Jocelyn DeVance Taliaferro

Resource Dependency and Agent Theories: A Framework for Exploring Nonprofit Leaders' Resistance to Lobbying

Despite the widely recognized benefits of nonprofit advocacy, many nonprofits are reluctant to partake in lobbying activities. This qualitative inquiry utilizes resource dependency and agency theories as a framework for exploring the lobbing behaviors of nonprofits in North Carolina. The findings indicate that nonprofit managers do in fact lobby, but use alternative language for their lobbying activities so that they can control external resources available through political action while maintaining positive relationships with organizational stakeholders who hold negative perceptions of lobbying behavior. They also educate stakeholders on lobbying as an organizational necessity. Implications for practice and research are provided.

Networking for Policy Advocacy: Identifying Predictors of Advocacy Success Among Human Service Organizations

In previous studies, nonprofit administrators have reported that networking contributes to achieving their organizations’ policy advocacy goals. However, little is known about the relationship between specific networking activities and policy advocacy success. It is also unclear whether commonly reported problems in interorganizational networking inhibit policy advocacy success. This study examined the association between attributes of networking and policy advocacy outcomes. The findings indicate that networking is more successful when communication indicates higher commitment to a two-way partnership. Also, problems with interorganizational collaborations were not found to negatively affect policy advocacy outcomes. Implications for social workers and research are provided.

Nonprofit Boards of Directors and Lobbying: Are We Allowed to Do That?

The goal of this research is to qualitatively explore the role, function, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs about lobbying and social welfare nonprofit boards. Focus groups and telephone interviews were conducted with 53 nonprofit leaders. The findings suggest that nonprofit leaders understand the need for lobbying but barriers included fear, lack of resources, and inadequate knowledge of nonprofit lobbying laws. Board members experienced ambiguity about the lobbying process, and executive directors often orchestrated the boards lobbying activities. However, boards have opportunities to engage in the relationship-building and capacity-enhancing activities to promote social justice using lobbying as a strategy.

Increasing Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity: Effective Substance Treatment in the Adult Lesbian Population

In the United States, lesbians are the subject of discrimination due to homophobic practices. Within the realm of substance abuse, there are disparities in substance use and treatment. Literature was reviewed to assess factors that contribute to lesbian substance abuse and effective treatment modalities that provide positive outcomes for this population. Literature suggested several reasons for a lesbians higher risk for substance abuse including social stigma, discrimination, difficulty with identity development, and obstacles in relationship acceptance by society. Literature points to the importance of cultural competency and gay affirmative substance abuse treatment practitioners when working with lesbian clients. Recommendations for substance abuse practitioners are presented.

Interorganizational Partnerships as a Strategy for Lobbying: Nonprofit Administrators’ Perspectives on Collaborating for Systems-Level Change

Participation in coalitions has been identified as a policy advocacy behavior for nonprofit organizations, although few studies have examined nonprofit leaders’ perceptions of coalition building as a strategy for lobbying. This study conducted focus groups and in-person interviews with nonprofit administrators to explore how interorganizational collaboration is utilized to address their organizations’ policy advocacy goals. The findings indicate that nonprofit administrators view their participation in coalitions as a means of achieving several policy advocacy goals, including increasing their capacity to lobby and protecting them from exposure as lobbyists. Implications for practice and research are provided.

Emerging Trends: Holistic, Comprehensive Family Support Programs

ABSTRACT The results of a qualitative study funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation indicate that a promising path to improving the lives of disadvantaged families is through more holistic, comprehensive approaches to family support. These approaches combine traditional family support activities with the development of human and economic capital. The effectiveness of comprehensive programs is based on the premise that adult and child well-being are interconnected with the physical, economic, and social aspects of their lives. Recommendations are provided for improving existing family support programs through the implementation of holistic strategies.

Local welfare reform : Challenges and triumphs of the comprehensive support services intervention

SUMMARY One of the hallmarks of welfare reform was the entrenchment of the work-first and devolutionary strategies in the current era of social services provision. This analysis focuses on the outcomes of one local response to welfare reform. It highlights the employment related outcomes of 237 hard-to-serve welfare recipients. Descriptive statistics and an ANOVA revealed that while employment rates were low (23%), these outcomes were consistent with or better than employment outcomes for other hard-to-serve populations. Based on the results of the study, Comprehensive Support Services (CSS) could be effective in providing services to families that will lead to employment.

Identifying Attributes of Relationship Management in Nonprofit Policy Advocacy

Relationship management has been identified as an important activity for policy advocacy, but little is known about the strategies that human service administrators use to develop and maintain relationships with policymakers. This exploratory study aimed at identifying attributes of relationship management strategies that are associated with policy advocacy outcomes. Data were gathered from a sample of 333 nonprofit human service providers in Florida. Controlling for organizational size, the findings indicated that several established dimensions of relationship management were associated with policy advocacy success: networking, sharing of tasks, and assurances. Post hoc analyses found that the relationship between policy advocacy success and the domains of access and openness were respectively mediated by networking and sharing of tasks. Implications for nonprofit administrators and researchers are discussed.