Course objectives

 Acquire the concepts, theories, principles, and methods of generalist social work
practice relevant to a group and community work with diverse populations;
 Build upon the knowledge, skills, and values that utilize systems and problem-
solving approaches;
 Develop the applications of group work with populations- at risk;
 Acquire content on types of groups, the process of group development, group
dynamism, and the interaction between groups and systems with the external
environment;
 Develop the utilization of engagement, assessment, planning, intervention, and
termination skills for working with groups, organizations, and communities; and
 Apply the skills of planning and working with groups, organizations, and
communities and assess and evaluate process and outcome.
 Understanding Social Work Practice at Mezzo and macro-level
Mezzo level SW practice:
 small group practice
 The mezzo approach is called the “mixed method” model.
 In the mixed method model, micro social work skills, group work skills, and macro skills
(community work, administrative work, and evaluation) are all a part of the job.
 Mezzo social work involves the development and implementation of social service
initiatives at the local and small community levels (ex. schools, neighborhoods, and city
districts)

Importance of Mezzo Social Work

• Mezzo-level social workers advocate for and serve clients within all the
public systems that make up the fabric of our communities, regions, and
nation.
• School social workers, for instance, provide support services for students
struggling personally, academically or socially. They could provide guidance
and intervention on issues such as bullying and truancy.
Macro social work practice
• Macro practice is professionally guided intervention designed to bring about change
in organizational, community, and policy arenas.
• Macro practice, as all social work practice, draws from theoretical foundations
while simultaneously contributing to the development of new theory.
• Macro practice is based on any of a number of practice approaches, and it operates
within the boundaries of professional values and ethics.
• Macro social work focuses on large client systems.
• It is typically comprised of specialties in community organization, administration,
policy management, and evaluation.
• Macro social work encompasses practices like social work research, program
development for small and large communities, community-based education
initiatives, policy analysis and advocacy, non-profit administration and leadership,
and organizational development.
 Social Work Practice with Groups
Groups as the source of community

The social dimension of social work implies that people need and want to relate to others within
the context of a “community.” Yet the ways to meet this need are not always clear to social work
professionals or to the clients they serve. In contemporary culture, there is a pervasive emphasis
on independence, mobility, and the pursuit of success.

Employment opportunities for many that are far away from home; socioeconomic achievements;
and/or pressures to advance professionally, socially, and economically influence people and have
spurred new definitions of and parameters for community. Such influences are not necessarily
negative, but they can take a heavy toll on one‟s sense of connection and linkages (i.e.,
community) to stable, consistent groups on which they can depend over time. We need to
connect with others. The number of announcements for therapy groups, support groups,
community groups, and educational groups suggests that, as a western culture, people are
looking for a way to relate to others that is outside of them. In other words, people seek out
groups in order to form community. Such groups provide a safe environment in which to share
goals, information, give and receive mutual aid, and make connections with others (Steinberg,
2014). By implication, social work practice with groups affords people the opportunity to
participate in meaningful experiences that the contexts of their personal and/or professional lives
do not provide. Family, friends, and co-workers may be empathetic to and supportive of our
challenges and form one type of group that provides community, but it might not be enough.

We may find a stronger connection with non- friends or family who share lived experiences,
issues, or perspectives than our natural groups.
2.1. Group orientation as a cultural dimension

Culture has an important impact on the amount and type of connections people seek. “People
relations” is one of the cultural paradigms that distinguish one cultural group from another.eg
Americans &Ethiopians. The social worker facilitating the group must be culturally astute, aware
of group participants‟ cultural backgrounds, and attuned to the cultural influences that affect
group dynamics.

Brown (2013) offers the following strategies for culturally competent group facilitation: Ask
questions of group members to draw out cultural differences and attempt to integrate learning
into the group process; Do not overwhelm group members with too much information at one
time; Regularly check in with group members to ensure clarity of understanding by all members
of the group regarding goals, purposes, membership, and processes ;Attend to your
communication skills; use open-ended questions and avoid technical words and jargon and Ask
group members to share their own traditions related to respectful interactions, culturally sensitive
issues, and taboos. Social workers practicing with groups can benefit from incorporating
culture-specific strategies.

2.2. Implications of global and cultural connections for social work group practice

Social work practice underscores the need for sensitivity to global awareness in social work
group practice. “Social workers should promote conditions that encourage respect for cultural
and social diversity globally” (NASW). Due to the increased globalization of our society, social
workers engaged in group work will need heightened awareness of the expectations and needs of
group members of diverse cultures and the global context.

As a practicing helping professional, you will benefit from exploring the degree to which your
own orientation to achievement, independence, and competition as cultural variants might be
incompatible with the cooperation and collaboration that clients from other cultures may value
more highly. Regardless of your own cultural heritage, be careful to avoid valuing your
orientation to the ideals in your culture or privileging your cultural values as normal just because
they are familiar.
The nature of “groupness” is complex and variable according to social location. While all people
need and seek social connections, their cultural expectations related to family and community,
customs, propriety, loyalty, authority, individualism, and the way in which these factors fit
together can temper and shape this phenomenon. While individual self-determination is an
important hallmark of social work practice, a group social worker must also understand that it
could be perceived as oppressive to clients whose cultural orientation is more collective in
nature. Group social workers should be able to adjust group work processes and expectations to
account for the range of cultural orientations about collective versus individualistic orientations
of group members.

2.3. Historical and contemporary contexts for group work

Social work group practice has roots in the settlement houses in England in the 19th century.
Group work developed in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries at a time
when many in our society perceived a need for public, religious, or philanthropic organizations
to involve themselves in the lives of U.S. citizens.

In the 1950s, group work expanded from the community into hospitals and psychiatric facilities
and social workers introduced therapeutic group work or treatment groups. A distinction between
Casework and Group work is made. Three classic models for group practice—the social goals
model, the reciprocal model, and the remedial model—emerged between the late 1950s and the
1970s.

Social Goals: Democratic values, social conscience, responsibility, and action; uses strengths.

Reciprocal: Interaction in an attempt to fulfill mutual affiliation goals; mutual aid.

Remedial: behavior change and reinforcing individual behaviors.

The climate of social work practice today offers practitioners a unique opportunity to work with
groups to help individuals meet their needs for genuine connection and social action. A group-
focused orientation is one of the characteristics that distinguish social work group practice from
psychology or mental health counseling groups. In group work, the social worker‟s effort
focuses on the development of the group as a whole through which individual well-being is
promoted through interactions and group structures.

2.4 Dimensions of social work practice with groups

Social work group intervention is a small, face-to-face gathering of people who come together
for a particular purpose which can be focused on the individual or community. The major feature
of a group experience is: the interdependence among person, group, and social environment for
such purposes as individual or community growth and social advocacy/policy change.

Type, form, and function

There are two types of social work groups .which are;

 formed (or constructed) groups

 Non-constituted (natural) groups.

Natural groups occur in the context of socialization and are not organized from the outside.
These may be based on spontaneous friendships, common interests, or common social location,
such as living in the college dormitory. Families are the original natural group. Natural groups
usually do not have formal sponsorship or agency affiliation, but social workers may have
occasion to work with them (particularly families). Social workers and their agencies can also
provide support to these naturally formed groups in a variety of ways (e.g., offer meeting space,
access to office equipment, or staff consultation)

Constituted groups: Social workers are more likely to engage with or facilitate formed groups,
which are organized by an institution or organization. There are three primary models of formed
groups that accomplish different functions: Forms of social work groups include; Task group,
social action/goals groups and client groups

1. Task groups: A task group aims to facilitate a change that is external to the group with a
focus on a specified purpose. E .g. developing policy

2. Social action or goals groups: a type of task group that focuses on political and social
changes. Eg. Advocating for social justice; equity humanity, empowerment
Strengths of Social action or goals groups

The collective effort of a group of people can be more powerful than that of an individual; the
social worker is not the expert leader, but rather a facilitator or supporter of the group; groups
can help harness the individual‟s capacity to create social change; professionals and group
members work in partnership; group members determine the agenda; and groups can create a
safe environment for the individual and collective exploration of issues of oppression,
discrimination, and disadvantage.

3. Client groups: it geared toward personal change. Client treatment groups aimed at support,
education, growth, therapy, socialization, empowerment, and remediation. Client groups can be
formed for two purposes:

I. Reciprocal: referred to as support, self-help, and mutual sharing groups, form to enable
members who share a common experience to provide mutual aid to one another with an
emphasis on self-help and not specifically on therapeutic intervention. Social workers play
Initiation, facilitation role in this group.

II. Remedial: aim to change behaviors, restore functioning, or promote coping strategies of the
individual members who either voluntarily or involuntarily join the group. Social workers play
Facilitation/leader role.

Can Social work groups be different?

Social work groups may differ in various ways like; the number of group meetings or the way in
which they are organized. A group may meet for a fixed number of sessions, or it may be
ongoing, with changing membership over time. Some groups are structured as closed groups in
which group membership and the number of sessions are fixed.

Many others are open groups, which allow new members to join at any time (or occasionally
only at fixed times, such as after the third and sixth sessions). Group interventions are often
intentionally time-limited because of the nature of the work (e.g., mandated groups or psycho
educationally focused groups), financial or agency resources, or characteristics of the group
members (e.g., children or adolescents).
2.5. Engagement and Assessment with Groups

 What is engagement in social work?

 What is assessment in social work?

The engagement: - is the social worker and the client first interaction. It can last anywhere from
a couple of minutes to an hour or more, depending on the circumstances and avenue of practice.

Assessment: - A systematic process of identifying the issue to change.

2.5.1 Theoretical approaches to engagement and assessment with groups.

Social work practice at any level begins with identifying theoretical lens. Social workers are
obligated to utilize a theoretically evidence-based intervention that incorporates empirically
supported group interventions and process, evidence-supported guidelines, and practice
evaluation. In the premise that all members in a social work group have strengths on which the
goals and objectives can be built SWP should focused on strengths-based perspective.

“The very act of forming a group is a statement of our belief that every member of the group has
something to offer the others, something to give to others, not just to get from them”. Since all
groups are created and function as a system, most theoretical frameworks for group practice
derive from the systemic perspective. System theory, systemic and strengths-based frameworks
should guide social work group practice.

Narrative approach in group engagement and assessment

Members can benefit, not only from sharing and reconstructing their own narratives, but also
from listening to other group members and contributing as they reconstruct their own individual
stories. The narrative framework emphasizes the client‟s expertise on her or his life (Kelley,
2013).

Incorporating a narrative approach with groups begins with viewing the clients as collaborators
with one another and the social worker. Within the context of assessment in group practice,
group members can work with one another and with the social worker to identify members‟
strengths. The assessment process can also help members externalize or separate themselves
from their problems for the purpose of planning for change.
  Engaging through narration
 Engaging through listening
 Engaging in challenging others perspective
 Understanding the problem through narration and
 Separating oneself from the problem by narration

The interactional nature of the group experience can promote the group members‟ comfort and
motivation to articulate their stories as well as enable them to support one another as they
explore and strategize potential solutions that will work for them.

Solution focused approach in group engagement and assessment

It is pragmatic, outcomes-oriented approach. This approach emphasizes brief, targeted

interventions at family or individual level. Solution focused approach encourages more
purposeful interaction among group members. Engaging potential group members, the social
worker can emphasize the time-limited, targeted, future oriented nature of a solution-focused
group.

Its ground on strengths-based perspective and its emphasis on solutions, Makes group members
to focus;

 on the issues that brought them to the group,

 on collaboration with one another
 on the development of a plan for change,
 activating the planned change
 The input and support of other group members and of the social work facilitator.

De Jong and Berg (2013) report that the relatively brief, time limited nature of the solution-
focused group intervention can serve as motivating and purposeful for group members.
Solution-focused strategies have been shown to be particularly helpful when addressing bullying
behaviors with children and youth, with clients mandated for intervention (e.g., prison inmates
and offenders of intimate partner violence) and substance abuse. The assessment phase of
solution-focused group work can promote a range of helpful techniques. For example, creating
individualized therapeutic goals and using scaling questions to gauge members‟ concerns enables
group members to monitor their own progress throughout the intervention. Eg standardized tests.

The benefit of such a pragmatic, time-limited nature of the group process is that group members
can share ideas and strategies, help identify strengths in themselves and others, and support and
nurture one another.

2.5.2 Contemporary trends and skills for the beginning phases of group work – engagement
and assessment

As with practice with individuals and families, pre-planning, engagement and assessment, and
planning are critical to an effective social work intervention with a group. Phases of the group
intervention:

(1) Engagement including preplanning and planning for the group experience;

(2) Assessment and planning for the group process planning;

(3) Intervention focused primarily on the middle phase of group work; and

(4) Termination, evaluation, and follow-up encompassing the ending phase.

