Essential Law for Social Work Practice in Canada

This comprehensive guide to Canadian law and legal processes examines all of the major legal situations social workers may encounter - including child abuse, family violence, adoption issues, health care, mental illness, and immigration status - ensuring that students are well-versed in their own legal rights and obligations and know what to expect when testifying in court.

Cheryl Regehr is the vice-president and provost for the University of Toronto. She is a professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. Previously she was dean of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. Her practice background includes 20 years of direct service in forensic social work and emergency mental health and in the administration of mental health programs. As a forensic social worker, she specialized in workplace trauma interventions and civil litigation and criminal court assessments of trauma victims and violent offenders. Her current research focuses on the impact of workplace trauma exposure on performance and decision-making of emergency service and child welfare professionals. Cheryl's other books with Oxford University Press are In the Line of Fire: Trauma in the Emergency Services and Mental Health Social Work Practice in Canada. Karima Kanani is a lawyer and partner in the Health Industry Group of Miller Thomson LLP. She routinely provides legal advice to healthcare and social service organizations and professionals. She is a member of the Bar in Ontario and in Massachusetts. She holds a Juris Doctor and Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Women's Studies from McGill University. Her past experience in social work includes the Intensive Care of the Toronto Western Hospital, the Mediation Unit of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Health Services Appeal and Review Board of the Ontario Health Boards Secretariat, and the Research Ethics Board at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Toronto). Karima is a seasoned speaker in the health and social service sector and a nationally and internationally published author in various areas including specifically the intersections between law and social work. Karima has been named as one of the "Best of the New Generation" of lawyers by Precedent Magazine and a Leading Canadian Lawyer to Watch by Lexpert Magazine. Jesstina McFadden is a lawyer with the Health Industry Group at Miller Thomson LLP. She is a member of the Bar in Ontario and holds a Bachelor of Laws (Juris Doctor) from Dalhousie University and an Honours Bachelor of Kinesiology from McMaster University. In her legal practice, Jesstina regularly advises health care and social services organizations and professionals on a wide variety of issues including consent, capacity, and substitute decision-making; health information and privacy; mental health; health professional regulation; professional staff matters; and regulatory compliance. Prior to joining Miller Thomson, Jesstina worked as a health policy analyst with a health professional regulatory body and at Health Canada. Jesstina is a frequent author and speaker. She also sits as a member of the Research Ethics Board for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Toronto). Michael Saini is an associate professor and holds the endowed chair of Law and Social Work at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. He is the co-director of the Combined JD and MSW program with the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto and the course director of the 40-hour Foundations to Custody Evaluations with the faculty's Continuing Education Program. For the past 15 years, Michael has been conducting custody evaluations and assisting children's counsel for the Office of the Children's Lawyer, Ministry of the Attorney General in Ontario.