Controversial Issues in Social Work

Preface Introduction Debates About Social Work as a Profession 1. Are union membership and professional social work compatible? 2. Should social workers work for profit-making firms? 3. Is social work inherently conservative -- designed to protect vested interests of dominant power groups? 4. Should social workers be licensed? 5. Should social workers blow the whistle on incompetent colleagues? Debates About Social Work Knowledge 6. Should all social workers be well-trained in behavioral principles? 7. Is international social work a one-way transfer of ideas and practice methods from the United States to other countries? 8. Should social workers base practice decisions on empirical research? 9. Should social workers accept a disease model of substance abuse? 10 10. Should social workers use the DSM-III? Debates About Social Work Practice 11. Should social workers participate in treatment only if the client consents to such treatment freely and without coercion? 12. Should volunteers be used as direct service givers? 13. Should social workers evaluate their practice based on clearly defined objectives? 14. Should social workers use written contracts? 15. Is private practice a proper form of social work? 16. Should social service administrators have Master of Social Work degrees? 17. Should a minimum, mandatory percentage of funds be set aside for prevention in all social welfare program areas? 18. Should part of social workers' salaries be contingent on the outcomes they achieve with their clients? 19. Should community organization be based on a grassroots strategy? Debates About Special Client Populations 20. Should the right of mental patients to refuse treatment with psychotropic drugs be severely curtailed? 21. Should drug users be provided with free needles? 22. Should maternal preference govern in child custody cases? 23. Is Tarasoff relevant to AIDS-related cases? 24. Should welfare clients be required to work? Appendix A. Sources of FallacyGambrill, Eileen is the author of 'Controversial Issues in Social Work' with ISBN 9780205129027 and ISBN 0205129021.