Understanding Legal Concepts that Influence Social Welfare Policy and Practice By Rudolph Alexander, Jr., Ohio State University. ISBN: 0-534-59661-4 Available in 2003. Intended primarily as a companion book for required courses in social work practice and social work policy as well as elective courses in juvenile justice and child welfare. Can also be used as a supplement for the law and social work course. The law plays an important role in influencing social welfare policy and social work practice. Court decisions in policy areas, whether the rulings are perceived as positive or negative, determine what social welfare policy is and what social workers do. By reading this book, social work students will gain a useful understanding of and application of key legal concepts that influence social welfare policy. Instead of just telling students that the law has a major influence on social welfare policy, this book will teach students basic constitutional and legal principles as well as how and why the law shapes social welfare policies and social work practices. For example, students will learn that one legal concept, such as the liberty component in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U S. Constitution, affects a social worker's professional reputation, adoption, mental health treatment in an institutional setting, receipt of public assistance from a state where a person has just moved, dismissal of a student from a school of social work, and child welfare. Features * Focuses on many of the policies established by the judicial branch of the government versus just the legislative and executive branches. * Explains how many of the laws that influence and shape social welfare policy and practice were not made by the lobbying of a bill, but rather through judicial court rulings. * Presents and summarizes legal cases and explains their implications for social work practice to show and demonstrate the legal concepts presented in the text. For example, students will learn how the courts derived a right to mental health treatment for prisoners from the Eighth Amendment, as well as other basic legal concepts that influence social welfare policy. * Includes chapter summaries, lists of key terms and concepts and a glossary of terms at the end of the text to ensure students understand the concepts presented in the text. * InfoTrac College Edition – Available as a free bundling option with this text. InfoTrac College Edition is a current, easy-to-use online library of thousands of top academic journals and periodicals. Students can receive four months of FREE access to the complete articles (not abstracts) in this database. Available to colleges and universities only. -back to top- Ancillaries 0534991254 Bundle: Law and Social Work Policy and Practice + InfoTrac College Edition 0534457681 Bundle: Understanding Generalist Practice (with InfoTrac), 3rd + Understanding Legal Concepts that Influence Social Welfare Policy and Practice 0534457592 Bundle: Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills (with InfoTrac), 6th + Understanding Legal Concepts that Influence Social Welfare Policy and Practice 0534166415 MyCourse 2.0 Ask us about our new FREE online course builder! Whether you want only the easy-to-use tools to build it or the content to furnish it, we offer you a simple solution for a custom course Web site that allows you to assign, track, and report on student progress; load your syllabus; and more. Contact your representative for details. -back to top- Table of Contents 1. Introduction, Rationale, Foundation and Explanation of Constitutional Law, and Organization. 2. Basic and Key Legal Concepts and Principles. 3. Child Protection and the Law. 4. Legal Aspects of Adoption Policy and Practices. 5. Legal Challenges Shaping Public Assistance. 6. The Law's Effect on Mental Health Policy. 7. Legal Liability and Malpractice Affecting Social Workers. 8. Social Workers as Plaintiffs and Defendants. 9. Concluding Chapter. Glossary of Terms. References.