Advocates' Forum

The University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice Advocates’ Forum is one of only a few student-run social work journals in the country. It provides Crown Family School students with an opportunity to express their scholarly interests through carefully written and researched articles on innovative topics in the field of social service. Advocates’ Forum welcomes articles in all areas of social work, including clinical practice, administration and current social welfare policy. The journal represents the tradition of academic excellence.

The goal of this annual publication is to inform social workers in all areas of practice of the administrative and clinical interests of master’s students. The journal also supports Crown Family School students in communicating effectively and participating in the valuable exchange among students and professionals in the field.

Editorial Policy

Advocates' Forum is edited and published by students at Crown Family School. The purpose of the publication is to provide master's students with an opportunity to debate and discuss relevant issues in social work and share their scholarly interests with alumni, field instructors, social service agencies, and schools of social work nationwide.

The Editorial Board of Advocates' Forum is composed of first-year, second-year, and part-time master's students. Submissions to the journal are solicited from master's students and are reviewed and selected by the Board. PhD students, including those from other departments who are jointly receiving an AM from Crown Family School, are not permitted to contribute submissions. In an effort to capture papers written in the winter, spring, and summer quarters after the January deadline, Crown Family School alumni who have graduated in the past year may submit contributions.

The process is a blind peer-review guided by the following criteria: the quality of the writing, investigation, and research; creativity and originality; consistency with social work values and ethics; timeliness; and contribution to the field.

All final selections are edited with permission from the authors. Responsibility for the accuracy of information contained in written submissions rests solely with their authors. Advocates' Forum requires all submissions that use information from individuals or organizations get approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Views expressed within each article do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board, the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, or the University of Chicago.

All submissions are emailed to the Faculty Advisor of Advocates' Forum, Assistant Professor, Janelle Goodwill. (NOTE: If you submit articles to any other email address, we cannot guarantee anonymous review of your proposal.)

If you are interested in joining the Editorial Board, please apply using this Google form.

The 2023 Editor-in-Chief is Alexa Cinque.