Post your responses to the following questions: 

• Many social issues do not receive the necessary attention from decision makers. Why might these issues be cast aside? (SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN ADOLECENT) 
• Some issues receive significant attention from decision makers. Why might these issues easily find their way onto decision makers’ agendas? 
• As a policy advocate, propose some ways to gain the attention of decision makers based on your assigned readings for this week. 

Be sure to support your post with specific references to this week’s resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

• Chapter 6, “Committing to an Issue: Building Agendas” (pp. 176–203)
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213538320300576?via=ihub

Social workers engage in social change efforts and social justice pursuits through advocacy for equal opportunities and by challenging social injustices. We also engage in opportunities to educate our communities about issues of social change. A core value acknowledged in the social work code of ethics is social workers’ attention to social justice by way of engagement in social change is. Social justice addresses just and fair relations between individuals and their communities.

An example of a population that historically has not received adequate attention in the literature is rural clinical social work. The social justice concern that is addressed in this study is the lack of social services available in rural communities. Just relationships require cultural competence and in the case of rural clinical social work, require awareness of rural specific issues in all clinical engagements. To ensure equal quality clinical social work services in rural communities, it is necessary that social workers are educated, trained, and supervised by competent and prepared professionals specially around issues of rural clinical social work. If rural clinical social workers are properly trained and supported, rural residents who engage in clinical social work services may receive more effective culturally competent services. Thus, bringing attention to the needs of rural clinical social work can help to develop a more socially just and culturally competent field of rural clinical social workers.

The literature indicates that the large majority or social science research is completed in urban or suburban areas, oftentimes in geographical locations close to brick and mortar universities. Remote or online education and training provides the opportunity for individuals in rural communities to engage in learning opportunities without the burden of excessive travel. If individuals in rural communities are engaging in academic training, perhaps they will pursue research opportunities in their area of interest which may be informed by their rural experience. Perhaps, the long term result of this engagement is increased attention in the literature to rural specific issues which can result in increased awareness of needs.