Blurring Professional Borders in Service of Anti-Poverty Collaboration: Combining Social Work Skills and an Anti-Oppressive Feminist Lens with Legal Aid

The history of legal aid is contested and gendered. Like social work, since the late 1800s professionalization and broader political forces have pushed legal aid toward greater focus on individual-level interventions to alleviate poverty. As a result, the capacity of contemporary legal aid programs to work collaboratively with low-income communities to address their legal and non-legal concerns is limited. This article traces the shared histories and commitments of legal aid and social work, calls for an increased collaboration between legal aid programs and social workers, and proposes an anti-oppressive, feminist theoretical perspective to guide this collaboration. By embracing collaboration across professions and using this theoretical lens, both legal aid programs and social workers can more effectively and more inclusively address the broader needs and concerns of low-income communities. Specific recommendations for practice and education are discussed

Community Collaboration in Virginia Legal Aid Programs: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Investigation

Legal aid programs comprise a robust national infrastructure attempting to alleviate and reduce poverty. Since their proliferation as part of the War on Poverty, these organizations have provided individual civil legal assistance and engaged in collective legal and political strategies to advance systemic change. Starting in the 1980s, however, public policies have been enacted to cut funding and restrict the ability of federally funded legal aid programs to engage in collective and systemic advocacy. As a result, the ability of programs to work alongside low-income communities has been compromised. The histories and core commitments of legal aid and social work are linked. As a profession social work is concerned broadly with efforts to address poverty and specifically with the self-determination and empowerment of those experiencing poverty directly. In this study a constructivist grounded theory design was used to examine the process of collaboration between legal aid attorneys and client community members. The sample for the study included 28 attorneys, client community members, and other stakeholders affiliated with three legal aid programs. Based on 28 interviews and two focus groups with these participants, a conceptual framework entitled Collaborating for Justice in a Legal Aid Context was constructed. Findings suggest that both primary stakeholder groups were motivated to act by the unequal access to advantage in the world around them. Once affiliated with legal aid, they were constrained by scarcity of resources but nonetheless acted creatively to collaborate as well as to enhance collaborative capacity. Collaboration occurred in different timeframes, and this temporal element suggested ways that individuals and organizations can extend and deepen collaboration. Collective activities, informal interaction, and boards and advisory groups all played roles in facilitating collaboration between legal aid programs and their client communities. Through these actions, participants and their affiliated organizations were able to move from circumstances of scarcity to circumstances of generativity and development. Implications for education, practice, and policy are discussed

Socio-economic status and faith-based community organizing : the relationship between class and member participation in People Acting for Community Together (PACT)

This paper considers the effect of social class, or socio-economic status (SES), on participation in People Acting for Community Together (PACT). PACT is an organization in Miami, Florida, that uses a model of community organizing called faith-based community organizing (FBCO). The focus of the research is on determining the relationship between SES on the one hand and participants\u27 motivations for, and perceived benefits of, being involved in PACT on the other. The hypothesis is that, whereas low- to middle-income persons participate because they stand to benefit from PACT\u27s victories gained through issue campaigns, higher-income persons participate because they feel compelled by their faith to work for social justice. This hypothesis is tested through a series of semi-structured interviews, a focus group with PACT leaders, and secondary research. Major findings are that lower-income leaders focus on collective advancement over individual gain, middle-income leaders appreciate the opportunities for personal development that PACT provides, and higher-income leaders do feel compelled by their faith, but are also driven by general dissatisfaction with their communities. In other words, the hypothesis is a somewhat accurate but insufficient explanation of the relationship between SES and participation in PACT. It is suggested that PACT work toward more clearly identifying itself with its target population (low- to moderate-income people) while presenting itself as an opportunity for people of all income levels to have a greater involvement in, and impact on, their community. The research shows that PACT is a dynamic enough organization to achieve this balance

Socio-economic status and faith-based community organizing : the relationship between class and member participation in People Acting for Community Together (PACT)

This paper considers the effect of social class, or socio-economic status (SES), on participation in People Acting for Community Together (PACT). PACT is an organization in Miami, Florida, that uses a model of community organizing called faith-based community organizing (FBCO). The focus of the research is on determining the relationship between SES on the one hand and participants\u27 motivations for, and perceived benefits of, being involved in PACT on the other. The hypothesis is that, whereas low- to middle-income persons participate because they stand to benefit from PACT\u27s victories gained through issue campaigns, higher-income persons participate because they feel compelled by their faith to work for social justice. This hypothesis is tested through a series of semi-structured interviews, a focus group with PACT leaders, and secondary research. Major findings are that lower-income leaders focus on collective advancement over individual gain, middle-income leaders appreciate the opportunities for personal development that PACT provides, and higher-income leaders do feel compelled by their faith, but are also driven by general dissatisfaction with their communities. In other words, the hypothesis is a somewhat accurate but insufficient explanation of the relationship between SES and participation in PACT. It is suggested that PACT work toward more clearly identifying itself with its target population (low- to moderate-income people) while presenting itself as an opportunity for people of all income levels to have a greater involvement in, and impact on, their community. The research shows that PACT is a dynamic enough organization to achieve this balance