Social work as a policy actor: understanding social policy as an open-ended democratic practice

Corte, Joris De; Roose, Rudi

doi:10.1080/13691457.2018.1462768

Cited by 26 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Since the 1980s, the engagement of social workers in policy formulation processes has been the subject of a growing and substantive body of normative, theoretical, and empirical discourse in the social work literature (De Corte & Roose, 2020; Feldman, 2020; Gal & Weiss‐Gal, 2013; Jansso, 2014; Nouman et al, 2020; Weiss‐Gal & Gal, 2014). This literature has identified diverse routes through which social workers, individually and collectively, have sought to influence social policies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social workers as street‐level policy entrepreneurs

Aviv

Gal

Weiss‐Gal

2021

Public Administration

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Knowledge on street‐level bureaucrats as policy entrepreneurs is in its infancy. This article contributes to this emerging field by examining three cases of successful efforts by social workers employed by local social services in Israel to introduce local policy change. These processes varied in the issues that they addressed and the length of time that the policy process took. In each case, a small number of low‐ and meso‐street level community social workers were identified as policy entrepreneurs. Despite their limited resources, formal authority and political capital, the social workers invested efforts over long periods of time into furthering policies they believed would help the communities they worked with. The strategies adopted included seeking legitimacy; creating and disseminating knowledge; participating in policy arenas; and generally eschewing subversive tactics. The interplay between professional affiliation and institutional context informed their motivation to address specific social problems and the strategies they adopted.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social workers as street‐level policy entrepreneurs

Aviv

Gal

Weiss‐Gal

2021

Public Administration

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“…(Gal & Weiss-Gal, 2013, pp. 4–5)This definition focuses upon activities undertaken by social workers in the context of their workplace and in their role as professionals acting on behalf of their clients, the families, or communities they work with (de Corte & Roose, 2018). It distinguishes between on-the-job policy activities and diverse political actions that social workers engage in as private citizens of a polity (rather than in a professional capacity) which are undertaken on a voluntary basis in political arenas.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining the policy practice of community social workers

Weiss‐Gal

Gal

2018

Journal of Social Work

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Summary Policy change is a core goal of community social workers. This study aims to identify the motivational and facilitating factors associated with community social workers’ engagement in policy practice, defined as policy involvement undertaken in the workplace context. The sample comprised of 106 community social workers employed by local government in Israel and the data were collected between June 2015 and February 2017. Findings The findings showed that community social workers are more likely to engage in policy when they enjoy higher professional status, possess more policy practice resources, have higher psychological involvement in politics, are more involved in political and professional networks, and sense that they enjoy greater organizational support for policy practice. Applications In seeking to enhance the engagement of community social workers in the policy process, social work education should provide future community social workers with policy practice skills and a sense of psychological engagement in politics. It should also encourage their participation in political networks and offer training that affords them opportunities to develop the organizational skills needed to further macro goals in a social service agency setting. In their workplace, community social workers seeking to engage in policy practice need to nurture an organizational culture that supports social workers’ policy involvement. Given that this study is on a single Israeli sample, future research on community social workers in additional work settings and in other countries is required in order to advance knowledge on this crucial, yet understudied, form of professional activity.

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“…The immanence of strategic planning both in the management of territorial development and in solving social problems is evidenced by both foreign [3][4][5][6][7] and domestic theory and practice [2,[8][9][10][11], which constituted the methodological basis and applied research guidelines.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic planning toolkit in the social development of the regions of the north caucasus federal district

et al. 2021

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The article shows the need for strategic planning as an effective tool for solving social problems in the constituent entities of the North Caucasus Federal District. The regional strategies reveal the commonality of social goal-setting associated with the development of human potential and the growth of the quality of life, as well as particular specifics, reflecting the most acute life-supporting problems in the region. The work also demonstrates the low efficiency of state programs as a tool for implementing social priorities in the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District. Considering the status of the North Caucasus Federal District as a priority territory, it was proposed to make subprograms and design solutions in the context of federal projects dedicated exclusively to solving social problems in the subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District in the section “New quality of life” in the state federal programs and in socially oriented priority national projects. To implement project activities in strategic planning and state programming in social practice in the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District, an organizational and supporting mechanism for the development and implementation of socially significant regional projects has been substantiated.

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Social work as a policy actor: understanding social policy as an open-ended democratic practice

Cited by 26 publications

References 23 publications

Social workers as street‐level policy entrepreneurs

Social workers as street‐level policy entrepreneurs

Explaining the policy practice of community social workers

Strategic planning toolkit in the social development of the regions of the north caucasus federal district

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