Group practice skills build on the skills and knowledge needed in work with individuals and
families by adding new skills for;

Pre-group formation planning (i.e., screening, engaging and assessment, group logistics, and
process) Pre-group formation planning successful social work group intervention requires careful
planning prior to the first meeting.

As Julie & Berg.W.(2017), the group practitioner need to consider nine areas before organizing a
group.

 Client need  Content

 Purpose  Agency context
 Composition, eligibility, and  Social context
appropriateness  Pre-group contact
 Structure
  Contacting prospective group members

Engagement
Overlapping with the important pre-group planning phase, engagement is the beginning phase of
the group intervention. The Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups provides behavior
guidelines for the practitioner working in the engagement or beginning phases of the group work
activities as: developing contracts for explication of individual and group goals, tasks, and
activities for the duration of the group and beyond; following your own introduction and
clarification of your role in the group, inviting members to introduce themselves and to share
their reasons for joining and their hopes for the group; in collaboration with group members,
developing a clear statement of purpose, rules and norms, and roles that incorporates the
individual and group member and agency goals, needs, and perceptions; developing, as
appropriate, content, activities, and resources relevant to the group‟s purpose; highlighting
common interests and goals, direct interactions, and potential linkages in order to promote group
cohesion among members, and between the members and you; in cooperation with group
members, establishing the work plan for the group for the rest of the beginning phase and for the
remainder of the group‟s planned time together (or for the individual‟s time in the group if the
group is open-ended and not time-limited); and building awareness and overt recognition of the
unique characteristics of each group member, including but not limited to cultural and ethnic
heritage, age, gender, sexual orientation, presenting concerns, and note that each person brings
strengths to the group process.

The engagement phase can be challenging for both the social worker and for group members to
establish rapport and engagement. use “tuning in,” is very important for a social worker when
individuals hastate to engage in a groups. He/she conveys empathy, acknowledges the reasons
that the member may be reluctant to engage with the social worker or other group members, and
invites feedback. “Tuning in” to the group members can also help to create a therapeutic alliance
(i.e., development of a trusting working relationship) with the members of the group as
individuals, which can then allow the individual members to create alliances with the other
members of the group.

Assessment and planning

Just as engagement can be an ongoing process, you can revisit assessment and planning
throughout the duration of the group experience. Both assessment and planning logically and
naturally occur as you recruit and screen potential members and again as the group forms and
collaborates on the development of individual and group contracts. You may find that you need
to assess and plan at different points throughout the life of the group as individual and group
goals change and evolve, as members arrive and depart, and as unanticipated events influence
group interactions (e.g., conflict, change of facilitator, or termination).

Ongoing assessments must be conducted to establish the individual member‟s goals and desired
outcomes, the group‟s outcomes, and the group processes (e.g., group cohesion and
productivity).
Regardless of the timing and frequency assessment occurs, bringing a bio-psycho-social-spiritual
lens to the information is essential for the group intervention. Within the context of group
practice, the bio-psycho-social spiritual assessment is a strategy both for determining the context
of the client‟s situation, if the issues and characteristics a group member presents are consistent
with those of other members, and for monitoring individual and group progress toward goals.
Assessment can also conduct to measure group-related issues such as cohesiveness. In the
process of assessment sources of information could be; use standardized measures, observation,
Group member self-reports, or feedback from an external source (e.g., in person, through videos,
through audio recordings).

Social work ethical guidelines for engaging and assessment

Social work ethical guidelines dictate the following (Brown, 2013): All assessment techniques
and instruments must have sufficient and appropriate validity and reliability; Group facilitators
must have formal training and supervised practice assessing group members; Group leaders must
always practice within their areas of competence; Group members must provide informed
consent for participation in the group experience and the group leader must inform them of any
information resulting from the assessment that will be shared with others.

Planning

Planning within the assessment phase of group work often requires vigilant attentiveness and
flexibility. While most group facilitators spend considerable time and effort on pre-group
planning and developing an agenda or plan for each group session, the experienced group
practitioner can attest to the need to be willing and able to quickly and creatively shift plans. In
planning, balancing to each individual‟s needs and the needs of the entire group is necessary.
Facilitators should set aside your plans for that session to devote time to one or more specific
individuals, but use cautions to ensure you do not sacrifice the needs of other members or agenda
items in the process.

2.6. Intervention, evaluation and termination with groups

The middle and ending phases of the group work. Its efficiency stems from effective
engagement and assessment. It‟s the parts of the group experience in which the “majority of the
work of the groups gets accomplished” and is “the time to consolidate the work of the group”.
Terminations and evaluations are complex because of the dual focus on both the individual and
the group.

2.6.1. Interface; social justice, diversity and human rights

Much of social injustice is rooted in exclusion from resources, opportunities, respect, and
supports. This kind of exclusion is especially evident in the experiences of those persons and
groups who are considered by society as “other” or different. Hence, Social work with groups is
a natural setting for practitioners who are committed to social justice, diversity, and/or human
rights concerns. Which one is the most appropriate and effective social work response to
diversity (heterogeneous or a homogenous group structure?) Still debating issue.

Group work practice brings people together in meaningful ways that can serve as a forum for
increasing understanding, appreciation, and respect for others. In short, group membership can
reduce the effects of exclusion and the injustices associated with feelings of marginalization.

When working with groups, you can identify, establish, articulate, and mediate the rights and the
needs of group members. This can be an important and empowering experience for those who
may have rarely (or never) understood their own social contexts in terms that affirmed their
rights as human beings (Kurland et al., 2004), and model such behavior for other members of the
group. Viewing group intervention as reinforcing human rights can further integrate human
rights practice into the profession.

Singh and Salazar (2011) suggest that social justice-oriented group work is based on the
following foundations:

 The centrality of multicultural competence:

 The interplay between content and process:
 The influence of privilege and oppression:
 Effects on power dynamics within and outside groups:

2.6.2. Theoretical Approaches to Intervening with Groups

There are well-developed theoretical approaches related to group interventions, processes, skills,
and ending points. When the social worker subscribes to a specific theoretical perspective, she or
he can use the theory to guide the formation of the group, define roles, and impact group
dynamics to guide the content of the group experience (Macgowan, 2013). Following an
overview of theoretical applications to group interventions, we will explore several classic,
contemporary, and developmental models.

Strengths and Empowerment Perspectives on Group Intervention

Social workers should approach practice with groups from a strengths orientation. A strengths
approach can affirm and motivate the individual‟s change process through a focus on
“possibilities versus problems.” The strengths perspective helps identify and integrate individual
members‟ strengths into strengths for the whole group. For example, within the intervention
itself, the social worker can use group members‟ strengths for a range of purposes, including
developing individual and group goals and sharing resources. Individual strengths can serve as
models when group members share ideas and resources

Approaching the group intervention from a strengths-based perspective requires the social
worker to help create an environment in which all group members accept the following three
norms:

Participation: Group members recognize one other as equal participants, each with the same
rights and opportunities.

Communication: Interactions among group members and the facilitator must be respectful (e.g.,
everyone should be allowed to speak without interruption or side conversations).

Interactions: In order for all group members to contribute equally, members and the group
leader should be committed to arriving on time and staying for the duration of the group (p. 215).

A strengths-based perspective integrates easily with other theoretically-driven intervention

approaches, such as the empowerment perspective. Arising from an ecological perspective,
empowerment-focused group interventions align with a strengths perspective in their emphasis
on addressing social injustices and fostering reciprocal connections with members‟
environments. Within this context, empowerment is a process as well as an outcome that
encompasses the personal (individual person), the interpersonal (interactions between persons),
and the social (interactions within society). In empowerment groups, committing to joining a
group can itself support the personal and interpersonal dimensions as well as the empowerment
felt from helping and receiving help from other members. Critical analysis of the political
environment and individuals‟ participation in change efforts is also important to the
empowerment process. This means that group members are empowered from the earliest
planning for the group and participate in the identification of needs.

Narrative Theory and group Interventions

Narrative approach to intervening with groups emphasizes not only the collaboration between the
client and the social worker, but also the collaboration among group members. A narrative-
oriented group intervention requires the social worker and group members to listen to each
member‟s voice and to aid in the deconstruction and subsequent reconstruction of the individual
or group “story” (i.e., their experience through their own perspective).

One of the hallmarks of the narrative approach is the use of witness groups and community
supports. The social worker calls people together into witness groups to “witness” discussions
between the social worker and the client and/or among group members. In the case of a group
intervention, group members are in place to serve as witnesses to their own discussions. Known
as the outside-witness group (because they are outside the individual‟s personal situation), these
group members both contribute to, and listen to, dialogues and provide feedback to the social
worker and to individual group members (Morgan, 2000). Such feedback can include questions,
observations, and interpretations. The individual receiving feedback may then ask questions and
respond. This process can help the client develop an alternative approach to her or his current
dilemma or concern.

Using “insider” knowledge (i.e., hearing from others with similar life experiences) is a staple of
the narrative approach. Group interventions are good opportunities to use this practice strategy,
particularly if group members share similar life experiences and are at different phases of those
experiences.

Solution-Focused group Interventions

Solution-focused interventions with groups are similar to family interventions and require the
same knowledge and skills. During the beginning phases of group work, you asked clients a
series of questions to identify their desired new realities and the strengths and resources available
to help achieve the clients‟ goals for change. When you develop a solution-focused intervention
plan, you can ask clients to reconsider the “miracle,” “exceptions,” and “scaling” questions to
solidify the plan for change.

The solution-focused group intervention is well suited for a variety of client populations and
settings. With its emphasis on positive changes in the client‟s life and client-developed
individualized treatment plans, this intervention has reaped promising outcomes with adults,
adolescents, and children and with involuntary clients. When used with adults who are
incarcerated, in mental health settings (in-and out-patient), and in substance abuse treatment
programs, solution-focused interventions “can often be like doing individual therapy in front of a
group” when individual clients are engaged in dialogue about their individual situation in front of
the group.

The integration of solution-focused group interventions with adolescents and children is equally
promising. Social workers and their adolescent and child clients can build solution-focused
group interventions around a specific topic or theme. In addition, their brief time-limited format,
flexibility, future-oriented focus, and deemphasize on problem “talk” makes solution-focused
group interventions particularly well-suited to work with adolescents and children.

Developmental Models

One of the classic theoretical perspectives on group work, the developmental model, is based on
the assumption that group members (individually and collectively) grow and change as the group
process unfolds.

Developmental models assume that groups change and grow in semi predictable ways. This
assumption does not mean groups go through rigid progressions but rather that group
relationships ripen. Members are perhaps ambivalent about joining the group at the beginning.
Then they jockey for position within the membership, grow closer together through the work of
the group, establish differences from one another, and finally separate at the group‟s ending. This
perspective reflects the idea of stages (also referred to as phases) and has been extremely
influential in contemporary group work. Developmental models are still the norm in many
practice contexts. They are frequently useful in alerting the social worker to possible dynamics,
gauging what is happening, and thinking about how to intervene. We now examine two different
developmental models—the Boston Model and the relational model.

Boston Model First developed at Boston University‟s School of Social Work; the Boston Model
outlines five stages of group development: pre-affiliation, power and control, intimacy,
differentiation, and separation.

During pre-affiliation, members may feel some ambivalence or reservations about joining the
group as well as excitement and eagerness.

In the power and control stage, members vie for influence and status within the group. In a
support group for individuals who share a diagnosis, members who are further along in their
illness, treatment, or recovery may perceive themselves as having more status and influence than
those who are recently diagnosed.

Intimacy occurs when group members, having worked through their power issues, become
closely connected; they may seem more homogeneous at this stage than at any other time in the
group. Having processed the issues of power and control, they can begin to support each other
around their common life experiences. Members will often share coping strategies and develop
relationships outside of the group sessions to help each other through crises.

During differentiation, members feel they are safe enough to express and value the differences
among themselves and the worker; the homogeneity of the former phase matures into a respect
for difference. In this phase, members of an illness support group may become comfortable
enough to confront one another on differences of opinion, coping behaviors, or lack of
compliance. Such confrontations can occur successfully only when members have reached a
point of mutual respect for one another.

In the final stage, separation, members begin to withdraw from the group in anticipation of its
ending. Members of an illness support group may separate as they finish treatment, recover, or
learn that their illness is terminal.
With its emphasis on power and control, the Boston Model may be most appropriate for use with
group members who are more comfortable with competition, power, and conflict (e.g., younger
groups) and groups that can move through stages quickly and with independence from the
facilitator.

