WORKING WITH GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES

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Types of Groups(Zastrow, 1981)

Recreation or Skill groups

To provide activities: enjoyment & exercise, skills development

Professional leaders or be leaderless

Educational groups

Acquire knowledge & learn complex skills

Leader is a professional with expertise

Resembles a class

Problem-solving & Decision-making groups

SSW providers and clients may be involved

SSW meet to work on practice issuesClients meet to influence policyFormal leader or a leader emerges

Self-help groups

Emphasize confession, testimony and reconcurrence support

Member have internal understanding

Members are highly motivated and dedicated

“helper therapy” process

Operate within a minimal budget

Socialization groupsDevelop/change attitudes and behaviours Become more socially acceptableSocial skill development, self confidence

and planning for the future Skilled leadershipTherapeutic or Treatment groupsSevere emotional or personal problemsLeadership requires considerable skillExplore problems & develop strategies

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Stages of Group Development(Zastrow, 1981)

1. Orientation• Commitment• Task roles emerge

2. Authority • Members challenge• Power and control conflict• Resolved - sharing of feelings• Drop out

3. Negotiation • norms and task roles • cohesion and sharing

4. Functional • implement plans and

accomplish tasks• few groups reach the end of

this stage

5. Disintegration • Generally disband at this

stage• Goals accomplished • SSW bring a treatment to an

end • Enable the members to move

on

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Group Work Intervention Steps(Zastrow, 1981)

Intake • meet individually• gather information• assess need for change• evaluates capacity for

group

Assessment & Planning• group process

intervention plan developed

Group Intervention • group roles, norms,

expectations, values, emerge

• influence the activities and relationships

• SSW facilitates

Evaluation and Termination• dealing with issues arising

from termination• evaluate process

Roles & Group Dynamics (Shulman, 1979)

• Personalities are translated into group interactions

• Roles emerge in the interplay of group dynamic and group process

• Roles and patterns function within the dynamics or process of group to move towards stability

Common roles

• Scapegoat• Deviant• Leader• Gatekeeper• Defensive• Quiet

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Community Organizing & Social Service Work

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Community Organizing & Social Service Work

Definition

Community Organization is a social intervention which seeks to maximize the ability of disadvantaged people to influence their environment, by developing power to: acquire resources; change inadequate institutions and laws; or build new ones, more responsive to their needs and those of all human beings.

(Lee,1999 p.55)

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Types of Communities(Hick, 2006, p.99)

Geographic Community (Hick 2006)

• Specific neighborhood

• City district or local ward

• Specific geographical boundaries

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Membership Community (Hick 2006)

Sense of belonging to a specific group

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Self Help Community (Hick 2006)

Consisting of people with similar problems or difficulties

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MODELS OF COMMUNITY WORK

(Lee, 1999; Hick 2010; Rothman, 1970)

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Locality Development (Rothman as referenced in Hick 2010, p. 123)

• Participation of a broad range of people

• Focus on goal determination and action

• Emphasizes community building

• Enable people to solve their own problems

• Improve communication and achieve consensus

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Social Planning(Rothman as referenced in Hick 2010, p. 123)

• Gather information/data about a particular problem

• Deliberately planned and controlled process

• Not system change

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Social Action(Rothman as referenced in Hick 2010, p. 123)

• Disadvantaged groups

• Redistribute power

• Take action - exploiting or oppressing

• Conflict, confrontation, direct action

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4. Pragmatic(Lee, 1999)

• Address complex organizational and developmental needs and social/political constraints

• Direct participation of the community

• Identify local social problems

• Produce structural change

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Model Locality Development

Social Planning

Social Action

Pragmatic

Description Community initiative to identify & achieve community goals

Experts using technical expertise –identify & plan how to address designated social problems

Organization of disadvantaged to make demand for social justice

Addresses complex organizational & developmental community needs & social/political constraints

Relationship of Worker & Community

People are subjects and co-workers on problems

People are objects of intervention

People are subjects & co-workers on problems

People are subjects & co-workers on problems

Primary Worker Role

Catalyst/facilitator Expert planner Catalyst/facilitator

Facilitator/agitator & strategist

Primary Means Consensus Statistics & Reports

Conflict, confrontation & negotiation

Conflict, confrontation & consensus

Ends Suitable sharing of community resources among members

Improved services

Readjustment of power between community & institutions

Empowerment and social justice

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Core Skills in Community Organizing(Lee, 1999)

Listening

Information gathering

Analysis

Facilitation

Negotiation

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Roles in Community Organizing (Lee, 1999)

Initiator• Getting things started• Stimulating awareness • Encouraging the belief - possibility of change

Encourager/ supporter• Encourage people to believe in themselves and their abilities and the ability to learnPopular Educator • Assist people to examine their old and new experiences• so they can identify the root of their problems, • the things they know and what they need to learn in order to • come together and confront oppressive systems

Mediator• Assisting people to see their common humanity or at least common interests• May involve reaching an understanding of legitimate needs• Building mutually respectful and trusting relationships

Planner• Strategist, advisor• Researcher, issues identification, prioritizing• Must be able to plan a course of action with the community

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Community Work Intervention Steps (Lee, 1999)

1. Entry2. Data Collection and Analysis3. Goal Setting4. Action Setting5. Action Taking6. Evaluation & Termination/Re-

planning

ReferencesCompton, B R., Galaway B., & Cournoyer. B. R. (2005). Social work

processes. 7th Edition. Toronto, Thompson Brooks/Cole.

Hick, S. (2006). Social work in Canada an introduction. 2nd Edition. Toronto, Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

Hick, S. (2010). Social work in Canada an introduction. Toronto, ON., Canada: Thompson Educational Publishing.

Lee, B. (1999). Pragmatics of community organization. Mississauga, Common Act Press.

Shulman, L. (1979). The skills of helping individuals and groups. Itasca, Illinois, F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc.

Wittaker, J. K. (1974). Models of group development: Implications for social group work process” In Robert W. Klenk, and Robert M. Ryan. The Practice of Social Work. 2nd Edition. Belmont, California, Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Zastrow, C. (1981). The Practice of social work. Homewood, Illinois, The Dorsey Press.

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