Policy Practice: The Neglected Side of Social Work Intervention

Starting from the premise that the two goals framing social work practice are self-determination and social justice, the author argues that social work has been more devoted to the implementation of the former than the latter. This article proposes that implementation of the social justice goal requires a commitment to policy practice. From a review of the literature, methods of policy practice are identified as legislative advocacy, reform through litigation, social action, and social policy analysis. Each method is analyzed in terms of its characteristics, specific social work roles, and potential effectiveness.