The implications of contemporary international, national, state and local social welfare policies for community practice will be an ongoing focus of the course. Professional social work's past and current involvement in influencing and shaping policy within communities will be described and evaluated. Students will discuss the vulnerability of marginalized communities, with respect to age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual, and gender identity. The role of economic forces and events in influencing public perceptions and decisions about a community’s welfare will be an ongoing dimension of this course.