Rural Child Welfare Practice: Stories from the Field

Rural Child Welfare Practice describes real-life case vignettes for educating and training students and professionals to work with diverse rural children and families in the U.S., Australia, and Canada. Each chapter includes discussion questions, learning activities, and resources for building skills in rural child welfare practice.

Joanne Riebschleger, PhD, LMSW, ACSW, is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Work at
Michigan State University. For over two decades, she practiced rural social work with children and
families. She is a consultant to a national child welfare workforce development project and served as
past Vice President to the National Rural Social Work Caucus. She has been a social work educator for
nearly two decades.

Barbara Pierce, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, is an Associate Professor at the Indiana University School of Social Work. She has over 30 years of social work experience working with children, youth, and families. Despite her urban upbringing and education, she practiced for most of her career in small towns and rural communities in Indiana and Louisiana and has developed a deep respect for those communities and the people who live in them. She has been a social work educator for 17 years.