Influencing State Policy

Influence 7.1/Spring '03
Q&A WITH U. S. SENATOR BARBARA A. MIKULSKI

ISP: How has 9.11.01 changed the policy/ political landscape for social workers and their priorities?

Mikulski: Americans went through a terrible trauma on September 11 and social workers were on the front lines. Social workers did everything from grief and trauma counseling to helping survivors and their families sort out what kind of help they needed. I am very proud of how America's social workers responded to this crisis. It added another dimension to what you do and highlighted how much you are needed. But other issues that social workers care about haven't gone away. We still need a prescription drug plan and other social services for seniors. We need to help children who bring tremendous challenges to the classroom. Full funding for special education would be a good start. People are struggling to make the transition from welfare to work. Programs in our communities need more attention and support, such as parity for mental health services. And terrorism isn't the only violent attack on families and communities. We're still fighting domestic violence. So, social workers are needed now more than ever. The resources to fund the services you provide are desperately needed.

ISP: Social workers tend to vote more than the average citizen, but are not very active politically. What can you suggest to encourage more than voting and a few dollars as a contribution on the part of social workers?

Mikulski: In difficult times, there are two ways to go. We can slide backward or we can move forward. Social workers must move forward -our roots are in advocacy, activism and politics. Joining causes, coalitions and advocating an issue are important steps. Issue advocacy at the local, state, or federal level is "politics." Another avenue is to get active in supporting a candidate. Social workers can help by developing issue papers or organizing volunteers. And don't we love to go door to door? Or, you can be a candidate yourself. There are now two MSW's in the Senate. I started in the Baltimore City Council. Senator Debbie Stabenow started as a Michigan State Representative. Maybe you could start at the school board. Wouldn't it be great to have a social worker elected to a local school board?

ISP: What can Schools of Social Work do in their curricula and courses to prepare future practitioners for advocating in increasingly competitive political arenas?

Mikulski: Schools of social work already teach many of the skills and tools for effective advocacy and activism. The key is taking the values and principles of social work and putting them into action. My own principles as a United States Senator are based on what I learned as a social worker: meet people where they are, not where you want them to be; organize on a felt need, not an abstract one; the people have a right to know, a right to be heard, and a right to be represented; the people who are the most affected should have the most say in a solution; and building coalitions is the best way to get things done.

ISP: What career advice would you give to social work students who want to pursue policy and politics as their primary area of interest?

Mikulski: Go for it! The great names in social work took part in the political process, claimed the power they needed, and changed this nation forever. Jane Addams worked with her state legislature and with the federal government to create child labor laws. She got the state government to put expiration dates on milk so children wouldn't drink spoiled liquids. Florence Kelley founded the National Consumers League. Her name is synonymous with the fight to secure better wages for women. In 1909, social workers organized the first White House Conference on Children. That was the first time that government showed an interest in child welfare.

I took my degree in social work and hit the streets of Baltimore as a social worker. I never thought then that I would be a U.S. Senator. And I still consider myself a social worker. Now, I have a caseload of 5 million Marylanders. Today, I'm a social worker with power - the power to put into action the values that social workers share: helping families, building neighborhoods, making sure our seniors have a safety net. If you want to get involved in policy and politics, remember the values and lessons you learn as a social worker. They will serve you well.

Ph.D AWARD

ISP's national jury selected the dissertation of Ms. JenniferW. Campbell of the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research of Bryn Mawr College as the most outstanding in its 2002 award program. Her title is: The implementation of a model demonstration nursing home diversion program in personal care homes in Pennsylvania.

Ms. Campbell received a $2,000 check from ISP, a free annual membership in ISP, and an invitation to speak at ISP's annual meeting in Atlanta on Saturday, March 1, 2003. Congratulations!

[Please see the 2003 Ph.D. Dissertation Award guidelines]

Ms. Campbell's dissertation research is designed to clarify the present and potential role of the Personal Care Home (PCH) in the continuum of care for elderly residents in PA. There are 31,658 people living in PCHs in the state. Her study will assist leaders in the development of a cohesive plan to move dollars and services away from long term care in an institutional setting. Ms. Campbell's research will analyze the organizational process-and-change strategies involved in a demonstration project where one third of all PCH residents were found to have exceeded the PCH home level of care guidelines and who actually need nursing home level of care.

