Community Practice Flashcards
Orientation: Community Organization Practice
(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
What does COP do?
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
Orientation: What do tasks and goals include?
- Altering public or private priorities to focus on problems of inequality and social injustice
- Promoting legislative change or the allocation of public funds
- Influencing public perceptions of social issues and social problems
- Improving or changing community agencies or institutions to satisfy community needs better
- Developing new methods, strategies and programs for addressing community problems
- Coordinating existing services and develop new ones
- Improving access to services
- Establishing new services and programs in response to new or changing needs
- Managing community organizations and programs
- Building the capacity of grassroots citizen groups to solve problems and make claims on public resources for under-served communities
- Seeking justice for oppressed minorities
Definitions and Characteristics: Brager and Specht (1987)
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
Brager and Specht (1987): Council on Social Work Education
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
Common Characteristics: COP
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
Common Characteristics: Values
- Enhancing participatory skills of citizens by working with them, not for them
- Developing leadership
- Strengthening communities so they can better deal with future problems
- Redistributing resources to increases the resources of the disadvantaged
- Planned changes
- Problem-solving process
- 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
Definitions and Characteristics: Assumptions Underlying COP (Ross)
- Community members can develop the capacity to resolve communal and social problems
- Members want to improve their situation
- Members must participate in change efforts rather than have changes imposed on them
- A systems approach considering the total community is more effective than programs imposed on communities
- Participation in community organization initiatives that involve social workers is designed to expose community participants to democratic decision-making
- Community participants can learn analytic, strategic, and interpersonal skills from an organizer who enables them to address community problems independently
Tasks of the Worker: Interactional
relating to people
Tasks of the Worker: Analytical
assessment steps in a COP process that will facilitate realizing agreed upon goals
Tasks of the Worker: Technical
techniques for distributing information to community members
Key Roles to COP: Socio-therapeutic
helps community members and leaders gain self and community problem understanding to facilitate problem resolution
Key Roles to COP: Enabler
helps community members use their own resources toward problem resolution
Key Roles to COP: Broker
Mediates and negotiates among different community groups
Key Roles to COP: Expert
Provide data and advice that community representatives can use to resolve problems
Key Roles to COP: Advocate
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
Key Roles to COP: Activist
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
Key Roles to COP: Organizer
joins groups and institutions together to take joint action toward specific goals
Tactic Selection (Brager and Specht, 1987): Selection of Tactics Three Major Factors
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
Types of Tactics: Collaborative
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
Types of Tactics: Campaign
the existence of perceived differences in goals, inequality in power, intermediate relationships
hard persuasion, political maneuvering, bargaining and negotiation, and mild coercion
Types of Tactics: Contest
the existence of public conflict, dissensus in goals, uncertain power, distant or hostile relationships
public conflict and pressure
What’re the steps in the Problem-Solving Model in COP?
- Introduce self to the group
- Clarify why everyone is there
- Address problems
- Help the group develop guidelines and a consensus on the problems to address
- Help the group evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of focusing on specific problems
- Help the group
What is involved in step 6 of the problem-solving model, help the group?
- Focus on a concrete problem that is of immediate concern to the group
- Select a problem it can successfully solve
- Study alternative solutions
- Evaluate available resources
- Evaluate potential for public support
- Consider how the target problem constituencies will respond
- Evaluate potential for agreement among community members
- Monitor implementation including how the target population is responding by obtaining feedback
- Adjust and revise strategies and tactics in light of new information
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
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
Locality Development: Change Strategy
broadly defined community can resolve its problems and develop increased ability to solve problems through rational participatory problem solving
Locality Development: Tactics
an emphasis on consensus and capacity building
Locality Development: Worker Roles
enabler, coordinator, educator, broker within such settings as the neighborhood or village
Locality Development: Boundaries
total geographic community
Locality Development: Agency Type
settlement houses, Peace Corps
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
Social Planning: Problem Solving
task-oriented
problems might include lack of child care, mental health services, police protection, etc
Social Planning: Change Strategy
fact gathering, rational action, and needs assessment
Social Planning: Tactics
consensus or conflict
Social Planning: Worker Roles
researcher, reporter, data analyst, program planner, program implementer, facilitator
Social Planning: Boundaries
total community or functional community defined by a common problem, such as the elderly or disabled needing special care
Social Planning: Agency Type
welfare councils, federal bureaucracy, planning board
Social Planning: Example
planning homeless shelters, after school recreation programs
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
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
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
Social Action: Change Strategy
issues identified, labeled, and described
individuals affected are helped to take action against powerful community institutions
Social Action: Worker Roles
advocate, activist, and negotiator
the worker is committed to a cause and pursues it with the clients and others
Social Action: Tactics
conflict, confrontation, contest, and direct action
Social Action: Examples
welfare rights organizing, tenant organizing, working with women’s rights movement
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
What is social reform?
