Practical Social Work Law

'This is one of the best social work law books I have come across in my years of reading. It will be of great benefit to practitioners, educators and students, at a time when inter-professional collaboration is more crucial than ever.'

Ralph Thomas, Director of Social Work Education, University of Birmingham

'This book is an excellent resource for students and their tutors alike.  A particular strength lies in the author's ability to engage the reader in critical debate, and draw attention to the tensions and dilemmas that social workers face when moral and legal considerations collide.'

Dr Karen Broadhurst, Lecturer in Applied Social Science, Lancaster University

Practical Social Work Law: analysing court cases and inquiries breaks the mould of conventional law texts. Structured around an examination of actual court cases and public inquiries, it carefully guides students and practitioners through the key principles of legislation, the implications of Government Guidance and the importance of Codes of Practice for frontline social workers and their managers. It adopts a problem-centred approach to learning by introducing the reader to key aspects of the law through a series of real-life situations. Centring therefore on the circumstances of real peoples lives - users, carers and practitioners - it crucially works outwards from the facts of each case to reveal and explain the interlocking legal and practice issues at stake.

Each chapter addresses a specific area of social work law including family breakdown, safeguarding children, youth justice, adults with disabilities, mental health and mental capacity. Students and practitioners are led through the major issues posed by work with different user groups.

Main features

• Builds learning around actual cases instead of legislation.
• Uses actual court cases, inquiries and ombudsman investigations to illustrate and analyse the inter-relationship between legislation, guidance, codes of practice and professional judgement.
• Provides a series of in-text boxes that guide the reader through the detail on legislation, government guidance and codes of practice while explaining how these fit together to support best practice.
• Provides detailed exposition of the complex inter-relationships between different aspects of the law and how this affects social work with parents, children, users and carers.
• Discusses the conflicts and ethical dilemmas posed to social workers when practising within a legal framework.
• Critical questions encourage students and practitioners to reflect on the circumstances and legal framework of each case and to identify the implications for practice.
• Chapter summaries and suggestions for further reading and websites.