Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Therapist Development Center Practice Exam

A father addresses community gun violence by organizing a meeting. What is this an example of?

1. Advocacy

2. Program Development

3. Community Organizing

4. Social Planning

The correct answer is: Community Organizing

This scenario illustrates community organizing, which involves bringing people together to address shared concerns or social issues. The father’s action of organizing a meeting to tackle community gun violence reflects the effort to mobilize community members, raise awareness, and foster collective action against a significant social problem. Community organizing emphasizes grassroots involvement, empowering individuals to take an active role in addressing issues that affect their lives and neighborhoods. While advocacy involves supporting causes or promoting changes to policies, and program development focuses on creating or enhancing specific services or initiatives to address a community need, this particular situation is centered on the act of organizing a group to collectively respond to gun violence. Social planning, on the other hand, generally refers to the process of designing policies and programs based on research and assessment of community needs, which is more structured and formal compared to the grassroots nature of community organizing seen here.