Community Practice Flashcards

1
Q

Orientation: Community Organization Practice

A

(COP)

uses a sociological, social systems, and social action perspective to address community problems

individual pathology is viewed as a product of a flawed social system, and unresponsive or destructive social institutions

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2
Q

What does COP do?

A

emphasizes knowledge related to social power, social structure, social change, and the social environment

recognizes the reciprocal process between the person and the social environment

social problems are explained as consequences of structural arrangements rather than resulting from personal inadequcies

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3
Q

Orientation: What do tasks and goals include?

A
  1. Altering public or private priorities to focus on problems of inequality and social injustice
  2. Promoting legislative change or the allocation of public funds
  3. Influencing public perceptions of social issues and social problems
  4. Improving or changing community agencies or institutions to satisfy community needs better
  5. Developing new methods, strategies and programs for addressing community problems
  6. Coordinating existing services and develop new ones
  7. Improving access to services
  8. Establishing new services and programs in response to new or changing needs
  9. Managing community organizations and programs
  10. Building the capacity of grassroots citizen groups to solve problems and make claims on public resources for under-served communities
  11. Seeking justice for oppressed minorities
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4
Q

Definitions and Characteristics: Brager and Specht (1987)

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COP is an intervention method through which individuals, groups, and organizations engage in planned action to influence social problems

involves two major processes: planning and organizing

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5
Q

Brager and Specht (1987): Council on Social Work Education

A

Community Organization and social planning refer to a field of activity in which organizational methods of intervention are used to meet social needs and to counteract social problems

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6
Q

Common Characteristics: COP

A

focus of attention is on the social environment, not on psychological problems

involves professional intervention and activities accomplished with the participation and involvement of community representatives and coalitions with community organizations

emphasizes the development of enhanced social resources responding to community needs

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7
Q

Common Characteristics: Values

A
  1. Enhancing participatory skills of citizens by working with them, not for them
  2. Developing leadership
  3. Strengthening communities so they can better deal with future problems
  4. Redistributing resources to increases the resources of the disadvantaged
  5. Planned changes
  6. Problem-solving process
  7. Advancing the interests of the disadvantaged so they can influence the process of distributing social resources and the problem definitions causing services to be provided
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8
Q

Definitions and Characteristics: Assumptions Underlying COP (Ross)

A
  1. Community members can develop the capacity to resolve communal and social problems
  2. Members want to improve their situation
  3. Members must participate in change efforts rather than have changes imposed on them
  4. A systems approach considering the total community is more effective than programs imposed on communities
  5. Participation in community organization initiatives that involve social workers is designed to expose community participants to democratic decision-making
  6. Community participants can learn analytic, strategic, and interpersonal skills from an organizer who enables them to address community problems independently
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9
Q

Tasks of the Worker: Interactional

A

relating to people

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10
Q

Tasks of the Worker: Analytical

A

assessment steps in a COP process that will facilitate realizing agreed upon goals

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11
Q

Tasks of the Worker: Technical

A

techniques for distributing information to community members

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12
Q

Key Roles to COP: Socio-therapeutic

A

helps community members and leaders gain self and community problem understanding to facilitate problem resolution

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13
Q

Key Roles to COP: Enabler

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helps community members use their own resources toward problem resolution

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14
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Key Roles to COP: Broker

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Mediates and negotiates among different community groups

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15
Q

Key Roles to COP: Expert

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Provide data and advice that community representatives can use to resolve problems

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16
Q

Key Roles to COP: Advocate

A

sides with the disadvantaged and represents their interests

attempts to help the disadvantaged secure a larger share of resources from power elements in the community

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17
Q

Key Roles to COP: Activist

A

most compatible with an advocate role

activist uses bargaining and power tactics, confrontation, and conflict (or contest) with those who control resources to influence the reallocation of decision-making power and social resources

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18
Q

Key Roles to COP: Organizer

A

joins groups and institutions together to take joint action toward specific goals

