The Congressional Policy Practice Internship: Engaging Students in Federal Policymaking

Overview: As the signature pedagogy, field education plays a pivotal role in preparing social work students for competent policy practice. Unfortunately, opportunities for students to engage in federal-level policy practice are minimal. This workshop provides collaborative strategies for engaging social work students in Congressional bill development and advocacy.Proposal text: The readiness of social workers to engage in policy practice as an integral component of their professional roles begins during their social work education. The Council on Social Work Education (2015) includes policy practice as one of nine core competencies expected of social work graduates. Unfortunately, opportunities for students to engage in applied policy practice within field are minimal. Dickinson (2007) found that only 33% of the 171 BSW programs surveyed had policy practice placements. Similarly, in a survey of field directors at 225 social work programs, Pritzker and Lane (2014) found that 11% of BSW students, 8% of MSW foundation students, and 16% of MSW advanced standing students were enrolled in macro-oriented placements, including policy and political social work placements. In a thorough review of the literature, Weiss-Gal (2016) found a continuing need for experiential learning in policy. As the signature pedagogy within social work education, field provides the ideal opportunity for this experiential learning through applied policy practice.

While policy practice field placements, in general, can be challenging to attain, placements that address federal policy-making pose additional challenges. Pritzker & Lane (2014) report that the lack of qualified MSW supervision, a lack of knowledge as to how to develop policy practice placements, perceived risks associated with student engagement in political activities, and a lack of student interest in such placements are barriers to policy placements at all levels. These barriers are further compounded by deep partisan divides as well as the increased distance, both geographically and relationally, of field education programs from Congressional members and their staff. Field educators, already concerned about risks of placements that are seen as too political, might be less likely to place students in Congressional offices, in which political divides may frequently obscure understanding of federal policy and policy-making processes. Furthermore, while all Congressional members maintain offices in their districts, staff responsible for working on policy are often located in the member’s DC offices. This distance means that social work educators may be less familiar with these staff, and may lack direct contacts through which to secure placements.

This workshop provides training on how social work students can engage in policy practice at the federal level and will present strategies for creating Congressional policy practice placements. The workshop begins with an overview of the Congressional Policy Practice Internship (CPPI), a collaborative project involving students at three Universities on both the East and West coasts. Through this project, students were assigned bill topics on which to work as well as Congressional staff with whom to liaison on these bills. CPPI provided training, supervision, and guidance to students as they worked on the bills. Finally, the presenters will provide practical strategies and tools for connecting with Congressional offices to develop policy practice placements, including: strategies for working relationships with Congressional staff; supervision strategies; and policy practice tools such as Congressional matrices and white papers.