"Stein provides social workers with a remarkably succinct overview of legal issues related to key practice
domains in the profession: child welfare, family services, education, mental health, health care, criminal justice,
and public welfare. This user-friendly book provides readers with keen insights into the inner workings of the
legal system--statutes, regulations, executive orders, and court decisions--and their practical implications for
social workers and clients. The Role of Law in Social Work Practice and Administration should be in every social
worker's intellectual toolbox."
--Frederic Reamer, School of Social Work, Rhode Island College
"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
Publisher Web Site, July 2005
Summary
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.
