Advocacy In Social Work

This unit, as the third in the Block 3 — Advocacy, would acquaint you about the nature, meaning, purpose and objectives of advocacy. It also attempts’ to describes the Principles, skills, strategies, beneficiaries of advocacy and highlights the challenges of advocacy in social work.
More specifically, the unit would cover:
a) Definition ,Concept and nature of service
b) Various categories of loyalty.
c) Principles of Loyalty to Profession
d) How to nurture loyalty in Social Work Profession.
After reading the unit, you would develop a comprehensive idea about the loyalty as one of the values of social work profession. It also helps you to understand the importance of nurturing the value of loyalty in your profession.
1.1 INTRODUCTION

Advocacy

For one thing, they see first-hand the difficulties faced by clients who lack the resources for maintaining the basic human needs for themselves and their families. Social workers will work with social service agencies to facilitate economic maintenance, protect a social safety net or ensure the availability of health and mental health services.
Mobilizing resources, public opinion, interacting with agencies whose responsibilities are to serve the needs of vulnerable populations are ways social workers champion the rights of individuals, communities and society at large through active participation in the political process. Whether concerned about an individual’s needs or social policy reform, social workers are most frequently the voice for change and social justice.
1.2 ADVOCACY: NATURE &

A lawyer would refer to advocacy as the art of speaking in court, representing their client’s case and examining witnesses. Social workers also act as advocates for their clients who are disadvantaged in some way or the other. A doctor or nurse may also raise his/her voice against mal-practices that may be followed in hospitals or clinics where a particular treatment process is found to be faulty. Often such interventions by medical care professionals may not be considered as advocacy since the primary job of a medical practitioner is to treat the patient. However, such interventions could affect positive change in the way future patients would receive treatment. A non-governmental organisation (NGO) working in an urban community may fight against the municipal body for the restoration of hygienic conditions in the locality. A village community may be led by an NGO to prevent illegal felling of trees in the nearby forests. Citizen’s groups may challenge the authorities for malpractices in the service delivery system in the town. Similarly, social work trainees in the course of their field work practicum may want to facilitate the easy access to social security services like old age pension and housing schemes of the government for the poor and less privileged in society. These actions at times may not be viewed by activists or professionals representing others’ concerns as advocacy even if the process involved