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19
Q

Tactic Selection (Brager and Specht, 1987): Selection of Tactics Three Major Factors

A

the degree of commonality or differences in the goals between the community group and target system

the relative power of the community group and the target system

the relationship of the community group to the target system

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20
Q

Types of Tactics: Collaborative

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the existence of a perceived consensus in goals, parity of power, relatively close relationships, and cooperation and sharing

problem solving, joint action, education, and mild persuasion

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21
Q

Types of Tactics: Campaign

A

the existence of perceived differences in goals, inequality in power, intermediate relationships

hard persuasion, political maneuvering, bargaining and negotiation, and mild coercion

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22
Q

Types of Tactics: Contest

A

the existence of public conflict, dissensus in goals, uncertain power, distant or hostile relationships

public conflict and pressure

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23
Q

What’re the steps in the Problem-Solving Model in COP?

A
  1. Introduce self to the group
  2. Clarify why everyone is there
  3. Address problems
  4. Help the group develop guidelines and a consensus on the problems to address
  5. Help the group evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of focusing on specific problems
  6. Help the group
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24
Q

What is involved in step 6 of the problem-solving model, help the group?

A
  1. Focus on a concrete problem that is of immediate concern to the group
  2. Select a problem it can successfully solve
  3. Study alternative solutions
  4. Evaluate available resources
  5. Evaluate potential for public support
  6. Consider how the target problem constituencies will respond
  7. Evaluate potential for agreement among community members
  8. Monitor implementation including how the target population is responding by obtaining feedback
  9. Adjust and revise strategies and tactics in light of new information
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25
Models of Practice: Locality Development
neighborhood work aimed at improving the quality of community life through the participation of a broad spectrum of people at the local level
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Locality Development: Community Integration
process-oriented, the purpose is to help diverse elements of the community join together to resolve common problems and improve the community
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Locality Development: Change Strategy
broadly defined community can resolve its problems and develop increased ability to solve problems through rational participatory problem solving
28
Locality Development: Tactics
an emphasis on consensus and capacity building
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Locality Development: Worker Roles
enabler, coordinator, educator, broker within such settings as the neighborhood or village
30
Locality Development: Boundaries
total geographic community
31
Locality Development: Agency Type
settlement houses, Peace Corps
32
Models of Practice: Social Planning
emphasizes careful, rational study of community's political, social, economic, and population characteristics to provide a basis for identifying agreed-upon problems and determining a range of solutions to community problems
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Social Planning: Problem Solving
task-oriented problems might include lack of child care, mental health services, police protection, etc
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Social Planning: Change Strategy
fact gathering, rational action, and needs assessment
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Social Planning: Tactics
consensus or conflict
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Social Planning: Worker Roles
researcher, reporter, data analyst, program planner, program implementer, facilitator
37
Social Planning: Boundaries
total community or functional community defined by a common problem, such as the elderly or disabled needing special care
38
Social Planning: Agency Type
welfare councils, federal bureaucracy, planning board
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Social Planning: Example
planning homeless shelters, after school recreation programs
40
Models of Practice: Social Action
requires an easily identifiable target and relatively clear cut, easily explainable goals target is usually those community institutions that control and allocate funds, community resources, and power
41
Social Action: Examples of Situations Appropriate for Social Action Methods
conflicts between landlords and tenants, or employers and employees direct action may be the only way to convince those with power to relinquish some of their resources and power
42
Social Action: Early Settlement Movement
used confrontation to achieve social goals, and frequently supported the efforts of unions to organize and to secure improved wages and better working conditions
43
Social Action: Change Strategy
issues identified, labeled, and described individuals affected are helped to take action against powerful community institutions
44
Social Action: Worker Roles
advocate, activist, and negotiator the worker is committed to a cause and pursues it with the clients and others
45
Social Action: Tactics
conflict, confrontation, contest, and direct action
46
Social Action: Examples
welfare rights organizing, tenant organizing, working with women's rights movement
47
Models of Practice: Social Reform
work with other organizations for the disadvantages workers role is to develop coalitions of various groups to pressure for change by changing laws, the worker can overcome community resistance to local programs
