Chapter 6-Advocacy

advocacy

influencing decisions affecting the welfare or interests of other individuals or groups

-greatest need comes from disadvantaged groups in society

-”advocare”: summon one’s help

-can help clients negotiate more effectively on their own behalf

-can act on behalf of clients representing or defending them in a CR process

-while a mediator is impartial third party who assists both parties negotiate, advocates are partial to one party or cause

approaches to advocacy

the manner in which helping professionals advocate partially depends on theoretical orientations, including views on what influences and motivates people and how social institutions change

-individual

-administrative

-policy

individual advocacy

helps a specific client deal with a single, concrete conflict

administrative advocacy

directed at changes in an agency’s policies

policy advocacy

directed at changes in rules or laws that go beyond a single agency

advocacy activities

-helping clients set reasonable goals

-educating clients about their rights

-teaching clients how the system works

-facilitating access to information for your clients

-helping people listen to your clients

-listening carefully to clients to ensure that you understand their needs, concerns and wishes

-educating the public on an issue

-negotiating with agencies or other social systems

power

relative capacity of different parties to influence one another

-helping professionals need to know how to affect the balance of power between individuals or groups involved in a conflict situation

-ten sources of power

expert power

having expertise or special knowledge

-sometimes called information power because expertise is based on possessing certain wisdom, knowledge, or data

-one of the key areas is knowledge about agency policies, procedures and structures

-can teach clients advocacy strategies, tips and tricks

ex. get everything in writing, and date your notes to improve credibility

associational power

having a positive relationship with other people who have power

-referent power or integrative power, associational power allows clients to combine resources, build alliances, and gain moral influence

-can foster associational power by bringing specific individuals into the cause

-can be used for “power with” another party rather than “power over”, power of two or more parties is integrated rather than used in combative fashion

resource power

stems from control over valuable assets

• money, materials, labor or other goods and services

-inverse version of resource power is the ability to deny needed resources or to force others to expend them

-can help clients gain resource power by helping them secure assets from external sources

procedural power

control over the processes by which decisions are made

-is not the same as control over the decisions themselves

-can help clients make informed choices about CR alternatives as well as helping them negotiate processes that treat them more fairly

legitimate power

having an official position of authority, as from legislation or policies of an organization

-advocates may be able to intervene at a peer level with other helping professionals or officials who are making appropriate uses of their authority

-rights based approach to advocacy

-can make sure that the organization is living up to its own rules, including fair treatment of clients or others

sanction power

emanates from the ability (or perceived ability) to inflict harm or to interfere with a party’s ability to realize its interests

-typical sanctioning problem occurs when an agency threatens to refuse services or impose other sanctions if the clients do not comply with the agency’s demands

-when legitimate, they are difficult to counteract

-ultimate method of confronting legitimate power is to target laws or policies granting the power

nuisance power

based on the ability to cause discomfort to a party, falling short of the ability to apply direct sanctions

-often used by people who are at a disadvantage in terms of sanction and legitimate power

-can help clients use nuisance power in a deliberate manner, risky because conflict escalates

-should help clients assess the risks and benefits of using nuisance strategies

habitual power

rests on the premise that it is generally easier to maintain a particular arrangement or course of action than to change it

-may also be persuaded by arguments in favor of maintaining traditions

moral power

extends from appeals to widely help values, such as family, charity, freedom, privacy, fairness and democracy

-advocates use language that frames their cause in a positive light

-helps people make decisions based on values and interests rather than positions

personal power

based on a variety of individual attributes

-characteristics include self-assurance, ability to articulate one’s thoughts and understand one’s situation, determination and endurance

-some aspects come naturally, others are learned

-can help clients raise their level of personal power by teaching them advocacy skills

inventory for advocacy skills

preparation, oral advocacy, written advocacy

ethical issues

-legal and professional restrictions

-agency mandate

-individual vs group interests

-client authorization

-professional values

-futile causes

• defamation laws limit what one can say about another person in a public forum

legal and professional restrictions

although helping professionals have an ethical obligation to advocate for clients and social causes, their advocacy role is also subject to many legal and ethical restrictions

agency mandate

advocates who work in an agency context are limited by the mandate and policies of their agencies

-advocates who act on their own behalf may have more latitude than advocates who act on behalf of their agency

-frequently arise when a conflict surfaces between the interests of the agency and the interests of the client

individual vs group interests

another type of dilemma arises when advocating for one client takes away resources from another person or group

-if the only obligation of helping professionals is to pursue their own clients’ best interests, then the helping professional may be depriving others who may be more needy or deserving

client authorization

when professionals advocate on behalf of clients, they should have the client’s consent to act on their behalf

-authorization for cause advocacy can be even trickier than consent for individual advocacy

professional values

must develop an awareness of their own values and priorities to ensure that they do not impose their values on clients

-when the clients and advocates values are consonant, the advocate can easily pursue the aims of the client

-ethical decisions should not be made in isolation

-consulting with others allows professionals to explore various alternatives and hear how others might deal with difficult decisions

futile causes

some helping professionals question whether they should become involved in causes that seem overwhelming or futile

-one person can make a difference, even when the odds seem enormous