Emotional Intelligence

Macro practice: “Social work practice aimed at bringing about improvements and changes in the general society. Such activities include some types of political action, community organization, public education, campaigning, and the administration of broad-based social services agencies or public welfare departments. ” (The Social Work Dictionary) Some of the varieties of roles in macro practice include the following: enabler mediator, integrator/coordinator, general manager, educator, analyst/evaluator broker, facilitator, initiator, negotiator, mobilizer, and advocate (Kirst-Ashman and Hull). Macro social work is the practice of helping people solve social problems and make social change at the community, organizational, societal, and global levels” (William G. Brueggemann). Given the above definitions, in your 3-4 page, double-spaced typed paper, develop the concept of macro practice relative to your chosen field of practice. Again, conceptualize macro practice as two things: (1) as a practice method with particular skills and, (2) conceptualized as a practice setting.

As a practice setting, one could think of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services or the North Carolina State Office of Human Services as a macro setting, or one could think of the local county Public Health Department as those kinds of settings where the primary work is at the macro level. Social workers at these levels typically are not providing direct service to clients and carrying a caseload; there is no direct group intervention work, per se.

You role might involve the development of policies being formulated, programs being developed, and even perhaps legislation being drafted by an MSW to help improve services and programs for people in the nation. Put yourself in the role of a social worker at the macro level and who is using macro practice skills to effect planned changed within the field of practice you selected.

For example, you might be working at the Department of Health and Human Services and your job is to develop better programs and services for grandparents who are taking care of their grandchildren because the children’s parents are not able to care them for any number of reasons. You might be working in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to ensure that family support services are included in legislation for disabled veterans wounded in Iraq. Discuss the individual social work skills needed, and also consider the organizational issues you’ll likely to encounter, in order to be a competent macro-practice level social worker.