Social Advocacy: Annotated Bibliography

Introduction

Social advocacy means empowering people to share an idea with a large audience about a given issue. In the video titled Women’s Rehabilitation, Susan Burton shares her story on how she was incarcerated after being found guilty of drug abuse which emerged as a result of mental damage after losing her son to what she terms as an accident by LAPD officer (Burton, 2013). There is need to change the way drug addicts are handled by law by considering rehabilitation of offenders instead of incarcerating them.

After prison, she started the A New Way of Life project. Through that, she has rehabilitated more than 600 women who would reunite with their children even after getting out of prison (Burton, 2013). Burton says that it costs the government approximately $50,000 to incarcerate a criminal annually, while rehabilitating them through her program costs only $15,000 per year (Burton, 2013). There should be programs to take care of women who have been found having issues with drug addition and that does not call for imprisonment only.

The Overall Process of Social Advocacy

The effectiveness of social advocacy is determined by various metrics that are put in place to meet the objectives concerning a given issue. The process involves the identification of an issue and the collecting of relevant information about the same. In the case video, Burton established the issue of drug abuse for women and got essential details such as the cost of maintaining the people affected and the risks they face. (Burton, 2013). For instance, Burton says once one is imprisoned, they have 78% of getting back to prison within one year of release (Burton, 2013). The next step involves mobilizing interested people who would help one to navigate the issue further because a single force cannot handle advocacy. Additionally, it is required that one raises and manages the necessary resources. Burton was able to buy a bungalow where she furnished and looked for money to support the rehabilitated women.

Networking is key in social advocacy, where one finds relevant people who can understand the idea and play a key role in moving the objective. This involves getting interest groups, charity firms, and ambassadors of the issue. The next step is to form alliances that enable the execution of the solution to a problem. Alliances may comprise associations that seek to discover women affected by drug addiction and get relevant means of rehabilitating them. It is important to link with the government for facilitation by funding and oversight in the matter. It is important to develop a clear and candid proposal that shall guide the government on how to approach the issue to avoid transparency issues. Lastly, advocacy requires one to engage the media in that activities undertaken are put in the limelight. More people are enticed to join, fund, or offer any necessary hand in the advocacy.

Advocacy in Social Policy

Challenges

Social policies focus on how communities meet human needs for issues such s education, security, work, health, and wellbeing. In this case, the social policy on mental health makes one indulge in drug abuse and the lapse in meeting well-being from the current measures of incarcerating a criminal. It is possible to meet constraints while pushing for certain advocacy because of ideological differences or lack of awareness. The following are eight challenges that are experienced in advocacy in social policy.

1. Different views from the society who do not understand the core issue that puts risks to affected individuals (Burton, 2013).
2. There is a risk of failing to meet expectations for the affected group, who may not play their key roles in solving the matter.
3. Research on social issues is influenced by many issues, such as conflict of interest that may put the matter in a contentious state.
4. There is a challenge in narrowing down the issues affecting society. For instance, one may see alcoholism in many drug addicts but overlook their mental wellbeing.
5. The challenge of luring people into spreading knowledge about an issue is rampant. Society has seen ignorance and a lack of time to drive sensitive issues affecting people’s lives (Pawar, 2019).
6. There is a challenge of credibility where social policy advocates may fail to cover necessary research about an issue, thus committing to a matter that may not require recommended attention.
7. It is hard to communicate the value of advocacy through showing exposure to dangers evident in society because the expected stakeholders may view issues such as drug abuse as a personal choice or lack of morals.
8. There is no cohesive strategy from leadership in advocate groups due to conflicts arising from discharging duties in the matter (Scourfield, 2021).

