Mack Center on Nonprofit and Public Sector Management in Human Service Organizations

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Austin
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Support ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Human Service Organizations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Welfare Services ◽  
Work Related

This invited set of reflections upon the research carried out under the auspices of a school of social work is part of a series featuring research centers. It reflects 25 years of scholarly work related to both public and nonprofit human service organizations at the only university-based research center in the United States devoted to research on the management of human service organizations. Organized in the predefined categories of center history, structure, past projects, and current projects, it features current and past research in the areas of welfare services, child welfare services, adult and aging services, organizational support for evidence-informed practice, sustainability of nonprofits, international human services, and practice research methodology. Dedicated to the principles of team science by including graduate students, postdoctorate fellows, and consulting researchers, the Mack Center features the processes of practice research in which practitioners play a major role in the research process.

Survivor or Laborer

Affilia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Anasti
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Human Service Organizations ◽  
Risky Behaviors ◽  
The United States ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sex Trade ◽  
Sex Worker

Regardless of primary population served, human service organizations are likely to come into contact with individuals who have been currently or formerly involved in the sex trade. In the United States, social workers have had a fraught history with this population, either treating them like delinquents or like victims in need of rescue. Sex worker activists in the United States continue to decry the negative treatment provided by individuals in the helping professions, even as harm reduction, the practice of reducing the harm of risky behaviors, has entered the service provision lexicon as an antidote to abstinence-only services. This article uses qualitative interviews with managers of human service organizations in the city of Chicago to determine how they think about their work with sex workers and how they perceive the proposed solutions to “fixing” the sex trade: abolitionism and decriminalization. Findings show that despite the dominant discourse of abolitionism in the United States, most of managers in this project believe full decriminalization of sex work will best assist their sex worker clients. Future research needs to understand how this finding holds in different settings and how this affects current efforts to advocate for decriminalization.

scholarly journals Final Lines of Defense: Explaining Policy Advocacy by Immigrant-Serving Organizations

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Apolonia Calderon ◽  
Daniel E. Chand ◽  
Daniel P. Hawes
Keyword(s):  
Human Service ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Human Service Organizations ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Policy Advocacy ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Chief Executives ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Nonprofit Human Service Organizations ◽  
Nonprofit Advocacy

Abstract Nonprofit scholars have developed a rich literature on nonprofit advocacy. While the literature is rich, however, gaps remain in our collective knowledge, especially regarding specific sectors of nonprofit human service organizations. Here, we apply existing theory on advocacy by human service organizations to an important subset of the nonprofit community, that being immigrant-serving organizations (ISOs). Most prior research on nonprofit advocacy has not focused on politically polarized issues, such as contemporary immigration policy. Using a nationwide survey of ISOs, we find that unlike other types of human service organizations, the majority of ISOs do engage in at least some forms of policy advocacy. However, those that report using the H-election status on their Form 990s are significantly more likely to engage in advocacy and do so to a wide variety of policymakers, including legislators, chief executives, and even local law enforcement agencies. H-election groups are also more likely to perceive their advocacy activities as effective. These findings add to the evolving knowledge on when and how human service groups seek policy change for marginalized groups.

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