Social Work: Professional and Career Resources

he second edition of this popular guide to social work careers has been completely updated and expanded to reflect current trends in social work education and social work practice, including the employment outlook in various fields of practice, current accreditation standards, core competencies, and licensing requirements, along with new opportunities for social workers resulting from health care reform and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. With a focus on the interdisciplinary nature of social work, the book describes both traditional careers and those that are off the beaten path in such arenas as forensic social work, social entrepreneurship, working in political systems, international careers, and community practice. Well organized and written in a conversational tone, each chapter describes a particular social work domain, illustrating specific careers within that field including best features, challenges, required core competencies and skills, and educational and licensing requirements needed to succeed. For each career the book also discusses employment outlook and includes recommended references for more in-depth information. Vivid stories from social workers across the country further help readers to choose a career that is a good fit.

Spend a day with social workers in 62 different settings, and learn about the many career paths available to you. Did you ever wish you could tag along with a professional in your chosen field, just for a day? DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS allows you to take a firsthand, close-up look at the real-life days of 62 professional social workers as they share their stories. Join them on their journeys, and learn about the rewards and challenges they face. This book is an essential guide for anyone who wants an inside look at the social work profession. Whether you are a social work graduate student or undergraduate student, an experienced professional wishing to make a change in career direction, or just thinking about going into the field, you will learn valuable lessons from the experiences described in DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS.

People all over the world are confronted by issues such as poverty, a lack of access to quality education, unaffordable and or inadequate housing, and a lack of needed health and mental services on a daily basis. Due to these issues, there is a need for social workers who have access to relevant and timely scholarly materials in order to meet the needs of those facing these issues. The social, psychological, and biological factors resulting from these issues determine the level of a person's mental health at any given point in time and it is necessary for social workers to continue to evolve and develop to the new faces and challenges of the times in order to adequately understand the effects of these issues.In the first and second editions of the Social Workers' Desk Reference, the changes that were occurring in social work practice, education, and research were highlighted and focused upon. This third edition continues in the same tradition and continues to respond to the changes occurring in society and how they are impacting the education, research, and practice of social work as a whole. With 159 chapters collaboratively written by luminaries in the profession, this third edition serves as a comprehensive guide to social work practice by providing the most recent conceptual knowledge and empirical evidence to aid in the understanding of the rapidly changing field of social work. Each chapter is short and contains practical information in addition to websites and updated references. Social work practitioners, educators, students, and other allied professionals can utilize the Social Workers' Desk Reference to gain interdisciplinary and interprofessional education, practice, and research.