Pat Libby has provided individuals with a “roadmap” to the process of lawmaking with her book The Empowered Citizens Guide: 10 Steps To Passing a Law That Matters to You. The first couple of chapters provide an overview of the process of making a law and the 10 steps for having a successful lobbying campaign. This allows the reader time to process the information and have foundational knowledge before diving deeper into the 10 steps.
The 10 steps are laid out well, as the author goes in sequential order and provides a good summary of the previous step before introducing the next one at the start of each chapter. The real-life examples given for each step make application of the steps easier. Along with the real-life examples, the author has added a narrative of two individuals who used the 10 steps in a real-life citizen-advocacy campaign.
The final chapter provides the reader with important details on the bill that was passed related to this campaign. Pat discusses what to pay attention to, to monitor how the bill was put into effect in the way one intended it to be. Sometimes, individuals will need to monitor a bill over several years.
As I read this text, I asked myself how, when, where, and why a social worker could implement these steps. CSWE's Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (CSWE, 2022), Competency 5, states:
Social workers identify social policy at the local, state, federal, and global level that affects well-being, human rights and justice, service delivery, and access to social services.... Social workers influence policy formulation, analysis, implementation, and evaluation within their practice settings with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
As social workers, we challenge systems as we advocate for clients.
After reading this text, the question I ask myself and all other social workers is: How can we not implement these steps? We are frustrated with systems, clients falling through the cracks, students being burdened with debt, low paying jobs, the inequalities that exist, and so much more. If we want to truly create change, we need to do more lobbying. We are change agents. This text sets us up to lead successful real-life advocacy-campaigns and allows us to teach students how to do the same.
Reference
CSWE. (n.d.). 2022 EPAS. https://www.cswe.org/accreditation/standards/2022-epas/
Reviewed by Tallie Cassanova, LCSW, QMHP, BSSW Program Director, University of South Dakota.