Although social work has traditionally been involved with persons with disabilities, our position in the area of disability policy has been less evident. This article presents a brief review of the history of policy toward those with disabilities along with a summary of some philosophical perspectives which undergird those policies. A Disability Systems Case Manager is proposed as a solution to the morass of conflicting rules and regulations currently applied by numerous governmental, vocational, and welfare agencies. This manager would operate from the Structural Paradigm which recommends an initial examination of a client's environment for impediments to successful functioning before focusing on the client's potential vulnerabilities or problems.
(Figueira-McDonough, 1993). In the past few decades, a number of policy-analysis models have been developed to guide policy analysts in asking appropriate questions and gathering the necessary information for an informed evaluation and usable suggestions for improvement (see
Women with disabilities face a dilemma: Disability policy does not take gender into account, and society views gender as doubling women's dependence. Social workers should be prepared to assist women with disabilities to obtain services and benefits and to ensure that they are included in the movement for equal value and equal acceptance. This article reviews some economic and social effects of disability policy and includes a list of questions that social workers can ask to help them determine which services will be most helpful to their female clients with disabilities.
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