The document discusses advocacy skills for working with social service systems and clients. It provides 6 tips for effective advocacy, including ensuring the client advocates for themselves if comfortable, referring people to services not agencies, being well informed, being assertive but not aggressive, following through on commitments, and effective negotiation. It also lists some important New Jersey state regulations and provides contact information for the Atlantic County Women's Center.

1. Working Collaboratively with Social Service Systems

2. In what capacity do you work with social service systems?

3. What has been your experience so far?

4. Advocacy Skills 1. If the client is comfortable, the client is the best advocate for themselves.

5. Advocacy Skills 2. We refer people to people, not people to services or people to agencies.

6. Advocacy Skills 3. Do your homework. Awareness of rights and responsibilities Knowing where to go for help

7. Advocacy Skills 4. Be Assertive, not Aggressive Use your voice, but use it correctly be clear about the client’s needs and considerations, even to yourself encourage clients to use the “I” statement, and when working with clients, present a united front don’t ask if the client can....state what the client needs

8. Advocacy Skills 5. Follow Through hold up your end of any agreement know your recourse – Documentation!!! collapse your timelines by being around people with the same goal only agree to what you can produce

9. Advocacy Skills 6. Effective Negotiation be flexible be open to other ideas keep the end goal in mind make clear choices and decisions – know that when you say yes to something, what are you saying no to and vice versa

10. Important Websites ipac.aclink.org Once this page has loaded, click on “Clubs and Organizations” Keyword search “domestic violence,” “anger management,” and “sexual assault”

11. Important Websites www.michie.com/nj/ Find the regulation that is NJAC 10:122: 8-6 Find the regulation that is NJAC 10:126:6-11 Find the regulation that is NJAC 10A:31-13.10 Find the regulation that is NJAC 10:130-2.10 Find the regulation that is NJAC 10:90-20.3 Find the regulation that is NJAC 10:90-6.7

12. Thank You. Erin O’Hanlon, Director of Community Initiatives Atlantic County Women’s Center PO Box 311, Northfield, NJ 08225 (609) 601-9925, ext. 201 [email_address]