A sideways story is some moment in life when you thought you were doing one thing, but you ended up learning another. A sideways story can also be a poem, or prose, that, because of the way it is written, may not be all that direct in its meaning. What’s nice about both clouds, and art, is that you can look at them and just resonate. That can be good for both the heart and the mind. Many of the moments of this book have grown from experiences the author has had or stories he used in his lectures with students or told in his office with clients. Some of them have grown from essays written for others, for personal or professional reasons. They are moments on a path through the discovery of social work, a journey of beginnings, middles, and ends. With just the right blend of humor and candor, each of these stories contains nuggets of wisdom that you will not find in a traditional textbook. They capture the essence and the art and soul of social work. In a world rushed with the illusion of technique and rank empiricism, it is the author’s hope that some of the things here might make some moment in your thinking or feeling grow as a social worker. If they provoke a smile, or a tear, or a critical question, it’s worth it. Everyone makes a different journey in a life of social work. These stories are one social worker’s travelogue along the way.

"Moral injury is defined as the sort of harm that results when someone has perpetrated, failed to prevent, or witnessed acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs. Social workers and other human services professionals are well versed in the ravages, symptoms, and treatment of the complicated forms of posttraumatic stress that accompany moral injury, and the issue has been gaining attention. The purpose of this book is to provide in-depth discussion of the concepts of moral injury, moral distress, and moral demoralization; common causes; the ways in which moral injury, moral distress, and moral demoralization are manifested; the causes of moral injury, moral distress, and moral demoralization; secondary trauma, including the ways in which moral injury, moral distress, and moral demoralization affect practitioners; ethical/moral dilemmas; prevention strategies; the role of advocacy and moral courage; and practitioner self-care and resilience. The book includes extensive case examples (clinical, administration, policy practice, advocacy) drawn from the author's experience in and consultation with practitioners employed in public welfare offices, mental health agencies (residential and nonresidential), child and family services programs (residential and nonresidential), substance use programs (residential and nonresidential), housing and homelessness programs, prisons, schools, hospitals, military settings, private/independent practice, immigration and refugee resettlement programs, nursing homes, HIV/AIDS programs, disabilities services programs, hospice programs, and parole/probation offices, among others"--

The End of Social Work: A Defense of the Social Worker in Times of Transformation explores the deeply flawed status quo of the social work profession. Its message is clear: it is not acceptable for social workers to labor under intolerable working conditions and financial strain because they work with the poor and oppressed. Steve Burghardt addresses why social workers no longer have the income and status once shared with nurses and teachers. He addresses the leadership failures that cause social workers to be blamed for not ending poverty yet expected to handle burnout through self-care rather than collective action. He looks beyond nostrums of social justice to the indifference to systemic racism in the profession's journals and programs and explores the damage caused by substituting individuated measures of unvalidated competencies for grounded wisdom in practice. It is thus no accident that a profession committing to "care for everyone" undermines the herculean work that so many social workers do on behalf of the poor, marginalized, and oppressed. Situating the work in the crises of 2020, Burghardt ends with a proposed call to action directed at a transformed profession. Such a campaign would be situated within the national struggles for racial justice, climate change, and economic equality so that social work and social workers regain their legitimacy as authentic advocates fighting alongside the poor and oppressed--and doing so for themselves as well. A rallying cry for social work itself, The End of Social Work is an ideal resource for social work programs and practicing social workers driven to enact meaningful change.

Includes sections "Book reviews" and "Public documents".

Performance review has become a major topic in social work. As an all-embracing term, it encompasses broad concepts such as 'quality' and 'accountability' and the specific techniques for measuring and managing performance. This volume is divided into four parts to survey the subject in different areas and to examine its implications from the perspectives of the voluntary sector, management, professional practice, the client, and those implementing performance review. The importance of supervision and the need for proper consultation with carers when making policy decisions are also discussed, as well as such areas as quality assurance schemes and the proper implementation of complaints procedures. Also included is an analysis of performance review and quality in General Practice. The final Part provides a general overview of performance and quality review and examines how effective the Citizen's Charter and other quality assurance schemes are and what they mean when put into practice.