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What is social reform?
mixture of social action and social planning
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Social Reform: Change Strategy
fact gathering and publicity to assist disadvantaged populations, lobbying, and political pressure
50
Social Reform: Participants
the social reform approach tends to operate within long time frames andis a strategy usually pursued by elites in behalf of disadvantaged groups
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Social Reform: Sponsors
professional associations (NASW), public interest groups (Ralph Nader's organization or the Child Welfare League)
52
Social Reform: Examples
increasing welfare benefits or services such child care for working parents, improved economic development to resolve unemployment problems
53
Stages of Practice: Socialization Group
first phase organize members who may lack community consciousness, or awareness of possible solutions to local problems or organizational skills
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Socialization Group: Technical Task
worker helps people identify and define some community problems for which the agency might wish to provide service
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Socialization Group: Interactional Tasks
worker (often with core group) identifies potential members, meets with community members, facilitates meetings of potential activists, motivates and recruits them as members of a group, and help them identify and describe a problem agenda that requires action
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Socialization Group: Task View
secondary during the early phase and primary focus is on process, establishing relationships with and among community people as group members, and building trust and confidence that group action can make a difference
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Socialization Group: Socialization
within formal organization or informally
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Stages of Practice: Primary Group
cultivating group cohesion of the new group and developing some goals but not yet addressing more complex or major tasks that may seem overwhelming
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Primary Group: Technical Task
second phase still concerned with fostering group cohesion but now the focus is to link community's problems to goal development
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Primary Group: Interactional Tasks
cultivate social bonds among group members and increase group cohesion
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Stages of Practice: Organizational Development Group
third phase emphasis is still not on completing tasks but on creating an organization with program objectives and formulating programs to achieve goals
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Organizational Development Group: Technical Tasks
develop program and organizational structures
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Organizational Development Group: Interactional Tasks
develop leadership and coalitions, broaden support, and reduce organizers' role
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Organizational Development: Task View
shifts from secondary to primary concern
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Stages of Practice: Institutional Relations Organization
fourth phase a more complex organization directed toward change and negotiation with a target system worker is more heavily involved in technical tasks at this stage of group organization group now working in coalitions with individuals and groups to attain its goals
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Institutional Relations Organization: Technical Tasks
implement strategy, administration, and planning
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Institutional Relations Organization: Interactional Tasks
develop tactics of education, persuasion, bargaining, and political pressure
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Institutional Relations Organization: Task View
primary concern now is to achieve tasks and generate changes desired by the group
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Organizational Goals: Integrative
purpose is not focused on changing the social system emphasizes developing accessible services for consumers who are in need, and helping them live normally within the context of the existing community
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Integrative: Social Stability
organization with integrative goals can attract substantial community support since they do not challenge existing social arrangements usually framed as enhancing or coordinating remedial services services are streamlined but basic concepts are not changed
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Organizational Goals: Socio-therapeutic
to raise consciousness of participants
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What improvements can socio-therapeutic relationships make?
-changes participants to improve their sense of themselves -tasks are secondary to enhancing consciousness and competence -seeks to develop leadership -participants encouraged to assume responsibility -participants encouraged to develop pride in their ethnic, racial, gender, and/or social group
73
Organizational Goals: Environmental Change
to resolve a community problem
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What improvements can environmental change goals make?
substantive change in problem areas
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Environmental Change: Substance of Change
the greater change sought, the more likely that resistance will be encountered
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What're modest subtances of change?
new traffic light at a street corner more frequent trash collection
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What're significant substances of change?
improved access to healthcare increasing school budgets
