The closing of manufacturing plants has affected many workers in the United States throughout the past decade. As a result, social workers and other human service professionals increasingly deal with the impact of displacement on individual workers and their families and participate in designing solutions to problems at multiple social-system levels. Based on findings from the unemployment literature and recent research on plant closings, the author presents a model for understanding dislocated manufacturing workers and their families. The model can be used to guide formulation of interventions in direct practice and empowerment as well as in advocacy, community planning, and policy practice.
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