Social Justice & Advocacy in Human Services

Author(s): , , , , and

Creative Commons  License: Attribution-CC-BY

🗓️Scheduled for publication in Fall 2024

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About the book

Social Justice & Advocacy in Human Services delves into the complex realm of social justice, offering a deep dive into historical roots and theories to practical applications in the field. This text covers fundamental concepts, including power, privilege, and oppression, and explores critical issues like racism, gender, sexuality, poverty, religion, and disability in the context of the United States. The last section of the book hones in on the field of human services, discussing power, privilege, and bias in this context, and lastly exploring equitable distribution, human rights, and the systems and entry points within human services practice.

The text provides many resources, videos, definitions, and reflection questions, ensuring readers have a solid foundation in social justice concepts. The authors also present real-world stories and examples, enriching the learning experience. The text also offers educators and students opportunities to explore, learn more on their own, and take actionable steps toward advancing social justice.

Thumbnail artwork “No Justice No Peace” by Anja Slibar published under Creative Commons-Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC-BY-NC-SA).

Table of Contents
  • Chapter 1: Overview, Framing, and Definitions
  • Chapter 2: Historical Concepts of Social Justice 
  • Chapter 3: Theories of Social Justice
  • Chapter 4: Human Rights and the Equitable Distribution of Resources
  • Chapter 5: Power, Privilege, Oppression and Bias
  • Chapter: 6 Legislation and Policy
  • Chapter 7: Racism in the United States
  • Chapter 8: Being a Women in the United States
  • Chapter 9: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in the United States 
  • Chapter 10: Poverty in the United States
  • Chapter 11: Religion in the United States
  • Chapter 12: Ability in the United States
  • Chapter 13: Community Action and Activism
  • Chapter 14: Power and Personal bias in Human Service Practice
  • Chapter 15: Human Service Systems and Entry Points
  • Chapter 16: Equitable Distribution and Human Rights in Human Service Practice


Cailyn Green, Ph.D., CASAC-M

Dr. Green is the assistant professor of addiction studies and a mentor in the School of Human Services at Empire State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice with a specialization in Addiction Studies from Walden University. Her MS in Forensic Mental Health from Sage Graduate College and her BA in Psychology from Western New England University.

Prior to entering the academic world, she worked as a clinician and case manager for the recently incarcerated struggling with substance use issues. Dr. Green spent time at Albany County Drug Court, TASC (Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities, a long-term residential facility for recently incarcerated) and St. Peters Addiction Recovery Services (SPARC, both at the inpatient and outpatient level). She also acted as a clinician for virtual global crisis intervention counseling. She is a Certified Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor- Masters level (CASAC-M) through NYS OASAS.

She has been a college instructor since 2014 and has taught in person, hybrid as well as online courses. Her passion is developing curriculum which incorporates real life skills and work tasks to prepare her students for careers in the human service and addiction fields.

Bernadet DeJonge, Ph.D., CRC., LMHC

Bernadet (Bernie) DeJonge has her BA in psychology (1999) and MA in Rehabilitation Counseling (2007) from Western Washington University.  Her PhD is from Oregon State University in Counseling (2022). She is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Human Services at Empire State University. Bernie’s areas of interest include DEIB, the integration of counseling into medical services, online pedagogy, and disability.