The Foundations of Social Work Practice: A Graduate Text

"This third edition of the Foundations of Social Work Practice is the best current scholarship that challenges the conventional wisdom of social work practice across all system levels – individual, family, group, organization, and community. The framework for this edition offers a coherent approach to integrating four critical perspectives on practice: ecosystems, social justice and human rights, evidence-based practice, and shared power. These perspectives are interwoven throughout the text and offer a teaching strategy on how to achieve the integration of perspectives.Foundations of Social Work Practice is written at a level that adequately challenges graduate students and fosters their intellectual development from the very beginnings of their graduate experience. The editors' intent is to promote the concept that although many social work practice functions can be performed effectively by paraprofessionals and bachelor's-level staff, the primary function of the graduate-level social worker is not so much to simply act as to think—to understand the perplexing intricacies of each client's unique dilemma and to develop interventive strategies that are based on that understanding. SPECIAL FEATURES * Organized into two major sections: Foundation Knowledge and Foundations of Social Work Practice * Builds a bridge between social policy and social work practice * Emphasizes the use of appropriate practices especially when working with at-risk communities * Includes three appendices: NASW Code of Ethics, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and a refined set of skills exercises"

Mark A. Mattaini, DSW, ACSW, is associate professor at the School of Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Christine T. Lowery, PhD, is assistant professor at the School of Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The late Carol H. Meyer, DSW, provided the vision behind the first edition of The Foundations of Social Work Practice. She was Norman Professor of Family and Child Welfare of the Columbia University School of Social Work.