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Environmental Change: Scope of Change
local city, state, national policy international
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Concepts of Community: Types
Gemeinschaft Gesellschaft
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Types: Gemeinschaft
people live and work in their community they know one another, and care about and are committed to their local community agricultural economy encouraged family and village relationships as basic economic and social unit informal relationships intimate relationships allow sentiment to determine helping relationships relationships are end in themsleves
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Types: Gesellschaft
because of industrialization and urbanization, people are less involved with family and the local community often work in communities distant from the ones in which they live, and relate more to professional and business associates than to friends industrial production requires more instrumental relationships than those of less complex societies formal relationships impersonal relationships relationships are means to other ends
81
Community Definitions: Functional vs. Geographic
community defined by organization of social activities accessible in day-to-day living rather than through spatial relations
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Community Definitions: Functional vs. Geographic
production, distribution, and consumption socialization social control social participation mutual support
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Community Definitions: Dimensions of Community Differences
local autonomy coincidence of service areas psychological identity horizontal patterns: decisions are made within the community' vertical patterns: decisions affecting community are made outside of community
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Community Definitions: Loss of Control of Community Functions
a major problem of communities specialization and division of labor differentiation and division of labor bureaucracies impersonal relationships value differences
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Community Definitions: Social Change at the Community Level
Issue Consensus Issue Differences Issue Dissensus
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Social Change at the Community Level: Issues Consensus
issue agreement exists or will follow when considered common interests of various community groups collaborative strategies
87
Social Change at the Community Level: Issue Differences
issue agreement is possible but may be difficult to achieve common interests exist but are not perceived as such campaign strategy to persuade those who disagree
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Social Change at the Community Level: Issue Dissensus
issue agreement does not exist nor is it necessarily desired segmented interests polarize issues and permit clarity of purpose contest strategy, value differences
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Power: Definition
ability to influence others in intended ways
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Sources: Control of Resources
resources controlled by an individual or organization lead to increased power and influence
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Sources: Numbers of People
a constituency can be translated into political power through democratic means or through the power to disrupt
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Sources: Degree of Social Organization
a high degree of social organization suggests and ability to control and order resources to conform to agendas a well-organized community group can easily convert a dispute into a demonstration the higher the degree of the organization, the greater the need to listen to the organizational leadership
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The Concept of Elites: Zero Sum Theory
asserts a limited amount of power and resources when one group gains power, another must relinquish power making conflict inevitable power is concentrated in a small minority conflict strategies are necessary for a group to secure influence or power
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Views of Power: Pluralist Concept
power is decentralized, its use regulated by contests between conflicting interests power is distributed according to specific interests and domains may exercise undue influence over government such as controlling resources power is more fluid and accessible power shifts between different groups and among members of a population, depending on the mix of interests involved or mobilized collaborative strategies and large coalitions can acquire sufficient power and influence to realize their objectives
95
History of Community Organization: 1865-1885
coordination of private and state-operated systems of relief agencies to insure services were provided to the needy and duplicate services were not offered to anyone public services rudimentary, very limited, and often punitive concern with control of "pauperism," the tendency of the poor to become dependent upon charity and to manipulate charitable organizations
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History of Community Organization: Charity Organization Movement
introduces idea of scientific philanthropy and notion that purpose of philanthropy should be to promote moral and social betterment
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History of Community Organization: 1885-1914
the period between 1885 and the beginning of WWII is generally described as the Progressive Era marked by rapid urbanization and industrialization governments and universities were seen as ways to aid social problems applying science to human problems reaches maturity social research and other forms of investigation become the tools of social reform government acts as a broad base to help delegate and create resources that can help with social problems
98
What is the Progressive Era characterized by?