Relational Model: Feminist theorists and practitioners established the relational model in
response to developmental theory building that excludes women. The relational model proposes
that women go through different stages than those in the Boston Model. The second and third
stages of the relational model emphasize the relationships established before the conflict, or
challenge, stage.

 Pre-affiliation: Members experience ambivalence about joining.

 Establishment of a relational base: Members build strong, affective connections with
others.
 Mutuality and interpersonal empathy: The connections deepen into a commitment to
mutual aid.
 Challenge and change: Members recognize differences, and the connections may change
in nature.
 Termination: Members conclude their work and separate.

2.6.3. Contemporary Trends and Skills for the Middle Phase of Group Work: Intervention

In the middle phase of the group experience, the social worker, the client, and the entire group
implement the plan to work toward their goals. The social worker and the group move into a
pattern of interaction that enhances cohesion, unity, integration, trust, and communication i.e
intervention. The primary function of intervention phase of group work is to carry out goals that
were established during the assessment phase of group work. The Standards for Social Work
Practice with Groups (IASWG, 2015) provides guidelines for organizing this phase of work and
identifying needed skills:

1. Support progress toward individual and group goals: Having established both individual
and group goals in the assessment phase, members can develop and implement a plan to
accomplish the goals. The social worker must be attentive to the potential need to re-negotiate
goals during this phase of work.
2. Attend to group dynamics and processes: The social worker must be vigilant in her or his
ongoing observations of group dynamics and processes. As group members become familiar
with one another, they may feel more confident confronting one another, which can create
conflict within the group. Moreover, the social worker must be mindful of alliances that form
within the group and outside the group and of the impact of those relationships on individual and
group functioning.

3. Use evidence-based group practices (see discussion next) and utilize resources inside and
outside the group: As the work phase progresses, the social worker should be aware of and have
access to resources that may be helpful to group members.

Group work that is informed by both quantitative and qualitative evidence to support the “best
available” practices is known as evidence-based group work.

Different Types of Social Work group Interventions

Constructionist groups for Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

A constructionist group is a group intervention facilitated from a social constructionist

perspective. In this approach, the facilitator recognizes that group members create reality through
shared meanings. The constructionist group process offers members the opportunity to develop
new understandings of themselves. A constructionist group intervention embodies feminist and
narrative theories as well as the postmodern approach of the way in which a person develops a
new and preferred representation of the self (i.e., view of her or his own worth and identity).

Restorative justice groups for Combating Crime

Seeing the criminal justice system as delayed in practices that neither heal nor rehabilitate,
scholars and practitioners have developed what they believe is a more relevant approach that
better responds to the issues of offenders as well as survivors, particularly in cases involving
gendered violence against women. A loosely associated collection of strategies called restorative
justice groups focuses on crime as an interpersonal conflict with repercussions on the victim, the
offender, and the community at large. Well suited to the social work profession‟s grounding in
the value of the bio-psychosocial-spiritual perspective, the strategies of restorative justice
emphasize healing, growth, and enhanced functioning for all those affected by crime.
Motivational Interviewing groups (GMI)

GMI in particular requires the facilitator to emphasize collaboration, autonomy, support, and
empathy through reflective listening and change talk support the use of MI with a range of group
interventions, but they offer two cautionary notes: (1) the group leader should be competent in
the facilitation of MI with individuals before attempting to incorporate it into a group experience,
and (2) due to the larger number of participants, there will be fewer opportunities for change talk,
which may result in less predictable outcomes.

The examples provided here present just a small sampling of the types of group interventions
available to social workers. Identifying the intervention approach, format, and structure that best
fits your goals for working with groups

Social Work Skills for group Interventions

1 Leadership Skills Social work practice with groups requires the social worker to demonstrate
leadership in initiating and facilitating the group, including:

 To maintain a “thinking group” posture, you, as the social worker, consider the group as
a whole first and individual members second on the whole can require a paradigm shift.
 Exhibiting “balanced leadership,” you encourage the group to have some control over
the process and outcome. This leadership can challenge social workers who believe they
must have complete control of the group and its agenda or it will explode or become
chaotic. If the social worker allows the group to evolve without close attention to process,
it can become chaotic, members‟ feelings may be hurt, or the group may fragment and
lose its meaning for group members. The social worker‟s ability to effectively facilitate
depends on many factors including group connection, group functioning, and the
presence of internal or indigenous leadership, that is, leadership that evolves within the
membership.

2. Leadership Communication Skills

Carefully choose the patterns of communication you will use in your group. If you respond only
to the members who speak up, you will likely marginalize or exclude a subset of members.
3. Leadership Problem-Solving Skills

Connecting progress to goals by summarizing progress, identifying options, prioritizing

decisions, mediating conflicts, confronting lack of progress and group interactions, and weighing
potential outcomes are skills and activities that a social worker employs in problem solving
during the intervention phase of group work. In problem solving with groups, it is important that
the social worker participate in locating resources to benefit group members. The social worker
can make use of the unique characteristics of the group in the act of problem solving. A social
worker‟s goal in work with groups is to negotiate the tension between individual member and
whole group needs, coming to a genuine compromise that encourages creative enrichment that
benefits both the individual and the group.

4. Management of group Function and Process

All effective social work interventions make use of the social worker‟s ability to interact
competently with clients with strengths-based and bio-psychosocial-spiritual perspectives.

Roles of social worker

 Synthesizer,
 Facilitator,
 Setter of norms
 Advocator
 Collaborate
 Educator
2.6.4. Contemporary Trends and Skills for the Ending Phases of Group Work:
Termination and Evaluation

Terminating (i.e., ending), evaluating, and following-up with individuals and families can be
applied to work with most clients. As in social work terminations and evaluations with
individuals and families, the intensity of the phases of ending a group and evaluating the work
will depend on the type of group and its purpose.

Social Work group Endings

The social worker‟s role in termination is to “help members examine their accomplishments,
review their experience together, and prepare for the future… and express and integrate positive
and negative emotion”. Social work practice with groups can end in many ways. Terminations
may occur when a member opts to leave the group, when the group reaches a predetermined time
limit or meets its collective goals, or when the leader leaves the group. Group members may
experience positive emotions, including feelings of success and elation, and/or negative emotions
such as loss, threat, rejection, abandonment, or anger—all of which may relate both to their
individual and group experiences. At termination, the group leader may notice that group
member regress back to previous behaviors, withdraw from the group, panic, or begin to devalue
the group experience. Response often depends on the group purpose and lengths.

Negotiating terminations with groups is an often-complex endeavor in which the social worker
deals with endings on three different levels:

 The relationship between group members and the social worker

 Relationships among the group members
 The structure of the group itself

The theoretical framework a practitioner uses should guide the termination phase of group work.
We will now consider endings from the following theoretical perspectives.

Using the Strengths and Empowerment Approach in group Work Endings

Integrating strengths and empowerment concepts into the termination phase can enable both
individual members and the whole group to review progress toward their goals and to develop
strategies for sustaining change. The social worker can invite each member to review and reflect
on her or his individual experience in the group, including: the strengths they brought to the
group process; their status in the beginning, middle, and endings phases of the work; the changes
they experienced; and their plans for using the group‟s strengths to maintain the change(s).

Narrative-Focused group Work Endings

Ritual or ceremonial activities and public acknowledgement of growth and change work well in
narrative-focused group terminations that emphasize strengths. Group members and the social
worker can collaboratively plan a celebration to recognize the formal ending of the group‟s work
together.

Solution-Focused group Work Endings

Termination of the solution-focused group intervention can be viewed by the social worker and
the group members as the achievement of the initial and overall goals for the work of the group
even if all of the members‟ individual goals were not realized. Solution-focused group
interventions identify issues and plan and implement a change effort.

Skills for Social Work group Terminations

 Preparing members for ending (from the mid-point of the group intervention)
 Assessing progress toward achievement of group goals
 Helping stabilize member and group gains
 Anticipating and eliciting individual and group responses to ending
 Planning timing and content to maximize remaining sessions/meetings

Evaluating Social Work Practice with groups

Evaluating practice with groups serves the same purpose as evaluating practice with
individuals and families: to assess the work, the process, the progress, and the social
worker‟s skills (Furman et al., 2014). The evaluation of a group intervention encompasses
both the individual and the group, thus elevating group evaluations to a higher level of
complexity. Regardless of the method(s) used to evaluate the group intervention, it is
important for everyone involved in the intervention to participate in the evaluative process
 (Garvin & Galinsky, 2013). The many strategies for accomplishing the goals of this phase of
the group intervention include the following;

 Related to individual and group goals, reviewing individual and group member
accomplishments with an emphasis on preparing for the future, sustaining change,
and ensuring the inclusion of support systems to reduce risk for failure.
 Gathering group members‟ impressions of the group experience and the
activities/programming
 Administering pre-and post-group measures of behaviors, attitudes, and group
function.
 Through direct observation, documenting behaviors and changes in individual group
members and in the group. You may gather data quantitatively and/or qualitatively.
 Completing a self-evaluation, including exploration into such areas as: meeting group
member needs,
 Developing appropriate structures and interventions, and assessing your own
performance as a social work practitioner.
 Asking direct observation and feedback from other professionals

Grand Challenge: Harness Technology for Social work

The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare Grand Challenges for Social Work
Initiative identifies one of the areas the profession should address is to use technological
innovations in social work practice, including group practice.
LESSON 4: Social Work Practice with Communities:
Engagement, Assessment, and Planning

