Practicing Social Work In Deprived Communities

This contributed volume offers a holistic understanding of social work practice in deprived communities through its thematization of understanding deprived communities globally, the development of competencies for social work practice in and with deprived communities, social work education as a community development tool, and the empowerment of social workers in deprived communities. Inequality as a globally recognized challenge is extensively elaborated within the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Agenda program for social work, making this a timely and important contribution to the literature. Deprived communities, used in this book to mean slums, ghettos, favelas, and low-income, remote, underserved, vulnerable, impoverished, underdeveloped, disadvantaged, or less-favoured communities, exist worldwide and are conceptualized under different terms and concepts. For that reason, social work, specifically in deprived areas, is not sufficiently recognized as a specific field of practice within community work. As a result, this volume features contributions that: provide a conceptual clarification of many different terms that are used for describing deprived communities and offer a systematic literature review on community processes and effects on well-being in underdeveloped communities; map different fields of social work involvement in deprived communities with concrete practice examples; and, stress why social work as a profession needs support and how it can be empowered to improve its capacities in deprived communities. With international authorship and perspectives on social work approaches for deprived communities from India, Sub-Saharan Africa, North and Central Europe, and North America, Practicing Social Work in Deprived Communities is an essential resource for social workers, social work educators, and community development practitioners. The text also should be of interest to students of social work, as well as other professionals and researchers working within community development and deprived communities.

Topics covered in this book include theories, values and ethics for community based social work; methodological approaches to community profiling; and the future of community social work practice.

Make sure your practice skills are up-to-date with the changes brought on by managed care As a result of escalating costs, the focus of health care in the United States has shifted from inpatient, hospital-based care to outpatient care in the community. Social Work Practice in Community-Based Health Care is a comprehensive guide to the knowledge and skills needed to provide effective and efficient practice within a managed-care context that’s focused on a diversified, aging consumer population and high-risk health conditions. This unique book examines the essential elements of community health practice, including logic modeling for planning and evaluation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the use of technology and telemedicine in social work practice. Social Work Practice in Community-Based Health Care presents practical information for social workers in the wake of the insertion of managed care as a “third party” to the relationship between physicians and their patients, and advances in medical care that are transforming previously acute and life-threatening illnesses to chronic conditions. The book offers a critical analysis of available research and model service delivery innovations, applying evidence-based practice to case studies in a style that’s easily accessible to practitioners, administrators, supervisors, and social work students. The book also includes glossaries at the end of each chapter and appendices that analyze online resources and address cultural background assessment questions. Topics discussed in Social Work Practice in Community-Based Health Care include: the revolution in funding and delivery evolving trends and healthcare needs of the consumer population a conceptual framework for culturally competent practice the nature of social work in ambulatory health a brief history of healthcare social work emerging practice settings the use of new communication technologies in practice methods for evaluating direct practice ethical considerations current community-based programs for culturally diverse and at-risk populations and much more Social Work Practice in Community-Based Health Care is an important resource for social work practitioners, academics, and students.

Community Practice is a comprehensive resource for social workers and students eager to learn how to practice effectively in complex systems and diverse communities. In this completely revised edition of the definitive text in the field, the authors have thoroughly updated each chapter and added two entirely new chapters on community building and community organizing. New material on topics such as negotiation and mediation, community advocacy, participatory rural appraisal, the narrative approach to social change, community involvement, representative client boards, and the latest in grassroots endeavors make this text as inspiring as it is practical. Drawing upon the wealth of information available from local organizations, the Internet, newspapers, and academic journals, the authors introduce contemporary experiments and analyze classic modes of community practice and change. The content, exercises, and references offer instructors the flexibility necessary to tailor their courses to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level students. This new edition will continue to provide a comprehensive and integrated overview of the theory and skills fundamental to all areas of social work practice. Broad in scope, it offers students as well as practitioners the tools necessary to promote the welfare of individuals and communities.

How are the various methods of social work practice used in the major social problem areas, including work with children and families, corrections, education, the workplace, healthcare, mental care, and the like? This book will answer the questions posed. Coverage includes detailed information on the social work methods used with individuals, groups, families, organizations, communities, and society as a whole. Coverage of diversity and social justice is integrated throughout the book, with references to different ethnic groups, gender and sexual orientation, disability and circumstance. Social workers and social welfare agents.

At a time of growing social, economic and environmental challenge, this book offers a fresh and engaging perspective on the connections between social work and community development and on how social workers can use a community development approach to practice in critical, creative and sustainable ways.