Moving toward Empowerment-Based Practice in Public Child Welfare

Abstract

Other authors characterize empower ment as a process rather than a product. The empowerment process sometimes is seen as political, suggesting societal redistribution of power and advance ment of social justice (Swift, 1984; Russel-Erlich & Rivera, 1986). Hess (1984) saw it as a democratic concept, entirely consistent with Jeffersonian ideals, but not yet fully actualized in U.S. society. Recent U.S. history, particularly the Progressive era (1900 to 1965) that gave rise to so many social programs, has been described as a paternalistic period during which government tried to translate the biological model of the caring parent into a program for social action (Rappaport, 1981, p. 10). Swift (1984) considered empowerment to be the antithesis of paternalism and ex pected the concept ultimately to change society's approach to many social problems. As the term is used here, empower ment-based practice draws from Sue's (1981) analysis of the concepts of locus of responsibility and control. Applica tion of Sue's concepts suggests that one goal of empowerment-based practice might be to help clients from disem powered groups move toward an inter Rebecca L. Hegar Jeanne M. Hunzeker