3. WHAT IS COMMUNITY?
Community is the structure, both tangible and metaphoric, that supports interaction and
connectedness among people over time. The characteristics of the community in which people
grow, live, and develop can have important implications for the resources and opportunities
available to them. Communities are the central context of social work practice with all types of
clients: therefore, community practice is an important aspect of generalist social work
3.1. Familiar Perspectives and some Alternatives on Community
Encouraging individuals, families, and groups to work to improve their communities is part of
social work practice. Sectors such as education, housing, health, recreational opportunities, local
businesses, religious/faith communities, and employment opportunities are important to the
quality of life for the residents of a community. Local relationships, experiences, resources, and
opportunities continue to play an important role in our daily lives, and local residents invest time,
energy, and resources into creating community resources and opportunities that will positively
impact their quality of life. For example, local residents and business owners work hard to
maintain and increase property values and to decrease crime in their neighborhoods. Similarly,
residents strive to keep materials that are hazardous to the environment (e.g., some chemicals
and landfills) out of their neighborhoods and to garner resources to increase the quality of public
education in their communities. Challenges and issues compel residents to take action on behalf
of their communities.
Interdependence—the idea that individuals depend upon on one another—resonates in practice
models with individuals, families, and groups that emphasize health and recovery based on both
professional and peer support.
3.2. Definitions and Types of Community
There are three of the most common—spatial, social, and political—as well as personal
communities.
1. Spatial Community
One type of community is a geographic entity, such as a town, city, small neighborhood, or
college dormitory. These spatial communities are structures of connectedness based on a
physical location. In some cases, these communities have clear, physical boundaries, such as a
river, mountain, gate, wall, or a legally defined boundary. In other cases, stakeholders—those
who have an interest in community affairs, such as county or city officials, or neighborhood
leaders—agree upon their boundaries.
The degree to which community residents perceive themselves as community members depends
on many dimensions, but access to the community‟s benefits is among the most influential. In
large spatial communities, such as Bahir Dar city, there are likely to be many smaller
communities within the larger community.
2. Social Communities
Groups that share common interests, concerns, norms, identity, or interactions and share a
similar sense of belonging are social communities. One type of social community, a community
of identity, relates more to affiliations than to a location. Student communities, African
communities, are all examples of communities of identity. As in spatial communities, members
attach different meanings to their communities and affiliate with those communities to varying
extents over time.
Social workers may develop interest in a particular community of identity based on their
personal experiences or early professional experiences. While social communities have the
potential to function as exclusionary associations, they can also offer members a powerful sense
of connection and commitment.
A social community consists of a collection of both spatial and social communities, where
people can build a sense of belonging. They often serve to provide meaning to one‟s identity.
These unique arrangements of place and non-place communities are networks within which one
interacts, and they serve to integrate one‟s personal and professional lives. Social workers may
be interested in clients‟ social communities because social communities provide socialization
and resources, such as helping networks (formal and informal), that may be helpful for clients
facing a crisis or challenges. Social communities can also provide cross-cultural dimensions that
aid in a wider world view.
3. Political Communities
Political communities serve as venues through which people participate in democratic
governance and promote social change through community organizing and political
mobilization. The spatial community, as a formal political unit, and the social community,
through which people interact, are both incorporated in a political community since they can
both serve political functions. Efforts to promote democracy using political communities focus
on increasing the capacities of both geographic and social communities to practice self-
determination and be involved in governing. Social workers may utilize the political community
of clients to encourage civic engagement through attending neighborhood meetings, supporting
candidates for office, and meeting with elected officials to share ideas about local needs, voting,
and being involved in grassroots community organizing efforts.
3.3.Understanding a Community
Before involving in to social work intervention, understanding community is very important.
Communities are viewed as social systems; as ecological systems; as centers for power and
conflict; and from two contemporary perspectives: the strengths, empowerment, and resiliency
perspectives and the postmodern perspective.
Community as a Social System
General systems theory offers a helpful framework with which to analyze and understand
communities. General systems theory posits that a system, such as a community, is composed of
multiple intersecting components that relate to one other and that are also part of larger systems,
such as a larger community. Some communities are part of subsystems that perform specialized
functions for the larger system—the community as a whole.
Community as an Ecological System
The ecosystems perspective focuses on the interdependence of people and their environment in
our understanding of communities. It emphasizes the spatial organization of community
resources, the relationship of these resources to one another and to groups of people, and the
corresponding social and economic consequences.
Communities as Centers of Power and Conflict
Political and social dynamics and conflicts are powerful forces in communities. Power
significantly influences opportunities and constraints for community members. Often, the
interests of one segment of a community clash with the interests of another segment, and a
struggle can emerge. Applying conflict and power theories can create conditions that promote
change. (Look on Power dependency theory, Conflict theory and Resource mobilization theory)
3.4.Contemporary Perspectives for Community Practice
The strengths, empowerment, and resiliency perspectives and the postmodern perspective are
common. These perspectives move us toward a deeper understanding of community and toward
assessing communities.
Strengths, Empowerment, and Resiliency Perspectives
The strengths perspective focuses on identifying possibilities and assets of individuals, groups,
and communities, rather than on their deficits and problems. Identifying strengths in the
communities can help them empower themselves. Assisting them to recognize the resources they
possess helps them develop the power to effect change. The recognition of resources can lead to
resiliency and can increase the potential for successful problem solving. For example, the
strengths perspective can encourage leaders in communities with large plots of vacant land and
boarded-up homes to think about the land and homes as valuable assets, rather than as problems.
Perhaps the vacant land could be used for community gardens or for greenhouses for small
businesses. A community‟s strengths also include the skills and talents of its residents. Using
community asset mapping as a means to implement the strengths, empowerment, and resiliency
perspectives is very important.
Postmodern Perspective
The postmodern perspective assumes that knowledge is socially constructed and that multiple
“truths” exist, depending on a person‟s perspective. Postmodern approaches, including social
construction and critical social construction, invite the examination of the cultural assumptions
that underlie many arrangements of power and politics. These approaches tend to be critical of
assumptions or theories that claim absolute or authoritative truth. Social workers using
postmodern approaches are interested in assumptions, explanations, and causes of perceived
problems in the community and in examining situations from multiple perspectives. For
example, social workers using the post-modern perspective would seek out different perspectives
and assumptions surrounding the presence of undocumented immigrants in a community to learn
about various community members‟ views and assume that there could be multiple “truths”
about how welcome they have been and how they are viewed by other community members.
They would also be interested in the cultural symbols and norms a community uses, such as the
ways in which the social structures of specific populations are organized, and the cultural
symbols used to signify those structures.
3.5. Engaging Communities
This section will discuss traditional and contemporary perspectives on community work and
the ways in which these perspectives can inform engagement and assessment with
communities. Traditional and contemporary perspectives on community allow us to use
different lenses to understand the dynamics and decision-making processes in communities.
The perspectives also help explain the sources of and barriers to change in ways that inform
the change process (i.e., engagement, assessment, intervention, and termination and
evaluation with communities).
In their work in communities, social workers can approach engagement, the first step in the
change process, in many different ways. Engagement with communities involves working
with clients and institutions on behalf of entire communities. Social work with communities
begins with a focus on challenges and opportunities. For example, a social worker working
for a community-based education program attached to a local public school may discover
that community residents lack adequate employment opportunities. Engagement with
community members can take place in a wide variety of ways.
Inter-professional Engagement: Community engagement often includes interacting with
institutions and professionals that provide resources or potential resources, make decisions
for, or have influence in a community. Engaging institutions and professionals that specialize
in health, public health, mental health, counseling, psychology, urban planning, theology,
education, business, and/or law is common in community practice. Professionals with these
backgrounds work in a variety of roles, such as business leader, politician, community
planner, program manager, faith leader, and others. Inter-professional collaboration skills,
including such interpersonal skills as active listening and building trust, are needed to
effectively engage. In this case, Social workers also need a strong understanding of social
work values and ethics to guide them in collaboration. Other professions often have different
values and ethics, or codes of ethics; therefore, inter-professional collaboration requires a
curiosity about the differences between and among the knowledge, skills, and values of
various professions, as well as a strong social work identity.
3.6. Engagement, assessment and planning phases with community
3.6.1. Assessing communities
A community needs assessment is a formal process for identifying unmet community needs,
placing needs in order of priorities, and planning to target resources to solve problems. A needs
assessment can be conducted to focus on the overall functioning of a community. The process
concentrates on the gap between needs and resources. The overall process of a community needs
assessment can be compared to a research project. As with a research project, the goals of the
sponsor of the study may shape the purpose of the assessment. Regardless of the sponsor, the
social worker should use the following six recommended steps to conduct the needs assessment
(Mulroy, 2013);
1. Reviewing the evidence
2. Assessing local knowledge
3. Selecting study methods
4. Conducting the study
5. Processing and studying the data
6. Reporting the findings
Sources of data in in community assessment
Public form, Key informant interview, observation, mapped data, socio-gram etc.

3.6.2. Planning
A needs assessment process will bring many issues, challenges, and ideas to the fore-front. The
planning phase involves sorting through and prioritizing them to be able to move forward with
an intervention. In the planning process in order to select the most important issues/ideas in a fair
manner, considering the following criteria is advantageous.
 Seriousness or frequency of an issue
 Cost of the issue, or resources needed to address the issue
 Feasibility of affecting the issue
 Readiness of the community to recognize and address the issue
 The long-term impact or benefit of addressing an issue, or in implementing an idea
Ideally, the criteria are developed in a collaborative, democratic manner with community
members as well as with people that may provide technical expertise.
3.6.3. Skills for Community-Based Participatory Research
The community analysis and needs assessment process offers valuable opportunities to engage in
community based participatory research. This research methodology involves engaging a wide
group of people who are either direct stakeholders or who are interested in the community and/or
the research. Involving community members, representatives of organizations, elected officials,
and/or other researchers in the process makes the research more informed by and responsive to
the community‟s needs.
The following key principles guide the participatory research method (Sohng, 2013):
 Seek to identify and work with communities as a whole and to strengthen the social
bonds of community by engaging community members.
 Use a strengths-based approach. Identify, build on, and promote strengths and assets, as
well as social structures and processes that promote community involvement in decision-
making.
 Seek to collaborate with partners in all phases of the research. In particular, use
community members‟ knowledge, share information and resources among all involved,
and maintain an equitable decision making process among the partners.
 Structure the process so members of the community and community groups have the
power and ability to act on research findings.
 Seek to promote and develop the capacity of local people and organizations to create and
sustain any change that may occur as a result of the research process and outcomes.
Participatory research can be used with a variety of research tools and techniques. The research
process itself is a mechanism by which to enhance the well-being of communities through the
inclusion of community members and organizations in all phases of the research, including the
development of the research question.
Using the research method to promote the community and collaborative processes increases the
likelihood that the data and analysis will accurately reflect needs and that community residents
will engage in action to fulfill those needs.
It is important to recognize and respect the centrality of the community experience to community
experts. In acknowledging the multiple realities that are brought to bear in any community
context, community-based participatory research is consistent with critical social construction.
Participatory action-research empowers community members to transform their lives.
3.6.4. Contemporary Trends Impacting Community Practice
Twenty-first century community social work practice comes with many opportunities and
challenges. Social workers often intervene in low-income communities that face unique
challenges with recent political, economic, and social trends. It includes;
 The devolution, or decentralization, of control of many federally funded programs and
policies, including those that support community practice:
 The increasingly multicultural composition of society:
 The widening venues and locations for community practice:
 The increasing integration of community practice ideas and strategies into other models
of practice:
 Distrust of political institutions
 The decline of democratic participation and civic engagement
3.6.5. The World as a Community
The global interdependence (the connectedness of all nations) and its implications for domestic
community social work practice is become complex. Ease of travel, communication, and
economic interdependence of the world community impact social work practice in many ways
(positive &negative way). Hence it needs having global oriented and culture oriented thoughts as
a social work practitioner.

Main Points

 Communities play a critical role in the lives of workers and clients, even in traditional individual, family, and group
practice.
 There are multiple definitions, types, functions of, and approaches to community, including traditional and postmodern
approaches.
 Community engagement and assessment involves many skills and practice behaviors, including community analysis,
needs assessment, community asset mapping, and community-based participatory research.
 Various factors, including the population and/or problem focus, aid in determining the assessment approach.
 Contemporary trends and globalization are changing community social work practice.
 A global perspective is imperative to contemporary community engagement and assessment.
 Understanding traditional and contemporary perspectives helps social workers view community through many
different lenses.
 Skills of engagement, assessment, and intervention in community social work build on those relevant for social work
practice with individuals, families, and groups. In addition, you will find the skills of participatory action-research
useful as an ethnographic approach to your work.
Session 5: Social Work Practice with Communities: Intervention, Termination, and
Evaluation
Like social work practice with individuals, and groups, the second phase of practice with
communities is engagement and assessment. We have previously covered the initial phases of
engagement and assessment with communities. Intervention, termination, evaluation, and follow-
up are the middle and ending phases of work with all client system levels.
Community practice is a broad term that includes grassroots community organizing, community
development, human service program development, planning and coordination, and advocacy.
The aim of community practice interventions is to shape and create institutions and communities
that respond to community needs. Community-level interventions, terminations, evaluations, and
follow-up concentrate on the community level but also impact individual, family, and group
change. Focusing on the community and on individuals, families, and groups requires the social
worker to use many skills to begin the intervention and to facilitate the termination, evaluation,
and follow-up processes. Social work practices are based on theoretical perspectives, for
community interventions. The most recognized models for community intervention:
Planning/Policy, community capacity development, and social advocacy. These three models,
have a common goal to improve social, economic, and/or environmental well-being, and they
share several common elements including the following;
 the formulation of a change goal,
 roles for staff,
 leaders and members,
 a process of selecting issues to work on,
 a target of the change effort,
 assessment of resources needed to produce change, and
 an understanding of the role of organizations in the change process
SOCIAL WORK THEORY AND MODELS FOR COMMUNITY INTERVENTION
Community practice models, which are primarily based in the concepts and language of systems,
ecological, power, change, and politics theories, guide community interventions. When you
choose a community intervention, you should consider the possibility that community change
may affect more people than you intend.
Ways in Which Theories Contribute to Community Practice
Theories and contributions to community practice
Social Systems:
 Reveals that changes in one community unit impact other units Indicates that changes in
subunits also influence the larger community
 Allows comparisons between the functioning of different communities
Ecological: Sheds light on relationships among community units
 Recognizes that community groups compete for limited resources
 Recognizes that groups without power must adapt to community norms
 Acknowledges the interconnections and mutual shaping of physical and social structures

