The Difference Between Case And Cause Advocacy

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As a social worker, it is important to fully understand the elaborate and crucial connections between client hardships and the public issues that may surround them. It is also imperative to thoroughly encompass and embrace both case and cause advocacy. Case to cause is a type of advocacy that is expected and required of all social workers. According to Donna McIntosh in the article “The Difference Between Case and Cause Advocacy is U”, the difference between case and cause advocacy literally is YOU, the social worker. In fact, not only is it morally and ethically required, the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics incorporates many ethical standards that outlines the moral duty of a social worker to address social issues that …show more content…

Advocating for clients is one of my natural instincts. In fact, I receive instant gratification when I advocate for a client and know that I am making a difference in their life toward a positive future. Advocating for a client is simply defending and safeguarding their rights, especially to vulnerable populations that don’t have a voice. Case advocacy can be defined as advocating for a specific situation for an individual or family. While cause advocacy is advocating for the larger community and population through social change in policies as well as change within the work place and other agencies. According to Donna McIntosh, every social worker should have a dual focus of social work that includes advocating for the individual and change within the system. This concept makes perfect sense to me, why not knock out two birds with one stone? If a social worker advocates for a client’s specific situation that is also a problem within the community, why not address the individual issue and the community issue at the same time? Previously, I did not fully understand that concept. I envisioned case advocacy as working with the individual/family without incorporating cause advocacy into the picture. Case to cause advocacy can make a difference at the client level and at the global

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