Promises in the plague: passage of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act as a case study for legislative action.
In a conservative political climate, it is very important that social workers and others who are concerned with social welfare understand how to affect social change through legislative advocacy. This article presents a case study in successful intervention using the passage by the Congress of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act of 1990. The major influences in the passage of this landmark bill were building a diverse coalition that provided a very broad base of advocacy; securing bipartisan support; using recognizable personalities to call attention to the problem; and defining the issue as one that affected people from all socioeconomic and ethnic groups.
Poindexter
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School of Social Work, Boston University, 264 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000191:economics*; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005380:Financing, Government / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006265:Health Care Coalitions; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D011057:Politics; D012946:Social Welfare / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012947:Social Work; D014481:United States