The arts and cultural institutions can be powerful resources for promoting the development of individuals and communities. Social work agencies and cultural institutions share similar goals at the individual and community levels, such as personal improvement, the creation of social bonds, expression of communal meaning, and economic growth. Studies on the use of arts in social work practice suggest that they can be powerful tools for intervention. These collaborations were essential to practice in the social settlements and in economic policies of the New Deal. Social work practice into the future can build upon this historical engagement.
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Article
Sadye L. M. Logan
Paul Hullman Ephross (1935–2017) served as professor for over two decades on the faculty of the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Social Work (UMB SSW). He retired in 2008. He was a popular, creative, and innovative teacher who excelled at experiential-based teaching. Through his research and scholarly publications he made a significant contribution to the knowledge base in the profession.
Article
Sadye L. M. Logan
Howard Gustafson (1916–1966) was a respected authority in the field of community organization. He was also a strong and thoughtful advocate of social work cooperation on eradicating poverty in the United States. He served as the sixth President of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
Article
Steven D. Soifer and Joseph B. McNeely
The basic concepts and history of community economic development (CED) span from the 1960s to the present, during which there have been four different waves of CED. During this time period, practitioners in the field have worked with limited resources to help rebuild low-to-moderate-income communities in the United States. There are particular values, theories, strategies, tactics, and programs used to bring about change at the community level. The accomplishments in the CED field are many, and social workers have played a role in helping with community building at the neighborhood, city, county, state and federal levels.
Article
Erick G. Guerrero, Tenie Khachikian, and Murali Nair
Evidence-based macro practices (EBMPs) rely on the best available evidence to promote system change. The field of social work needs to develop, implement, and disseminate EBMPs to respond to increasing public accountability to deliver cost-effective interventions that promote health and well-being among vulnerable populations. There are several evidence-based macro practices at the community and organizational levels that have potential to improve the effectiveness of social work practice. These EBMPs, their components, and the critical role they play in improving interventions and enacting change at a macro level are important. Building science in social work, informing practice in the 21st century, and effectively responding to system-wide challenges (e.g., epidemics, institutional racism, growing inequality) that disproportionally impact the health and well-being of the most vulnerable members of our society are important areas to explore.
Article
Lou M. Beasley
Frankie Victoria Adams (1902–1979) was a social worker who influenced the development of social work education and of professional social work in the American South. She developed the Group Work and Community Organization concentrations at Atlanta University.
Article
Jason T. Castillo and Grafton H. Hull Jr.
With a growing emphasis on improving human rights and alleviating social inequalities and human suffering in a world that is enduring massive environmental, demographic, technological, and geopolitical shifts, social work educators, scholars, and practitioners must determine how to prepare generalist and advanced generalist social work practitioners to engage in macro social work practice within their respective levels of competency. Steeped in ecological systems, person-in-environment, strengths, and empowerment perspectives, macro social work practice among general and advanced generalist practitioners have focused primarily on the communication, interaction, and transactional processes occurring between and among organizations, communities, and other systems. While beneficial, these perspectives do not account for differences in power, values, attitudes, beliefs, behavior, status, or roles between and among powerful and privileged entities in the system. By operating according to a humanistic perspective that accounts for differences in power, status, and roles of diverse entities in the system, generalist and advanced generalist practitioners engaged in macro social work practice may begin to alleviate social inequalities and human suffering occurring in the United States and abroad.
Article
Jan Ivery
As individuals age, their physical community continues to be a primary entry point of intervention because of their attachment to place, social connections, and limited mobility to travel as far and as often as they would like or desire. The environment provides a context for understanding an older adult’s social interactions and the availability of and access to supportive services that reduce isolation and increased risk for reduced health status. When individuals age in place, social workers need to understand how community-based services can work with older adults in their community where they have lived for some time and have developed social networks. This knowledge will better assist social workers in their ability to effectively connect clients with appropriate resources. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for an older adult’s environment to not reflect or adapt to their changing health status and physical mobility. Healthy aging (also referred to as age-friendly) and NORC (naturally occurring retirement communities) initiatives have emerged as examples of how to provide supportive, community-based services that will enable older adults to remain engaged in their community as they experience changes in their health status, mobility, and financial security. These community-level interventions emphasize the adaptability to an older adult’s changing lifestyle factors that influence how they navigate their community. These initiatives engage older adults in planning and implementing strategies to connect older adults with services and activities that promote aging in place. Social workers play a very important role in the provision of community-based aging services because they can serve as a bridge between older adults and the local, state, and federal level programs that may be available to them.
Article
Umeka E’Lan Franklin
The history, theory, and empirical and practical knowledge of community building social networks and social ties contribute to informal social control, while neighborhood behavior is key to the development and maintenance of social cohesion. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is considered when examining the relationships among the elements of community resources, civic engagement, and civic participation. Empirical work provides evidence of effective ways to produce and promote community building in poor neighborhoods, as well as the practical knowledge that suggests its importance for the role of social work.
Article
Larraine M. Edwards
Harry Lawrence Lurie (1892–1973) was a leader in the establishment and proliferation of Jewish charitable organizations, including the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds. He was also the first editor of the Encyclopedia of Social Work.
