The Community And The Social Worker

This text is intended to contribute to an understanding of human behavior in the social environment by providing social work students with an introduction to American communities. The primary focus is on local communities of place. Attention is also given to the communities of interest and identification that are intertwined with geographic communities. Ecological systems and social systems perspectives serve as conceptual and practical frameworks for examining the multiple communities in which people have membership, social identity, and social interaction. This edition begins with an exposition of the societal context of communities. American society is recognized as part of a global community and then examined as a social system, a community of communities, a multicultural society, and a civil society. The book emphasizes the way that discrimination, economic deprivation, and oppression affect populations at risk and demonstrates the role communities play in the pursuit of individual and collective social and economic justice.

Social work in the community offers practice guidance to students, practice assessors and practitioners within a political, theoretical, methodological and ethical framework. The book is written from an experiential learning perspective, encouraging the reader not only to understand the ideas and methods but to test them out in their own practice, which additionally provides an element of problem-based learning. The book is written within the framework of the practice curriculum for the social work degree, including the National Occupational Standards and an extended statement of values for practice. This will enable students to use the book to make sense of their practice in relation to the knowledge, skills and values of social work practice in its community context.

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.

Community economic development (CED) is an increasingly essential factor in the revitalization of low- to moderate-income communities. This cutting-edge text explores the intersection of CED and social work practice, which both focus on the well-being of indigent communities and the empowerment of individuals and the communities in which they live. This unique textbook emphasizes a holistic approach to community building that combines business and real-estate development with a focus on stimulating family self-reliance and community empowerment. The result is an innovative approach to rehabilitating communities in decline while preserving resident demographics. The authors delve deep into the social, political, human, and financial capital involved in effecting change and how race and regional issues can complicate approaches and outcomes. Throughout, they integrate case examples to illustrate their strategies and conclude with a consideration of the critical role social workers can play in developing CEDÕs next phase.

Divided into three parts, this field-defining work explores what environmental social work is, and how it can be put into practice. It focuses on theory, discussing ecological and social justice, as well as sustainability, spirituality and human rights.

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.

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.

Social workers choosing to work in smaller towns or rural communities face a different set of conditions and concerns from their city colleagues. Ken Collier wrote his now–classic text Social Work with Rural Peoples, for those social workers, whether they are just starting out or already in the field. The gist of Collier’s genuinely radical book is that for the rural social worker to be effective, she must be able to identify with the struggles of the people she is trying to help – that trying to maintain “professional”, “ objective” distance will merely ensure that the social worker becomes part of the problem rather than part of the solution. For the social worker in a smaller community, “Whose side are you one?” is the most important question to be answered before any effective work can be done. It is an indictment of the slow pace of progress against the societal problems facing rural populations that a third edition of Social Work with Rural Peoples is necessary.