The purpose of this article is to discuss how a community agency based in Washtenaw County, the Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigration Rights (WICIR), emerged in response to increasing punitive immigration practices and human rights abuses toward the Latino community. The article discusses how WICIR is engaged in advocacy, community…

As the world marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens's birth, social workers may take note of the contributions Dickens made to 19th century social reform. Ever the advocate for people who were poor and oppressed, Dickens, in his timeless fictional narratives, continues to have relevance for contemporary social justice advocacy. This…

To social workers, extreme economic inequality is primarily a violation of social justice, but this article shows how growing economic inequality since the mid-1970s was not only unjust, but also dysfunctional to the U.S. economy and linked to the recent economic crisis with its devastating effects, particularly on the social work clientele. The…

Provides critical review of three contemporary strategies for fighting poverty: reform within existing public welfare system; new version of social demogrant idea as extension of social insurance approach; and radical social reform. Concludes that public assistance reform will bring only modest gains, any form of guaranteed annual income is…

Contends that United States has fragmented health care system that was put together like collage and that produces gaps in coverage, prohibitively rising costs, and endless paperwork. Discusses competitive insurance system, physician reimbursement, and hospital competition as three qualities of the collage that are at the heart of the problem. (NB)

During the 1890s and the first three decades of the 20th century, social work in the United States developed a community-based direct practice approach to family assistance and social reform. The basis for this method was a situational view of social life that emphasized the use of interpersonal and transactional methods to achieve social and…

Reviews paralysis of U.S. social policy. Notes that, although federal government has implemented new social programs, programs either are provided on condition of willingness to work or are modest in scope. Linking paralysis with literature on government ineffectuality, traces origins of ineffectuality of political/economic policies of past 20…

Argues that social work has been more devoted to self-determination than to social justice. Proposes that implementation of social justice requires commitment to policy practice. Reviews literature to identify methods of policy practice: legislative advocacy, reform through litigation, social action, and social policy analysis. Analyzes each…

Relational spirituality suggests that strengthening one's relatedness to other people and to sources of meaning beyond self-interest produces joy and vitality, which sustain the capacity to care. This perspective informs a qualitative study of 50 female services providers and social reformers. The interviews revealed that the women's caregiving…

Four components of comprehensive Hispanic group service are identified: assessment of the Hispanic community; a balanced program of groups that address social goals and groups that are reciprocal and remedial; knowledge of cultural and process issues; and the role of the Hispanic collaborative of community workers in effecting policy. (Author/BL)

The author discusses the neglect and deprivation common in State institutions for the mentally retarded and cites programs and legislation undertaken to alleviate the problem. (BY)

Presents the results of a national survey of political participation with a random sample of 513 social work leaders involved in health policy. Ten conceptually different prototypes of social work political participation were identified, which provide an empirical model that integrates routine functions with political components. Implications of…

Explores current social work practice and human service innovations based on interviews with practitioners in Chicago, New York City, and St. Louis. Offers rationale for reorientation of social workers' helping relationship and how it can contribute to human services reform. Examines strategies and innovations that can help professionals make this…

Argues that the thought of Mahatma Gandhi, as revealed in his social activism, is relevant to social work ethics and a resource for its ethical enrichment. Proposes that principles such as seeking truth through service to others, individual self-development, nonviolent social action, and material simplicity could enhance the current National…

Presents a framework of moral citizenship to guide ethical social work practice. The framework integrates the action philosophies of Hannah Arendt and Paul Tillich with professional responsibility and the contributions of social work pioneer Charlotte Towle. Social conscience and social consciousness--including awareness, thinking, feeling, and…