small-scale climate resilience: social work practice in the age of climate change 25 th annual...

Small-Scale Climate Resilience:Social Work Practice in the Age of Climate Change

25th Annual Conference of the Network for Social Work ManagementSimmons College, School of Social Work, Boston, MA

June 5-6, 2014

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Jim Gilmer, [email protected]

Jeff [email protected]

Rondine Macadaeg, [email protected]

R. Bong Vergara [email protected]

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TOPICS

I. Imperatives to advance SOWK by 2020II. The missing imperative: A vital role in meeting the grand challenge of climate changeIII. Decyphering ‘meaningful engagement’ and ‘small-scale community-defined’ climate resilience

June 5-6, 2014

3 TAKE-AWAYS

• To advance SOWK, we need to define a ‘SOWK 2.0’ that meets the challenge of ‘climate resilience’ (community capacity for climate change adaptation and mitigation)

• To achieve ‘SOWK 2.0’ we need targeted improvements in social work education and bold reforms to professional practice

• CYPHER’s work in California has lessons for ‘SOWK 2.0’, particularly in ‘meaningful engagement’ and ‘small-scale community-defined’ climate resilience

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June 5-6, 2014

I. IMPERATIVES TO ADVANCE SOWK BY 2020

See a full description of the 10 imperatives here:http://www.socialworkers.org/2010congress/documents/2010Imperatives.pdf

1. Social entrepreneurship in SOWK education2. Strengthening collaboration3. Articulate and communicate professional SOWK skills4. Promote impact and value in industry and policy5. Strengthen national advocacy for the profession6. Integrate leadership training in SOWK education7. Demonstrate social and economic value of the profession8. Ensure the sustainability of the profession through active mentorship9. Increase financial support for students10. Integrate technology into SOWK practice and education

http://www.socialworkers.org/2010congress/documents/2010Imperatives.pdf

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II. THE MISSING IMPERATIVE: A VITAL ROLE IN MEETING THE GRAND CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Potential Climate Change Health Effects• Heat-Related Morbidity and Mortality • Asthma, Respiratory Allergies, and Airway

Diseases• Vectorborne and Zoonotic Diseases • Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke• Weather-Related Morbidity and Mortality • Foodborne Diseases and Nutrition

• Waterborne Diseases • Human Developmental Effects • Mental Health and Stress-Related

Disorders• Neurological Diseases and Disorders • Cancer

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

June 5-6, 2014

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Obama announced drought aid for CaliforniaOnishi and Davenport, The New York Times, Feb. 14, 2014

California farmers brace for drought, unemploymentScott Smith, Associated Press, Feb. 2, 2014

Fallow acres could lead to $5 billion loss in CaliforniaDrought forces California farmers to idle cropland Reuters, Ag Professional (Northbrook, Ill.), Feb. 5, 2014

On March 1, 2014, Gov. Brown approved a $687.4 M emergency drought relief package. As a result, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released $15 million for community water system solutions

June 5-6, 2014


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June 5-6, 2014 cypher-international.org

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As a profession, social work has ‘deficit needs’ and ‘being needs’ in meeting the challenge of the climate change reality

‘DEFICIT NEEDS’• Education/Training• Practice tools

‘BEING NEEDS’• Articulated vision• Professional Role


‘SOWK 2.0’Version of profession vital in climate resilience-building: one meaningfully engaged in (i) the three Ps, (ii) training an ‘environmental sustainability’ workforce; (iii) promoting a practice framework for building capacity in vulnerable communities; and (iv) democratizing climate resilience

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Macro practice• Organizations• Communities• Policy/Advocacy

Mezzo practice

• Research

• Family• Kin relations• Work/School

Micro practice

• Individuals• Domestic unit• Small groups

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DEFICIT NEEDS: Education/Training, Practice tools

(i) training an ‘environmental sustainability’ workforce; (ii) promoting a practice framework for building capacity in vulnerable communities; and (iii) democratizing climate resilience


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1. Paradigm: shift our basic set of assumptions and beliefs we bring to a situation climate change impacts overall quality of life, human health, community wellness, economy health policy = climate policy

2. Practice Role: shift nature of the social worker-client relationship climate change impacts our professional scope of work; we need to be where our clients are: be meaningfully engaged in environmental justice and environmental sustainability

3. Practice Techniques: shift actions that social workers take to facilitate change climate change requires us to have the right tools to be responsive to its system impacts

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BEING NEEDS: Articulated vision, Professional Role (3 Ps)


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SO WHAT?