Preliminary analysis demonstrated savings of over $50 per day per resident if they used the enhanced services approach. Using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with central figures in the planning process, documentation from the planning months, and her own participant observer data, she will use NVivo software for qualitative analysis. Her goals are to gain insight into the issue of multiagency policy change. She will examine the role of foundation funding and its prestige (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), inter-agency alliances and conflicts, officials’fear of creating new service groups, and concepts of policy change from Lipsky (1980). Ms. Campbell believes that her research is of vital importance to social work practice particularly social work advocacy, innovation strategies, and viewing policy gaps in a decade long shift from PCHs providing a housing option to becoming a defacto health care delivery site.

Other entries were received from: Ms. Catherine K. Lawrence of the State University at Albany School of Social Work whose dissertation was entitled:
State policy choices under welfare reform: are states pursuing the marriage and childbearing goals of the federal law?

Ms. Mona Basta of the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work whose dissertation was entitled: The role of information flow and trust dynamics in the utilization of state child care subsidies: the case of Philadelphia.

Ms. Tamara S. Davis of the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, whose dissertation was entitled: Viability of concept mapping for assessing cultural competence in children's mental health systems of care: a comparison of theoretical and community conceptualizations.

Thanks to all participants!

CHAIRMAN'S LETTER

Greetings! There are so many good things to read in this newsletter that the Chairperson's Report will be very brief. I encourage everyone to reread the goals of ISP for 2002-03 and try to assist in achieving them. It's really quite simple: pay your annual dues of $25; send your students to the state legislature; use the ISP website with your students; and urge students to enter the national ISP contest-2003. You probably would benefit from doing this anyway! If each ISP Liaison and member promoted these goals, the final numbers would be most impressive.

Times are most trying in most states and the articles in this newsletter give evidence of cutbacks and reductions at every turn. As we all are doing, you may ask, "what can I do?"

With ISP's philosophy and resources now at your disposal, there is much that you and your students can accomplish. Review the three ISP videos for inspiration and advice. Reread previous issues of INFLUENCE archived on the website. Remember what students and faculty members have achieved each of the past 6 years with their contest entries. Take one issue in your state and organize yourself and your students to rally around it. Be persistent.

Please be sure to read Senator Mikulski's interview. Please read the three book reviews on advocacy books available to you in your classroom. Please read about the strategies to use if your program is more than 50 miles from the capital city. Please read how ISP has helped to change curricula and teaching among the ISP Liaisons. Please take time to read the NASW Code of Ethics.

Remember, policy affects practice and practitioners affect policy! All the best.

UPCOMING EVENTS

February 17, 2003, Monday. Deadline for applications for the Summer 2003 BSW Policy Fellow Award of The Association of Social Work Baccalaureate Program Directors. Email Dr. Jack Sellers at jrsellers@una.edu or call him at 256-765-4391.

February 28, 2003. Friday. Noon to 1:00 PM. ISPAnnual Planning Luncheon during the APM of the Council on Social Work Education in Atlanta, GA. Reservations required. Call or email Bob Schneider at 804.828.0452 or rschneid@vcu.edu.

February 28. 2003. Friday. 5:30-6:45 (Preview) & 7:00-8:00 PM Annual "Live" Auction of Influencing State Policy at the APM of the Council on Social Work Education in Atlanta, GA. Open to all. Marriott Marquis Hotel in the Bonn Room.

March 1, 2003. Saturday. 5:30-6:45 PM Annual Meeting of Influencing State Policy at the APM of the Council on Social Work Education in Atlanta, GA. Includes the winner of ISP Ph.D. $2000 dissertation stipend for 2002 and a Social Worker Legislator from the Georgia State Assembly. Open to all. Marriott Marquis Hotel in the Amsterdam Room.

April 15, 2003. Monday. Deadline for paper/presentation proposals for the APM of the Council on Social Work Education, February, 2004, in Anaheim,CA. Contact: http://www.cswe.org or 703.683.8080. This year, it’s all online.

April 21, 2003. Monday. Deadline for entries to the Annual Influencing State Policy Contest-2003 for faculty and students. See www.statepolicy.org for rules and instructions.

June 6-7, 2003. Friday & Saturday. Diversity and Strengths of the Latino Family. Conference of the Nat'l Association of Puerto Rican/Hispanic Social Workers, Inc., in Rockville Centre, Long Island, NY. Register: www.NAPRHSW.com or call or fax 631.864.1536.

August 23-26, 2003. The Policy Conference. Co-sponsored by the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina, NASW-PACE, and ISP in Charleston, SC. ISP annual contest awards luncheon and sessions galore on policy and practice. Proposals for papers will be due on May 15, 2003. For more information, call Dr. Julie Miller-Cribbs at 803.777.1546. or jmcribbs@sc.edu or go to www.cosw.sc.edu/conf/policy/index.htm.

