DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS

54 Professionals Tell Real-Life Stories from Social Work Practice

3rd Edition

Edited by Linda May Grobman, ACSW, LSW

Did you ever wish you could tag along with a professional in your chosen field, just for a day, observing his or her every move? DAYS IN THE LIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS allows you to take a firsthand, close-up look at the real-life days of 54 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 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.

About the Editor: Linda May Grobman, ACSW, LSW, is founder, publisher, and editor of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, the magazine for social work students and recent graduates. She has practiced social work in mental health and medical settings, and was the interim executive director of two state chapters of the National Association of Social Workers.

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Table of Contents

About the Editor/Contributors
Introduction

PART 1—HEALTH CARE

Chapter 1—Social Work in the ER

Chapter 2—Social Work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Chapter 3—Remembering Why I Became a Social Worker: Lessons Learned on Internal Medicine (New in 3rd edition)

Chapter 4—Social Work in an Infertility Clinic

Chapter 5—Working with Pregnant Women in Public Health

Chapter 6—Managing in Managed Care

Chapter 7—Social Work in the Commissioned Corps (New in 3rd edition)

PART 2—HIV/AIDS

Chapter 8—Private Practice with Urban Gay Men: With a Subspecialty in HIV/AIDS

Chapter 9—A Very Special Nursing Home in the South Bronx

Chapter 10—Pediatric HIV ResearchPART 3—SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK

Chapter 11—Elementary School Social Work

Chapter 12—An Inner-City High School

Chapter 13—Social Work in a Rural School DistrictPART 4—CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES

Chapter 14—Urban Child Protective Services

Chapter 15—A Neighborhood Youth Center

Chapter 16—Working with Gay and Lesbian Youth

Chapter 17—Child Welfare Ombudsman

Chapter 18—Employee Assistance Programs

Chapter 19—Social Work Goes to Summer Camp (New in 3rd edition)

PART 5—DISABILITIESChapter 20—Developmental Disabilities

Chapter 21—"Us" Becoming "Them"

PART 6—MENTAL HEALTH

Chapter 22—Involuntary Admission: A New Worker’s Introduction to the "603"

Chapter 23—Partial Hospitalization

Chapter 24—Social Work in a Clubhouse

Chapter 25—Life as a Group Home Manager

Chapter 26—Disaster Mental Health Services (Updated in 3rd edition to include 9/11)

PART 7—SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Chapter 27—Dual Diagnosis: Substance Abuse and Mental Health in an Inpatient Setting

Chapter 28—Social Work in the Alaskan Bush

Chapter 29—Adventure-Based Practice

PART 8—PRIVATE PRACTICE

Chapter 30—Private Practice and the Eclectic Social Worker

Chapter 31—An Office to Call My Own: Private Practice in the Lesbian Community

PART 9—CRIMINAL JUSTICE: WORKING WITH OFFENDERS AND VICTIMS

Chapter 32—Prison Substance Abuse Treatment

Chapter 33—A Hard Day’s Night: Working with Assaultive Men in Prison

Chapter 34—Residential Treatment for Adolescent Sexual Offenders

Chapter 35—Forensic Social Work: Mitigating Death Penalty Cases

Chapter 36—Victim Services

PART 10—OLDER ADULTS AND THE END OF LIFE

Chapter 37—Social Work With Survivors of the Holocaust (New in 3rd edition)

Chapter 38—Nursing Home Social Work

Chapter 39—Senior Adult Coordinator

Chapter 40—Hospice Social Work

Chapter 41—Home Health Social Work

PART 11—MANAGEMENT

Chapter 42—Life as an Agency CEO

Chapter 43—Association Management

PART 12—VETERANS AND THE MILITARY

Chapter 44—Family Advocacy in the Military

Chapter 45—Outreach to Homeless Veterans

PART 13—HIGHER EDUCATION

Chapter 46—Life as a BSW Educator

Chapter 47—University Counseling Center

PART 14—INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL WORK

Chapter 48—Consulting in Armenia

Chapter 49—Working with Unaccompanied Minors in Britain (New in 3rd edition)

Chapter 50—Working with Raskal Gangs in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea

Chapter 51—Working with Russian Immigrants (New in 3rd edition)

PART 15—WORKING IN COMMUNITIES

Chapter 52—Community Organizing for Social Change

Chapter 53—A Day in the Life of a Policy Practitioner

Chapter 54—Mucho Gusto en Conocerle: Working with Migrant Farm Families

APPENDIX A: Organizations of Interest to Social Workers

APPENDIX B: Additional Reading

APPENDIX C: Internet Resources