SW 569 Community Social Work

3 credits

This course examines the theories, research and interventions that social workers utilize in community practice. Community practitioners define the scope of their practice in the context of social justice within organizations, neighborhoods and communities applying social values and the concepts of welfare economics. They seek to improve the lives of people through purposeful change in their communities. The context of their practice includes but is not limited to housing, safety, environment (e.g., water, sewage, air), education and employment. As agents of change it is crucial that social workers are able to enter a community or organization and identify how individual actors both influence and are influenced by the environment in which they operate for in the end community practice is all about sustaining a desired change. To that end, this course is designed to build on the student's knowledge of policy, its implementation through public programs and its implications for social work practice.

Neighborhood models, the assessment of these and their influence on selection of appropriate interventions are discussed.