September 1, 2003. New goals and priorities set for ISP. Kickoff for the Annual Influencing State Policy Contest-2004.

October 23-27, 2003. Annual Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors in Reno, Nevada. ISP will have a booth in the exhibitors' hall. For more information: go to the BPD website at http://www.rit.edu/~694www/bpd/ or BPDConference@aol.com.

November 14, 2003. Deadline for completed proposals for the ISP $2,000 Ph.D. Dissertation Award - 2003. See rules or call Bob Schneider at 804.828.0452 or email rschneid@vcu.edu or go to ISP website: http://www.statepolicy.org.

ISP 2002-2003 GOALS

At least one entry per program for the Influencing State Policy Contest — 2003
An (academic) monthly rate of 1,000 visits to the ISP website
Raise $2,000 for Ph.D. stipends
Enroll 350 dues-paying ISP members
Number of student visits to state legislatures: 6,000
Number of state legislature visited: 35

LIAISON SURVEY RESULTS

If you want real welfare reform, you focus on a good education, good health care, and a good job. If you want to reduce poverty, you focus on a good education, good health care, and a good job. If you want a stable middle class, you focus on a good education, good health care, and a good job. If you want to have citizens who can participate in democracy, you focus on a good education, good health care, and a good job. And if you want to end the violence, you could build a million new prisons and you could fill them up, but you never end this cycle of violence unless you invest in the health and the skill and the intellect and the character of our children… you focus on a good education, good health care and a good job.

And other than that, I don't feel strongly about anything.

—US Senator Paul Wellstone, D-Minnesota, 7.21.44 to 10.25.02

Have you been influencing state policy at your school?

The findings from the 2002 Liaison survey reveal many of you may have been active in influencing state policy at your schools. It should be noted that out of 750 surveys sent out, only 72 were received back, a response rate of approximately 10%.

Approximately, 83.6% of responding ISP liaisons believe that ISP's mission and activities had an impact in the curriculum at their schools. When asked if ISP's mission and resources had an impact in modifying or changing course content, 70.4% of respondents said that they have either modified or changed their course content. Nearly 74% respondents also reported that they have modified or changed class assignments to reflect ISP's mission. Most respondents reported that it is “somewhat” or “very” important to modify or change course content and assignments to reflect the importance of ISP's mission at their schools.

Other important findings include:

62.3% of respondents tried to identify possible student assignments or other activities related to influencing state policy.
77.9% of respondents participate in the legislative process.
95.7% of respondents assessed ISP's website.
77.5% of respondents announced that they are ISP liaisons at their school or department.

The most commonly reported areas of state policy deemed most critical for social workers include: welfare reform, healthcare, Medicaid / prescription drug, low income housing, mental health, improved funding for social services, education, and professional licensure.

We encourage you to continue to make an effort to influence state policy in your schools. Encourage your students to become active in social work policy. Educate students and faculty about the connection between policy and practice.

Be informed. Become active. Be a voice. And remember that policy affects practice just as practice affects policy!

ISP WEBSITE

Influencing State Policy's website, http://www.statepolicy.org, is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week. As of February 2, 2003, there have been 26,418 visits. Recall that one of our current goals is to have 1,000 visits per academic month and one ISP initiative this year for the website is to integrate it into the classroom or assignments. In late 2002, ISP celebrated the 25,000th visit to the website!

During the fall, 2002, students at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work used the stateline.org link at ISP's website every week as an introduction to state policies across the country. Here are some of their comments:

Stateline.org provided a greater awareness of current legislative information.—Jane
This assignment allowed fellow students to share current events that impact policies statewide and nationally.—Collette
Our discussions confirmed the connections between policy and practice and the assignment gave students the chance to discover which policies were of most interest to them.—Ann
I don’t think most of us would have checked out the website without the incentive of extra credit.—Sue

Other new website and internet related resources are:

At the Urban Institute's website, www.urban.org/pubs/welfare_reform/FastFacts.html you can find basic data on welfare reform. It includes the work status of welfare leavers, how TANF dollars are spent, racial and ethnic group profiles, and low-income families with children.
At Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, you can quickly search through detailed descriptions of close to 4,800 foundation and public charity programs that fund students, artists, researchers, and other individual grantseekers. For just $9.95 for a one-month subscription, this unique online database -- the only one devoted exclusively to the needs of individuals -- is convenient and easy to use! Within seconds you can generate your own list of prospective funders. To learn more, visit: http://gtionline.fdncenter.org/
Go to www.nimh.nig.gov/outline/responseterrorism.cfm to learn, in English and Spanish, about posttraumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety disorders, and for a special fact sheet on helping children and teens cope with disasters and violence.
Go to www.AmericanLatino.net for a site that addresses local, national and worldwide political issues important to the Latino community.
http://www.ppv.org/indexfiles/philaindex.html is a site with a report on current Faith-based Organization's effectiveness. The role of the FBO is evaluated and conditions for successful provision of services in poor neighborhood are outlined.
http://www.childpolicyintl.org is a site at Columbia University providing a single source for cross national comparative social and policy data and information on children, youth, and families in 23 advanced industrialized nations. Links to over 100 organizations and research centers.
http://www.wtgrantfoundation.org/newsletter3039 provides a report on research about adolescent and child performances in school. The context of the report is the TANF legislation and its impact on families and children.

