Julie Birkenmaier

Financial struggles of American families are headline news. In communities across the nation, families feel the pinch of stagnant and sometimes declining incomes. Many have not recovered from the Great Recession, when millions lost their homes and retirement savings. They are bombarded daily with vexing financial decisions: Which bills to pay? Where to cash checks? How to cover an emergency? How to improve a credit report? How to bank online? How to save for the future? Low- and moderate-income families have few places to turn for guidance on financial matters. Not many can afford to pay a financial advisor to help navigate an increasingly complex financial world. They do their best with advice from family and trusted individuals. Social workers, financial counselors, and human services professionals can help. As "first responders," they assist families and help in finding financial support from public and private sources. But these professionals are too often unprepared to address the full range of financial troubles of ordinary working families. Financial Capability and Asset Building in Vulnerable Households is the first book of its kind. It prepares social workers, financial counselors, and other human service professionals for financial practice with vulnerable families. Building on more than 20 years of research, the book sets the stage with key concepts, historical antecedents, and current financial challenges of families in America. The book provides knowledge and tools to assist families in pressing financial circumstances. It offers a lifespan perspective of financial capability and environmental influences on financial behaviors and actions. This important text details practice principles and skills for direct interventions, as well as for designing financial services and policy innovations. This is an essential text for preparing the next generation of practitioners who can enable families to achieve economic security and development.

The fourth edition of The Practice of Generalist Social Work continues to teach students to apply micro, macro, and mezzo social work skills. This new edition strengthens the connection between the three levels of practice and is fully updated to the 2015 EPAS. This edition also contains more illustrations of theory and more context for deciding which type of intervention is a good fit. Most chapters now open with a case study and continually refer back to the case to provide additional connections between theory and real-life practice. Each chapter also incorporates a link to a Grand Challenge of Social Work from the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, which shows the connection between social work and the most significant societal challenges of today. The Quick Guides within the text offer students guidance for their field experience and practice after graduation.The text also comes with a rich companion website that includes support materials and six unique cases that encourage students to learn by doing. Go to www.routledgesw.com to explore the cases and additional resources.

The fourth edition of The Practice of Generalist Social Work continues to teach students to apply micro, macro, and mezzo social work skills. This new edition strengthens the connection between the three levels of practice and is fully updated to the 2015 EPAS. This edition also contains more illustrations of theory and more context for deciding which type of intervention is a good fit. Most chapters now open with a case study and continually refer back to the case to provide additional connections between theory and real-life practice. Each chapter also incorporates a link to a Grand Challenge of Social Work from the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, which shows the connection between social work and the most significant societal challenges of today. The Quick Guides within the text offer students guidance for their field experience and practice after graduation.The text also comes with a rich companion website that includes support materials and six unique cases that encourage students to learn by doing. Go to www.routledgesw.com to explore the cases and additional resources.

The fourth edition of The Practice of Generalist Social Work continues to teach students to apply micro, macro, and mezzo social work skills. This new edition strengthens the connection between the three levels of practice and is fully updated to the 2015 EPAS. This edition also contains more illustrations of theory and more context for deciding which type of intervention is a good fit. Most chapters now open with a case study and continually refer back to the case to provide additional connections between theory and real-life practice. Each chapter also incorporates a link to a Grand Challenge of Social Work from the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, which shows the connection between social work and the most significant societal challenges of today. The Quick Guides within the text offer students guidance for their field experience and practice after graduation.The text also comes with a rich companion website that includes support materials and six unique cases that encourage students to learn by doing. Go to www.routledgesw.com to explore the cases and additional resources.

The fourth edition of The Practice of Generalist Social Work continues to teach students to apply micro, macro, and mezzo social work skills. This new edition strengthens the connection between the three levels of practice and is fully updated to the 2015 EPAS. This edition also contains more illustrations of theory and more context for deciding which type of intervention is a good fit. Most chapters now open with a case study and continually refer back to the case to provide additional connections between theory and real-life practice. Each chapter also incorporates a link to a Grand Challenge of Social Work from the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, which shows the connection between social work and the most significant societal challenges of today. The Quick Guides within the text offer students guidance for their field experience and practice after graduation.The text also comes with a rich companion website that includes support materials and six unique cases that encourage students to learn by doing. Go to www.routledgesw.com to explore the cases and additional resources.

The fourth edition of The Practice of Generalist Social Work continues to teach students to apply micro, macro, and mezzo social work skills. This new edition strengthens the connection between the three levels of practice and is fully updated to the 2015 EPAS. This edition also contains more illustrations of theory and more context for deciding which type of intervention is a good fit. Most chapters now open with a case study and continually refer back to the case to provide additional connections between theory and real-life practice. Each chapter also incorporates a link to a Grand Challenge of Social Work from the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, which shows the connection between social work and the most significant societal challenges of today. The Quick Guides within the text offer students guidance for their field experience and practice after graduation.The text also comes with a rich companion website that includes support materials and six unique cases that encourage students to learn by doing. Go to www.routledgesw.com to explore the cases and additional resources.

The fourth edition of The Practice of Generalist Social Work continues to teach students to apply micro, macro, and mezzo social work skills. This new edition strengthens the connection between the three levels of practice and is fully updated to the 2015 EPAS. This edition also contains more illustrations of theory and more context for deciding which type of intervention is a good fit. Most chapters now open with a case study and continually refer back to the case to provide additional connections between theory and real-life practice. Each chapter also incorporates a link to a Grand Challenge of Social Work from the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, which shows the connection between social work and the most significant societal challenges of today. The Quick Guides within the text offer students guidance for their field experience and practice after graduation.The text also comes with a rich companion website that includes support materials and six unique cases that encourage students to learn by doing. Go to www.routledgesw.com to explore the cases and additional resources.

A start-to-finish exploration of the field/practicum experience. The Practicum Companion for Social Work: Integrating Class and Field Work is the ideal companion for the field/practicum experience. Filled with practical applications, in-depth case scenarios, and thought-provoking examples, this comprehensive text integrates theory with practice and guides students through their placement. Using a strengths-based perspective, it reinforces the link between classroom learning, practice behaviors, and competencies. Readers will learn about practice with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations within the concepts of planned change, encompassing engagement, assessment, intervention, evaluation, termination, and follow-up. Every chapter in the Fourth Edition reflects and integrates the core competencies in the 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) set by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Case scenarios and practice applications are woven throughout each chapter to help students apply their knowledge, skills, and values. Enhanced values and ethics material, detailed learning plans, and additional cultural competence, safety, and humility content help prepare readers for contemporary practice.

Revision with unchanged content. Asset building has become an increasingly important component of social welfare policy in recent years. For families seeking to build assets through home ownership, raising credit scores is often a key element of their prepurchase efforts. Low income and minority families in particular can struggle with poor credit scores and seek Homeownership Education and Counseling (HEC) services to assist them to raise their credit score and access affordable mortgage credit. This book examines the effectiveness of credit counseling within HEC services on credit scores. Quantitative data were gathered via pre- and one year post-counseling credit scores from 203 clients who obtained pre-purchase credit counseling. Qualitative findings from a focus group of HEC credit counselors shed light on the role of credit counselors in HEC services and difficulties encountered in interfacing with the sub-prime mortgage market. This book is addressed to community development, mortgage finance and public policy professionals and researchers.