‘Politics is social work with power’: training social workers for elected office

Abstract

Training social workers for leadership roles in electoral campaigns and political offices increases the profession’s effectiveness in promoting public policy that reflects our professional values and commitment to social justice. This research describes and evaluates an educational experience in the US that prepares social work practitioners and students to run for elected office; to work in leadership positions at the local, state, and federal levels; and serve as effective advocates for social change. Participants’ plans for future political engagement before and after the training were compared. Following the training, participants are more likely to plan to be politically active in general. Their intentions to work on campaigns, run for office, and engage with elected officials increased. These results can inform education in other social work settings.

Keywords:

• Political social work
• political action
• macro social work
• elected office
• advocacy

Acknowledgments

This work would not be possible without the contributions of Dr. Nancy A. Humphreys; Kate Coyne-McCoy, MSW; the staff of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work, particularly Jenna Powers, MSW; and the attendees of the Campaign School for Social Workers.