Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice
Advanced generalist practitioners in rural settings understand that human rights and social justice, as well as social welfare and services, are mediated by policy and its implementation at the federal, state, and local levels. Advanced generalist practitioners understand the history and current structure of social policies and services, the role of policy in service delivery, and the role of practice in policy development. Advanced generalist practitioners understand their leadership role in policy development and implementation within their practice settings at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels and they actively engage in policy practice to effect change within those settings. Advanced generalist practitioners recognize and understand the historical, social, cultural, economic, organizational, environmental, and global influences that affect social policy. They are also knowledgeable about policy formulation, analysis, implementation, and evaluation. Advanced generalist practitioners provide leadership and support natural leaders present in advocating for policies advantageous to rural areas. Advanced generalist practitioners:
- Use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare polices affect the delivery of and access to support services in rural areas; and
- Apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice in rural settings.
Competency #5 In Practice
As a social worker, I want to serve clients and communities on both micro and macro levels. Therefore, I will stay current on new policies affecting the populations I work with and advocate for state and federal legislation changes. This can look like staying up to date on gun violence statistics and legislation in Tennessee, advocating for policies that promote safety on a state level. I am also committed to knowing what my agency’s eligibility for services policies are and advocating for equity and inclusion on an agency level.
5.1 Advocate with and inform stakeholders to impact policy change
Evidence: Court Letter This evidence is a court letter I wrote for a client presenting with a primary referral issue of truancy. There were a lot of other referral issues as well, and the youth had gotten into it at school and also demonstrated suicidal ideation, poor academic performance, and had been exposed to trauma and toxic stress in his family home through domestic violence. This letter demonstrates how I summarized the family’s issues and focused on the positive and the progress they had made to help the family make a positive impression in court. By professionally advocating for this family, I focused on helping the family welfare system in Bradley County support this family through services to reduce truancy instead of just increasing consequences for this family.
Another way I advocated for this family was with our own Youth Villages regional director for the Intercept program. This mother had a less rigid concept of time culturally than other families I have worked with. She prided herself on her ability to flip from one schedule to another after working the third shift for much of her life. This permeated the family culture and viewed commitments as not as necessary as our program considered session attendance. This led to a lot of me rescheduling sessions with the client and their family due to them not being there or other unforeseen circumstances that would arise. Although this was frustrating for me at times, I used self-regulation and professional consultation to deal with my frustration and instead pressed forward in the best interest of the family and advocated with the director for continued services until the end of their treatment cycle. This was important as there were several issues within the family that still needed to be resolved, including the mom’s mental health issues and basic needs for resources such as food, clothes, and transportation. And continued safety around domestic violence. Although this case was messy at times, I am proud of standing up for this family in court through written and verbal advocacy, standing up for them in treatment meetings and conversations with my supervisors. By persisting in providing their services despite difficulties, I impacted policies that would have affected this family in the Bradley County Court system and through Youth Villages services.
5.2 Develop and implement a policy and/or advocacy plan
Evidence: In this Advocacy Portfolio, you can see the portfolio my classmates and I developed and implemented a comprehensive plan to advocate for introducing House Bill 0380 and Senate Bill 0017 firearm and ammunition bill. This bill was created with the intent to combat gun violence through multifaceted intervention programs, including youth employment initiatives and safety programs training for health personnel in gun safety conversations and conflict resolution programs in the State of Tennessee. In this advocacy portfolio, we discussed the theoretical framework for researching the issue and a literature review on gun violence in the United States, specifically in Tennessee, and different approaches that have proved effective in combating this issue. We also illustrate a brand for a campaign to start a grassroots movement to reintroduce this bill, map support with legislators, and create coalition plans. The bulk of this plan is through a comprehensive media and advocacy campaign, the newspaper, social media, radio letters to legislators, and conversations. To develop this comprehensive advocacy plan, I demonstrate the ability to create and implement an advocacy plan to change the State, affecting all Tennessee residents.