Power, Change, and Politics: Reveals the influence of external sources of resources on local
communities
 Views the community as divided into “haves” and “have-nots”
 Focuses heavily on the “isms” such as racism
 Acknowledges the role of power in all interpersonal transactions
5.1. Models of community intervention
5.1.1. Planning/Policy
The planning/policy model of community intervention focuses on data and logic to achieve
community change, using experts to assist in the process of studying problems and applying
rational planning techniques. Social workers using social planning also factor in political
considerations and advocacy in the intervention process, but the primary emphasis is on rational
planning.
The planning/policy model can be implemented in a range of practice situations. Social workers
engage in social planning efforts when they participate in efforts to envision, develop,
coordinate, deliver, and improve human services. Planning is needed for all types of human
services (i.e., child welfare, health, aging) and topics (i.e., gang violence, neighborhood
development), and by myriad of hosts, such as local, state, or federal governments, faith-based
organizations, and community councils. As one example, social workers prioritize data when
they are involved in comprehensive planning, such as working with city officials to create a plan
for homeless shelters or for prison facilities for the community.
5.1.2 Community capacity development
It focuses on fostering the local community collective ability to accomplish change by building
relationships and skills that help solve local problems in a cooperative manner. Participant
consensus is thus the optimal decision-making process for this model. Community capacity
development is consistent with the strengths-based approaches of community asset mapping.
The community capacity development model emphasizes building competency of community
members, groups, and the community as a whole through self-help and local problem solving.
Common themes within this approach include empowerment, solidarity (e.g., achieving
harmonious interrelationships among diverse persons), participation in civic action within a
democratic process, and the development of leadership among local leaders. For example,
neighborhood associations and clubs may work to educate themselves on ways to address a trash
dumping problem, or settlement houses may attempt to prevent violence and crime by assisting
local citizens and leaders in organizing summer activities for youth.
5.2.3. The social advocacy model
It is based in conflict, power dependency, and resource mobilization theories of power and
politics. This model is both process- and task-oriented and focuses on shifting power
relationships and resources to affect institutional change by applying pressure to a target (e.g.,
persons and/or institutions) that has created or exacerbated a problem. Through this model,
beneficiaries achieve empowerment when they feel a sense of mastery in influencing community
decision-making. A helpful example of the social advocacy model is the work of Greenpeace. To
seek solutions to environmental dilemmas, such as climate change, Greenpeace nonviolently
confronts decision-makers and those who may influence decision-makers.
***More over using blending models will be very important to bring community change
depending on scenarios on the ground.
What it blending model? (Read a text book)
5.2. Contemporary trends and skills for the middle phase of community work: intervention
Community intervention is action to improve community conditions and quality of life for
residents or members.
5.2.1. Community Social and Economic Development
Is also called community development, “locality development” and “community building,” is an
often-ambiguous term with a variety of definitions. It is a community intervention method that
seeks to maximize human potential by focusing on social relationships and the environment in
order to improve the physical and social fabric of communities. Community development
emphasizes social development through relationship-building, education, motivation for self-
help, and leadership development. It encourages local participation in community efforts toward
the goal of strengthening democracy at the local community level and can include efforts to
revitalize institutions. Community development focused on economics includes economy
development, affordable housing, employment services, and other activities. Often community
social development and community economic development efforts are simultaneous and
interdependent, and they can be viewed as a continuum.
Community development work most closely aligns with the Community Capacity Development
model, because its goal is to mobilize communities to solve problems and effectively work with
institutions, rather than to engage in Social Advocacy or Planning/Policy work. However,
community development work also can use a mix of models, depending on the needs at the time.
The following assumptions drive community development;
 People may need to become aware of a common problem and create a desire to act in
order to solve problems.
 A diverse group of people across various dimensions of diversity (i.e., race, ethnicity,
socioeconomic status, etc.) adds value and authenticity to the efforts and ensures that they
serve the interests of more than one group of people.
 Democratic decision-making and participatory democracy values and fosters local self-
determination.
 Empowerment, or the capacity to solve problems by working with the authorities and
institutions that affect the lives of community members, is a central goal of community
development.
 The primary constituents of the community development social worker are community
members and community organizations, rather than those who hold more power.
 Planned change is preferred to inaction that allows current conditions to continue.
Community Development Skills: The most commonly used practice skills are group work
skills. Group work, is a major part of community development work, as this type of work is often
conducted in meetings. To ensure success, community development social workers must employ
task group work skills including leadership; communication; problem solving; and managing
group function and processes such as educating, forming groups, seeking consensus, encouraging
group discussion, and focusing to solve concerns and problems common to the group. Other
skills include analyzing community issues and facilitating the increase of communication among
community members.

Community Development Programs: Community economic development (CED) approaches

use economic approaches to develop the capacities of low-income people and neighborhoods.
There are various community development programs
a. Asset-Based Community Development
Assessing community using asset mapping including all assets of a community during
assessment stage is important for intervention. As a social worker, building relationship with all
of the types of assets, as well as relationships between these types of assets, is a key ingredient in
a community change effort. Building strong networks among the assets will strengthen the social
fabric of the community and build capacity as a whole community. For example, a social worker
may be involved in establishing a network of social service providers, representatives of
educational institutions, and business leaders in communities to work on local community
challenges. As relationships are built, the ability of the community to solve problems locally
increases. Social workers prompt associations and institutions to increase their contributions to
community efforts. The process of community asset development may involve community
meetings to develop a local vision and the strategies to implement this vision. Faith communities
(such as churches or synagogues), faith networks (such as ministerial alliance), associations
(such as clubs or groups), or institutions (such as a local school district or large employer) can
sponsor community planning processes. After the planning process, the planning group can seek
outside resources, if needed, to carry out a community plan. Bringing in outside resources, such
as foundations, government actors, and others, after creating a plan ensures that community plans
are truly resident-driven. If the group brings in outside resources during the planning process,
careful participatory planning must occur to ensure that citizen‟s knowledge and views about
what is good for the community are heard and considered.
The outcomes of a participatory, community-driven planning process reflect the desires of the
residents In addition to community development work, community social work practice
interventions also include community organizing.
b. Community Organizing
Community organizing is a practice skill that entails using a process to mobilize people and their
resources to identify problems and advocate for change to improve the quality of life in
marginalized communities. The target of community organizing efforts can aim at a wide variety
of targets, including local, state, and federal government officials; legislators; private landlords;
corporate CEOs; and officials of the global organizations. Community organization can include
accepting and working with the existing power relationships, or consensus organizing, and
challenging the existing power relationship, or direct action organizing.
Assumptions of the Consensus Organizing Approach
 Ordinary people can and should be involved in creating sustainable community change.
 It is important to identify and build on community strengths and assets, rather than
deficits.
 Potential leaders are everywhere and often need recognition and support to thrive.
 The organizer must be a selfless promoter of others.
 The organizer must seek to achieve self-interest for residents and external partners.
 Powerful people and institutions want to assist with community change.
Community Organizing Skills: The three essential elements for community organizing along
the continuum are empowering individuals, building and strengthening community bonds,
and building progressive organizations. Organizers can empower individuals by (1)
encouraging participation, (2) arranging tasks so individuals experience success and build their
confidence to engage in public affairs, (3) organizing tasks so individuals‟ involvement is
meaningful and builds leadership skills, and (4) recognizing and supporting their efforts.
5.2.2 A Generalist Approach to Community Intervention
Depending on the context of the community intervention, generalist social work practitioners
often integrate aspects of community organizing and community development activities into
their practice. For example, in many communities, a shared identity, bonds between residents,
the skills for public discourse, the ability to determine priorities, the skills to work together on
common challenges, and leadership skills all must be developed for community change efforts to
be possible. Social workers can play an important role in helping develop these prerequisites.
Social workers who work primarily with individuals, families, and groups have opportunities to
support the development of these skills and to encourage people to participate in community
efforts.
Social workers strive to provide evidence-based interventions in community practice. Creating a
body of research to inform evidence-based practice has proven challenging due to the complexity
of community interventions, the difficulties of community research, and many organizations‟
lack of capacity to engage in research. Yet, social workers must conduct or locate research
before intervening.
GLOBAL APPROACHES FOR COMMUNITY SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
A community practice approach provides strategies to link local social work practice with global
social work practice, particularly focused on community practice.
International Social Work Community Development
Organizations engaged in international community development work, physically located both
locally and abroad, facilitate and plan small business loans, credit guarantees, the provision of
primary health care, and the creation of large-scale physical projects (such as the building of
dams), among other activities.
Nongovernmental organizations, such as the International Red Cross, CARE, Catholic Relief
Services, and Save the Children, also focus on self-sustaining development projects that have
long-reaching positive effects on communities. Examples include forming local cooperatives,
introducing farming techniques, and facilitating preventive health care projects and local
sanitation projects.
The goal of international community development projects is to reach the point at which the
community can sustain them. Organizers most often employ local-level development, in which
the community takes responsibility for the work. Local-level development requires and allows
the persons experiencing the problem or need to plan and implement the strategies for
improvement. The local-level approach requires social workers to focus on the development of
relationships with community members, groups, and institutions so that development projects are
truly locally determined and directed provides an overview of key strategies and programs for
local-level community development.
5.4. Contemporary trends and skills for the ending phase of community social work:
termination, evaluation and follow-up
Community social work practitioners join the community in change efforts and facilitate the
community leadership of the tasks required. Often, community practice accomplishments are the
result of months and even years (or decades) of work and consist of many smaller change efforts.
Achieving the goals of community change efforts, whether smaller goals achieved in the process
of working toward a larger goal or the larger goal itself, leads us to the next phase of the change
effort, termination and evaluation.
5.4.1 Community Social Work Practice Endings
Termination in community social work practice can be more complex than termination with
other clients. Community practice can involve long-term change efforts that are complex, with
the potential involvement of many players and institutions in the process. The termination phase
in community practice is often termination of the social worker from the community (if moving
on to other responsibilities), of the social worker‟s sponsoring organization from a community
change effort (if the organization can no longer participate for some reason), or termination of
people or institutions from community change efforts, which may continue without them.
As in terminations with other clients, endings can be emotional, particularly if the intervention
has been longstanding. Building relationships is a key element to all types of community
practice; therefore, the social worker‟s role in termination is to “help [participants] examine their
accomplishments, review their experience together, and prepare for the future”.
54.1.1 Terminating and Follow-Up in Community Practice Utilizing Strengths and
Empowerment: A social worker employing strengths and empowerment approaches facilitates
the community process of reviewing progress toward identified goals and developing strategies
for sustaining changes. In social work community practice, the social worker can invite each
participant to review and reflect on her or his individual experience in the change effort,
including strengths brought to the process, any change they personally experienced, and plans for
contributing to the maintenance of the change(s). Engaging individual members in this process
can provide closure for all involved. Like group work practice, participants can also use other
participants‟ reflections to examine their own growth processes.
The termination process can employ a strengths perspective even when community goals are not
realized.
Participants can review the community and group strengths that existed at the outset of their
efforts, those strengths they gained or mobilized during the process, and those strengths
participants can carry with them after the formal change effort has ended. While the members
(and the social worker) may be dismayed at not achieving desired goals, strategizing about ways
in which participants can continue to work toward achieving the goals can, in fact, be
empowering.
As in terminations with individuals, families, and groups, a key element of the termination
process with communities is a focus on sustaining the gains achieved, such as community
bonding, leadership skills, civic engagement, and/or the continuation and growth of community
networks and community pro-grams.
Regardless of the circumstances of the termination, a focus on community strengths and the
positive outcomes of the intervention can energize community members and institutions to
continue their efforts. If the termination occurs because the community intervention achieves its
goal, the community can build on their successes and begin the assessment, intervention, and
evaluation process anew.
Following-up involves helping to sustain any gains from the intervention. Follow-up may
involve many people and institutions, particularly if the social worker (and his/her sponsoring
organization) supplied many resources for the intervention. Follow-up also involves honoring
any commitments made during the intervention and termination process, and welcoming any
new actors into the change process.
5.5. Evaluation of Social Work Practice with Communities
Similar to evaluation with individuals, families, and groups, evaluation of social work
community practice interventions can assess the process along the way (i.e., process evaluation);
the extent to which goals were achieved (i.e., outcome evaluation); and the social worker‟s skills
in the intervention phase. Just as the community change effort was a collaborative process, so too
is the evaluation. Community participation is important throughout the change effort in order to
empower participants, and during the evaluation process, collaboration as an equal partner in this
process leads to a feeling of ownership of the information. The evaluation process seeks to
determine the value of something and differs from monitoring the intervention.
The evaluation process begins as an element of the intervention design, and may be
predetermined by an organization, a funder, or other decision-maker. It requires social workers
and community members first to determine: (1) if both the process and outcomes will be
evaluated, (2) the ways in which the process and outcomes will be evaluated, and (3) the means
by which data will be collected as the basis for the evaluation. Evaluation of community change
efforts may include examinations of the personal, interpersonal, and community levels.
Preferably, the evaluation process will include both qualitative and quantitative data to provide
information about the process of community change and progress on the desired outcomes at the
personal, interpersonal, and community levels. Methods may include pre- and post-measures of
community functioning. These measures include, but are not limited to, the use of validated and
standardized measures; direct observation by the social worker to document change; use of
publically available data (Census data and others); administrative data from public departments
such as policy, public health, child welfare, police, and others.