mixture of social action and social planning
Social Reform: Change Strategy
fact gathering and publicity to assist disadvantaged populations, lobbying, and political pressure
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
Social Reform: Sponsors
professional associations (NASW), public interest groups (Ralph Nader’s organization or the Child Welfare League)
Social Reform: Examples
increasing welfare benefits or services such child care for working parents, improved economic development to resolve unemployment problems
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
Socialization Group: Technical Task
worker helps people identify and define some community problems for which the agency might wish to provide service
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
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
Socialization Group: Socialization
within formal organization or informally
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
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
Primary Group: Interactional Tasks
cultivate social bonds among group members and increase group cohesion
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
Organizational Development Group: Technical Tasks
develop program and organizational structures
Organizational Development Group: Interactional Tasks
develop leadership and coalitions, broaden support, and reduce organizers’ role
Organizational Development: Task View
shifts from secondary to primary concern
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
Institutional Relations Organization: Technical Tasks
implement strategy, administration, and planning
Institutional Relations Organization: Interactional Tasks
develop tactics of education, persuasion, bargaining, and political pressure
Institutional Relations Organization: Task View
primary concern now is to achieve tasks and generate changes desired by the group
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
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
Organizational Goals: Socio-therapeutic
to raise consciousness of participants
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
Organizational Goals: Environmental Change
to resolve a community problem
What improvements can environmental change goals make?
substantive change in problem areas
Environmental Change: Substance of Change
the greater change sought, the more likely that resistance will be encountered
What’re modest subtances of change?
new traffic light at a street corner
more frequent trash collection
What’re significant substances of change?
improved access to healthcare
increasing school budgets
Environmental Change: Scope of Change
local
city, state, national policy
international
Concepts of Community: Types
Gemeinschaft
Gesellschaft
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
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
Community Definitions: Functional vs. Geographic
community defined by organization of social activities accessible in day-to-day living rather than through spatial relations
Community Definitions: Functional vs. Geographic
production, distribution, and consumption
socialization
social control social participation
mutual support
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
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
Community Definitions: Social Change at the Community Level
Issue Consensus
Issue Differences
Issue Dissensus
Social Change at the Community Level: Issues Consensus
issue agreement exists or will follow when considered
common interests of various community groups
collaborative strategies
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
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
Power: Definition
ability to influence others in intended ways
Sources: Control of Resources
resources controlled by an individual or organization lead to increased power and influence
Sources: Numbers of People
a constituency can be translated into political power through democratic means or through the power to disrupt
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
History of Community Organization: United Fund
umbrella organization for raising funds and coordinating services of various agencies
History of Community Organization: Lane Report
attempts to define COP and considers whether it is a legitimate form of social work
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
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
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
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
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
What is the Welfare Rights Movement?
organizes the power to change the policies of public welfare organizations
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
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
COP redefines itself to include additional causes, including….
-Protecting the interests of clients
-Securing and protecting social services and health care for different groups
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
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
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
State Response to HMOs
passed legislation to permit patients to sue HMOs and health care professionals for malpractice
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
Psychoeducational Models with HMOs
parenting groups
common problem groups
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