Problems

The following is a list of problems that advocacy on social policy face:

1. There is a problem of resource accumulation which may lead to incapacity to coordinate advocacy issues (Burton, 2013).
2. Social advocacy requires enough people to drive various agendas, and many are unwilling to participate, meaning there is understaffing.
3. Everyone in society has not understood social issues. Hence, people are unaware of the rapid change required (Pawar, 2019).
4. Time for expressing a certain issue may not be enough since government and other stakeholders deal with other significant concerns, such as pandemics and humanitarian crises.
5. Social advocacy does not give a definite end game on a particular matter since it breeds from different generations, and there is no rationale on how to curb the development of the same issue from the grassroots (Truesdell, 2019).
6. There are concerns that social advocates have been associated with transparency issues such as the embezzlement of funds raised to combat a particular matter.
7. The monitoring of progress for social policy is low because many people see that as not part of responsibility, making issues being dealt with escalate adversely (Pawar, 2019).

Forms of Advocacy in the Interview

The first form of advocacy evident in the video is case advocacy. The reason is that in the interview, Burton focuses on the issue of rehabilitating women who have been found guilty of drug abuse (Burton, 2013). She tells from her first-hand experience and mentions different situations, such as the number of people she rehabilitates and the changes they have shown. Case advocacy requires special expertise in dealing with the matter. The second one is citizen advocacy, where Burton spoke on behalf of many people who shared similar problems when she faced her son’s grief. Burton has volunteered to express the issue of drug abuse and women’s incarceration, which means citizens will benefit from her advocacy since there are high chances of getting long-term solutions through law or moral perspectives (Burton, 2013). The other advocacy form is self-advocacy, where Burton speaks for herself about issues she faced at one point. Through her journey, the audience can learn the importance of discovering a problem and acting accordingly to avoid future liabilities. In this way, there is an opportunity to get assistance the way Burton got making her establish a rehab for the affected groups.

Historically, there has been an advocate for change within government on how government and society address the issue of drug abuse. In 1970, Congress passed “The comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention Treatment and Rehabilitation Act” (Scourfield, 2021). Through the legislation, the government accepted means of dealing with alcoholism and drug abuse by combatting the challenges that victims face. However, a lot needs to be done about this matter since society is facing the challenge of accepting necessary control measures when it comes to this matter. Burton is applying the historical concept of showing the public the challenges of ignoring an issue from an individual point of view.

Implications of Susan Burton’s Story for Social Work

Through Susan Burton, there is a likelihood of increased expression of social issues that affect the community. Many people will emerge with uniquely crafted solutions to problems such as mental health, gender-based violence (GBV), racism, and other social issues. Social workers will use the story to enhance their strategic day-to-day handling issues affecting the community (Barozet, 2022). For instance, they may learn ways of managing a project meant to save the lives of people affected by an issue in society. Burton’s work implies that social work can transform the world since it keys in specific problems that may alter the well-being of individuals in a given set of life.

Implications for Advocates and Policy Makers

Advocates will take note of the success of rehabilitating the persons found guilty of drug abuse. Therefore, they will push for rehabilitation instead of incarcerating victims. That will be enabled by showing evidence-based programs such as Burton’s A New Way of Life social project. The stakeholders, on learning about the success of handling problems by focusing on the cause, will consider reforms that will probe new policies. The policymakers will call for legal factions to determine issues faced by groups that indulge in drug abuse (Barozet, 2022). Therefore, it means various laws might be created that encourage the government to deal with the issue in a holistic way instead of the robust approach that is currently evident.

Future Advocacy Required

Based on what has been learned in Burton’s story, there is a need to advocate for alternative measures of correcting drug abusers rather than jailing them. Therefore, a person guilty of dealing with drugs as one way of solving mental problems should be rehabilitated immediately (Sulaiman et al., 2019). The government must formulate a law requiring intensive probing of people who use drugs often so that there can be the establishment of the right course of action that is neutral and does not subject the victim to other mental tortures while in prison. It is expected that society must be mentored through social policy on how to deal with personal issues in a way that does not attract legal punitive measures from the government (Truesdell, 2019). When the advocacy on this matter is effectively done, it shall cut the costs of catering to these individuals and raise a community with responsible and morally upright citizens.