Social work practice II

5. Social work practice with associations
Understanding the professional mission of social work that integrates micro and macro
interventions and respects the practitioners who perform those roles is essential to recognizing
why macro practice is important. Essentially, social workers have a mission;
 To join the strengths of doing “both/and,” being able to intervene with an individual
service recipient and
 Then skillfully moving into a larger system intervention that will make a difference in
the lives of multiple individuals.
Similarly, individuals cannot be viewed separate from the larger society. The actions or lack of
actions of individuals influence those around them and may have broad implications for others
within an organization or a community. Thus, micro and macro roles are interconnected.
For those social workers committed to bringing about positive change not only for individual
clients but for whole neighborhoods, organizations, and communities, the question becomes:
How is it possible to meet all the expectations of a job and still be involved with larger issues?

5.1 Understanding organizations

Organizations address individual, family, group, and community needs. Organizations, like other
clients, can be understood through theories, models, and perspectives.
What is organization?
The term organization has a wide range of theoretical definitions.
An organization is a group of people working together to achieve common goals. Top
management determines the direction of the organization by defining its purpose, establishing
the goals to meet that purpose, and formulating strategies to achieve the goals.
Community organization is meant for a limited geographical area the „community‟.
Community organization is a process of effective coordination of different agencies within a
particular area and involves cooperative planning and implementation of social policy relating to
the area. However, social action as a process is used for tackling issues, which are of a much
wider nature than issues affecting a particular area.

 Organizational goals are objectives that management seeks to achieve in pursuing the
firm's purpose.

 Organizational goals keep the organization on track by focusing the attention and actions of
its members

5.2. Organizations as a social system

Organization is composed of intersecting components that are part of larger systems, such as the
community at large and society. Organizations, therefore, acquire resources from their
environments and return products or services to their environment. Understanding organizations
requires understanding that organizations exchange resources with their environments. In the
assessment and planning processes, social workers can examine the extent to which subsystems,
such as funders, other organizations, or networks of organizations, meet the needs of the
organization. The organization can use this information to advocate for a higher level of
functioning of a subsystem, which will ultimately benefit the organization and those being
served.
When the parts interact with each other in harmony, the phenomenon called SINERGY is
produced, according to which, the result obtained from the harmonic interaction is highly
superior to the outcome which would be obtained if each component acted in an isolated and
autonomous way.
 Social system is a complex set of human relationships interacting in many ways.
 In organization all the interdependent parts of the organization are in a dynamic work
balance to keep the equilibrium.
5.3. Contemporary Theories and Organizations
Organizational and management theory that relates to organizations of all types has a history that
dates back to the late 1800s. In helping to understand organizations, today‟s theories emphasize
(1) the role of culture in helping to understand how organizations define and pursue collective
goals; (2) the idea of quality as the benchmark in organizational structures, processes, and
evaluation; (3) respect for how tasks are accomplished as a factor as important as the outcomes
of programs and services; and (4) recognition that there is no one correct approach to structuring
organizations. Many aspects of an organization including size, mission, client, and staff
qualification, are important to consider when structuring an organization and developing a
management style.

5.4. Dimensions of Organizations

The characteristics and qualities that exist within social services organizations affect both service
delivery to clients and the employee experience. The three most important dimensions of these
differences are: (1) purpose of the organization, (2) structure of governance, and (3) the internal
power relations.

1. Organization Purpose
The stated purpose of an organization is the rationale for the organization‟s existence. While
organizational objectives state the ways in which organizations work toward their goals, the
purpose describes the concerns of the organization in broad terms. The three types of purposes
are: (1) filling a public mandate, (2) providing a particular service, and (3) fostering social
change related to an ideological concern to which the organization is committed.

Organizations Sanctioned by Law -The law sanctions organizations in several ways. First,
organizations sanctioned by federal and state law (“public organizations”) provide mandated
social services that are widely recognized by the public. For example, child protection services
are usually housed within a large and visible state organization. Social workers representing
these organizations are expected to act in the best interests of child‟s who cannot protect
themselves. Public organizations are directly accountable to the community, as they derive the
vast majority of their funding through tax revenue (i.e., federal, state, county, or local
government funds)
Second, most social services are offered through nonprofit organizations designated by law.
Nonprofit organizations are sanctioned by the law to meet specified public needs. Designated
nonprofit organizations are exempt from paying taxes on organizational income, and donors are
allowed to deduct contributions from their taxes.

Organizations with Service goals Organizations with service goals develop as a result of an
agreed-upon need or concern and are often started by and operated by professionals. For
example, youth at risk of dropping out of school are often seen gathering together in groups in
blighted areas. Adolescent high school drop-outs are a high-risk population for poverty, health
concerns, and criminal activity. Organizations providing youth services offer prevention services
to help youth avoid dropping out, assist adolescent drop-outs in acquiring tangible resources, and
provide legal assistance and referrals to addictions treatment. Service goals define the work of
the organization and the social need addressed by the organization.
Organizations Arising from Social Movements- Some grassroots organizations, which are
organizations started by citizens rather than professionals, arise in response to ideological
positions on particular social problems. E.g. shelters for women experiencing intimate partner
violence is an example of a social movement, a political effort designed to change some aspect of
society. A social movement is led by citizens whose commitments and energies are channeled
into a political movement, and organizations are created to implement the long-term work of the
social movement. A more recent example is the Black Lives Matter movement in AMERICA,
which developed into a chapter-based national organization. As organizations are created and
mature, professionals, such as social workers, are often employed. Frequently, the founders,
professionals, and volunteers of such organizations are indigenous to the movement, which
means they have personally experienced the oppression that is the focus of the organization.
Professionals and volunteers often have extraordinary commitment to the mission of the
organization.
2.Structures of governance
Organizational structure, much like family structure, refers to the ways in which members, tasks,
and units relate to one another. The structure shapes the rules, or norms, of the organization.
Some of the rules are explicit, such as personnel policies, and others are implicit, such as the best
ways to influence the decision of an administrator. These rules, governed by organizational
culture may be communicated openly to employees and volunteers, while others may be
communicated nonverbally or through interpretation of decisions. Three kinds of organizational
structures found in many contemporary agencies: bureaucracies, project teams, and functional
structures.
Bureaucracies Many human service organizations, including state and local government
organizations and nonprofits, are structured as a bureaucracy; therefore, social workers benefit
from knowledge about the structure of their employing organization.
German sociologist Max Weber invented the term bureaucracy as a conceptual type, rather than
a reality, of structure. The following ten points describe the characteristics of a bureaucracy:
 Each position in the organization has a limited area of authority and responsibility.
 Control and responsibility are concentrated at the top of a clear hierarchy.
 The activities of the organization are documented in a central system of records.
 The organization employs highly specialized workers based on expert training.
 Staff demands require full-time commitment, and each position represents a career.
 Activities are coordinated through clearly outlined rules and procedures.
 The relationships among workers are characterized by impersonality.
 Recruitment is based on ability and relevant technical knowledge.
The private and public lives of the organization‟s members are distinct.
 Promotions in the organization are made by seniority and/or ac

Project Teams In a sharp contrast with bureaucracy, project teams consist of a group of people
who collectively work on organizational challenges or opportunities through committee or task
force structures. Project teams are a flexible way to accomplish work tasks, because the
committees may exercise their best collective judgment in decision-making, and the group has
minimal hierarchy. Often, such groups find maintaining this structure challenging for many
reasons, such as the growth of the group and limitations imposed by a higher authority.
Sometimes organizations structured as bureaucracies create project teams within them to
accomplish certain tasks. For example, a group of women and men concerned about intimate
partner violence may use a project team approach to develop and operate an organization that
provides services to survivors of intimate partner violence.

Functional Structures- When an agency becomes too large for a single person to administer, a
layer of personnel will be added. These administrative additions are usually divided by function
or area of responsibility—thus the name functional structures. In a community agency, for
example, the executive director may appoint an experienced social worker as the program
director of the youth services department and appoint another as the program director of the
affordable housing development.

3. Internal Power Relations

while organizations have overt arrangements of power, such as hierarchical arrangements of
personnel, they also have unofficial power arrangements that are subtle and are unique to the
organization. The organization may have several sources of power, including agency, expert
knowledge, interpersonal, and legitimate power.
Traditional Authority- Authority attributed by title or ancestry, such as someone with powerful
family ties, is traditional authority. This type of authority is most often based on profession,
family relationships, and history or inheritance of money. For example, the older presidential
rule of USA.

Charismatic Authority- This type of authority is an unstable dynamic in organizations. As

contrasted to traditional authority, the charismatic authority model suggests that a captivating
personality (rather than heritage, ideas, skills, or commitments) is the variable required to gain
power by consensus. This form of authority is often displayed in state and national elections
when, for example, entertainers and celebrities run for and win public office without previous
political experience. Such authority is often present with founders of human service agencies
who are successful at the necessary start-up tasks of garnering supporters, raising funds,
recruiting an initial board of directors, and other tasks that involve persuasion.

Rational/Legal Authority- This authority is based on ability to achieve outcomes and, like
charismatic authority, is persuasive rather than coercive. An example of a person with
rational/legal authority is an agency staff member who is an expert in program development and
program evaluation.
In social work practice, these forms of authority can exist on a continuum (i.e., from no
influential to very influential) and/or commingle. For example, human service organizations may
have an executive director who was the founder and began the position with a great deal of
charismatic authority and who developed rational/legal authority while in the position by
developing expertise as an administrator. Another executive director may have initially had
mainly traditional authority due to a connection with a powerful family member in human
services and/or also has or developed charismatic authority due to strong persuasion skills
5.6. Interactions among dimensions of organization
Dimensions discussed above like: purpose, structures of governance, and internal power
relations, often intersect in practice, and some dimensions are likely to be intertwined. For
example, a domestic violence shelter, whose purpose reflects a social movement and ideological
position, is more likely to adopt a project team rather than a bureaucratic structure. With feminist
organizational roots, a domestic violence shelter is also more likely to be subject to charismatic
or rational/legal authority, as social workers with strong interpersonal skills may tend to take on
leadership roles even without a formal position of authority.
Understanding interconnections among these dimensions aids to understand the nature of
organizations and develop a framework for examining their distinctions and impact on social
workers. Ultimately, understanding possible interconnections can assist in discerning the
combination of dimensions that best fit the talents and work styles of workers. For example,
some social workers learn that an organization structure characterized by project team approach
and rational/legal authority is the best fit for them because they would prefer to work within a
more flexible organizational structure. Gaining knowledge about agency dimensions also helps
to recognize the ways in which agencies in various environments can most effectively and
efficiently help clients reach their goals.

5.7. Social Work Practice in Host Settings

many social workers practice in host settings, such as hospitals, residential care facilities, public
and private schools, and correctional facilities. Host settings are organizations in which social
workers provide social services as a secondary activity. The following are examples: (1) the
primary service in a school is education, yet social workers provide services to augment and
support the educational goals; (2) various programs maintained by the court system, aimed at
diversion or advocacy, often include social workers; and (3) housing programs and disability
projects employ social workers to support the main goal of the organization.
Opportunities and challenges: being a guest in a host setting, and being a member of an
inter-professional team.
 Guest Status- Expectations and privilege accompany a guest status for a social worker
practicing within a host setting. Professionals of other disciplines in the setting may not
understand the scope of the social work role and have inaccurate expectations—too high
or too low—of the social worker. Clearly, a guest status within an organization brings
unique challenges for social workers. Some professionals with a guest status function as
part of inter-professional teams while others work side-by-side with other professionals
(in multi-professional settings). Social workers who have a guest status must exhibit
effective professional behaviors concerning the education of other professions about the
roles and responsibilities of social workers. Building credibility and networks of
support within host organizations, a keen sense of timing, and displaying diplomacy
are key skills in this process. On the other hand, social workers in host settings must
also advocate for themselves and their professional obligations for client services.
For example, a social worker in a hospital setting may find that other professionals assume that
a social worker is only qualified to give referrals to clients, rather than engage in the myriad of
activities for which they are qualified. At the same time, social workers may experience the
privilege of working with other professionals on a team that is able to accomplish more than a
social worker could independently.
 Inter-professional Teams- Projects and programs that include members of several
professions (e.g., health professions, public health, public administration, and social
work) create inter-professional teams. These teams can provide an enriching and exciting
atmosphere in which to practice social work.
In an inter-professional setting, all professions carry equal power and share decision-
making responsibilities—the value is in the total contribution of an integrated approach.
In order to be effective, each profession must value the contribution of others. Social
workers need competent collaborative skills when working with other professionals,
including conflict mediation skills. A truly inter-professional setting is challenging to
implement in practice. Although the social work profession emphasizes a holistic view of
 clients, social workers join many helping professionals in delivering services in a
fragmented fashion.
For example, many families seeking the assistance of social workers are also involved
with other helping professionals, such as vocational counselors, non-social work
therapists, psychologists, income maintenance specialists, physicians including
psychiatrists and community support workers.

