Social Work and the Courts (3rd edition)
Social Work and the Courts is a collection of important and cutting-edge court decisions in the field of human services, now in its third edition. Pollack and Kleinman present an array of legal cases in everyday language, with clear explanation of the facts and issues, and in-depth examinations of the reasoning and implications of each verdict. This new edition includes over twenty new cases, all of which happened between 2010 and 2014, making this one of the most significant and timely investigations of how social work and the law intersect. Special attention is paid to recent rulings in child welfare and social worker liability. The dissection and analysis of these influential cases makes this volume an excellent teaching tool and an essential resource for both social workers and policy makers.
Reviews
With the good fortune of reviewing all three editions of Social Work and the Courts while in the manuscript phase, I am able to state that Pollack and Kleinmen have continued to produce a brilliant analysis of the impact of law on social work practice. I continue to believe that this work is the best supplemental reading currently on the market. In fact, I continue to believe that social work professors are doing a disservice if they fail to require reading sections of this book as supplemental course assignments.—Stephen M. Marson, PhD, ACSW is the editor of The Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics
This book is a “must have” for anyone—lawyer, social worker or agency administrator who is involved with the delivery of social services. By careful analysis of selected cases, each chapter is a springboard into the legal issues that affect social workers. Each analysis contains an “implications” section that explains “what the decision means” and is quite useful as a source of guidance for special workers and those who develop and implement agency policy.—Harvey Schweitzer, JD is a professor at St. Francis School of Law
This text provides valuable insight into the ways in which law intersects with social work. Pollack and Kleinman review the most relevant court cases in a number of areas including child welfare, mental health practice, and aging, to list just some. In addition to reviewing the facts of cases, the authors summarize the reasoning and implications of the cases for social workers in clear, succinct prose that highlights professional applications.—David R. Hodge, PhD is a professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University and a senior nonresident fellow in the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania
Social Work and the Courts is available online at Routledge and Amazon.