Influencing Social Policy in a Time of Devolution: Upholding Social Work's Great Tradition

Throughout the decades of the 20th century, advocates and scholars have proclaimed social work's commitment to influencing social policy. Following a brief history of these calls to action, this essay focuses on social work at the crossroads at the dawn of the 21st century, a time in which responsibility for social welfare has shifted from federal government to state legislative bodies across the country. Implications of this move toward a new federalism include the need to re-examine professional identity in light of a decentralized state policy emphasis, to rethink education's role in socializing the next generation of social workers, to redesign programs and organizations to position themselves to respond to policy change at the state level, and to reintegrate practice so that the “social” is fully manifested in social work. The uniqueness of the social work profession rests in a professional calling that disallows one-dimensional or comfortable thinking. This call to embrace ambiguity and to connect the often-invisible struggles of individuals with the more public actions of decision makers in powerful positions is the essence of social work.