Social Work and Social Welfare

Book Overview

Social Work and Social Welfare introduces students with the core knowledge, skills, and values that are essential for working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, and within policy arenas.

In this new edition, readers will find:

• An emphasis on a strengths-based perspective and attention to diversity, social environment, theory and theoretical frameworks, levels of social work practice, and an array of fields of practice.
• The histories of social welfare and the social work profession presented as the intertwined phenomena that they are.
• A contemporary profile of the social landscape and various settings in which social workers practice.
• Social work practice within the framework of planned change, encompassing engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation and termination.
• The opportunity to hear from social work practitioners working in eight diverse and challenging practice settings.

The fifth edition of this best-selling textbook offers students a comprehensive, vibrant, and experiential overview of the world  and various social settings in which social workers apply their practice.

Table of Contents

1. A Glimpse into the World of Social Work; 2. History of Social Work and Social Welfare; 3. U.S. Poverty and the Implications for Social Work; 4. Diversity with the Social Work Practice Environment; 5. Values and Ethics in Social Work Practice; 6. Social Work Perspectives and Methods; 7. Fields of Social Work Practice; 8. Social Work Practice with Individuals and Families; 9. Social Work Practice with Groups; 10. Social Work Practice with Organizations and Communities, and Public Policy; 11. The Social Work Profession

About the Author

Marla Berg-Weger is a Professor in the School of Social Work at Saint Louis University, and Executive Director of the Geriatric Education Center. Dr. Berg-Weger social work practice experience includes gerontological social work practice, public social welfare services, intimate partner violence services, mental health, and health social work. Her research and writing focuses on gerontological social work and social work practice. She is co-author, with Deborah Adams and Julie Birkenmaier, of The Practice of Generalist Social Work, now in its fifth edition, and also with Julie Birkenmaier, she co-authored the textbook, The Practicum Companion for Social Work: Integrating Class and Field Work, which is in its fourth edition.

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