Organizational Engagement, Assessment, and

Planning phases with organizations
this section spotlights the process of organizational engagement, assessment, and planning,
including the sources of data and information for the assessment. These phases are important to
undertake to ensure that organizations implement their mission and serve community needs most
effectively and efficiently. These phases set the stage for the organizational change process of
intervention, termination, evaluation, and follow-up. The section closes with a discussion about
integrating the information gleaned in the assessment.
Engaging the Organizations
Engagement of an organization first involves the perception of the organization as a client. An
organization is comprised of many individuals and systems, yet the social worker must view the
entire organization as a client in order to participate in the change process with an organization.
This first step in the change process uses many of the skills needed for engagement with
individuals, families, groups, and communities, namely, the active listening skills and research,
evaluation, and analyzing skills. Engagement with organizations involves working directly with
all clients and staff, within the perspective of the organization.
Social workers can engage organizations for the change process as an employee, volunteer,
interested citizen, or as a consultant, although most often the change process occurs with
employing organizations. Social workers often see the need for organizational change, so the
organization can operate more efficiently and effectively, provide a higher quality of services,
and better address human needs. For example, social workers who work for a school system may
identify the need to make a change in the schools and begin to engage other social workers,
teachers, principals, administrators, committees, and task groups across the school district and
even across districts to address a specific organizational need. Social workers may also engage
organizations as part of advocacy efforts. For instance, a social worker might engage with a
public agency that serves older adults to advocate for better handling of cases involving abuse,
neglect, or exploitation of older adults. Social workers may also engage with a community of
organizations, such as a network of homeless shelters, to work for changes across many
organizations, such as to coordinate data management systems to better meet the needs of clients
who are homeless, are struggling with substance abuse, and have a chronic mental illness. In all
these cases, engagement skills used with other clients are necessary.
Assessment of Organizations
The overall assessment of organizations involves both research into the internal environment of
the organization, or the internal mechanisms within organizations, and the external environment
with which the organization receives and provides resources, such as funders, accreditation
organizations, suppliers of goods and services, clients, other organizations, and others. The
following assessment frameworks are described as more full.
Internal Assessment
 Legal basis, mission, by-laws, and history
 Administrative structure and management style
 Program structure, programs, and services
 Organizational culture (i.e., physical surroundings, public relations, language,
procedures, social justice/diversity)
 Personnel policies and procedures
 Resources (i.e., financial, technological, personnel)

External Assessment
 Relationship with funders and potential funders
 Relationship with clients
 Relationship with organizations in network (i.e., referrals and coalitions)
 Relationships with political figures
 Relationships with others (regulatory bodies, professional associations, etc.)
Assessment of an organization, similar to assessment with all clients, involves gathering data.
Like community assessment, data can be gathered through observation, written documents, key
informant interviews, publically available data, service statistics, previous organizational
assessment (partial or full), administrative data, other data, and focus groups. Depending on the
size of the organization to be assessed, a public forum and survey data may also be appropriate
ways to gather data.
Organizations often create documents that may be helpful in the assessment process. These
include organizational charts, policy and personnel manuals, procedure manuals, job
descriptions, meeting minutes, and annual reports. Information from media sources and reports
from other organizations can also be useful.
Elements of an Internal Assessment
The internal structures and dynamics of an organization affect many aspects of service delivery
of the organization, as well as the employee experience.
Legal Basis- Organizations must be recognized by the law to legitimately operate. The legal
basis for public organizations is a statute or executive order, while a private organization has a
legal basis in the articles of incorporation. These documents authorize an organization to
officially exist, and define the parameters for their operations.
Mission Statement- Most organizations create a mission statement, which is a concise, broad
statement of the purpose of the organization that describes a shared vision. While the statement is
too broad for details, the statement identifies the client needs the organization meets, the
population served, and the intended client outcomes. The details about programs, services,
organizational structure, and other specifics are outlined in other documents, such as annual
reports, an organizational chart and program descriptions. The mission statement states why the
organization exists and is less changeable than programs and services. Revising a mission
statement is needed if an organization perceives a mismatch between the mission statement and
current client needs and organization activities.
By-laws- The way in which a nonprofit organization governs itself is described in the by-laws.
By-laws are legal documents that describe the structure and abilities of the board of directors,
such as the composition of the board, terms of the members, permanent committees, voting
rights, and other matters that concern governance. The by-laws are typically brief, and the rules
about them vary from state to state.
History- Like other clients, organizations create history that defines and impacts the future of the
organization. Important aspects of history include the founding of the organization, major
funders, influential staff members and administrators, accomplishments, and challenging periods.
Administrative Structure and Management Style- Organizations often depict their
administrative structure on an organizational chart that shows the units of the organization, and
their relationship to one another. The management style of the organization can be seen in the
way work is allocated, decisions are made, the nature of the supervision of employees, and how
conflict is handled. Some elements of the management style will be included in written
documents, while others can be learned from staff members.
Structure of Programs, Services, and Activities Human services-organizations provide
programs and services and/or carry out activities to meet overall organizational goals and
objectives. An assessment process would include a review of official documents where these are
described, and review the extent to which the programs, services, and activities are consistent
with the overall mission, goals, and objectives of the organization, as well as are based on
evidence-based practice.
Organizational Culture- Organizational culture consists of many factors, including history,
philosophy, and styles of communication, patterns of decision-making, expectations, collective
preferred personal styles of social workers, myths, behaviors, and formal and informal rules.
Culture is also shaped by the purpose, structure of governance, and internal power relations.
While the concept of organizational culture is intangible and imprecise, culture is an important
dynamic of any organization.
Physical Surroundings- If organizations have a physical presence that clients see, the interior
and location of an organization can provide some information about its culture to clients. An
organization with dark, messy physical surroundings and/or little privacy for client interactions
could be an organization with a culture that places a lower priority on the potential impact of
physical surroundings on client outcomes than a clean organization with bright lighting and
plenty of space for private interviews.
Public Relations- Organizations reflect their culture in their public relations activities and
products. Public relation is the practice of managing communication between an organization
and the public. Organizations seek to gain support from a positive communication both from the
public at large and from specific groups, such as funders, politicians, client populations, and even
employees. Organizations can use a variety of mediums to manage their public information and
image, such as websites, social media, blogs, printed materials, print newspaper articles and
commentaries, radio and televisions public service announcements and appearances, and face-to-
face encounters. An organization‟s public image gives clues about the organization‟s culture.
Language- The language used in agency settings includes the tone, range of sentiment, and
degree of empathy and respect expressed. The language used in organizations reflects and shapes
the self-perceptions of the social workers, their work, and their clients. For example, social
workers‟ use of disrespectful language toward and about clients violates the Code of Ethics.
Social justice/Diversity- Factors Aspects of social work practice that affirm social justice and
support diversity can be nurtured and sustained across all client types, including organizations.
Unless organizations promote social justice through policies and practices, clients may find their
social workers to be “nice people” but feel victimized by unjust organizational practices. To fully
promote social justice, organizations may arrange the internal administrative practices of the
agency to reflect diversity, cultural competence/humility, and social justice concerns. For
example, posters, magazines, and signs in the waiting area can reflect multiple languages and
cultures to convey a welcoming atmosphere for clients from diverse backgrounds. Activities and
services that clearly take into account cultural values, such as food at events that reflect ethnic
food traditions and restrictions, and materials available in multiple languages, send a message.
Activities and services can also honor history of groups and/or reflect histories of oppression for
specific populations. So organizations must assess their culture competency and the extent to
which the organization works toward social justice goals.
Personnel Policies and Procedures- The size and legal basis of an organization are important
factors in the creation of staff policies and procedures; small, newly created nonprofit
organizations have relatively simple and concise policies and procedures. Having fewer policies
and procedures lends itself to flexibility and creativity but also more uncertainty about
responsibilities, processes, and scope of work. Larger, public organizations often have highly
formal, complex policies and procedures, which creates a more constricted work environment,
yet also provides a structure to better navigate a more multifaceted set of activities and
responsibilities. Nevertheless, the development of written policies and procedures, including a
plan for recruitment, selection, development, evaluation, and termination, is important. Some
organizations also develop plans to address personnel changes and issues, such as to enhance
staff diversity or develop career pathways for employees within the organization.
Resources (i.e., Financial, Technical, and Personnel) - Other types of resources are also
important to organizations. For example, the adequacy of the financial resources of organizations
can be assessed through annual and monthly budgets, where income and liabilities are
documented. Technical resources include the facilities and equipment of the organization, such
as the office space, computers, software, and cell phones. Personnel resources include the
number and capacity of current staff, including their knowledge, skills, and expertise.
Elements of an External Assessment
The external environment of organizations consists of many players. The assessment process
focused on the external environment reviews the individuals, groups, organizations, and policies
that impact operations. The external environment can offer opportunities and challenges for
organizations, and maintaining a focus on relationships with external players is important. The
following elements are external to an organization that can be considered as part of an
organizational assessment.
Relationship with Funders and Potential Funders- An assessment process should uncover the
sources of agency funding, as well as the nature of the relationship between the organization and
each funding source.
For example, the assessment process would uncover the amount and percentage of the overall
budget received from each funding source. Relationship with Clients -Human service
organizations rarely have the resources to serve all people who live in their service area;
therefore, organizations create client eligibility requirements for programs and services.
An assessment in this area may include examining how clients are recruited and deemed eligible,
the manner in which clients are treated who are not eligible for services, the degree to which
clients are mandated to receive services, and which organizations are sources of referrals.
Relationship with Organizations in Service Network (i.e., Referrals and Coalitions) -
Constructive, professional relationships with other organizations are imperative to a positive
community perception and to
the ability of the organization to function effectively. Organizations that deliver similar services
often have motivation to work together to meet community needs, yet often compete for funding
from similar sources.
Therefore, strong relationships between similar organizations benefit the community through
stronger service delivery and collective advocacy efforts. However, forming these relationships
can be challenging due to competition for resources. An assessment of this aspect would uncover
the nature of the relationship with similar and referring organizations, and those with whom the
organization networks.
Relationships with Political Figures- Elected and appointed officials often carry considerable
influence over public opinion about and resources for both public and private organizations. An
assessment would investigate the key political figures for an organization and describe the
organization‟s relationship with them.
Organizational Engagement, Assessment, and Planning in Generalist Practice
While administrators have official roles and responsibilities, and therefore are naturally involved
in the organizational change process, social workers in direct practice with individuals, families,
groups, and communities, including generalist practitioners, must also be involved with the
organizational change process.
Both generalist practitioners and administrators are bound by the NASW Code of Ethics
(NASW, 2008) Section to work to improve services, to carry out their ethical obligations even if
employer structures are challenging, and to act to eliminate discrimination in organizations.
What does the ethical obligation to participate in organizational change mean for social workers
who are not administrators? Social workers must always learn about as many aspects of their
affiliated organization as possible. Many organizational problems emerge through the
experiences of clients or members of the community, and defining and documenting client or
community member problems is a powerful way to make a strong case for organizational
change. Social workers can engage others in identifying and documenting client problems to
which the organization contributes. Successful organizational change efforts often involve many
individuals and groups. Organizational engagement and assessment involve many of the same
competencies and behaviors used with other clients.

