The Administrative Burden Framework: A New Horizon for Research and Practice in Social Work?

Abstract

Social work is widely recognized as a human rights profession. The commitment to protect and advocate for social and economic rights has been incorporated into official definitions and codes of ethics of the profession globally, undergirding social work models and services. However, despite the overwhelming recognition of the importance of social work advocacy, a unified framework for research and practice has not been agreed upon, and new challenges to welfare states have somewhat contested the existing, primarily European advocacy framework built on the literature on take-up of social and economic rights. The purpose of this integrative context review is to introduce the administrative burden (AB) literature as a potential framework for meeting social work advocacy challenges by emphasizing a subjective viewpoint, a multifaceted understanding of the bureaucratic encounter, and the secondary effects of burden. The article concludes by identifying directions for future research and practice concerning the nexus between AB and social work.