Interpersonal Social Work Skills for Community Practice

Interpersonal Social Work Skills for Community Practice Donna Hardina, MSW, PhD, teaches about community practice and formal organizations in the Department of Social Work Education at California State University, Fresno. She is the author of An Empowering Approach to Managing Social Service Organizations and Analytical Skills for Community Organization Practice. Dr. Hardina has been an organizer and activist for over 30 years. Her career as an organizer started in the 1980s in the Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park where, as a social work student, she served as the interim director of a neighborhood organization and later volunteered as a coordinator in a number of political campaigns for progressive candidates. In addition to teaching and writing, Dr. Hardina has continued her involvement as an advocate on behalf of a number of issues including making higher education affordable for low-income students, immigrant rights, economic justice, and civil liberties. Interpersonal Social Work Skills for Community Practice Donna Hardina, MSW, PhD Copyright # 2013 Springer Publishing Company, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Springer Publishing Company, LLC, or authorization through payment of the appropriate fees to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, [email protected] or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Springer Publishing Company, LLC 11 West 42nd Street New York, NY 10036 www.springerpub.com Acquisitions Editor: Sheri W. Sussman Production Editor: Joseph Stubenrauch Composition: Techset ISBN: 978-0-8261-0811-1 E-book ISBN: 978-0-8261-0812-8 12 13 14 15/ 54321 The author and the publisher of this Work have made every effort to use sources believed to be reliable to provide information that is accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The author and publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers’ use of, or reliance on, the information contained in this book. The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hardina, Donna. Interpersonal social work skills for community practice/Donna Hardina. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8261-0811-1—ISBN 978-0-8261-0812-8 1. Social skills. 2. Interpersonal relations. 3. Community-based social services. I. Title. HM691.H37 2012 302′.14–dc23 2012016349 Special discounts on bulk quantities of our books are available to corporations, professional associations, pharmaceutical companies, health care organizations, and other qualifying groups. If you are interested in a custom book, including chapters from more than one of our titles, we can provide that service as well. For details, please contact: Special Sales Department, Springer Publishing Company, LLC 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036-8002s Phone: 877-687-7476 or 212-431-4370; Fax: 212-941-7842 Email: [email protected] Printed in the United States of America by AGS. This book is dedicated to the Dream Act students who risked deportation, imprisonment, and sometimes their health and personal safety to lobby for legislation that allows them to pursue higher education, careers, and U.S. citizenship. You are my heroes! I am particularly honored to know several of the students who fought not only for their own freedom, but influenced public opinion, legislation, and at least one gubernatorial race in the course of their efforts to make the world a better place for themselves and their families. Contents Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii 1. Introduction: The Application of Interpersonal Skills in Community Practice 1 Community Organizing Models: Combining Tasks and Process 1 Integrating Ethics, Values, and a Human Rights Perspective Into Interpersonal Skill Development 5 Interpersonal Skills Development and Community Practice 12 Building a Framework for Examining the Role of Interpersonal Skills in Community Practice 16 Organization of This Book 18 Summary 22 Exercises and Assignments 22 PART I. THE PRE-ENGAGEMENT PHASE 2. Entering the Community and Using Interviewing Skills to Find Out About People 25 Defining Community 26 Entry Into the Community 26 Learning About Community Members: One-on-One Interviews 29 Using Micro Practice Skills for Conducting One-on-One Interviews 33 Differences in the Use of Interviewing Skills in Community Organizing and Micro Practice 36 Values in Action: Becoming Culturally Competent 39 Summary 46 Exercises and Assignments 46 3. Recruiting Potential Participants 49 