The NASW Press was developed to provide social workers and other human services workers
with quality publications that will help them accomplish their mission. Therefore, it is
most appropriate that the Press publish this newly revised edition of Si Kahn's Organizing.
Social workers help people and communities cope with problems. Those problems may be
mental health problems (social workers provide more than half of the mental health
services in this country), they may be family problems, they may be problems with
homelessness, or AIDS, or any of the numerous disasters that can befall human beings.
People also have problems coping with systems changes, and with systems that are designed
to help them but do not. We estimate that more than 300,000 professionals who hold a
social work degree are working today to help Americans cope with problems.
Social workers practice in a wide variety of settings. They can be found nearly
everywhere in the United States where people live and work. But all social workers,
regardless of the setting in which they work or the type of problem with which they deal,
hold fundamental values and precepts. Social workers believe in the worth, dignity, and
uniqueness of each individual. They also believe that each individual has a right to make
his or her own decisions. Implicit in this belief is the need for social workers to inform
clients of their options and the potential consequences of their choices. Social workers
also take a perspective that deals with people as part of an environmental system. Acting
on these beliefs makes social workers agents for change. From the profession's beginnings,
social workers have understood that people working together toward a common set of goals
are more effective agents for change.
The importance the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) places on acting as
change agents to empower people can be demonstrated by looking at the organization's newly
adopted strategic plan. Support for advocacy and government affairs is one of the top
priorities. Over the next five years, NASW will significantly increase its already strong
program of advocacy at the state and federal level. NASW, as the primary advocate for the
clients of social workers, promotes diversity and multicultural responsiveness in all
programs.
Si Kahn has provided an excellent guide to organizing on behalf of the people social
workers serve. We are pleased that the NASW Press is adding Organizing, Revised Edition,
to its list of quality publications for human services professionals.
Barbara W. White, PhD, ACSW, President, NASW
Mark G. Battle, ACSW, Executive Director, NASW
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