Politics represents efforts by people in governmental and nongovernmental settings to secure their policy wishes by developing and using power resources. —Bruce S. Jansson, Becoming an Effective Polic
Discussion: Using Power in Social Work Practice
Politics represents efforts by people in governmental and nongovernmental settings to secure their policy wishes by developing and using power resources.
—Bruce S. Jansson, Becoming an Effective Policy Advocate: From Policy Practice to Social Justice (8th ed.)
Social workers are in the business of empowering people. They are also often faced with power structures that are entrenched and difficult to navigate. Skillful policy practitioners recognize the many kinds of power resources that exist, thus expanding their options in specific situations. As a social worker, you will learn various strategies that can create and expand personal networks that might be useful in negotiating your policy practice within an agency. You want your power resources to be recognized as effective ways to get things done, not as coercion and force.
In this Discussion, you identify various kinds of power resources (including person-to-person, substantive, process, and procedural) that you can use to secure the adoption of a policy proposal.
To prepare: Review Chapter 10 in your text, focusing on Jansson's categorization of types of power resources in the policy-enacting task.
Provide responses to the Colleagues posts which are located below:
Offer a supportive perspective to his or her choice. Include in your perspective some thoughts on how a social worker can manage the use of his or her power resource.
Be sure to support your post with specific references to this week's resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.
Debra DD’s
RE: Discussion - Week 8
COLLAPSE
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Week 8 Discussion 1
Jansson, B.S., (2018) suggests that in order to progress with policy advocacy you must understand the power realities surrounding your advocacy issue, and how these dynamics affect the issue. A social worker should understand these dynamics in order to steer the direction of their advocacy. Power dynamics also take place within a social worker and client relationship and can be tools to help build and foster trusting relationships, as well as teach clients ways in which they can empower themselves.
As an advocate for resources needed for mental health and substance use issues, I would use a value-based person-to-person power approach as a way to invoke an emotional connection to the issues (Jansson, B.S., 2018). I believe that this source of power can have a significant impact on all parties by focusing on the goal and people that are directly affected.
There are many different power resources policy advocates need to be aware of in order to ensure your goals are met. However, a social worker should always keep in mind the ethical obligations he/she have when considering the use of power sources. Any type of power resource that could be construed as dishonest or manipulative should be reconsidered before utilizing (Jansson, B.S., 2018). Process power could be an example of manipulating power sources at the expense of negatively affecting the outcome for the clients served and should consider the outcomes of all parties involved.
Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice. (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.
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Leslie Pee
RE: Discussion - Week 8
COLLAPSE
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Description of how social workers use power resources in their social work practice and advocacy.
Social workers have established themselves as political powers for social justice and advocated for reform over a 100- years of contribution to social policies (Talbot & McMillin, 2014). Teaming with elected officials, agencies and community partnerships are power resources and could increase the playing field for social workers.
Select a type of power resource you would use in your practice and advocacy.
Build a personal network of community resources that would include contacts at local agencies that I have worked with that could influence the opposition. The agency in mind has people on the board of directors that are major players in the political arena.
Describe the ethical issues or concerns in using the type of power resource you selected.
Working in the community for years has given me an opportunity to make connections and allies. Using this power source could be useful however, ethical issues may arise when they would expect for me to support a mission that I disagree with. According to Jansson I would need to make ground rules and explain the expectations when putting together a strategy (2018).
References
Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.
Talbot, E. P., & McMillin, J. A. (2014). The Social Work Reinvestment Initiative: Advocacy and social work practice. Social Work, 59(3), 201–210. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1093/sw/swu021
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Shirl BS
RE: Discussion - Week 8
COLLAPSE
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How Social Workers Use Power Resources
There are many ways in which social workers can use power resources in order to advocate for specific populations. Person-to-Person power is used when the sender has a direct conversation with others in order to convey their message for advocacy, and this type of power resource can be broken down into nine different varieties ranging from a coercive power, to a more informative power, or value-based (Jansson, 2018). A social worker may also engage in procedural power when navigating the decision-making process for implementing a new program within an agency (2018). Similarly, in implementing a pilot program, a social worker may use process power to minimize controversy while the program is garnishing interest, so that it will be easier to convince the agency that program deserves more funding (2018). It’s also important to note that social workers may use a combination of power resources.
Value-Based Power Resource
In my current role, advocating for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, I might utilize a value-based power, which is one type of person-to-person power since it is used when having a discussion with others (Jansson, 2018). This power resource may be useful when advocating for a specific client as I express to the client’s support team that the client should have certain services or funding to support their goals. In this approach, I would easily appeal to the family because they too want what is best for their loved one. It would also be easy to appeal to the service provider or staff members, many of which have family members with disabilities which has driven them to work in the field. Likewise, using the value-based power resource could be effective for encouraging family members and stakeholders to contact local change-makers whenever budget cuts, which impact services and supports for disabled individuals, are in discussion. I would even address the local community to help speak out against budget cuts by promoting the ideas that those with varying abilities should have the same opportunities as the rest of us (for housing in the community, job opportunities, etc.).
Ethical Issues or Concerns
I don’t see very many ethical concerns in using the value-based power resource. As long as we are abiding by confidentiality guidelines while advocating for our clients there should be no concern. One ethical concern that could potentially arise is the possibility of blurring roles. We can become so easily entagled in fighting for the rights of our clients that we could lose sight of our professional role (in my case, a service coordinator). Should I ever want to advocate on a larger scale, I must do so “privately”, not representing the client or the agency I work for. This is to help maintain boundaries and ensure that when I am at work I am focusing on advocating for my client and to avoid bringing my personal, or sometimes political, views to my work.
Jansson, B.S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice. (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.
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