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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Illiberalism: A Primer And Call To Action For Social Workers, Loring P. Jones, David Engstrom
Illiberalism: A Primer And Call To Action For Social Workers, Loring P. Jones, David Engstrom
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Liberal democracies had been ascendant in the post-World War II era. President Trump is part of a wave of nationalist, anti-immigrant politicians with autocratic tendencies who are challenging liberal democracy. The term given to the governing philosophy of these leaders is illiberalism. This paper is meant to be a primer on illiberalism for social workers, describing this ideology and the threat illiberalism poses for democracy, our social welfare system, and the interests of social work clients. We conclude with a discussion on what social workers can do to defend democracy in light of the historic mission to advance social …
It’S Like I Have An Advantage In All This: Experiences Of Advocacy By Parents Of Children With Disabilities From Professional Backgrounds, Sarah Taylor, Amy Conley Wright, Holly Pothier, Chellsee Hill, Meredith Rosenberg
It’S Like I Have An Advantage In All This: Experiences Of Advocacy By Parents Of Children With Disabilities From Professional Backgrounds, Sarah Taylor, Amy Conley Wright, Holly Pothier, Chellsee Hill, Meredith Rosenberg
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Supports and services for children with disabilities are not distributed equitably. There are disparities in access to and quality of services for children with disabilities from low-income and ethnic minority groups. There are likely many contributors to these disparities, but one factor may be barriers to access that require parents to advocate to obtain services for their children. This qualitative study explores advocacy experiences of parents of children with disabilities (n=40) who have a high level of education and/or professional achievement. Parents described relying heavily on their professional and educational backgrounds in advocacy, and some commented upon the “advantage” they …
Social Work In The Black Community: A Collective Response To Contemporary Unrest, Stephenie Howard
Social Work In The Black Community: A Collective Response To Contemporary Unrest, Stephenie Howard
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
The frequent outpour of civil unrest in the Black community in response to instances of social injustice is a manifestation of outrage and exhaustion with systems that perpetuate socioeconomic disparities and human rights violations in this community. Lessons learned from historical practices of social work in the Black community may enhance the potential of contemporary social workers to shepherd this social consciousness into sustained social change. Toward this goal, this paper will synthesize and juxtapose the parallel paths taken by early Black social workers and their majority counterparts. This paper will also identify strategies for integrating the legacy of early …
Social Work Advocacy: Professional Self-Interest And Social Justice, Mary Ellen Brown, Michelle M. Livermore, Annahita R. Ball
Social Work Advocacy: Professional Self-Interest And Social Justice, Mary Ellen Brown, Michelle M. Livermore, Annahita R. Ball
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
This study employed an analysis of the advocacy-related resources and materials available through the 50 NASW state chapter websites. Results revealed that a large number of states had no information about advocacy on their websites (42%). One third of the mission statements reviewed contained language indicating that advocacy was part of the chapter mission, while nearly as many included no content related to advocacy or social justice on their homepages. Nearly two thirds of the websites contained no resources, tools or links to help with advocacy practice, promotion or education. Thirteen advocacy themes emerged, which represented policy issues within the …
Social Work And Civic Engagement: The Political Participation Of Professional Social Workers, Sunny Harris Rome, Susan Hoechstetter
Social Work And Civic Engagement: The Political Participation Of Professional Social Workers, Sunny Harris Rome, Susan Hoechstetter
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
This article examines the involvement of practicing social workers in one type of civic engagement: the use of political processes to promote the public good. Based on a survey of 1,274 randomly selected members of NASW, this is the largest study to date examining the involvement of social workers in political action and policy advocacy. Findings suggest that approximately half of social workers demonstrate high levels of participation in the policy process. The authors analyze the frequency with which respondents engage in specific political and policy-related activities, and compare these results to those of other studies. They also examine respondents'attitudes …
Rethinking Social Work's Role In Public Assistance, Julie Cooper Altman, Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg
Rethinking Social Work's Role In Public Assistance, Julie Cooper Altman, Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
This article presents an argument for revisiting social work's relationship to public assistance in the wake of 10 years of welfare reform. Three case studies drawn from a mixed-method study of the quality of life of former TANF recipients illustrate the range, depth and complexity of the needs of persons while they are on the welfare rolls, transitioning off and living without cash relief. The article briefly traces the history of social work's commitment to and provision of social services for this population and argues that it may be time to revisit the profession's role in public assistance. In light …
Astroturf, Technology And The Future Of Community Mobilization: Implications For Nonprofit Theory, John Mcnutt, Katherine Boland
Astroturf, Technology And The Future Of Community Mobilization: Implications For Nonprofit Theory, John Mcnutt, Katherine Boland
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Nonprofit Organizations advocate for the poor, the disenfranchised and the oppressed. This process is thought to build social capital and civil society, while engendering the development of social skills and deliberation. In recent years, scholars have observed that nonprofit advocacy organizations have moved from membership associations to professionalized policy change organizations. Virtual advocacy will move the process farther afield. Astroturf, the creation of synthetic advocacy efforts, continues this process further. All of this has troubling implications for nonprofit organizations and nonprofit theory. This paper describes the astroturf phenomenon, reviews pertinent nonprofit theory and speculates on the impact of astroturf for …
Controlling The Levers Of Power: How Advocacy Organizations Affect The Regulation Writing Process, Richard Hoefer, Kristin Ferguson
Controlling The Levers Of Power: How Advocacy Organizations Affect The Regulation Writing Process, Richard Hoefer, Kristin Ferguson
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
The Federal regulation-writing process is vital to understanding how laws are translated into policy. This paper re-examines data on human services interest groups active in lobbying the executive branch to determine what factors influence their effectiveness. Building on findings from Hoefer (2000), structural equation modeling is used to re-analyze the original regression model of interest group effectiveness (IGE) on a sample of 127 Washington D.C.-based interest groups. Results indicate that some of the previous findings are not supported and an alternative model is proposed. A group's position, context and access to information and policymakers emerge as significant determinants of IGE. …