Recruiting Volunteers and Participants: Applying Engagement and Relationship-Building Skills in Nontraditional Settings 50 Motivating Volunteers and Constituents 51 vii viii Contents Additional Techniques for Recruitment 54 Putting Values in Action: Fostering Individual Commitment to Social Justice 64 Summary 70 Exercises and Assignments 71 4. Developing Relationships and Partnerships With Formal Organizations 73 The Purpose of Organizational Partnerships in Community Practice 74 Models of Organization Partnerships 75 Interpersonal Skills for Bridging Differences Among Organizational Partners 84 Bridging Differences Through Mutual Learning and Participation 90 Putting Values in Action: Sustaining Mutual Learning and Partnership Among Organizations 91 Summary 94 Exercises and Assignments 94 PART II. THE ENGAGEMENT PHASE 5. Using Dialogue, Story-Telling, and Structured Group Work Techniques to Identify Community Problems 97 The Purpose of Group Dialogue 97 Using Group Dialogue to Identify and Solve Problems 99 Using Group Story-Telling to Identify Problems and Build Group Solidarity 102 Community Forums 105 Nominal Group Technique 108 Focus Groups 111 Study Circles 114 Putting Values in Action: The Development of Critical Consciousness 118 Summary 121 Exercises and Assignments 121 6. Engaging Participants in the Discovery, Assessment, and Documentation of Community Strengths and Problems 125 The Purpose of Community Assessments 126 Identifying Assets and Social Capital 128 Contents ix Participatory Research: Working in Partnership With Constituents 130 Participatory Action Research 132 Participatory Data Collection Methods 138 Using Traditional Community Assessment Methods: Surveys and Interviews Within a Participatory Research Framework 142 Power Analysis: Mapping Power Relations in the Community 149 Putting Values in Action: Building on Strengths 156 Summary 160 Exercises and Assignments 160 7. Facilitating Leadership Development and Group Decision Making: Encouraging Public Participation in Planning and Engaging Constituents in the Development of Action Plans 163 Theoretical Perspectives: Constituent Involvement in Decision Making 164 Leadership Development and Training 168 Facilitating Constituent Participation in Public Decision Making and Planning 172 Engaging Constituents in the Development of Community Action Plans 176 Putting Values in Action: Self-Determination, Empowerment, and Cultural Competency in Plan Development 189 Summary 192 Exercises and Assignments 193 8. Taking Action: Group Processes for Implementing Action Campaigns 195 Defining Action Campaigns 195 Components of Successful Campaigns 196 Considerations in Adjusting and Implementing Strategies and Tactics in Response to Situational Demands 201 Using Basic Group Work Techniques for Group Maintenance and Cohesion 205 Other Interpersonal Skills Needed to Facilitate Action Campaigns 207 Ending Campaigns 218 x Contents Putting Values in Action: Using Action Campaigns to Achieve Social Justice 218 Summary 221 Exercises and Assignments 222 PART III. THE POST-ENGAGEMENT PHASE 9. Working With Constituent Groups to Critically Reflect and Engage in Dialogue on the Process and Outcomes of Action Plans 227 The Process of Praxis 228 Theoretical Frameworks for Using the Process of Praxis in Community Organizing 229 Praxis and Knowledge Production 231 Self-Reflection in Community Practice 232 Reflection as a Group Process: Assessing the Roles of Participants in Community Practice 234 Praxis as Group Dialogue: Decisions by Many Rather Than a Few 236 Interpersonal Skills for Facilitating Praxis 239 Using Praxis to Monitor the Community Organizing Process and Changing Course 240 Assessing What and Why Things Happened at the End of the Organizing Campaign 241 Putting Values in Action: Critical Reflection, Thinking, and Action 243 Summary 246 Exercises and Assignments 247 10. Discovering Whether and Why the Action Worked: Using Participatory Research to Conduct Formal Evaluations 249 The Purpose and Politics of Formal Evaluations in Community Practice 250 Challenges in Conducting Formal Community-Based Evaluations 252 Community Evaluations and Evidence-Based Practice 253 Systematic Approaches for Community-Based Research: Using Logic Models to Guide Evaluations as an Alternative to EBP 256 Evaluation Methods for Community Practice 260 Contents xi Participatory Evaluation Methods 270 Interpersonal Skills for Participatory Evaluations: Fostering Inclusion and Skill-Building 275 Putting Values in Action:

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