Flyer: Influencing Social Policy: Positioning Social Work Graduates for Policy Careers

In December 2012, the Social Work Policy Institute published this flyer, Influencing Social Policy: Positioning Social Work Graduates for Policy Careers. I highly recommend graduate students who plan to pursue a policy career to save and read this conversation brief. Participants included both social workers and non-social workers who serve in key policy positions at the national, state and local levels, social work faculty, and recent social work graduates pursuing policy positions.

Professional social workers have long pursued careers specifically focused on influencing social policy. These policy practice positions include working as lobbyists, policy and program analysts, organizers, and advocates. Such positions can be found within the executive and legislative branches of government, with provider and professional organizations, foundations, think tanks and public interest advocacy groups at the national, state and local levels. The current economic, social and political climates provide a ripe environment for promoting social work expertise in these positions. To meet this demand it is imperative that there be on-going dialogue between social work educators who prepare students for policy practice and policy practitioners, especially those who hire entry-level policy staff.