Thomas D. Watts

Social work originates from humanitarian, religious, and democratic ideals and philosophies, and has universal applications to meet human needs arising from personal-societal interactions. Professional social workers are dedicated to service for the welfare and self-fulfillment of human beings; to the disciplined use of scientific knowledge regarding human and societal behavior; to the development of resources to meet individual, group, national, and international needs and aspirations; and to the achievement of social justice. This handbook raises issues such as, Are there globally recognized values of social work? Is there a model of international practice that is applicable across the range of interventions—micro to mezzo to macro? Do social workers have a professional identity which unites them the world over? This handbook covers the five continents of the globe by presenting the state of the art theory and practice of social work within selected countries which have a legacy of social work, either imported from the west or indigenously developed within the country. In the context of conditions prevalent in these countries the handbook highlights the constant challenges facing social workers and social work organizations to meet the needs of the individuals and societies they service.

Experts from around the world fill a major gap about social work education with their survey of the state of the field in over 23 countries and regions within the Americas (United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America, South America, Argentina), Europe (United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany, Central/Eastern Europe, Russia and the Republics), Africa (Africa, Zimbabwe, South Africa), the Middle East (the Middle East and Egypt, Israel), and Asia and the Pacific (Asia/Pacific, Australia, India, Bangladesh, Japan, China). This reference guide also considers social work education from a comparative and global perspective in terms of current problems and programs and future prospects. Social workers, educators, academics, and professionals will gain from the country studies, international overview, and lengthy bibliographies.

Find remarkable prevention and treatment strategies for preschool-age children of substance abusers in this informative volume. It provides an overview of the various problems exposure to substance abuse can cause for preschool children. Because of the strong influences parents have on their children, early childhood is a critical time for intervention to counteract the damaging effects of alcohol and drug abusing parents. Research shows that attitudes about alcohol and other drugs are already formed by junior high school level, and senior high school is too late for significant attitude change. Preschoolers and Substance Abuse promotes preschool age as the ideal time to apply strategies that will aid the family in building the self-esteem, trust, autonomy, and initiative necessary to protect the child from further problems caused by addictive parents. Intervention strategies are presented in a succinct manner, making them easy for practitioners, health officials, government officials, and family members to put into immediate practice. This book offers a unique approach to substance abuse, treating it as a community and societal problem rather than an individual problem. Intervention and treatment strategies are geared toward the substance abuse problem itself as well as how it impacts children and family systems. The harmful impact of alcohol or drug abusive parents is evaluated for all stages of childhood development, from pre-natal influences through infancy and the preschool years. Some of the harmful results of alcohol and drug abuse affecting preschool children addressed in this volume include violence, sexual abuse, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and intra-uterine exposure to drugs. The authors outline a comprehensive list of imperatives for a future agenda to protect preschool children from suffering the consequences of their parents’substance abuse. Public health officials, decision makers, practitioners, and legislators will find a series of policy recommendations including increased research, substance abuse training for child care workers, increased outreach and education for expectant mothers, and community-based outreach programs to insure ethnic or socioeconomic sensitivity and appropriateness.

Find remarkable prevention and treatment strategies for preschool-age children of substance abusers in this informative volume. It provides an overview of the various problems exposure to substance abuse can cause for preschool children. Because of the strong influences parents have on their children, early childhood is a critical time for intervention to counteract the damaging effects of alcohol and drug abusing parents. Research shows that attitudes about alcohol and other drugs are already formed by junior high school level, and senior high school is too late for significant attitude change. Preschoolers and Substance Abuse promotes preschool age as the ideal time to apply strategies that will aid the family in building the self-esteem, trust, autonomy, and initiative necessary to protect the child from further problems caused by addictive parents. Intervention strategies are presented in a succinct manner, making them easy for practitioners, health officials, government officials, and family members to put into immediate practice. This book offers a unique approach to substance abuse, treating it as a community and societal problem rather than an individual problem. Intervention and treatment strategies are geared toward the substance abuse problem itself as well as how it impacts children and family systems. The harmful impact of alcohol or drug abusive parents is evaluated for all stages of childhood development, from pre-natal influences through infancy and the preschool years. Some of the harmful results of alcohol and drug abuse affecting preschool children addressed in this volume include violence, sexual abuse, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and intra-uterine exposure to drugs. The authors outline a comprehensive list of imperatives for a future agenda to protect preschool children from suffering the consequences of their parents’substance abuse. Public health officials, decision makers, practitioners, and legislators will find a series of policy recommendations including increased research, substance abuse training for child care workers, increased outreach and education for expectant mothers, and community-based outreach programs to insure ethnic or socioeconomic sensitivity and appropriateness.

This book introduces the reader to the scope and extent of minority underrepresentation in the health professions. Underrepresented minority groups include Afro-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans. Drs. Lecca and Watts have cited a number of studies and papers describing trends in minority enrollment in health profession institutions. Among the areas which the authors focus on are the recruitment and admissions process which they note need intensive reexamination by higher education administrators and educators. They describe examples of academic enrichment and retention programs. They suggest that minority retention and the ultimate goal, increase in graduation, will only be achieved if financial and other forms of institutional and private/public support are forthcoming. The book concludes with some 'modest' recommendations.

Alcohol problems among Native Americans are severe and widespread. Statistics report that the rate of alcohol-related deaths is about eight times greater for Native Americans than for the U. S. population as a whole. This bibliography identifies the problems of alcoholism and alcohol abuse among Native American youth as a severe mental and physical health issue that deserves closer study, and it brings together in one volume most of what is known about the subject to date. The increasing amount of research that has appeared in recent years has created the need for a comprehensive reference focusing not only on anthropological and sociological concerns, but on questions more specifically relevant to Native Americans, such as child abuse and neglect, foster homes, school problems, dropouts, peer relation effects, family modeling response, fetal alcohol syndrome, developmental factors, and, most importantly, social deprivation. The authors maintain that the emerging literature on Native American youth's alcoholism is multidisciplinary in nature, suggesting that the subject in general has taken on greater significance in the social framework of this country. Native American Youth and Alcohol makes a valuable contribution by emphasizing the current publications on Indian youth and alcohol in an accessible format that offers a broad spectrum of opinion and analysis. This timely work will be read by professionals in the human services field and by a variety of researchers, practitioners, and those who are currently engaged in health promotion and disease prevention activities.