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of previous editions

“Social workers should advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and should promote social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice.” 

From the NASW Code of Ethics

From a review of the first edition:
“[Advocacy Practice for Social Justice’s] call to the social work profession to live up to its ethical commitment . . . is an important one which should be heeded by social work practitioners and educators.”

ADVOCACY PRACTICE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

Second Edition

Richard Hoefer, University of Texas at Arlington

Social justice is one of the six core values of the social work profession as defined in the NASW Code of Ethics. Professor Hoefer demonstrates that advocacy is a key tool in achieving social justice at all levels of practice, and he argues that social workers have an obligation not only to actively advocate but to empower others to do so as well. Using evidence-based information, anecdotes, case studies, and his own personal experiences, Professor Hoefer presents the ethical imperative for advocacy.

Advocacy Practice for Social Justice shows that rather than being an ancillary or subordinate practice within an existing social work practice, the process of advocating is composed of basic steps familiar to all social workers in generalist practice. Successful advocacy begins with establishing a relationship with the client, continues with the creation and implementation of a plan of action, and ends with short- and long-term evaluation. The author’s clear step-by-step design acts as a blueprint for advocacy that can be incorporated into any existing practice.

Features

• New! Material on working with the media and utilizing the Internet to organize advocacy
• New! Information on the new CSWE core competencies and how to meet these requirements
• New! Discussion questions and exercises for reflection or group discussion on specific issues of social justice advocacy relevant today
• New! Methods for moving beyond negotiation and persuasion techniques towards inclusive education to create a culture of advocacy
• The tools and techniques for advocating drawn from a variety of social science fields

Contents

Preface

1  The Unified Model of Advocacy Practice
            Defining Advocacy and Advocacy Practice
            The Broader Context for Advocacy Practice
            Conclusion

2  Social Justice and Advocacy Practice
            Advocacy in the National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics
            Social Justice in the NASW Code of Ethics
            Distributive Justice
            What Are Social Workers Trying to Accomplish with Advocacy?
            Examples of Ethical Issues in Advocacy Practice
            Conclusion

3  Getting Involved
            Why Are Some People Active in Politics?
            Are Social Workers Politically Active?
            Influencing the Factors That Lead to Getting Involved
            Conclusion

4  Understanding the Issue
            Step 1: Define the Issue
            Step 2: Decide Who Is Affected and How They Are Affected
            Step 3: Decide the Main Causes of the Issue
            Step 4: Generate Possible Solutions to the Issue
            Step 5: Review Proposed Solutions’ Impact on Social Justice
            Conclusion

5  Planning in Advocacy Practice
            Definition of Planning
            What Do You Want? Using Advocacy Mapping to Describe Your Agenda
            Who Can Get What You Want? Identifying Your Target
            When, Can, or Should You Act?
            Conclusion

6  Advocating through Education, Negotiation, and Persuasion
            Education
            Negotiation
            Persuasion
            Conclusion

7  Presenting Your Information Effectively
            Information
            Presenting the Information
            Working with the Media
            Conclusion

8  Evaluating Advocacy
            Observation Phase
            Judgment Phase
            Difficulties in Evaluation
            Conclusion

9  Ongoing Monitoring
            Differences in Advocacy between Legislative and Executive Branches
            Influencing the Regulation-Writing Process
            Influencing the Budgetary Process
            Influencing the Implementation Process
            Conclusion

10  Integrating Advocacy Practice into Your Social Work Practice
            The Progressive Era
            The Great Depression and the New Deal
            The 1960s: War on Poverty and the Great Society                        
            After the 1960s: Keeping Hope Alive
            Advocacy Practice in the Twenty-First Century
            Integrating Advocacy Practice into Your Social Work Practice

References
Index

About the Author

Richard Hoefer (MSW, University of Kansas; PhD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) is the Roy E. Dulak Professor for Community Research in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington. He has been at UTA since 1992, publishing frequently and teaching how to conduct advocacy, evaluate programs, and administer and manage nonprofit organizations. His goal is to provide information to assist nonprofit leaders and social workers in becoming better at their jobs. Professor Hoefer is an award-winning professor, a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education ,and the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action.