Overview
This text presents a model of practice that stems from the goodness-of-fit between the child's needs (physical, developmental, social-emotional) and the parent's ability to adequately meet those needs according to the prevailing norms of society. Samantrai integrates policy, human behavior theories, issues in practice, skills of practice, multiculturalism, child abuse and neglect, and she develops and refines these concepts into the skills specifically needed by those working in public child welfare.
Synopsis
Offering an alternative to the mental health/family dysfunction model in the public child welfare field, Samantrai (Smith College School for Social Work) presents a model which integrates behavior theories with assessment from the perspective of goodness-of- fit between the child's needs and parents' ability to meet those needs. Assessment and intervention focus on making different kinds of decisions at different points in the process. Competency areas identified by the California Social Work Education Center are addressed, including ethnic-sensitive and multicultural practice. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Editorials
From the Publisher
"If asked to describe this manuscript to a colleague, I would say that it is both timely and unique. ... The proposed manuscript goes far in helping students fit the policy, practice, and theory pieces together in a way that creates a coherent framework for approaching assessment and selecting interventions."" ...a thanks to the author for the sensitivity to and understanding of economically poor families" "... the author is to be commended for the ability to explain major developmental theories with brevity and in language that is accessible to most students" and "The author has done an admirable job of presenting an array of possibilities in intervention. This is frequently not covered well in most texts."