Marie Connolly

Work within the human services is increasingly influenced by rights-based thinking, and this book offers advice for the practitioner on how to translate abstract rights theory into their everyday practice. The book outlines the theory that underpins human rights and outlines the ethical debates and dilemmas that frequently surround them. It also provides a practical model that outlines how to embed human rights theory within practice and the professional decision-making process. Drawing extensively on real-life case examples, the book includes chapters on rights-based work with different client groups including offenders, people with intellectual disabilities, immigrants and refugees, and children and families. This important book will be a useful source of guidance and advice for professionals working across the human services, including those in social care, health and justice settings.

Social Work: From Theory to Practice provides a critical introduction to core and emerging theories of social work and teaches students in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand how to apply these theories in their practice to facilitate change. The fourth edition introduces a cultural lens through which to interrogate theory. A new chapter on Aboriginal perspectives explores a range of theories, from emancipatory frameworks and approaches to deep listening and provides insights for students on how to decolonise their practice and responsibly provide socially just outcomes for communities. New discussions on navigating the service system, feminist and anti-oppressive approaches, sustainability and the impact of COVID-19 on social workers and the communities they serve are included throughout the book. Each chapter includes reflections from social workers and case examples with accompanying questions. New end-of-chapter questions help students engage critically with the content.

Social workers draw on a variety of theoretical perspectives to inform their practice and understand the diverse settings in which they work. Social Work: From Theory to Practice explores practice theories through the discipline's unique interpretive lens and demonstrates how these can be understood and enacted by practitioners in human services settings. This third edition includes new material on trauma-informed practice and Indigenous practice, as well as enhanced content relating to child protection and family violence, and narrative approaches. New practitioner reflections and case studies illustrate how theory influences practice and facilitates change. Thought-provoking case study discussion questions prompt students to reflect on key concepts and develop strategies for practice. Highly readable and engaging, Social Work: From Theory to Practice builds a strong foundation for theoretically informed practice. This text enables practitioners to develop the skills required to confidently and critically evaluate their work as they respond in complex practice contexts.

For decades, child protection systems have striven to provide responsive services to vulnerable children and families in the face of the constant change and instability caused by the bureaucratization of child protection. This book lends a strident voice to the argument for a shift beyond the current risk paradigm, towards genuine cultural change.

How do workers around the world balance risk and support to ensure that their practice meets the ever-changing needs of children and their families? Renowned authors Marie Connolly and Kate Morris join forces to explore the frameworks and ideas which have shaped contemporary child and family welfare practice. From definitions of abuse to assessment models, they examine the knowledge base which lies at the heart of safe and effective statutory practice with children and families. Drawing on examples from a range of English-speaking jurisdictions, the book explores:- How to engage families, including participatory approaches and the role of the Family Group Conference- How to create positive out-of-home environments for children, discussing foster, kinship and residential care and adoption settings- How to improve professional decision-making through supervision and other organizational frameworks. At a time when child welfare systems across the globe are undergoing review, Understanding Child and Family Welfare provides a timely exploration of the reform agendas which will shape future practice. With sharp analytic insights into the difficulties and dilemmas which characterize this field, it is fundamental reading for all students studying child and family support or child protection, as well as for practitioners working within children and family settings.

Providing services that are culturally relevant is an ongoing challenge for practitioners, managers, and policy-makers within the social services. Culture and Child Protection is a concise exploration of the close links between social service practices and cultural values which offers a culturally sensitive model of child protection practice. The authors demonstrate the ways in which a combination of personal, professional and societal attitudes often influence practice decisions. In a context where children from ethnic minorities dominate the welfare statistics of the Western economies, the authors argue against a reliance on rigid approaches to working with particular ethnic groups. They propose effective alternative strategies that will assist social workers in responding appropriately to diverse cultural needs and circumstances. Implications of cultural difference are also considered with respect to class, socio-economic group, gender and age, reinforcing the need to recognise broader interpretations of difference within practice. This book is full of integrated examples and case studies and also discusses wider practice issues, such as working with offenders, the impact of funding restraints and the dynamic of reflexivity in practice and supervision. Culture and Child Protection is a key text that will help social workers and culture academics to understand the ways in which cultural thinking affects and shapes child protection practice.