Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Immigration reform. Abortion. Economic assistance and social welfare. Same-sex marriage. Political issues routinely dominate the news, and they also routinely arise in the social work profession. Social workers cannot escape the influence or impact of politics in their educational or professional lives. Social workers in healthcare settings routinely face end-of-life care dilemmas. Social workers employed by community-based clinics intervene with families in which reproductive planning is commonplace. Social workers interact with those using financial assistance such as TANF, Social Security Disability Income, Housing Choice Vouchers, and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Programs. Social workers engage with a full range of clients of various races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and legal statuses. Their views on end-of life care, family planning, immigration, welfare benefits, and diversity (including issues such as prejudice/discrimination) matter as they impact practice. All these issues relate to social workers' political views, their political attitudes, their political ideologies. The diverse range of political ideologies that these professionals hold need to be reconciled with the profession at large. A social worker's political views on issues such as abortion, the right to suicide, family planning, immigration rights, and so on may well influence his or her entire practice. In The Political Lives of Social Workers, Rosenwald explores how the social work profession struggles to encourage and support political diversity among its members, and what happens when a member's political beliefs challenge commonly-held social work values. It examines the issue of political diversity and the perils of political countertransference in social work research, curricula, and practice"-- Provided by publisher.