BOOK REVIEW: AFFECTING CHANGE

Affecting Change: Social Workers in the Political Arena, 5th Edition

By Karen S. Haynes & James S. Mickelson (2003). Allyn & Bacon, http://www.ablongman.com

Karen Haynes is President of the University of Houston-Victoria and James. Mickelson is Director of Continuing Education at Southwest Texas State University.

Haynes and Mickelson have refined Affecting Change into a global positioning system for political social work or "policy practice" for those who prefer a milder term. They demonstrate that, as Sen. Barbara Mikulski writes in her Foreword, "…the skills of social workers are also the skills of lobbyists or elected officials (ix)". Wherever you choose to enter this volume, you find immediately concepts, techniques, and rationales for an array of activities by social workers in the political arena.

The first five chapters place political practice into perspective both historically and in the contemporary situation of devolution, tightened resources, privatization, and victim blaming. Chapters 6 -13 then address specific challenges in affecting change and activities appropriate to each area. The Glossary of legislative terms and an extensive list of web sites complement the narrative in the text.

Affecting Change provides a supplementary text for policy and practice courses especially useful in BSW generalist practice education programs as well as in MSW programs that offer, by whatever name, a concentration in advanced generalist practice, Similarly, Affecting Change can serve as an outline for continuing education seminars or staff development in social service agencies. Finally, individual social work practitioners will find Affecting Change a valuable blueprint and manual for their professional or personal efforts in the political arena.

The 5th edition of Affecting Change adds to contemporary resources available to social workers, such as Schneider and Lester's (2001) Social Work Advocacy and McNutt's internet materials. Perhaps the integration of “cause” and “case” advocacy is receiving new life in forms that can counteract the "functional specificity" (p. 53) that concerns Haynes and Mickelson and has bedeviled the development of the professional promise of social work.

——Reviewed by Philip Hall, Professor, Worden School of Social Service, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas

WHAT'S NEW

It’s not really new, but ISP wants to thank publicly and vigorously again the sponsors of our Annual ISP National Contest-2003: The Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors, Center for Social Development at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, National Association of Deans and Directors, the University of Houston School of Social Work, and the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. Their past and present financial support is vital and appreciated!

Social Work Education, an online resource, publishes articles of a critical and reflective nature concerned with the theory and practice of social care and social work education at all levels. It presents a forum for international debate opportunity for the expression of new ideas and proposals on the structure and content of social care and social work education, training and development. Social Work Education is available on SARA. For further information and to register, please visit: http://www.tandf.co.uk/sara

The Latino population is now the second largest minority group in the United States of American at 13% or 37 million persons.

The dissertation of Dr. Michelle Wolf Acree, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Western Kentucky University and ISP member, was selected as the Most Outstanding by the Society of Social Work & Research at its annual meeting in Washington, DC in January 2003. Her dissertation’s title is: The Fit between Elder Medicaid Personal Care Consumers and Consumer-directed Personal Care. Dr. Younghee Lim, winner of ISP’s 2001 Ph.D. dissertation award, received an Honorable Mention in the same ceremony.

Under the headline, “Work First, What Next?,” the summer 2002 issue http://www.aecf.org/publications/advo-casey/summer2002 of AdvoCasey: The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Policy Magazine, examines the future of welfare reform. The AdvoCasey Index and AECF President Douglas Nelson’s column explore the unfinished business of welfare reform. Feature stories detail a California career advancement project that helps newly employed welfare recipients move from dead end jobs to promising careers; a transitional jobs project in Philadelphia that offers long-term welfare recipients “swimming lessons;” before making them sink or swim on their own; and new data about how welfare reform affects children. AdvoCasey concludes with a thought provoking interview with veteran New York Times welfare correspondent, Jason DeParle.