large-scale immigration concern with neighborhood problems increased emphasis on legislative action development of social reform movements by Settlement Houses which provide a venue for college students and educated men and women to learn about the poor focus on improved public administration, increased resources for public health, and greater business regulation to prevent exploitation of children and families distinct orientation to social reform and involvement of young, middle-class professionals in resolving social problems of the poor faith in public information, research, and the power of an informed and active public focus on facilitating intergroup relations and protecting immigrants and the poor
99
History of Community Organization: 1918-1933
postwar period some government institutions founded during the Progressive period continue and even expand, the general attitude expressed by government is to limit its involvement in social problems private nonprofit sector continues to expand the general attitude expressed by government is to limit its involvement in social problems social workers are taken with the new Freudian psychology and begin to adapt social work methods, particularly in work with children and families beginnings of movement to professionalize social work and identify it more closely with medical model
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History of Community Organization: United Fund
umbrella organization for raising funds and coordinating services of various agencies
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History of Community Organization: Lane Report
attempts to define COP and considers whether it is a legitimate form of social work
102
History of Community Organization: 1933-1945
election of Franklin Roosevelt at the heigh of the Depression leads to a radical alteration of the American framework for social welfare much of the legislation creating the programs of the New Deal is passed during this period during the second phase of the New Deal, the elements of the modern Social Security Program are enacted, these include the Social Security Act of 1935, the basic federally-funded or mandated social insurance and income maintenance programs that fundamentally change the role of the federal government in providing support to families and individuals economic depression alters perceptions about the role of government, and introduces the idea that government should provide a safety net of programs and services for the poor, as well as programs designed to insure the well-being of the aged COP emphasizes a professional role as technical experts, planners for social change, and implementers of government policy new bureaucracies are created to carry out the Social Security Act, as well as the work and welfare programs introduced by Roosevelt's New Deal social workers become the managers and organizers of the new public programs the locus of social research shifts from the private sector to the federal government as planners seek to calculate need and understand trends
103
History of Community Organization: 1945-1960
Postwar period social emphasis shifts to reintegration of veterans and economic development housing and urban redevelopment emerge as major public priorities, while family issues become larger themes in American culture multi-family is identified as the locus for many social problems, but clinical strategies eventually dominate social welfare thinking, and larger reform issues are ignored organized localities for community collaboration COP emerges as a social work method many schools introduce a COP training program as an alternate specialization
104
History of Community Organization: 1960-1975
The Office of Juvenile Delinquency, headed by Robert Kennedy, identifies community change as an important variable in reducing delinquency motivated by research and in part by social reformers projects such as Mobilization for Youth in New York City and ABCD in Boston, actively call for a redistribution of power and resources the passage of Economic Opportunity Act in 1964 creates new opportunities for community organization practitioners to identify with urban responds by training many organizers in community settings COP first accepted by CSWE as a social work method (1962), leading to the development of COP method tracks in schools of social work community organizers are active in the civil rights movement, helping disenfranchised citizens organize and develop programs designed to secure their rights organize disadvantaged for social change and redistribution of power new federal programs in the 1960s and early 1970s acknowledge the importance of community participation in programs designed to affect the living conditions and neighborhoods of the poor
105
What is the "War on Poverty"?
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 national concern with meeting the needs of the poor mandates community participation in planning and administering agency services for programs receiving federal funds federal government-funded community organizations bypass urban governments and, for a brief period, provide funding for hundreds of local nonprofit organizations such as Community Action Programs
106
What is maximum feasible participation of the poor?
an open-ended standard introduced by planners of the Community Action Program of the Office of Economic Opportunity to insure municipal and state government did not dominate federally-funded programs targeted to urban neighborhoods
107
What is the Welfare Rights Movement?
organizes the power to change the policies of public welfare organizations
108
History of Community Organization: 1975-1990
