Rural Child Welfare Practice

Features

• Provides real-life rural child welfare case material and discussion questions for social work and other human services profession students.
• Includes material for focusing on generalist, ethical, and culturally sensitive practice.
• Features an examination of the south, north, east, west, and middle of the United States, as well as Canada and Australia.
• Includes background information with professional literature, case vignettes, "take away" learning applications, summaries, discussion questions, learning/teaching activities, recommended resources/readings, and a bibliography.
• Useful for child welfare training, especially for workers beginning practice in rural areas.

About the Author(s)

Joanne Riebschleger, PhD, LMSW, ACSW, is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Work at
Michigan State University. For over two decades, she practiced rural social work with children and
families. She is a consultant to a national child welfare workforce development project and served as
past Vice President to the National Rural Social Work Caucus. She has been a social work educator for
nearly two decades.

Barbara Pierce, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, is an Associate Professor at the Indiana University School of Social Work. She has over 30 years of social work experience working with children, youth, and families. Despite her urban upbringing and education, she practiced for most of her career in small towns and rural communities in Indiana and Louisiana and has developed a deep respect for those communities and the people who live in them. She has been a social work educator for 17 years.

Reviews

"Rural Child Welfare Practice: Stories from the Field provides a unique examination of rural child welfare from the theoretical to the dirt-road practical ... The book makes a valuable contribution not only to the overall body of knowledge on child welfare practice, but to the scant literature focused on understanding rurality and social work." -- Kirsten Havig, Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work

"Joanna Riebschleger and Barbara Pierce have written an accessible introductory book regarding the unique nuances of rural child welfare practice. The authors examine rural child welfare practices in several areas throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia and give excellent case vignette examples that highlight the complexities of the diverse array of clients and situations that often present themselves." -- The Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work

"Riebschleger, Pierce, and their authors provide a new and important survey of the current issues in providing child welfare services in rural areas. It's a topic that was once recognized as a crucial issue in protective and substitute care for the large numbers of children in rural areas throughout the world. Children in rural areas, both in the U.S. and around the world, face gaps in the help they need because of their relative isolation. This book helps social work practitioners understand and deal with their exceptionally vulnerable clients." Leon Ginsberg, PhD, MSW, former Dean and Carolina Distinguished Professor, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina

"This is a compelling, engrossing volume for practitioners and students on rural child welfare practice. Offering pragmatic social work practice knowledge, the authors guide the reader on a unique journey though many rural settings and lands. Cases, practice scenarios, guiding questions, and exercises are presented along with challenges and dilemmas such as dual relationships. Explicit attention to Native American families and the Indian Child Welfare Act - in addition to indigenous and First Nation children and families - adds to the social-justice, cross-cultural, and international richness of this book." Katharine H. Briar-Lawson, PhD, MSW, Professor and Dean Emeritus, School of Social Welfare, SUNY University at Albany