The 40-Hour Work Rule: Implications for Children and Families; Sheila Zedlewski; Fast Facts; December 2002. The author assesses the ability of states and TANF clients to meet the work participation requirements proposed by the House of Representatives and Senate Finance Committee. After reviewing the range of work participation rates in the states, work activity among TANF recipients, hours worked each week by TANF recipients, and work activity among those with barriers to employment, the analysis concludes that the proposal to increase work requirements may be very difficult for states and TANF recipients to achieve. http://www. urban.org/UploadedPDF/900573.pdf, Assessing the New Federalism Project, The Urban Institute, 2100 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037. 202-261-5815.

The Social Policy Journal solicits your manuscripts. This new journal is working on its second volume and will come out with a special issue of papers from the 2002 Policy Conference in South Carolina. In addition, we would like to encourage all members of ISP to order the Journal for themselves, or at least ask their college or university library to order it. For more information, contact Rick Hoefer, editor, at rhoefer@uta.edu or look at the Journal’s website at http://www2.uta.edu/socialpolicyjournal/

OUTSIDE THE CAPITOL

Influencing State Policy is well aware of the barriers to educating students about legislative advocacy when the social work program is located over 50 miles from the state capital city. Here are some strategies that some ISP members have used successfully to overcome distance-related problems:

From Dr. Ronald Green at Winthrop University in North Carolina (greenr@exchange.winthrop.edu)—

In the spring semester when the legislature is in session, policy students must identify a bill currently being considered by the NC legislature (or if NASW-NC has a major interest in a bill, I might assign it). Students are required to analyze the policy/legislation and draft a policy brief. Then they must contact their state representative and senator, make an appointment, and meet with them when our program attends the Student Legislative Day in Raleigh each spring. Afterwards, they do follow up communications. It proved very effective with the social work “scope of practice act” which was passed last session. Hopefully, there will be some more client-oriented legislation this session I can get them involved with.

From Dr. Sue Wein of Presentation College in South Dakota (weinds@nvc.net)—

Our state capital is Pierre, approximately 175 miles from our program. We make at least one, but generally two, annual trips to our state capital. Students know this ahead of time and need to make arrangements to be free for 2 days each time. The cost of these trips are funded through student fees (that way they we can use their financial aid and don't have to come up with cash). We stay overnight at least once so that we can hit the Senate and House debates in the afternoon and committee meetings the next morning. If we are able to and we return, it is specifically in regard to “student” bill(s) in committee. We also meet with the NASW lobbyist during one or both of the trips.

In addition, we go to at least 2 (usually more) “cracker barrels” when the legislators return on Saturdays. On one of these days, we host a luncheon with them (as well as reps from federal offices) and we discuss both the processes to influence policy and also specific issues.

All our legislators are provided with lap top computers, so we can communicate with them via email. Most committee debates, as well as both the House and Senate floors, are live on the internet and saved on the web site, so we can be there “live” and revisit it over and over again.

Although we are in such rural areas, we have become real experts in technology! Even though we are a great distance away, we have contact with our legislators at least weekly and sometimes daily depending on the issues.

From Jennifer J. Savage of the University of Louisiana at Monroe (cjsavage@hotmail.com)—

NASW-La. has an annual “Legislative Day” in the spring when the legislature is in session, and I have taken students three times. This is expensive, and ULM--as a state university--does not reimburse costs, but students cover their own registration fee, which is usually $5.00 for students and I am able to use my own van or a university van to load us all up to go to Baton Rouge, 200 miles from us in Monroe. When we went this past spring, our local legislators recognized our university and our social work program on the floor of the House (the Senate had adjourned by the time we got there). I am now considering having local legislators come into class as guest speakers and talk about making policy.

I have also begun to involve students in my own advocacy efforts for children and families locally that are impacted by state policy--such as our local Children's Coalition. I am hoping the professors who sponsor our Student Social Work Association will consider encouraging students to go to Baton Rouge as a group, for a special meeting in November with the state children's advocacy group, Agenda for Children, to address our state's TANF provisions.

I find it is extremely difficult to get students involved in “causes” or find relevant enough issues for them to invest in on their own initiative I try to get them to identify social issues they are concerned about and then incorporate them into assignments that require students to formulate their issue to a state legislator. Our program doesn’t yet incorporate field placements with the state legislature.

From Dr. Linda of Texas Christian University

It seems to me that you can influence state policy from anywhere. We have students writing letters, e-mailing, visiting local offices (all legislators have a home office and it is often staffed by the folks who write policy), getting involved in state elections at a level where they can help formulate policy statements. Of course, a field placement in the state legislator’s office is a great opportunity and legislators love it.

