Books

William Elliott III's new book examines the evidence supporting Children's Savings Accounts, including CSAs' demonstrated potential to improve children's outcomes all along the 'opportunity pipeline': early education, school achievement, college access and completion, and post-college financial health.

This definitive text, now revised and expanded, has introduced thousands of students and practitioners to the theory and practice of social work with groups. Leading authorities outline major models of group work and address critical issues in planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions. The Handbook describes applications in all the major practice settings—mental health, prevention, child welfare, substance abuse, health care, aging, corrections, and more—as well as organizational and community settings. A strong focus on empowerment, social justice, and diversity is woven throughout. The empirical foundations of group work are reviewed, and innovative research methods discussed.

The​ ​Skillman Foundation solicited the technical assistance of the University of Michigan School of Social Work. This book introduces readers to the environment within which the work of technical assistance began. The work is placed within a theoretical and practical context.

The book​ ​provides:

• an inside view of the intricacies of a community-change initiative committed to balancing multiple and diverse perspectives and contributions.
• case vignettes, case-based discussion questions, and web-based resources are attached to each chapter for use in the classroom.

Social Work and Social Justice transcends discussions of abstract social justice concepts and goals by focusing on how these concepts can be used as guides for socially just practice at the interpersonal, organizational, community, and societal levels. In addition to emphasizing the importance of social justice work through compelling examples, case studies, and exercises, this book vividly illustrates its complexity and discusses how social workers can negotiate the practical and ethical challenges involved. Unlike many books on the subject, the text integrates diverse and often conflicting approaches to social justice to promote critical thinking and underscore the value of incorporating various perspectives into one's practice.

Education, employment, and homeownership have long been considered stepping stones to the middle class. But in Abandoned Families, social policy expert Kristin Seefeldt shows how many working families have access only to a separate but unequal set of poor-quality jobs, low-performing schools, and declining housing markets which offer few chances for upward mobility. Through in-depth interviews over a six-year period with women in Detroit, Seefeldt charts the increasing social isolation of many low-income workers, particularly African Americans, and analyzes how economic and residential segregation keep them from achieving the American Dream of upward mobility.

It is arguably one of the most important and difficult tasks in social work research. Such knowledge and skills related to measurement ultimately determines the extent to which social work research can effectively inform social policy and social work interventions. This book serves as a guide for developing, selecting, and using measures in social work research. In particular, this book provides a detailed review of contemporary validity theory; an update on the major issues of reliability; common errors in measurement of latent variables; and suggestions on measurement of social networks and collectives.

This book brings together high quality research on successful aging in Asian populations and highlights how the factors that contribute to successful aging differ from those in the West. It examines the differences between the Asian and Western contexts in which the aging process unfolds, including cultural values, lifestyles, physical environments and family structures. In addition, it examines the question of how to add quality to longer years of life. Specifically, it looks at ways to promote health, preserve cognition, maximize functioning with social support and maintain emotional well-being despite inevitable declines and losses. Compared to other parts of the world, Asia will age more quickly as a result of the rapid socioeconomic developments leading to rising longevity and historically low fertility rates in some countries. These demographic forces in vast populations such as China are expected to make Asia the main driver of global aging in the coming decades.

Using a case-based approach to connect the classroom and the practice environment, this book incorporates a broad set of themes that include advocacy, social justice, global focus, ethics, theory, and critical thinking. Integrated, up-to-date content related to diversity, social justice, and international issues helps readers develop the basic skills of engagement, assessment, intervention, and reflective practice, as well as the key skills needed for the field experience. Each chapter of the book is mapped to the latest Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) to aid schools of social work in connecting the course content with monitored outcomes.

This handbook is intended to help families and staff understand possible causes of common behavior changes and learn to respond more effectively to behaviors. The book includes strategies for the following: challenges with dressing, eating, bathing, toileting, mouth care; agitation, anxiety, anger and aggression; sleep and sundowning; wanting to go home; wandering, walking or pacing; repetitive behaviors; hallucinations, delusions and paranoia; physical intimacy and sexual behavior. There are also sections about communication and problem-solving, a glossary and an extensive list of other resources.

Mixed method studies demand that we apply sound analytic strategies to all our evidence – qualitative and quantitative. This book covers mixed methods research in a concise manner; how qualitative and quantitative methods within the same study are being used in social work research; and the unique possibilities for the future of mixed methods in social work. Watkins and Gioia review the fundamentals of mixed methods research designs and guide the reader through considerations for the application of mixed methods research in social work settings. This is a short and practical guide not just for learning about mixed methods research, but also doing it.