| Course | MSW 506 Policy I: Social Welfare and Social Policy |
|---|---|
| Week | 6 |
| Paper type | Advocacy letter |
| Length | About 460 words, 4 pages |
| Format | Memo with APA 7 citations |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 506 Week 6
Memorandum
To: Legislative assistant for Social Security and disability, office of a U.S. senator for our state
From: MSW student and intern, county disability services agency
Date: November 2, 2026
Re: Request to cosponsor S. 1234, the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act
Who Is Writing
I am a master's social work intern at our county's disability services agency, where I help residents who receive Supplemental Security Income keep their benefits and housing. I live and vote in the senator's state.
The Bill
S. 1234, the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, introduced April 1, 2025, and referred to the Committee on Finance. It would lift the savings ceiling for one person to $10,000, up from $2,000, and for a couple to $20,000, with both figures adjusted each year for inflation (SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, 2025).
One Argument
The $2,000 limit has not changed since 1989, so it now punishes ordinary prudence. A resident I work with, whom I will call A.M., put aside earnings from a part-time phone job to buy a secondhand van fitted with a wheelchair lift. When the balance passed the limit by a few hundred dollars on the first of a month, A.M. lost that month's benefit, received a bill for the overpayment and spent the savings on rent to get back under the limit. The van is still out of reach. The rule did not protect public money; it turned a careful plan into a debt. Social workers are asked to advocate for policies that widen the choices open to the people they serve (National Association of Social Workers, 2021), and this bill does that at modest scale.
A.M. is not unusual. Many people on SSI live one emergency from losing the small cushion that keeps them housed, and the rule forbids that cushion.
Why This Matters to the Senator's Constituents
Every county in our state has SSI recipients who face the same choice between saving and staying eligible. The bill has sponsors from both parties, which suggests it can move without becoming a partisan vote.
Raising the limit would not change who qualifies for SSI or how much it pays each month; it would let people already eligible keep a modest reserve. It would also save the Social Security Administration the work of issuing and collecting overpayments for small balances, work that falls on field offices already stretched.
The Ask
Will the senator cosponsor S. 1234 and support it if it comes before the Committee on Finance?
A Route to Reply
I would welcome a reply by email or a short call with your office. I can also share a one-page summary of how the limit affects residents our agency serves, with all identifying details removed.
References
National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, S. 1234, 119th Cong. (2025). https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1234
What the MSW 506 Week 6 assignment asks for
Discussion in the sixth week often turns to current legislation. Write a letter to somebody with a vote, not a research summary. Identify yourself in a line that shows why you are worth reading, usually as a social worker or intern in a named district. Name the bill or measure precisely, since a letter about an issue gives an office nothing to file. Carry one argument, supported by evidence and by a de-identified account of what the policy does to someone you have seen. Put the request in its own sentence. Close by offering a route to respond. Keep it to about one page and make a single request. Mentioning a client is persuasive if no identifying detail remains.
Inside the MSW 506 Week 6 example
The opening introduces the writer as a master's social work intern at a county disability services agency and a voter in the senator's state. The bill section names S. 1234, its April 1, 2025 introduction, its referral to the Finance Committee and the limits it would set. The argument rests on one fact, a limit fixed since 1989, and one account: A.M. saved toward a van with a lift, crossed the line at $2,310, lost a month's benefit, received an overpayment notice and spent the savings on rent. A short section notes that the bill has sponsors from both parties. The ask asks the senator to cosponsor and to support the bill in committee. The close offers email, a call and a de-identified summary.
Reading the MSW 506 Week 6 grading rubric
Advocacy letters are graded first on the ask: one specific action, stated plainly in its own sentence. A letter that discusses an issue without naming a bill or vote earns little. The writer's identification is weighed next, because it decides whether the office reads on. Faculty reward one argument backed by evidence and a de-identified case over a page of statistics. Tone matters: letters that lecture are marked down. A route to reply completes the core. Length is assessed, since a letter longer than a page is unlikely to be read. Any figures should be sourced, and references should follow APA form.
Common MSW 506 Week 6 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Advocacy letters commonly read like a short research paper, with a literature summary and no request. Another frequent gap is a request buried in the last paragraph or split into several asks. Some letters also describe a client in enough detail to identify them. If your bill or audience is different, such as a state representative or a city council member, send the measure, the office and the case you want to use; we would identify you, name the measure, make one argument with a de-identified account, state the ask in one sentence and close with a route for reply. If your section requires a specific letter format, it would be followed.
Get a MSW-506 Week 6 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 6 instructions and the measure your section assigned, and a custom example is written as a letter to that recipient and returned inside 24 to 48 hours. The first one is free. Whether you send anything to a real office remains your decision.
More MSW 506 papers and MSW samples
- MSW 506 Week 1: Poor Law Feature Today Post
- MSW 506 Week 2: Social Security Act History Analysis
- MSW 506 Week 3: Welfare Reform Policy Analysis
- MSW 506 Week 4: SSI One Page Policy Brief
- MSW 506 Week 5: SSI Savings Bill Legislative Analysis
- MSW 506 Week 7: Policy Advocacy Plan
- MSW 506 Week 8: Policy Reform Proposal
- MSW 505 Week 6: Family Treatment Plan
- MSW 504 Week 6: Developmental Stage Analysis
MSW 506 Week 6 questions, answered
Should the letter mention a client?
One short account helps more than statistics, provided nothing identifies anybody. Change the details that are distinctive rather than only the name, and keep it to what the argument needs. Where your placement has rules about writing publicly on matters touching its clients, those come first, and a composite drawn from several situations is usually the safer construction.
How long should an advocacy letter be?
One page, and shorter is generally better. Legislative offices sort correspondence quickly, and length is the commonest reason a well argued letter is skimmed rather than read. Where your section sets a limit, treat it as part of the assignment, because concision is the skill being taught rather than a formatting preference.
Can I make more than one request?
Better not. A letter with three asks is usually recorded as being about the first one and acted on for none. If several things matter, choose the one the recipient can actually deliver and mention the others as context. Instructors mark the single clear ask heavily, since it is what separates advocacy from commentary.
Where can I find a free MSW 506 Week 6 sample paper?
A complete MSW 506 Week 6 advocacy letter asking a senator to cosponsor the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act is on this page.
What does the MSW 506 Week 6 sample ask the senator to do?
Cosponsor S. 1234 and support it if it comes before the Senate Finance Committee, with an offer of a call and a de-identified summary.