NJ STUDENT'S EXPERIENCE

Dr. Lisa Cox, an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Richard Stockton College in New Jersey wrote about Tamaiya For-bey, one of her outstanding BSW students. Later on, Tamaiya sent me some reflections of her own. I think you will enjoy them both!

Lisa Cox wrote:

Prior to January, 2002, New Jersey Assemblyman Francis Blee had hosted political science students and others, but Tamaiya Forbey was going to be his first social worker. When Blee came to give a guest lecture to my gerontology class, he mentioned the content of the many calls his office received from older adults. As I listened, it was evident to me that he needed someone with social work training--someone who could understand person-in-environment issues, conduct good assessments, and immediately offer information and referral assistance to community workers. So I asked him if he'd like to have a social work student, and he agreed. Tamaiya wowed the office staff with her abilities to immediately connect clients with resources and her understanding of how to negotiate systems.

The experience sparked Tamaiya's interest in policy and she is doing her senior seminar placement this year at the NASW-NJ chapter office where she's coordinating “Empowerment Civics” sessions for social work students and directing efforts to involve students in a lobby day experience. In Tamaiya's Research Methods and Social Work class, she designed a study entitled “Political Involvement of Students: Implications and Influences on the Viability of the Social Work Profession.” Suffice it to say that although I’m a clinician at heart, I am absolutely convinced that our students must see how inextricably linked policy is to both research and practice.

Tamaiya Forbey wrote:

During the spring semester of 2002, I had the opportunity to complete my junior field practicum at the office of New Jersey Assemblyman Francis “Frank” J. Blee of District 2. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect and was equally distraught trying to determine what I had gotten myself into. The most wonderful aspect of my practicum was that the Assemblyman was warm, genuine, and was not a typical politician. He immediately welcomed me, and we commenced to discuss the heart of his political agenda. I was impressed to hear that he was very interested in issues such as Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, minority healthcare and senior citizens. At our meeting, I learned that I was his first social work intern and this revelation only added to my growing excitement and apprehension.

During the first week, I learned the all-important process of how a bill becomes a law in New Jersey and learned a lot of political jargon. During this week, I observed that there are ways to get the attention of legislators without actually coming to their offices. One of my first tasks was to clip newspaper articles, op-ed pieces, and anything else that mentioned issues of importance to the Assemblyman. Op-ed pieces related to issues, bills, and things affecting the community at large were also clipped. Therefore, op-ed pieces can be used to educate, address, and publicize constituent views.

Another task I was assigned was to track various pieces of legislation and provide updates on their status. Tom, a legislative aide, explained to me which bills would probably move and which would have no action. The most challenging task was to write background information for a bill. I had to interview a retired Texas Supreme Court judge, a county district attorney, an attorney, and many others. I also had to conduct extensive Internet searches. A final draft was sent to the office of Legislative Affairs, so they could draft the bill.

I also responded to constituent inquires, did correspondence work, and made requests via email and letter writing. With my work experience in social services, I was able to assist the Constituent Services personnel with several resources previously unbeknownst to them. All in all, it was a great experience, and it gave me a better appreciation of legislators and politics in general. It also sparked my interest in political social work.

ISP INITIATIVES

BSW collaboration on developing resources for field instructors in BSW programs regarding policy practice content in a generalist curriculum
Auction: to support Ph.D. stipend and video production.
Strategy packet: how to establish field placements at the state legislature
Strategies for increased partic ipation in state policy processes by social work programs located more than 50 miles outside of the state capitols
Integration of the ISP website into coursework and assignments

ISP'S NEWEST VIDEO:
POLICY AFFECTS PRACTICE & STUDENTS / PRACTITIONERS AFFECT POLICY

INFLUENCING STATE POLICY has produced and distributed 1,000 copies of its third video in the Policy Affects Practice Series. This 20-minute video is intended to educate and inspire social work students, faculty and practitioners to participate in state legislative processes and decision-making. Aimee Perron, one of the students featured in the video, a previous winner of the ISP national contest for MSW students, and a past member of the ISP Board of Advisors, wrote the opening quotation: “I never thought that social workers were the ones who made changes in the law. Someone else bigger and more important must be taking care of that. We were there to help people, not draft legislation. But I was wrong. If social workers don't make the changes, or at least start making noise about what needs to be changed, nothing will ever change.”

The video's main themes are:

Policy affects practice and students/practitioners affect policy.
Actual experience in policy activity leads to feelings of efficacy.
Fear is real, but not a sufficient reason to stay on the sidelines.
The NASW Code of Ethics requires advocacy. It is not an option.

