The Organizational Context of Empowerment Practice: Implications for Social Work Administration

Empowerment-based programs are becoming more common in the social work field, yet very little research has been done on the implications of empowerment for social work practice. This article presents the results of an exploratory study that identified elements of the organizational context of empowerment practice. Six human services programs engaged in empowerment practice were identified for study. These programs represented both direct service and community practice with different age groups, racial and ethnic groups, and fields of service. Administrators and workers in these organizations were individually interviewed to provide their perspectives on how their workplace supports empowerment practice. Qualitative analyses of these interviews identified four barriers (funding, social environment, and interpersonal and intrapersonal factors) and three supports (staff development, collaboration, and leadership) to empowerment practice. These results suggest ways in which social work administrative practices can create an organization culture that can support empowerment practice.