Article
Pranab Chatterjee, Heehyul Moon, and Derrick Kranke
The term technology transfer was first used widely during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations when the role of the United States in relation to developing countries was being formed. At that time, it meant knowledge transfer from the rich countries to the poor countries. In social work, the idea is important in efforts of community organization, community development, and social development. It is also an important idea in direct practice. Technology in these practice settings means the application of a basic social science toward facilitating one or more given ends that benefit human beings. Technology transfer means the passing on of such applied knowledge from one discipline or specialty to another. The application of technology transfer also requires understanding of the cultural setting where it originates as well as of the setting where it is imported for local use.
Article
Jean K. Quam
Arthur Dunham (1893–1980) was a pacifist, writer, and social work educator. He wrote extensively about community development and social welfare administration. His writing contributed to the evolution of community organization as a social work method.
Article
Philip Bernstein
Arnold Gurin (1917–1991) was a leader in advancing community organization, social work policies and practices, planning and research, education, and administration in voluntary, government, and Jewish services in the United States, Canada, Israel, and France.
Article
Eva M. Moya, David Stoesz, Mark Lusk, and Silvia M. Chávez-Baray
A broad overview of the professionalization of social work in the United States is presented while illustrating how developments in social work stimulated the emergence of macro social work as a field of practice. The history of macro practice’s dedication to social justice, human rights, and the eradication of poverty through macro-level strategies is reviewed. Influential forces, practice challenges, and initiatives responsible for the establishment and continued movement within the field are highlighted. How macro practice fits within the Specialized Practice Curricular Guide for Macro Social Work Practice (2018) and the Grand Challenges for Social Work (2015) is reviewed, along with future endeavors in macro social work.
Article
Geoffrey W. Wilkinson, Lee Staples, Ashley Slay, and Iliana Panameño
Community organizing centers the leadership of community members in developing and controlling organizations created to express, sustain, and build community power through action for social justice. It is distinguished from other forms of community practice by the ethos, “nothing about us without us,” and may combine elements of community development, direct action, popular education, and community action research. Community organizing promotes individual and collective empowerment. It is practiced in communities of geography, identity, shared experience, and other arenas. In the United States, organizing takes three major approaches to building sustainable bases of community power—organizations formed through individual membership, institutional networks, and coalitions. Innovations in community organizing arising particularly from the leadership of women and people of color—known as transformational organizing—take an intersectional approach to addressing racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of systemic oppression while also addressing the personal and social needs of community members. Organizing increasingly takes advantage of internet technology and is effective for influencing legislation and electoral politics, as well as a wide range of community-based issues.
Article
David G. Gil
Violet Sieder (1909–1988) was a social welfare educator and leader. She taught social planning, community organization, and rehabilitation at the Florence Heller Graduate School, Brandeis University. She organized the Massachusetts Human Services Coalition, serving as its first president (1975–1981).
Article
Sadye L. M. Logan
John Brister Turner (1922–2009), a distinguished professor and dean emeritus at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill School of Social Work, great leader, visionary, writer, scholar, and teacher. He devoted his life to community organization, social activism, and social work education. He was respected and admired for his pioneering work and leadership, and was viewed as a “bridge builder” between government leaders and service providers.
Article
Sanjai Bhatt
Kesharichand Dashrathsa Gangrade (1926–2019) is known for his indigenous writings and application of Gandhian principles in social work practices in India. He developed the concept of Gandhian social work—an amalgamation of Gandhian ideology and values of social work practice. He had an immense exposure to the sociocultural dynamics of different societies and working with vulnerable groups and marginalized communities. Gangrade brought all his wisdom, from experiments to experiences in community organization practices, in his 30 books. He was also an educational administrator par excellence. Imbibing Gandhian virtues in his practices and belief in simplicity and trusteeship as life principles, he learned, loved, and lured values of life with Gandhian ethics. Along with academics, he worked with Mahatma Gandhi’s close associate Jai Prakash Narayan through promoting nongovernmental and community-based organizations for rural development.
Article
F. Ellen Netting, M. Lori Thomas, and Jan Ivery
Macro social work practice includes those activities performed in organizational, community, and policy arenas. Macro practice has a diverse history that reveals conflicting ideologies and draws from interdisciplinary perspectives within the United States and around the world. Much has been written about how to balance macro and micro roles and how social work education can inform this balance. Organization and community theories, as well as theories of power, politics, and change inform macro practice. Macro practice models and methods include organization and community practice; community organizing, development, and planning; and policy practice, all of which underscore the social work profession’s emphasis on using a person-in-environment perspective. Underlying issues and future opportunities for macro practitioners include, but are not limited to, addressing equity, inclusion, and human rights; leading sustainability and environmental justice efforts; recognizing the importance of data, evidence, and accountability; and keeping up-to-date on technology and innovation.
Article
Laura R. Bronstein
Teams maximize the coordinated expertise of various professionals within and across organizations, communities, and the globe. Social work skills used with groups, especially contracting, monitoring team processes, managing conflict, creating a climate of openness, and developing and supporting group cohesion and mutual aid need to be purposefully utilized in practice with teams. In addition to implementing these skills with clinical groups, social workers can and should apply them in their work as team leaders and team members with community-based and organizational committees and work groups. Additional outcome-based research is needed to better understand the efficacy and utility of teams. Emerging trends in this field include embedding the notion of teams in a wider web of mezzo and macro collaborative activities, including those mandated by policies such as the Affordable Care Act and the Every Student Succeeds Act, among others; maximizing the voices of diverse clients, families, constituents and communities; addressing the impact of technology and virtual teams; understanding the impact of variable membership on teams; and recognizing teams as a vital part of social policy development and social work education.
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