BSW, MSW, and Ph.D. students describe in the video how they learned from experience how policies affected their clients. With this knowledge, students began to overcome their fears and actually initiated advocacy to influence legislators and policy change. Students then issue a “call to action” that includes a list of activities that social work students, faculty and practitioners could initiate in order to influence state policy.

Get out of your comfort zone.
Identify an issue or problem you want to change.
Form a group at work or school to help you advocate.
Contact your legislators and ask them to help you introduce a bill.
Develop fact sheets and policy briefs.
Join a coalition dedicated to your issue.
Testify at a hearing or committee meeting.
Persevere and be very determined.
Log onto to www.statepolicy.org
Professors should give students advocacy and policy assignments.

Discussion guidelines provide leaders with the purpose of the video, an outline of its basic themes, discussion questions, and describe the underlying structure of the script.

Student comments:

“As a Freshman BSW student, this video added a new dimension to my expectations of the social work program.”—Jessica

“Seeing and hearing personal experiences of actual students was empowering and helped me get out of my comfort zone.”—Rick

“The video made me feel less intimidated about becoming involved in policy.”—Shaline

“It made me feel capable of making real changes in the legislature and elsewhere.” —Kim

“The video made me more willing to try new things, to take more initiative, and to trust my own perceptions, ideas, and experience.” —Mike

“The video reminds me that I am just as capable as the students in the video.” —Tanika

For information on obtaining a copy, call or write: Dr. Robert L. Schneider, POB 842027, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Social Work, Richmond, VA23284-2027. Email: rschneid@vcu.edu Phone: 804.828.0452.

BOOK REVIEW: SOCIAL WORK ADVOCACY

Social Work Advocacy: A New Framework for Action

By Robert L. Schneider and Lori Lester (2001). Brooks/Cole, Thompson Learning Academic Resource Center, http://wadsworth.com.

Robert Schneider is a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work and Lori Lester, MSW, is at Truro Preschool and Kindegarten, Fairfax, VA.

The reviewer was delighted to see the authors' timely publication of a new book that clearly delineates a conceptual framework of advocacy and its applicability to all levels of social work intervention. As the authors point out, advocacy was a key ingredient of proto-social work, laying organizational and legislative foundations for professional social work.

In their thoroughly researched and widely pragmatic book, the authors remind the readers of the significance of advocacy to social work practice not only in the historical context but also in the broad-ranging fields of contemporary social work. In chapter 1, the authors offer a comprehensive review of the historical relevance of diverse forms of advocacy to social work practice beginning with the 1870s and the progressive era, followed by the eras of World War I, the Great Depression, the War on Poverty, the New Federalism, and the 1990s.

In chapter 2, the authors devote their discussion to the clarification of the definition of advocacy. The "new" definition of advocacy as conceptualized by the authors is a form of social action, but differs from community organizing and other forms of social action such as brokering, social reform, and problem solving. Using their analysis of over 90 definitions of advocacy, the authors highlight specific dimensions and skills of advocacy: pleading or speaking on behalf of; representing another; taking action; promoting change; accessing rights and benefits; serving as a partisan; demonstrating influence and political skills; securing social justice; empowering clients; identifying with the client; and using a legal basis. Then, using criteria of clarity, measurability, comprehensiveness, and a focus on action, the authors provide a new, succinct definition of advocacy: Social work advocacy is the exclusive and mutual representation of a client(s) or a cause in a forum, attempting to systematically influence decision making in an unjust or unresponsive system(s).

Chapter 3 describes the three dimensions of representation: 1) advocating exclusively on behalf of clients; 2) engaging clients mutually in the advocacy effort, and 3) using a forum or place where decision-making takes place. The authors stress the importance of communication skills by including content on effective speaking and writing.

Chapter 4 discusses the second essential skill of social work advocacy, influencing, which is organized into eight practice principles: 1) identifying the issues and setting goals; 2) getting the facts; 3) planning strategies and tactics; 4) supplying leadership, 5) getting to know decision makers and their staff, 6) broadening the base of support, 7) being persistent, and 8) evaluating the advocacy effort.

The rest of the book examines four separate contexts of social work advocacy: client advocacy (chapter 5), cause advocacy (chapter 6), legislative advocacy (chapter 7), and administrative advocacy (chapter 8). These four chapters illustrate vivid case examples of advocacy activities played out in the various contexts of advocacy. Each chapter explains how successful advocacy depends on effective applications of the three dimensions of representation, the eight principles of influencing, and competent communication skills into a specific context of advocacy. The last chapter highlights the key practice implications of advocacy relating to the issues of confidentiality, family-centered services, and cultural competence. The current trend toward client empowerment and self-advocacy was also emphasized. The appendices included Internet and World Wide Web Advocacy resources for dealing with a variety of social work issues, and importantly, lobby guidelines for public employees under the Hatch Act and for 501 (c) (3) agencies. Both the discussion questions and case examples in each chapter are designed to engage students in meaningful, in-depth reflection and lively group discussion in the classroom.

