Topic: My proposal will focus on the Texas Child Protective Services issue and how our government is trying to resolve the problem that we have today. Also, the goals our government in Texas have for Child Protective Service. Some of the issue that CPS face are death toll while in the care of the state, how CPS not following the 14th the amendment and what is our legislation is doing to help the issue.

Introduction: This activity is an opportunity for you to closely examine a contemporary policy issue facing the state of Texas. Over its history, Texas has faced many problems and issues. As we learn through the semester, Texas has a unique culture, constitution, and government. You will choose a problem or issue of importance to you and address how the Texas government is currently handling the issue as well as how they could do something different or better. Large areas of policy examples include transportation policy, education policy, environmental policy, social welfare policy and many others issues. Select one of personal interest and objectively outline the nature of the problem. This will allow you to work towards finding a solution. Take into consideration constitutional disputes/constraints as well as political, economic and cultural influences. Look at the history underlying the problem, how it is being addressed within the governing institutions, and how you think the issue may be resolved, assuming that is possible. Step 1: Identify the issue and how the Texas government has been (and is currently) addressing it (historical perspective). Step 2: Gather a minimum of three scholarly research articles and additional news/current events relevant to the topic. Step 3: Find at least three high-quality reference materials (peer-reviewed articles published in an academic journal) using the following criteria: • The article must be no more than ten years old, a minimum of five pages in length, and should meet the standards of college level material. • Carefully choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic. • For current events information relevant to your topic, you may use newspaper articles, magazine articles, and items of the like as "supplemental sources" in addition to the minimum 3 main sources. • Textbooks, Dictionaries, Encyclopedias (including Wikipedia), Almanacs, or an Atlas are reference materials and should not be listed in any works cited page on the collegiate level. • Properly document your sources in your analysis and on a works cited page. Step 3a: Submit a proposal to the Texas Policy Analysis Proposal drop box by the date specified in the course calendar. Identify your topic and present a bibliography listing the 3 primary sources. This portion of the assignment is worth 50 points. If it is not submitted, the activity will be considered incomplete. There is a sample proposal on D2L. Step 3b: Once approved, you will demonstrate that you have read your three scholarly sources and you understand the information therein. This will be an in-class assignment. Step 4: Prepare a formal policy analysis that is a minimum of 1000 words (excluding cited text), which includes a discussion of the following: • A statement of the current policy problem • Reasons for initiating changes (why isn’t this policy working?) • Policy options to be considered (what do the experts propose to fix the problem?) • Pros and cons of each option (of those solutions, what are the costs and the benefits to each?) • A recommended course of action (which of the solutions is most reasonable to you?) • The reasoning for selecting that course of action (why do the benefits outweigh the costs? • Ways that you (and classmates) could play a role in the improvement of the policy (find local organizations, lawmakers to contact, non-profits at which to volunteer time etc.) You will submit this final paper to the Texas Policy Analysis drop box on D2L. NOTE: Procrastination on this project has resulted in many students, who were otherwise passing, having to fail and repeat the course. General Guidelines for Term Paper Your term paper submission must comply with the following requirements to be considered a completed work (incomplete items will receive a zero). Please read these requirements carefully: • The formatting requirements for the term paper are typed / word processed, double-spaced, size 12 font, Arial or Times New Roman script, 1-inch margins (default setting), and a limited number of grammatical errors. • The term paper is to have a cover page with the following information: Your name, course and section number, the semester of enrollment, a word count and a title indicating the topic of your essay. The word count should reflect your own work (do not include citations, quotes, cover pages, or a bibliography). • Each student is expected to utilize at least 3 scholarly sources (peer-reviewed articles from academic journals) for the writing assignment. We will have a library session on how to find these kinds of sources. For current events related information, use a newspaper, news magazine, news website, a court case or an actual law. The course textbook, Wikipedia, internet search engines, blogs and similar items are examples of unacceptable research sources on the collegiate level. • Failure to identify sources is plagiarism. Provide the full MLA citation for all outside sources. All references are to be documented within the body of the assignment and on a works cited page. • Only your own words will count toward the writing requirements. The writing assignments are intended to assess your comprehension of the material. • This essay is expected to meet college-level writing requirements; all answers are to be in essay format and the expectation is for each student to engage the topics using critical analysis. Please do not attempt to provide simplified or elementary answers if you wish to earn credit for your work. Take the time to fully explain your ideas and demonstrate the depth of your understanding to earn the grade you want. • Do not use first person tones in research writing assignments. Writing prompts are designed to help you think about the topic, not to generate a direct response. First person tone is inappropriate in a college essay but may be used in class activities. • There is no credit for partial work. The minimum writing expectation for each assignment or activity must be satisfied to earn a grade. Incomplete assignments will receive a zero. • The term paper is to be submitted as one electronic file to the appropriately titled online dropbox. Again, all pages of the assignment (cover page, body text, and works cited) are to be submitted together. Additional assignments may be required through drop boxes online as well. Assignments submitted online must be in one of the following file formats: doc or pdf. Other document formats are unacceptable and will be rejected by the dropbox.