The Role of Law in Social Work Practice and Administration

by Theodore Stein

Overview

The strong nexus between law and social work is beyond dispute: the law informs day-to-day social work practice and administration, and social workers are employed by the courts. Moreover, they work collaboratively with attorneys in legal aid offices, public defenders'offices, and other law enforcement settings, interviewing clients, preparing reports for use in court, interpreting social science information, and providing consultation on how best to approach client problems. This book addresses the relationship between the professions of social work and law and helps social workers develop the knowledge necessary to practice in a legal environment. The author focuses on how the law affects the day-to-day practice of social work; the creation, administration, and operation of social service agencies; and the ways in which social workers and attorneys collaborate to serve the public.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231518093
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	08/18/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	496
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Theodore J. Stein is a professor of social welfare at the State University of New York at Albany. He has authored many articles on social work and the law and on social policy. He is the author of Social Policy and Policymaking by the Branches of Government and the Public-at-Large (Columbia).

Table of Contents

List of Figures
Preface
Part 1
1. Introduction
2. Sources of Law
3. The Justice System and an Introduction to Criminal and Civil Law
4. Legal Research
Part 2
5. The Organization of Social Services and the Regulation of the Profession
6. Social Workers and the Courts
7. Professional Liability
Part 3
8. Families and the Law
9. Education
10. Care and Protection of Children
11. Adoption
12. Domestic Violence
13. Legal Issues in Health Care
14. Mental Health and the Law
Notes
Cases
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Barbara Rittner

This book provides an outstanding resource for all social workers and social work students. Covered are the laws that have a direct and indirect impact on practice across a wide variety of settings. It provides practitioners with much needed assistance in how to conduct searches on relevant laws, how to be a witness and to testify in court, and timely information about all aspects of professional liability. In the last chapters, the role of law as it directly affects social workers in child welfare, schools, domestic violence, health and mental health care settings is reviewed. Social workers should not be without this valuable book in their libraries.

— Barbara Rittner, director, PhD Program, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Social Work