Conclusion

Susan Burton was a former prisoner who discovered the way to solve issues that affect women by initiating a project to rehabilitate them. The video highlights when people are incarcerated, they do not reform fully since mental problems escalate. Social advocacy is faced with challenge of adoption by people and the government. Following Burton’s story probes one to think of alternative way of solving grief instead of drug abuse rehabilitation is a form of measure that can help control mental problems for many people.

Annotated Bibliography

Baronet, E. (2022). The degrees of social justice: Micro, mezzo and macro social levels. Where Has Social Justice Gone? 4(2), 23–37. Web.

This article by Baronet (2022) establishes a ground for understanding various contributions to the issue of social justice. The main argument is that there is a challenge in overcoming the prevailing barriers that embody moral principles that guide social advocacy. The intended audience is the government through legal representatives who ought to leverage how there will be prevention of concrete judgments based on the issue being advocated. The article helps build more on the topic by highlighting a holistic measure that can combat constraints that are evident on social issues. The author concludes that diversity must be appreciated before developing advocacy for social justice.

Pawar, M. (2019). Social work and social policy practice: Imperatives for political engagement. International Consortium for Social Development, 1(1), 2–7. Web.

This article by Pawar (2019) explores the practice of social work by focusing on political elements that lead to the derailment of efficacy. The author argues that social workers should be active in political actions that drive the point of ensuring that people have equality in terms of resources, opportunities, and services in life. The audience that the article addresses include social workers and politicians. The work helps navigate more about the topic by showing different ways a social worker can transform society on issues such as alcoholism. The author has concluded that addressing the policies through the political realm helps social workers minimize the marginalization and punitive services.

Scourfield, P. (2021). Using advocacy in Social Work Practice: A guide for students and professionals. Routledge.

The book covers different levels of advocacy and various methods where social work can link with concepts such as empowerment, safeguarding, and maintaining human rights. The main argument is that social work professionals can use legislative codes of practice to improve their understanding of social issues that affect the community, such as drug abuse. The intended audience is the students and professional social workers, and the books help explore advocacy issues that can be useful in handling drug and substance use. The book concludes that there is a need to have independent advocacy that effectively guides people on mental capacity.

Sulaiman, A. I., Noegroho, A., Suryanto, S., & Weningsih, S. (2019). The holistic rehabilitation model for drug addicts, phubbing and conduct disorder in boarding schools. Humanities and Social Science Research, 2(4), 17–21. Web.

The research helps tackle the issue of drug addiction and conduct disorder for students in boarding schools. The main argument in the text is that human resources play a critical role in achieving progress that requires rehabilitation for people found guilty of drug abuse. The book targets students and teachers, and parents as well. Through the book, the topic of rehabilitation is boosted through functional advocacy done at educational levels. The authors have concluded that rehabilitation is important since it provides a positive course of action in social issues that involve human beings.

Susan Burton. (2013). Women’s rehabilitation program – You’ve got Susan Burton. Web.

In this video, Susan Burton digs deeper into the causes of drug addiction for women and evaluates the incarceration measure in terms of efficacy. The main argument is that imprisonment does not solve grief, but rehabilitation does bring a positive outcome to the victims. The text targets the government and society at large. It helps cover social advocacy topics by showcasing efforts that one can make to change moments that may have brought adverse effects to the victims. Burton concludes that if there are new policies set on how to handle drug addicts, there is a high chance of transforming the community from the use of drugs to solving grief and mental challenges.

Truesdell, A. (2019). Social work insights: On micro, mezzo, and macro social work. Social Advocacy, 6(5), 32–38. Web.

The author has explored the focus of social work in engaging people or groups in therapies in a direct way and in far-reaching programs meant to address rampant mental disparities that pose risks in society. The audience sought in this article includes political leaders who have the task of unifying the people that matter. The text helps understand the topic by showing micro, mezzo, and macro social works’ impacts on the community. The author concludes that the three aspects enhance political advocacy that can combine social advocacy and help people with different challenges.