Blurring Professional Borders in Service of Anti-Poverty Collaboration: Combining Social Work Skills and an Anti-Oppressive Feminist Lens with Legal Aid

Authors

Andrew C. Schoeneman, University of RichmondFollow

Keywords

Legal aid, social work, poverty, collaboration, interprofessional, anti-oppressive, feminist

Abstract

The history of legal aid is contested and gendered. Like social work, since the late 1800s professionalization and broader political forces have pushed legal aid toward greater focus on individual-level interventions to alleviate poverty. As a result, the capacity of contemporary legal aid programs to work collaboratively with low-income communities to address their legal and non-legal concerns is limited. This article traces the shared histories and commitments of legal aid and social work, calls for an increased collaboration between legal aid programs and social workers, and proposes an anti-oppressive, feminist theoretical perspective to guide this collaboration. By embracing collaboration across professions and using this theoretical lens, both legal aid programs and social workers can more effectively and more inclusively address the broader needs and concerns of low-income communities. Specific recommendations for practice and education are discussed.

Recommended Citation

Schoeneman, Andrew C. (2017) "Blurring Professional Borders in Service of Anti-Poverty Collaboration: Combining Social Work Skills and an Anti-Oppressive Feminist Lens with Legal Aid," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 44: Iss. 1, Article 9.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.3863
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol44/iss1/9