period of social reaction that changes the nature of COP changes in social policy reduce the availability of residential services, such as inpatient mental health care and services for the developmentally disabled; this leads to a growth of a nonprofit, community-based social agency structure that benefits from privatization of social services and the expansion of community-based care for many client categories a period of reaction to the turmoil of the 1960s and growing unease among many about the growth in numbers of dependent families emphasis shifts to management, planning, and organization of service as a partial response to growing public criticisms of programs for the poor and changing political climate community organizers also serve as program developers also serve as program developers to involve communities in planning and implementing new programs working with communities to provide community-based programs
109
How do you develop more efficient and effective agencies? (1975-1990)
-Effectiveness refers to the extent to which an organization accomplishes its goals -Efficiency refers to the relationship between the amount of resources an organization uses to achieve its goals and the outcomes it actually generates
110
COP redefines itself to include additional causes, including....
-Protecting the interests of clients -Securing and protecting social services and health care for different groups
111
History of Community Organization: 1990-Present
rising welfare costs accompanied by a rapidly growing welfare population leads to changes in perception about the value of social programs increasingly, violent crime and growing drug use in cities are perceived by conservative legislators as symptoms of family breakdown these problems are associated with welfare support for unwed mothers social research points to findings that suggests few families remain on welfare for long periods and represent a relatively small proportion of the welfare population, pressure grows for change these perceptions lead to a radical alteration in public assistance and the development of new models public assistance administered through the Clinton administration program limits welfare Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is implemented during the 1990s costs of many income support, social, and health programs emerge that promise to control costs while not necessarily reducing program quality Affordable Health Care Act passed in 2010; increased controversy about the design may require future congresses to make dramatic changes in the goals and designs of the program idea of mental health care gradually gains support idea of managed care demonstrates that managed care reduces the rate of growth in health care costs over care traditional adopted care idea of managed care be limiting required raises concern of patients being denied necessary services costs of many income support, social, and health programs for the non-poor rapidly accelerates Medicare, Public Assistance, and Social Security have come under increasing criticisms as costs rise and methods for controlling substance abuses appeared to be inadequate new techniques and programs emerge that promise to control costs while not necessarily reducing program quality passage of the ACA in 2010 changes the landscape of health insurance; hesitation and scrutiny about ACA and many states refused to implement the Medicaid features of the program mental health care gradually; managed care organizations demonstrate that managed care reduces the rate of growth in health care-costs over traditional indemnity insurance
112
What does TANF provide?Ins
mandated time limits for assistance, work training, and child care as a comprehensive approach to reducing the use of welfare advocates for the poor argue the program is leading to widespread misery and the costly employment-training and child-care components are largely illusory
113
HMO Plans
mostly nonprofit organizations, profit-making corporations have recently made substantial inroads in the delivery of health care large publicly owned hospital conglomerates now control thousands of hospitals and HMOs throughout the U.S. health care professionals and patients have become concerned about the new climate in health services and are pressing states to demand greater accountability practice emphasizes short-term methods have higher threshold of need for mental health services greater emphasis on group and psychoeducational models HMOs often "contract out" mental health services to private practitioners or groups, and authorize services for limited time periods frequent reauthorization of individual and family services limits care and requires clear short-term behavioral goals for all interventions HMOs often "contract out" mental health services to private practitioners or groups, and authorize services for limited time periods frequent reauthorization of individual and family services limits care and requires clear short-term behavior goals for all interventions
114
State Response to HMOs
passed legislation to permit patients to sue HMOs and health care professionals for malpractice
115
Short-Term Methods with HMO Plans
cognitive and behavioral strategies are preferred insight-based treatments are used less frequently since they cannot easily be evaluated and require longer-term, more costly treatment
116
Psychoeducational Models with HMOs
parenting groups common problem groups
117
Last Decade of the 20th Century
role and purpose of COP becomes increasingly ambiguous larger well-funded organizations such as the Children's Defense Fund and major research institutes have taken leadership in social welfare advocacy, while institutional social work advocacy has tended to emphasize self-interested professional issues such as licensing and reimbursement for services empirical research becomes a significant source for change television, the internet, and other news sources now provide high levels of information about social problems and have, to a greater extent, played a later role in defining social agendas fewer forces that use the information to press for social change most successful advocacy programs achieved prominence because of skillful marketing, a clear simple message and focused fund-raising agendas are largely framed in the context of demands for greater efficiency, reduced government involvement in the economy, increased international competition, and a reduced commitment to redressing social imbalances future of community practice is unclear in the 21st century