Skills for Engagement, Assessment, and Planning with Organizations

In addition to the skills of active listening, research and analysis, group facilitation, and
documentation skills, integration of the data gathered in the assessment process must occur to
provide direction to the next phases of the change process. One method is the SWOT (i.e.,
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. In a SWOT analysis, organizational
staffs identify and assess both internal and external forces that impact the organization that can
be the basis for developing the plan for intervention and change.
Another method of organizational assessment is a force-field analysis (FFA) - The FFA is a
mechanism to gather and sort all of the information and data gathered in the assessment process
and to provide the basis for a plan for an intervention. An FFA is a method of identifying and
assessing the forces that impact a decision about an issue by organizing the assessment data. To
begin, a social worker would identify the forces that could impact the outcomes of change
efforts, meaning constraints that work to prevent a change and advantages that will help
overcome resistance to change. The forces could include influential individuals who could shape
the opinion of others or who are decision-makers; organizations, committees and task forces;
groups; and political parties. The technique enables a social worker to make a decision about
whether to move forward with a change process, and if so, to create a plan based on an
evaluation of the forces working for and against a proposed change.
The advantage of an FFA are numerous—the individuals, groups, and coalitions relevant to the
issue are identified, as well as the driving and restraining forces most likely to effect the change
effort. The strength of each force is assessed and ranked, and the amenability to change of each
force is ranked as high, low, or uncertain. A plan for change is then created based on the
information contained in the FFA. The FFA is a simple technique that can be used with groups of
all sizes as a group decision-making tool that fosters creativity and critical thinking. The social
worker must demonstrate keen group facilitation skills to achieve a balance of forces for and
against change, to avoid the domination of a minority of the group, and to encourage the group to
be specific.
Planning with Organizations
An organization change plan may range from small part of the organization to larger one. An
assessment process will also surface many organizational issues, challenges, and ideas to the
forefront. In that case, like in community assessment, the planning phase for organizations
involves sorting through and prioritizing the issues to be able to move forward with an
intervention. A set of criteria is needed to provide structure and fairness to the decision-making
process. The criteria can include any or any combination of the following:
 Seriousness or frequency of an issue
 Cost of the issue, or resources needed to address the issue
 Feasibility of affecting the issue
  Readiness of the community to recognize and address the issue
 The long-term impact or benefit of addressing an issue, or in implementing an idea
Criteria may be set at any point in the process. Organizations may select to have some
combination of administrators, staff and/or the Board of Directors set the criteria and makes a
decision about whether and how to move forward with an intervention by applying the criteria.
After setting the criteria, a democratic process can also be used to then apply the criteria to the
issues/ideas generated in the community needs assessment process to plan for an intervention.
Grand challenges
Depending on the purpose and dimensions of the organization challenges and opportunities to
the social work practitioners are become variable. The grand challenge in organizational
intervention to bring the planed change in addition to financial cost is Promote Smart
Decarceration(social justice).

Summary

 Social workers work in many types of and sizes of organizations and use their
knowledge to promote the best interests of their clients.
 Organizations, like other clients, can be understood using various theories, models,
and perspectives, including systems theories and contemporary organizational and
management theories.
 Three main dimensions of difference between organizations are: (1) purpose of the
organization, (2) structure of governance, and (3) internal power relations.
 Social workers also practice in host settings, which are organizations in which
social workers provides social services as a secondary activity.
 Social workers in a variety of roles can change organizations to provide a higher
quality of services.
 The overall assessment of organizations involves both a review of the internal
environment of the organization, and the external environment.
Social Work Practice with Organizations: Intervention, Termination, and
Evaluation phase

Organizational change can range in size from large. Large-scale change, such as a legal merger
with another organization, can change the nature and mission of organizations. However, small-
scale change can also make an important difference to the clients and community, such as
offering a new program that allows people meet their needs. Both types of changes involve
utilizing the change process of engagement, assessment, intervention, termination, and
evaluation, and utilization of its own models, approach, perspectives.

Approaches, Perspectives, and Models for Interventions with Organizations

Approaches, perspectives, and models that are grounded in theory can be used to describe
organizations and inform the change process for organizations. The following are most common
models for the social worker working within an organization.
The self-learning model- it described as a contemporary organizational climate that emphasizes
the ability of organizations to self-correct when needed. The increasing emphasis on
accountability and accessibility to clients, increasing use of information technology, and a
limited resource pool lead to the ability of the organization to improve the quality of its decisions
and develop new knowledge. This model maintains that;
 Organizations seek and use corrective feedback from internal and external sources by
ongoing monitoring and continuously soliciting feedback from clients about their
experiences with services and from other stakeholders who provide information about
the external environment of the organization.
 It also assumes a rational process in which all members of an organization agree on the
mission, goals, and objectives of the organization and work collaboratively to achieve
them.
Although no organization perfectly implements its mission, goals, and objectives, the self-
learning model has widespread applicability in well-focused organizations with clear goals and
values committed to quality improvement.
An organization that seeks feedback from many stake-holders—clients, funders, referral sources,
political leaders and others—and considers this feedback when deciding whether to make change
is using a self-learning model.
This model closely related to
 The ecosystems perspective -a perspective focused on the fit between the environment
and a human system.
 The social ecology approach, which assumes that the organization is continually
interacting with and adapting to its environment. An organization must continue to adjust
and adapt to environmental changes in order to survive and prosper. According to the
social ecology approach, change efforts may emanate from changes that occur externally,
which has created a need for change in some part of the organization.

The systems model- it also related to the ecosystems approach recognizes an organization as a
system composed of individuals, subsystems, rules, roles, and processes operating within the
wider environment. Using a systems approach, change in one part of the organization can create
changes in other parts of the organization. This model asserts that efforts involved in
organizational maintenance and survival needs to be balanced with achieving organizational
goals. Thus, an administrator using this model needs to balance the resources spent fundraising
with resources on strategic planning and program implementation.
The power and politics model- emphasizes competition for resources, personal advancement,
and inter-and intra-power struggles. The model asserts that the primary path to change requires
strategic access to decision-makers and/or the people who have the greatest power and primary
influence over decision-makers. This model is related to the critical social construction
approach, a postmodern approach which based in an analysis of power, which recognizes that
any social group can shape its beliefs to its own benefit at the expense of other groups The
analysis of power includes questioning the power relationships between decision makers and
others, which can lead to using the power and politics model of organizational change.
The power and politics model can be used within or outside of an organization and with any size
organization. The model reflects the reality of conflict over resources and power that can emerge
in change efforts, and the necessity of consideration of the role that politics and power play in
change efforts.
Postmodern Approaches- view of change, actions, interactions, and patterns of relationships
play an important role in the change process. Interaction patterns between people and between
units become stable, dominate, and occur repeatedly in a dynamic process. The language used in
organizations can serve to reinforce the patterns and processes. Changes to improve the
organization‟s functioning can occur through understanding the language, symbols, relationships,
and dialogues that structure the organization, and using dialogue to explore the perceptions,
values, ideologies, ideas of reality, and assumptions held by staff members, stakeholders, and
decision-makers for the organization.
A social constructionist approach- emphasizes the impact that social
processes, such as dialogue, have on the perception of social reality, which
impacts the prospects for change. Therefore, dialogue about an organization’s
problem has an impact on the perception of problems, and can be one of the
most effective tools in building support for a change proposal. Using this
approach during an organizational change
process means paying particular attention to the way in which dialogue is
approached, and how the dialogue shapes people’s perceptions. Dialogue that is
continuous, patient, and respectful can positively impact the view of staff about
the change proposal, which can serve to break down structural barriers to
organizational change.

Main points

 Organizations rarely use only one approach

or model in change efforts; they usually use a
mixture.
 These approaches and models offer
Framework for Organizational Change
Promoting change within organizations can be challenging. Sometimes change is needed because
there is an issue, but other times, it is due to an opportunity, such as new funding opportunities.
The origins for organizational change can occur internally from staff members, administration, or
members of the Board of Directors, or externally from other organizations, funders, or others. It
is helpful to have a framework—a rough guide map—to guide such efforts of change. The need
to create a change work group, develop feasible solutions, a proposal, and the selection of
strategy and tactics for the intervention are essential frameworks.
Gathering Allies and Creating a Change Work group
Organizational change often requires the resources of more than one person. A group, informal
or formal, adds credibility and power to a change effort and also allows members to share work.
Even if the engagement and assessment process began with one person, social workers will want
to identify supporters and allies while assisting with the change process. Volunteers will vary
from passively supportive to highly active. Those who are supportive may change their
involvement level throughout the process, with some people beginning as mildly supportive and,
at some periods, actively joining the work, while others that may begin as active members of a
change work group may lessen their work responsibilities at certain times. The key is to
continually recruit allies through formal and/or informal (word of mouth) methods and change
work group members throughout the change process, so that even if membership of the group
changes, a change work group is always in place to support the effort. While some change
processes are short-term, many are long-term and require a great deal of energy and allies. In the
ally recruitment process, social workers must raise the concerns discovered in the assessment
process in staff and committee meetings and in discussions with their colleagues.

Considerations for the Development of Feasible Solutions for Organizational

Change
The change work group, including the social worker, must ultimately develop a potential
solution to the identified problem(s) that is acceptable to the decision-maker(s) and that
addresses the identified client problem to the best of the organization‟s ability, based on the
information gathered and analyzed in the engagement and assessment process. Select a feasible
solution that is based in evidence-based practice considering the following points is very
important.
1. Depending on the scope of the problem, potential solutions, and size of the organization,
the change work group must account for resistance to change.
2. Employee attitudes and behaviors impact the success of change efforts. Therefore, the
amount of organizational effort and risk involved is an important consideration.
3. The change process may encounter competition for resources (e.g., financial,
relationship, attention, etc.) from other change processes.
4. The organization must possess the ability to implement the change, experience a need for
change, and the change proposal must match with the mission and values of the
organization.
5. Consider perceived advantages and disadvantages to the organization and staff.
6. Gathering history on the organization‟s policy-making efforts or program changes will
provide helpful context to future change efforts.
7. Prior to developing a change proposal, the change work group must engage in evidence-
based practice by researching the identified problem and potential solutions using
evidence-based literature.
8. The timing of a proposed solution can significantly impact the proposal‟s reception.

Change Proposal Structure- The change proposal may be in the structure of a policy, program,
project, personnel, or practice, or some combination.
Change Strategies-There is three basic strategies for organizational change: collaborative,
campaign, or conflict. A collaborative change is one in which the change work group and the
decision-maker(s) agree that some type of change in the organization is required, and
cooperation is needed to create a joint effort to create change in the organization. A campaign
strategy is used when communication can occur between the decision-makers and the change
work group, but there is no agreement that a change is needed. Conflict, can be used when the
decision-makers are opposed to a change and are unwilling to communicate with the change
work group. This change strategy involves efforts to draw support from a wider group of
supporters and often involves public conflict.
Termination, Evaluation, and Follow-Up of Change in Organizations
Most social workers engaged in a change effort from within an organization will continue to
participate in the work of the organization as an employee or a volunteer and will be engaged in
follow-up activities following an intervention. In a sense, many organizations experience
continual change processes, as the organization seeks to maintain programs and services that are
relevant to clients‟ needs.
If the change process has been unsuccessful, the change work group may decide to begin anew at
the assessment phase to gather more information and consider different possible unmet needs as
the basis for a new intervention effort. The group may also decide to pursue a change effort
based on the same unmet need, but with a different change proposal and/or a different strategy
for change.
If the change process has been successful, the end of the change effort may occur when the
change proposal has been approved by the decision-makers, or after the policy, program or
project change has occurred, and an evaluation has determined that the change has positively
impacted the organization. The change work group may be disbanded either after the approval or
implementation and evaluation (or may stay together and begin the next organizational change
effort). Follow-up -continuing to monitor the effects of a change within an organization, such as
through program evaluation efforts.

Evaluation of Social Work Practice with Organizations

Similar to evaluation with social work practice with individuals, families, groups, and
communities, evaluation of social work practice with organizations is an important part of the
change process.
Types of Evaluation- For both the change process and the implementation of programs and
projects, there are three types of evaluation that can be used to assess the objectives: (1) process,
(2) outcome, or (3) impact evaluation.
A process evaluation- focuses on the degree to which the effort operated well.
An outcome evaluation- focuses on information about specific results that the effort achieved.
An impact evaluation- reviews the impact of the efforts, such as individual or community-level
behavioral changes.
Structure of Evaluation- The structure of evaluation involves four specific concepts: inputs,
activities, outputs, and outcomes. Inputs are those resources necessary to implement a change
effort or a program.
Information and Data Sources- Developing and maintaining an adequate system for tracking
information and data about change efforts, as well as programs and projects, is the backbone of
the evaluation process. Qualitative and quantitative data to provide information may use.
Roles in Evaluation- Generalist social work practitioners commonly contribute in several ways
to the evaluation efforts. Social workers can lead and/or assist with evaluation efforts by helping
maintain organizational records, submitting data for an analysis, participating in interviews
and/or focus groups or creating questions to be used in the evaluation process.

Summary Points
 The approach of an organizational change effort will be impacted by the results of the
engagement and assessment process, as well as the approach, perspective, or model
utilized.
 The organizational change effort is facilitated by using a framework.
 Gathering supporters and allies into a change work group, considering important factors
when choosing a change proposal, and selecting an organizational change strategy are
vital steps in the intervention.
 Social workers consider social work ethics when choosing specific tactics to utilize for
the change process.
 The implementation of an organizational change is facilitated by a structure, as well as
consideration of challenges to implementation that can impede the implementation.
 Termination of a change effort can occur after a change proposal has been successful or
after the implementation of the change.
 The evaluation phase can include evaluation of the change effort as well as evaluation of
the change, such as a program or a project.
 Social workers should exercise caution about identifying organizational challenges with
clients and only do so while maintaining a hopeful stance about the ability of the
organization to assist the client.