Promoting Smart Decarceration

Question

What would be some examples of micro, mezzo, and macro level intervention strategies for promoting smart decarceration?

Answer 1

Let's state that your intervention example is about diversion programs:

1. Macro level social work professionals might be on the policy level, e.g., advocating and lobbying for passage of laws that allow for diversion programs of certain crimes.

1. Mezzo level social work professionals might be on the program implementation level, e.g., creating and implementing these programs in communities while continually doing program assessments to improve these programs in their communities.

1. Micro level social work professionals might be one-on-one, e.g., clinicians and case workers working with those assigned to diversion programs to make sure program requirements and action plans are met for each participant.

Note that macro, mezzo, and micro social work individuals might also be in other areas or types of work, even for this intervention style:

1. Macro is systems-level: These individuals are generally in government, nonprofit administration, community organizing, academic research, and other "big picture" practices. Generally, macro social work professionals take on roles that are myriad and probably never include the words "social work", as they would be in Human Resources, Lobbying, Politics, Research and Analytics, and other roles that we would not typically ascribe to social work.
2. Mezzo is community-level: I find this to be a poorly created term, and many professionals try to avoid this term as a result. However, mezzo are generally regarded as those who are in neighborhoods, interfacing locally with community members, and enacting or implementing social services. Reflecting back on this poorly designed term, mezzo is generally conflated into macro because there are many disagreements about what is mezzo and what is macro, with myself finding a new term often times when I ask a new person.
3. Micro is individual-level: These are individuals who work with individuals, small groups, and families. You might think of these roles as "detail-oriented". They generally are clinicians who provide therapeutic services. However, they can also be social services professionals who help individuals navigate complex systems such as Medicare or Medicaid. Alternatively, they might act as consultants, such as for clinicians and others who might not know different community resources or to help with patient placements into long-term care facilities.

Overall, a competent social work professional effectively bounces between all three levels as they are capable of quickly pivoting to where their strengths are needed most in an ambiguous world that rarely has right or wrong answers. Note that social work in the United States is different than most other countries, and this answer is U.S.-centric as a result.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you wish to get help on this and similar questions.

Best,

Joseph Heger

Social Work Professional

Multidisciplinary Social Sciences Tutor