Policy Practice for Social Workers

The second edition of Policy Practice for Social Workers expands the concept of policy practice in social work settings and illustrates how significant policy change may be achieved at a local, community, state, and national level. Guided by an ethic of care approach, this textbook is intended to raise readers’ awareness about policy practice and its fundamental relationship with the aims of the social work profession, offers a foundation for key skill development, and contextualizes the work of policy practitioners in the larger political-economic settings in which they work.

This textbook is divided into two parts. First, readers will expand their understanding of policy practice, its beginnings and development over the course of social welfare history, and the political, economic, and social drivers that affect policy decisions and undergird the U.S. political system. Readers will also learn about the ethic of care framework and the value-based lens it contributes to the policymaking process. Later, in the book’s second part, readers will explore the essential skills and values in policy work. Detailed coverage and vivid examples offer valuable insight into specific advocacy skills including lobbying, community organizing, mobilizing advocacy publics, coalition building, campaigning, problem analysis, policy analysis, and policy evaluation.

Within its comprehensive overview of policy practice and advocacy, the new edition of this text extols a value-laden perspective to identify and assess unmet needs and promote a more socially just environment for all. Combining these dual aims, Policy Practice for Social Workers is an excellent cornerstone of policy and policy work for undergraduate and graduate students in social work.