How Do Social Workers Contribute to Climate Preparedness for Vulnerable Urban Communities? a Middle-out Perspective

Background and Purpose: Social workers have a responsibility to engage in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts to address both the physical and mental health effects of climate-related disasters on vulnerable populations (Hawkins, 2023; Hodges et al., 2024; Nyahunda, 2021). While most literature examines social workers' interventions and responses following climate emergencies, this study investigates their role in climate preparedness. Prompted by a 2018 government resolution on municipal Climate Adaptation Plans (CAPs), the purpose of this paper is to explore how social workers contribute to climate preparedness for vulnerable urban communities. Drawing on a Middle-Out Perspective (MOP), which bridges top-down and bottom-up strategies to provide a more nuanced understanding of policy change within complex systems, the study examined strategic planning for climate resilience in Social Service Departments (SSDs) in a major coastal city in Israel.

Methods: We employ a qualitative single-case study design to offer contextual insights into broader phenomena (Huzinker & Blankenagel, 2021). Data collection included semi-structured interviews with professionals (N=10), participant observations of public and professional meetings (N=10), and analysis of policy documents (N=25) of the strategic climate planning in the chosen city. We conducted a thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of the transcribed interviews, meeting protocols, researchers' notes, and policy documents to code and categorize textual information (Bowen, 2009).

Results: Vulnerable populations in the coastal city faced imminent and higher risks from extreme heat waves, storms, and flooding. Findings indicate that social workers' contributions to strategic preparedness for climate emergencies are manifested at three levels: discourse, processes, and outcomes. We analyzed these contributions using a Middle-Out Perspective that conceptualizes middle actors as agents who influence change in multiple directions: upstream to policymakers, downstream to clients, and sideways to other middle actors (Janda & Parag, 2013; Janda et al., 2019).

Social workers shaped discourse primarily upstream, drawing attention to vulnerable populations in underserved urban areas while advocating for resources from state and municipal actors. They influenced planning processes sideways by providing other local actors with information about vulnerable groups' needs and employing expertise in community mapping and project initiation. Downstream, social workers shaped initial outcomes by raising awareness about climate change and emergency preparedness among vulnerable groups and individual clients, though with limited community participation in the strategic planning process.

Conclusions and Implications: Social workers can and should be key actors in climate emergency preparedness for vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by climate change. MOP has recently been applied to understand how various professional groups influence complex transitions (Kranzler et al., 2019; Mindell, 2022). Our analysis suggests this theoretical framework effectively conceptualizes social workers' role in climate preparedness. Though often overlooked, local social services' involvement is crucial to strategic planning due to social workers' professional authority, legal status, and pre-existing communication channels with organizations, communities, and service users. Social work education and policy must provide local practitioners with tools, resources, and legitimacy to enhance their agency and capacity to promote climate preparedness and participation of vulnerable communities.