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III. DECYPHERING ‘MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT’ AND ‘SMALL-SCALE COMMUNITY-DEFINED’ CLIMATE RESILIENCE


‘SOWK 2.0’Version of profession

vital in climate resilience

‘Meaningful engagement’‘Grassroots to grasstops’

partnership beyond collaboration and consultation

‘Small-scale community-defined solutions’Solution-making (a) scaled for local climate resilience,

(b) informed by grassroot priorities and strengths, and (c) supported by grasstop resources

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‘Meaningful engagement’‘Grassroots to grasstops’ partnership beyond collaboration and consultation

Service design/

delivery Self-help/

‘Social

business’ Education/

Research Advocacy/

Policy-makingDirect Action /

Community Organizing

The grassroots are authentic partners and decision-makers – not just clients --across the climate resilience-building and ‘solution-making’ continuum.

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‘Small-scale community-defined solutions’Solution-making (a) scaled for local climate resilience, (b) informed by grassroot priorities and strengths, and (c) supported by grasstop resources

• Small-scale democratic processes can provide a mechanism to find sustainable solutions that spread benefits much more evenly across communities.

• A new approach for ‘sustainability’ and positive social action premise on democratic small-scale interventions, which simultaneously empowers communities and ameliorates climate vulnerability.

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The key is meaningful youth engagement

‘Meaningful engagement’ ‘Small-scale community-defined solutions’

• tendency to ‘think-outside-the-box’ and advocate for non-conventional strategies in community wellness, pollution reduction, and environmental resource management

• strategically-positioned because of their context is full of scientific vitality, technological innovation, and bold policy dialogue

• they influence the behavior of their peers; in vulnerable minority communities, they shape public opinion in a way that cuts through the barriers of professional language and culture

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‘Sustainable Earth Decathlon’ (SED)

CYPHER Fellows Program

Hybrid STEAM


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CYPHER Fellows Program


Goal: To (a) enable the youth to be 'meaningfully engaged' in climate resilience and health equity, and (b) facilitate the empowerment and climate resilience-building self-efficacy among vulnerable youth.

Process Objective: To place Fellows in professional settings with direct opportunities for policy advocacy, applied research, and education training in Health Equity and Climate Resilience.

Outcome Objective: The activities of Fellows will be used to build up a cache of original community-based research, policy proposals, and community education video materials on climate resilience and health equity solutions/needs/vulnerability assessment.

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‘Sustainable Earth Decathlon’ (SED)


Goal: To (a) enable the youth to be 'meaningfully engaged' in climate resilience and health equity, and (b) facilitate the discovery of innovative, ‘community-defined’ technology-enabled solutions to environmental sustainability.

Process Objective: To recruit teams from approximately twenty community colleges and universities across the City of L.A. to compete and show their “outside the box” solutions to the intersection between climate change and health disparities.

Outcome Objective: To build bold ‘self-belief’ and ‘self-efficacy’ in the youth as measured by successful pursuit of community impact, and technological or conceptual innovation.

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Hybrid STEAM


Goal: To engage and motivate students, faculty, and key constituencies in Ventura County ininnovative solution-making on local manifestations of the overlap between climate change and health disparity already being felt across the Southern California region.

Process Objective: To identify and develop student-focused project-based activities and to cultivate analytical and creative thinking through an integrated classroom and field practicum model.

Outcome Objectives: To facilitate increased experiential learning and greater engagement in targeted subject areas; cross-discipline STEM and Liberal Studies integration; increased student retention in targeted courses/projects; increased career awareness and networking with community and industry partners; and promote critical-thinking skills through divergent-analytical thinking and project-based learning activities.

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1. Frumkin H, Hess J, and Vindigni S. Peak petroleum and public health. JAMA. 298:1688-1690, 2007.2. Frumkin H, Hess J, Luber G, Malilay J, and McGeehin M. Climate change: the public health response. Am J Public Health. 98:435-445, 2008.3. Luber G, and Hess J. Climate change and human health in the United States. J of Env Health. 70(5):43-44, 2007.4. Patz JA, McGeehin M, Bernard SM, Ebie KL, Epstein PR, Grambsch A, Gubler DJ, Reiter P, Romieu I, Rose JB, Samet JM, Trtang J. The potential health impacts of climate variability and change for the US. Env Hlth Pers. 108 (4): 36-54, 2000.5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Climate and Health: Health effects. http://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/, 2009.

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ENDNOTES

http://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/

http://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/

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Jim Gilmer, MA Dir., Community & Govt [email protected]

Jeff McKenzieDir., Investor [email protected]

Rondine Macadaeg, Esq. General Counsel/Dir., Strategic [email protected]

R. Bong Vergara [email protected]

Visit cypher-international.org

small-scale climate resilience: social work practice in the age of climate change 25 th annual...

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sowk education

sowk practice

smallscale climate resilience

climate change adaptation

age of climate change

social work education

social work practice

professional sowk skills