Policy Practice Certificate Course
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This engaging, on-demand course uses animation and video to help social work students and educators advance their understanding of critical social justice issues and key elements of effective advocacy practice. An understanding of policy is key to being an effective social worker and advancing social justice causes. Miguel Ferguson, Founder of OfCourse!, and Rick Hoefer, Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, draw on decades of experience in educating for social policy and advocacy. They highlight the necessity of social work engagement in the policy arena and the knowledge and skills required for effective advocacy.
Participants will learn:
- The history of social welfare in the U.S. and current trends in poverty and inequality
- What advocacy is and how social workers can get involved
- Strategies for effective advocacy, including education, persuasion and negotiation
The course concludes with a brief quiz to assess how well participants retained the course material. After successfully completing the quiz, participants have the option to print a certificate of completion.
This course was produced in partnership with Influencing Social Policy, a member of the Coalition for Policy Education and Practice in Social Work, which is generously funded by the Fund for Social Policy Education and Practice supported by the Lois and Samuel Silberman Grant Fund of the New York Community Trust.
Richard Hoefer
Professor, University of Texas at Arlington
Dr. Richard (Rick) Hoefer (MSW, University of Kansas; Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) is the Roy E. Dulak Professor for Community Practice Research in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). He has been at UTA since 1992, publishing frequently and teaching about advocacy, grant writing, program evaluation, and nonprofit management topics. His presentations on these topics to community groups and professional organizations always receive high marks from audience members for creativity, passion, and substance. He directs the Center for Advocacy, Nonprofit, and Donor Organizations (CAN-DO) which provides capacity-building for nonprofits of all types. Beyond the University, Dr. Hoefer serves on the Board of Influencing Social Policy (ISP), has been President of NASW Texas' state-wide Political Action Committee twice and is Editor of The Journal of Policy Practice.
Miguel Ferguson
Founder, OfCourse!
Dr. Miguel Ferguson is an award-winning instructor who has taught social welfare policy at leading schools of social work for the last two decades. He is the founder of an educational instruction company (OfCourse!) that, beginning in 2017, will offer innovative online university courses in social welfare policy and social justice. He is the author of two forthcoming books (Navigating Policy and Practice in the Great Recession and The Good Crusade: American Brigadistas in Spain) and a board member of Influencing Social Policy.
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