A Tribute to the Life and Work of Wolf Wolfensberger 1934 – 2011

It is with the greatest of human respect that we at the Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy acknowledge the death of Wolf Wolfensberger and pay tribute to his life and work. Simply put, we are a better people because of his presence amongst us. Dr. Wolfensberger was demanding and rigorous in his expectations that we demonstrate excellence in providing services of quality – as experienced by the people using the services. He questioned, as educators, social workers and psychologists did we over professionalize our time and talents to prove that we were more special than the family and friends of people with long term needs for support – thereby leaving them more isolated and on the margins? As policy makers did we learn from dysfunctional service systems of the past or recreate prettier versions of the same dysfunctions? As friends did we expect to be paid to advocate and be in relationship with those amongst us that use services? 
 
Through his teaching and writing, Dr. Wolfensberger gave us license to express moral outrage at what happens for people who use and depend on our service systems. He also gave us the tools to challenge and change these systems of care. His writings about Normalization, Social Role Valorization and Citizen Advocacy followed by the evaluation methodologies embraced in Program Analysis of Service Systems (PASS) and Program Analysis of Service Systems Implementation of Normalization Goals (PASSING) gave a way to quantify fundamental qualitative aspects of service. He showed us the maps of our humanity expressed in our approach to serving people with long term needs. He more often than not made us uncomfortable. Such was his gift – his job in our midst. He was the definitive agent of change.
 
His spirit will continue to dance amongst those of us who knew him, attended PASS or PASSING Workshop or read his work. We would be wise to make sure that the leaders of today and tomorrow understand his message and can answer his challenge – “What kind of people do we want to be? Show us the evidence by how we serve the most vulnerable amongst us.”
 
Dr. Wolfensberger was the Director of the Training Institute for Human Services Planning, Leadership and Change Agentry at Syracuse University. In 1999, Wolf Wolfensberger was selected as one of 35 parties that had been the most impactful on mental retardation worldwide in the 20th century.
 
For more information read:
Wolfensberger, W. (1972). The principle of Normalization in human services. Toronto: National Institute on Mental Retardation.
 
Wolfensberger, W. (1998). A brief introduction to Social Role Valorization: A high-order concept for addressing the plight of societally devalued people, and for structuring human services. (3rd ed.). Syracuse, NY: Training Institute for Human Service Planning, Leadership and Change Agentry (Syracuse University).
 
Wolfensberger, W. & Thomas, S. (2007). PASSING: A tool for analyzing service quality according to Social Role Valorization criteria. Ratings manual (3rd rev. ed.). Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Training Institute for Human Service Planning, Leadership & Change Agentry.