The purpose of this assignment is to develop a policy advocacy background document that orients contemporary stakeholders to a specific social problem or issue so that they can better address it.   You need to do the following:

1. Identify a social problem or issue (e.g., racial injustice, discrimination faced by those with disability, homelessness, poverty among women or children, etc.) that is of interest to you;
2. Present the history of the issue, that is, describe how the issue or problem has evolved over the years (nationally and, if needed, statewide);

Describe how widespread the issue or problem is, whom it effects directly and indirectly, and where it geographically exists, along with trends in its size and composition through time (for this you can interview a stakeholder who is knowledgeable about the issue, use the census or other secondary data-contact some state agencies for state data and federal websites for federal data);

1. Identify a policy trail so that contemporary stakeholders understand what prior efforts have been made to address it—at different levels of government and in the private and public sectors—and in different locations, such as, such as in several states or urban areas; identify how public official and residents have viewed the social policy or issue, as well as their prior attempts to address or resolve it—including ideological, partisan, and other cleavages that have surfaced as the policy trail has evolved;
2. Identify a promising policy option that might currently be considered in terms of its merit in addressing the social problem or issue, as well as its political feasibility.  Scholarly quality of references is stressed.