Mezzo and Macro Practice Settings
Mezzo (sometimes spelled as meso) and macro practice settings involve working with larger systems. In this sense, you move from the individual to mid-level systems that are part of the community and neighborhood. The mezzo level can act as a cushion between the micro level and the macro level when communities are safe, schools are strong, and families and neighborhoods are connected. However, the mezzo level can also act as a barrier or source of conflict if poverty or crime, or substandard schools are part of a neighborhood’s fabric, or families are disconnected or isolated. Mezzo practice involves working with groups or organizations to affect community or institutional change. This can mean working with a local organization on social issues important to constituents such as poverty, child abuse, homelessness, substance abuse, and crime.
Macro practice settings can encompass the level of social work in which advocacy and community organizing are common. Macro practice is a large-scale practice, and work becomes more indirect (meaning the work is conducted at an administrative or social policy level rather than working directly with an individual). Several of the prominent historical social workers such as Jane Addams focused on macro practice as part of community welfare planning, which resulted in the social service movement and broad social reform.
Be sure to review this week’s resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments.
Using the information you gathered from Week 1, prepare a chart in which you describe the available agencies and organizations that would be able to address the social problem/issue that you identified. Please describe the types of practice skills that would be needed in a mezzo or macro practice setting. You may find that these skills overlap, and if so, explain why.
Support your assignment with at least three scholarly resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including seminal articles, may be included.
Length: 2 -page chart, not including title and reference pages
Your assignment should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic