Political participation is a way for social workers to equate professional goals with policymakers' decisions regarding the distribution of scarce resources. However, discrepancies in the modes and levels of political participation engaged in by members of the profession in the public and private sectors are widespread. This article presents the results of a national survey of political participation by a random sample of social work leaders involved in health policy: 513 respondents reported their participation in 44 government, private sector, and personal political activities during 1994's health policy reform debate. Ten conceptually different prototypes of social work political participation were identified. These prototypes provide a reliable empirical model for political participation that integrates routine social work professional functions with their political components. Implications for application of this political participation model to social work practice and further research are discussed.