Research Guides: Social Work: Policy Research

Finding Legislation and Regulations

Congress.gov
From The Library of Congress. Overview of how laws are made. Includes a congressional glossary.
Congress.gov Legislative Glossary
Brief explanations of legislative terms used throughout Congress.gov.
FindLaw
Access to the United States Code, the compilation of public laws currently in effect.
Congressional Research Service
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation.
Virginia General Assembly
Search for bills, public acts, and statutes. Includes legislative glossary.
Virginia Law Library
The Virginia Law Portal is a public website that makes the laws of Virginia easier to search, navigate, and find. You can search across all of Virginia Law to find the information they want, without having to know where the information resides.
VA Legislative Information System
The history of a bill (1994– ) can be tracked via the Legislative Information System. It provides the status of bills and related information such as a summary of the bill, names of patrons, reading dates, vote counts, amendments, and committee referrals.

Finding Articles on Social Policy

Public Administration Abstracts
Covers public administration theory and methods, administration and economy, administration and politics, administration and society, administrative structures and organization, public and social services, and public service personnel.
PAIS Index
The PAIS Archive includes carefully selected resources to help users identify and locate information about significant political, economic, social and cultural issues affecting international and local communities, countries, governments and society. Its broad topical scope and retrospective coverage complement more specialized databases that cover the social sciences and many other disciplines, providing historical perspective on many of the 20th century's public and social policies
Social Services Abstracts
Bibliographic coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. Abstracts and indexes serials, journal articles, dissertations, and more.

Finding News About Legislation or Policy

Access World News
Also known as NewsBank, provides access to major national and international newspapers, local and regional titles, blogs, and more. Historical and current content, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch archive from 1903 to present.
Newspaper Source Plus
Full text for major national and international newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Times (London). Also includes full-text radio and television news transcripts.

Selected Advocacy Groups, Organizations, and Policy Institutes

Searching Think Tank Publications
Harvard's Kennedy School provides a Google custom search that will search Web publications from a large number of 'think tanks'. Enter your search term(s) in the box as in any Google search. The organization names are links to the respective Web sites.
American Policy Directory
Browse think tanks and advocacy groups by topic.
Urban Institute
Urban Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization that explores issues related to low-income and minority Americans.
Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. They conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. They do not take policy positions.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Includes reports to assist public- and private-sector organizations in their efforts to improve the quality of health care in the United States. These reports provide comprehensive, science-based information on common, costly medical conditions and new health care technologies and strategies.
American Public Health Association Policy Statements
Compiled by the American Public Health Association (APHA), this database contains APHA policy statements on key public health issues dating back to 1948.
Social Work Policy Institute
The Social Work Policy Institute (SWPI) is a think tank established within the NASW Foundation. It examines issues that relate to the work of social workers, including how to serve people who have multiple or complex needs and how public agencies and other structures deliver health and human services.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
SAMHSA's Evidence Based Practice (EBP) Resource Center aims to provide information and tools to incorporate evidence-based practices into communities or clinical settings. The Resource Center contains a collection of scientifically-based resources for a broad range of audiences, including Treatment Improvement Protocols, toolkits, resource guides, clinical practice guidelines, and other science-based resources.

Social Work

Statistics and Data

Citing Legislation

Helpful Publication to Check Out!

Struggling to find a bill to start with?

Finding Legislation and Regulations

Finding Articles on Social Policy

Finding News About Legislation or Policy

Selected Advocacy Groups, Organizations, and Policy Institutes