies enormously across states, and it interacts directly with the clinical reality that shame and fear of family judgement delay disclosure for months. A survivor who is not ready to report inside ninety days loses the evidence permanently, which is a policy actively working against the recovery process. Extending or eliminating that limit is a concrete, arguable change. Then answer the evaluation half properly: name what you would measure — reporting rates within and beyond the window, kits retained, prosecutions initiated, survivors re-engaging later — over what period, and against what baseline, because an unevaluable proposal is the most common way this assignment loses marks, and the easiest one to avoid once you know it is coming.

Likely learning objectives

Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.

01
Distinguish a policy-level intervention from a clinical one, as NASW section 6.04 requires.
02
Ground a proposed policy change in the specific facts of an assigned case.
03
Specify an evaluation design with named measures, a baseline and a time frame.

Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Discussion 1 Policy Analysis and Application Discussion 1: Policy Analysis and Application According to the NASW Code of Ethics section 6.04 (NASW, 2008), social workers are ethically bound to work for policies that support the healthy development of individuals, guarantee equal access to services, and promote social and economic justice. For this Discussion, review this week’s resources, including Working with Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Trauma: The Case of Rita. Consider what change you might make to the policies that affect the client in your case. Finally, think about how you might evaluate the success of the policy changes. · Post an explanation of one change you might make to the policies that affect the client in the case. Be sure to reference the case you selected in your post. · Finally, explain how you might evaluate the success of the policy changes. Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references. References: Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore: MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader]. “Working With Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Trauma: The Case of Rita” (pp. 81–83) Rome, S., Harris, S., & Hoechstetter, S. (2010). Social work and civic engagement: The political participation of professional social workers. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 37(3), 107–129. Working With Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Trauma: The Case of Rita Discussion 1 Policy Analysis and Application Rita is a 22-year-old, heterosexual, Latina female working in the hospitality industry at a resort. She is the youngest of five children and lives at home with her parents. Rita has dated in the past but never developed a serious relationship. She is close to her immediate and extended family as well as to her female friends in the Latino community. Although her parents and three of her siblings were born in the Dominican Republic, Rita was born in the United States. A year ago, Rita was sexually assaulted by an acquaintance of a male coworker. Rita and a female coworker met Juan and Bob after work at a local bar for a light meal and a few drinks. Because Rita had to get up early to work her shift the next day, Bob offered to drive her home. Instead of taking Rita directly home, however, he drove to a desolate spot nearby and assaulted her. Afterward, Bob threatened to harm her family if she did not remain silent and proceeded to drive her home. Although Rita did not tell her family what happened, she did call our agency hotline the next day to discuss her options. Because Rita’s assault occurred within the 5-day window for forensic evidence collection of this kind, Rita consented to activation of the county’s sexual assault response team (SART). Although she agreed to have an advocate and the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) meet her at the hospital, Rita tearfully stated that she did not want to file a police report at that time because she did not want to upset her family. The nurse examiner interviewed Rita, collected evidence, recorded any injuries, administered antibiotics for possible sexually transmitted infections, and gave Rita emergency contraception in case of pregnancy. The advocate stayed with Rita during the procedure, supporting her and validating her experience, and gave her a referral for individual crisis counseling at our agency. My treatment goals for Rita included alleviation of rape trauma syndrome symptoms that included shame and self-blame, validation of self-worth and empowerment, and processing how it would feel to disclose to others when the time felt right. In addition, Rita would receive important information regarding state policy and procedure for victims of sexual assault that would assist her in deciding when and how to report the crime if she chose to do so. My treatment involved crisis intervention and stabilization along with emotional support and validation surrounding her experience. Managing her trauma and acute stress symptoms were key to her recovery. Those symptoms included guilt, shame, emotional shock, powerlessness, anxiety, fear, anger, and doubting her judgment. We processed Rita’s emotional dysregulation and sense of outrage over what happened. Over the weeks that followed, we also explored Rita’s relationship to her immediate and extended family and how they had high expectations for her and her future. Rita’s shame over the assault prevented her from telling her family for fear they would also be shamed and judge her for accepting a ride from someone she did not know well. We discussed the policy for reporting a sexual assault to the police in our state and how Rita only had a 90-day window to report the crime after her forensic evidence was obtained. After 90 days, the forensic kit would be destroyed. Discussion 1: Policy Analysis and Application

Course-wide instructions that accompany this question

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation Hi Class, Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts. Contact me if you have any questions. Important information on Writing a Discussion Question Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references) There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article. Include in-text citations in your response Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information Follow APA-7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week. Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references) Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count. Follow APA 7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points. Here are some helpful links Student paper example Citing Sources The Writing Center is a great resource Welcome to class Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to. I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you. Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted. If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations. Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements. Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week. I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Turn the brief into deliverables

01
An initial post proposing one specific policy change.
02
Explicit reference to the case you selected, as the prompt requires.
03
An evaluation plan naming measures, baseline and period.
04
Full APA citations to the assigned resources.

From the case of Rita to a measurable policy change

Locate the question at policy level

State what NASW 6.04 obliges and why that rules out a purely clinical recommendation.

Identify the policy in the case

Name a specific written rule affecting Rita — the forensic evidence retention window is the strongest candidate.

Propose the change and justify it

State the alteration and connect it to the clinical reality of delayed disclosure.

Design the evaluation

Name outcome measures, a baseline, a time frame and a comparison group or jurisdiction.

Acknowledge a trade-off

Note a cost of the change — storage capacity, chain-of-custody burden, resourcing — and how you would weigh it.

Reading the NASW standard the prompt cites

Recommended databases

NASW Code of Ethics
Your week's assigned resources, including the Rita case
RAINN
Social Work Abstracts
National Conference of State Legislatures

Search sequence

1.
Read NASW 6.04 in the code itself, since the whole framing of the post depends on what it actually obliges.
2.
Use the assigned case document for the facts; the prompt requires the case to be referenced by name.
3.
Check the retention rules in a couple of states — the variation is the evidence that this is a policy choice rather than a necessity.
4.
Look for evaluation studies of a similar policy change, which will give you defensible measures rather than invented ones.

Reference shortlist

These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.

Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.

01
Code of Ethics
National Association of Social Workers · 2021
Section 6.04 is the standard the prompt cites by number, and reading it directly is what lets the post argue from the duty rather than paraphrase it.
02
The Criminal Justice System: Statistics
RAINN · 2024
Attrition figures for reported sexual assault, which turn the policy critique in the Rita case from an impression into a measured pattern.
03
About Adverse Childhood Experiences
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · 2024
The public-health framing of cumulative adversity, useful wherever a case asks you to connect an individual's history to a population-level pattern.
04
Definition of Research Misconduct
Office of Research Integrity, US Department of Health and Human Services · 2024
A model of how a field states a rule and the standard of evidence behind it, useful for framing the evaluation section.

Review before submission

Common mistakes

Proposing a clinical or programme change when the standard cited is about policy.
Writing about sexual assault policy in general without referencing the assigned case.
Ending on 'evaluate outcomes' without naming a measure or a comparison.
Citing only outside sources when the prompt asks for the week's resources specifically.

Submission checklist

Is your proposed change to a policy rather than to a treatment plan?
Does the post name the case and use its facts?
Does the evaluation specify what is measured, against what, and over how long?
Are the assigned resources cited in full APA format?

Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.