The reviewer believes that this book can serve as a practical guide to social work educators who aim to integrate advocacy practice into social work curricula as well as agency supervisors who want to incorporate advocacy into practicum students' fieldwork assignments. The key concepts and practical guidelines clearly conceptualized in this book will contribute greatly to social work educators, practitioners, and students and expand their advocacy efforts more effectively for combating unjust or unresponsive social systems.

——Reviewed by Dr. Sondra Doe, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Social work, California State University at San Bernardino

BOOK REVIEW: ADVOCACY IN HUMAN SERVICES

Advocacy in the Human Services

By Mark Ezell. (2001). Brooks/Cole, Thompson Learning Academic Resource Center, http://wadsworth.com.

Mark Ezell is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas.

Advocacy is a word commonly used among human service professionals, but rarely is it fully described or systematically discussed. Mark Ezell's Advocacy in the Human Services is a comprehensive, practical book that defines advocacy; he then challenges human service professionals to be reflective practitioners of advocacy. This book addresses many questions that students, teachers, and practitioners often have about advocacy tactics and skills. It is an excellent textbook for BSW, MSW, and other classes in the human service professions. It is also beneficial for helping professionals and volunteers who are involved in advocacy. The book is organized and accessible: at the beginning of each chapter, objectives are listed, and at the end of each chapter, are summary and discussion questions. In each chapter, summarized information is detailed from the text. This format guides the reader through the purposes, mission, assessment, tasks, implementation and evaluation of advocacy.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part is the Groundwork for Advocacy that includes chapters on Motivations for Advocacy, Understanding Advocacy, and The Ethics of Advocacy. Ezell describes his own studies where social workers were randomly sampled to collect data and investigate their advocacy practices. [These studies are sited throughout the book and are used to develop further discussions about advocacy practice.] Chapter 3, The Ethics of Advocacy, is especially good. This chapter focuses on improving human services, the use of informed consent, client self-determination, and client empowerment. The chapter uses the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers and the Ethical Standards of Human Service Professionals, as foundations for analyzing ethical dilemmas.

Part 2, Advocacy Strategies and Tactics includes chapters on agency advocacy, legislative advocacy, legal advocacy, and community advocacy. Ezell carefully describes the practices of these types of advocacy and how they may be used effectively. The final chapter in this section explains how to establish advocacy priorities, map the decision system, and select strategies and tactics.

Part 3, Issues, Dilemmas, and Challenges consists of two chapters Putting the Advocacy Pieces Together and Advocacy Skills, Challenges, and Practice Guidelines. These chapters provide scenarios of how to integrate advocacy strategies into planning and include information about positive advocacy skills and attitudes. The last chapter concludes with practice guidelines for advocacy.

This is a textbook for teaching policy practice. The objectives of the book are also congruent with the mission and purpose of Influencing State Policy (ISP). Ezell's book certainly illustrates how “policy affects practice and practice affects policy.” I read this book after the Fall 2002 elections as human services and education were battling the budget cuts, and the U.S. was contemplating war with Iraq. This is an optimistic book that uses wise and client-centered advocacy strategies. This advocacy text provides guidance and direction for human service students and professionals during an uncertain time. I would recommend this book to human service providers and to all who want to make a difference.

—Reviewed by Dr. Diane Carol Holliman, Assistant Professor, Division of Social Work, Valdosta State University in Georgia.

ISP MISSION

Mission:
The mission of Influencing State Policy is to assist faculty and students in learning to influence effectively the formation, implementation, and evaluation of state-level policy and legislation.
Goal:
To increase Social Work efficacy in influencing state-level policy and legislation.
Ultimate Outcome(s):
Social Work students will achieve knowledge and skills to influence state-level policy and legislation as demonstrated by successful projects implemented in graduate and undergraduate social work programs.
Intermediate Outcome(s):
Social Work educators in graduate and undergraduate programs will obtain knowledge and skills in order to educate students to influence state-level policy and legislation as demonstrated by incorporating appropriate content, making related assignments, and developing field instruction opportunities.
Immediate Outcome(s):
Social Work educators in graduate and undergraduate programs will receive resources necessary to the development of course content, assignments, and teaching strategies that emphasize how to influence state-level policy and legislation.