'Advocacy and Change in Human Services'

Essay by Rainbow_GalUniversity, Bachelor'sB+, May 2008

download word file, 8 pages 4.6

Under the Rainbow Inc. began when a group of four socially conscious people discovered a dire need for quality, unbiased welfare support without prejudice or borders and became an 'incorporated association' in February 2007.

Since its inception, Under the Rainbow Inc. has been committed to excellence in the delivery of social welfare services based on their principles of charity, care and compassion. A range of services designed to promote independence and to enhance quality of life are provided by Under the Rainbow, all of which encompass care and support of local community members, in particular those who require relief from poverty and/or the dependents of any such persons. Advocacy is the primary role of case managers' who volunteer at Under The Rainbow and in this human service setting and any other it is essential for services to be provided accurately.

This essay will define advocacy in a human services context as well as discuss the type of advocacy that is beneficial to clients in this chosen human service setting.

In conclusion, this essay will also describe issues that Under The Rainbow have encountered whilst implementing advocacy and change and the way the current political climate can effect their ability to engage in advocacy and deliver quality human services.

Whilst the definition of advocacy in general is broad, in human service and social work practice advocacy is essentially the process of protecting human rights or to change discriminatory or abusive treatment to the vulnerable, whether working with an individual or a group (Corey, Corey & Callanan, 1998).

Human service workers all act as advocates in the course of their work (Sorensen and Black, 2001) and the Australian Association of Social Workers 'Code of Ethics' (2002) supports this view citing, 'The social worker will advocate for changes in policy, service delivery...