Social Work 139

1. Social Work 139 Seminar in Macro Practice

2. Social Work Is a Profession. • What is a profession?

3. Professions Have a Systematic Body of Knowledge. • This underlying body of knowledge cements everything together. • Most professionals within the profession agree with this theoretical base.

4. What is the underlying body of knowledge of social work?

5. Sociology • Biology • Psychology • Anthropology • The Social Systems Model

6. Professions Have Authority. Based upon their education and skills, professionals generally demand respect and are listened to.

7. Do social workers have authority?

8. Professionals Have Official Sanction of the Community to Do Their Job. • Professionals have specific domain over a certain area of practice. • Professionals are licensed. • Professionals generally have a large degree of autonomy to do their work.

9. Do social workers have autonomy? • What is autonomy? • Are social workers licensed? • What is the practice domain of social workers? • Do social workers have power? (Authority, knowledge, information, professional status)

10. Professionals Have Codes of Ethics Which Regulate Their Practice.

11. What is theNASW code of ethics?

12. NASW Code of Ethics • All people have inherent worth and dignity. These include gays and lesbians, people of color, women, people who were older, people with disabilities, immigrants, and people with low incomes. • There are human needs common to each individual yet each person is unique and different. • Society as a responsibility to provide opportunities for growth and development of each individual.

13. Professions have a professional Culture. • There are specific roles and status associated with a specific profession. • A profession usually has its own language.

14. The issue of the professionalism of social work impacts: • The number of available jobs and the prestige of those jobs; • The salaries paid for those jobs; • Social worker influence within organizations; • The power of social workers to advocate for their clients; • The authority of social work in relationship to professions such as doctors, nurses, physical therapists and other health providing professions.

15. Micro Macro What is macro social work practice?

16. Professionally directed intervention to bring about planned change in organizations and communities. • Macro practice falls into five major categories • Administration • Community organization • Social planning • Policy practice • Political social work Often these five areas overlap. For example, a community organizer may lobby for legislation that helps social workers or the people they serve

17. Administration • Activities in social welfare agencies that transform policy into concrete human services.

18. Community Organization • Activities which help groups of people within geographic and non spatial communities enhance their social well-being through planned collective action.

19. Social Planning • Managing social change in a rational, logical fashion. Planners write grant proposals, develop new programs, and make policy recommendations to government decision-makers.

20. Policy Practice • Social workers can analyze the content of policies, study the policy-making process, or lobby for legislation.

21. Political Action • A social worker may be employed by or volunteer for a political campaign. Social workers may also run for political office. For example, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) is a social worker. Social workers Debbie Stabenow and Barbara Mikulski serve in the U.S. Senate.

22. Many macro social work practitioners work as administrators.

23. Administrators Plan: • They identify the goals of the agency. • They prioritize the goals. • They look for money to achieve the goals. • They continually evaluate goal achievement.

24. Administrators Organize: • They decided how the organization will be physically structured. • They decide the location of different jobs and how one relates to another. • They decide how the information is going to flow through the organization.

25. Administrators: • Recruit workers for the agency. • Interview workers for the agency. • Hire workers for the agency. • Train workers for the agency. • Assure worker development and retraining.

26. Administrators Coordinate: • They make sure that the activities of an agency fit well together. • They make sure that the agency runs in the most cost-effective manner possible.

27. Administrators Report: • work accomplished to the funders, agency staff, Board of Directors and community; • the cost of running the agency and delivering programs.

28. Administrators Budget: • They address the potential cost of producing the service. • They compare the potential cost to the actual cost.

29. Administrators Supervise: • They provide leadership in accomplishing the job. • They assign work. • They train and build skills of the staff. • They evaluate the work performance of the staff.

30. Administrators Evaluate Programs: • They determine if the organization has accomplished what it set out to do. • They make sure that organization goals and objectives are as specific as possible. • They report their findings to funders, boards of directors and the community.

31. Community Organizers Fight for Social Justice to ensure that all people are treated fairly. According to the NASW Code of Ethics: Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully. Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.

32. Community Organizers do this by: • Conducting research on community needs. • Consulting with community residents, business owners, political decision-makers, service providers, and people who are members of oppressed groups. • Using strategies and tactics to help oppressed people gain power and acquire resources. • Strengthening relationships among community members. • Lobbying for legislation and engaging in politics.

33. Social Planners • Identify social problems. • Conduct research into community needs. • Consult with people who experience social problems as well as people who have the authority to make decisions and allocate resources. • Identify a number of alternative ways to address problems. • Choose the best plan based on available data and the preferences of the people with whom they consult. • Design programs and apply for funding. • Evaluate programs and services

34. Policy practitioners • Keep up with the news about current policies and policy makers. • Analyze legislation or develop new legislation. • Keep track of how new legislation moves through the legislative process. • Lobby for legislation or encourages others to lobby for legislation.

35. Lobbying can include • Testifying at public hearings about the impact of policies. • Conducting research on policy impacts or how people are affected by policies. Making sure other people have this information. • Talking to legislators, calling them, or sending faxes and emails about new or current policies; trying to influence their decisions. • Organizing protests or demonstrations to influence legislators.

36. Political social work can include: • Circulating petitions to put individuals or propositions on the ballot. • Raising funds for candidates • Voter registration and education • Going door-to-door or making phone calls to encourage others to vote (canvassing) • Working at a polling place on election day • Running a campaign. • Running for office

37. Other macro practice roles can include: • Advocate • Community Developer • Fundraiser • Program Coordinator • Program Manager • Research Analyst • Supervisor • Outreach Worker

38. Will you be a macro social work practitioner?

39. Do you think social workers should be political?