Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2018
Capstone Advisor
Kathleen Feyh
Capstone Major
Communication and Rhetorical Studies
Capstone College
Visual and Performing Arts
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Social Sciences
Subject Categories
Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Speech and Rhetorical Studies
Abstract
America’s foster care system faces a myriad of issues that social workers and politicians alike attempt to change and fix. By analyzing the rhetoric social workers and politicians use when discussing foster care issues and reforms, one can come to an understanding of each group’s perspective on the given issue or reform measure. This study takes that analysis a step further by comparing the rhetoric of social workers and politicians to one another and drawing conclusions about the communication relationship between the two groups. The state of the communication relationship is judged by how closely related each group’s perspective on a given foster care issue is. This communication relationship is then compared to the foster care reform measures pursued within each state. The three states used as case studies within this analysis are California, New York, and Georgia. By analyzing communication relationships in comparison to reform measures pursued within each of these three states, the study finds that a strong communication relationship correlates to successful foster care reform measures in a given state, whereas weak communication relationships correlate to unsuccessful foster care reform measures. From this correlation, the study concludes that states may be able to improve the success of their foster care reform legislation by building a stronger communication relationship between state social workers and state politicians.
Recommended Citation
Gleason, Hannah, "Foster Care Reform Rhetoric: How Communication Relates to Action" (2018). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 1229.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/1229
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
