Library Guides: SWK 3150: Social Welfare Policies and Institutions: Where to Search

Finding Bills

Learn search tips for Congress.gov in their 2-minute tips video.

Illinois General Assembly Bills
This link shows legislation that has been introduced in the current session of Illinois Congress but has not yet become law.
To see current laws, look under "Public Acts."
Wisconsin State Legislature
Select 'Law and Legislation' on the right-hand side of the page to find search tools.
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
This searchable bill-tracking database covers bills from all 50 states. NCSL also organizes collections of bills on hot topics.
Open States
This organization aggregates legislative information from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Explore policy and social justice issues relevant to social work on professional organizations' websites.

Congressional Research Service Reports
Congressional Research Service is a nonpartisan branch of the Library of Congress that provides research services to Congress, including summaries of legislation.
Congressional Budget Office
Nonpartisan budget analysis and cost estimates for U.S. Congress
GovInfo
Free public access to official government publications.
C-Span Congressional Chronicle
This is a comprehensive recording of United States Congress proceedings.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO)
This legislative branch government agency provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the United States Congress. You may find reports about legislation and relevant issues here.

ThinkTanks
This is a list of policy institutes, more commonly referred to as "thinktanks," which can be good sources of policy research.

There are a few ways to conduct more effective Google searches. Use these in addition to your search terms.

1. Use the limiter site: to filter for websites that end in a specific domain.

Examples

2. Use the same limiter to search a specific website. This can be more effective than using the search feature on a website.

Examples

3. Use the limiter filetype: to search for specific types of material.

Example