Created to introduce students to the field of social work and its relationship to social welfare policy, "The Social Work Experience" gives readers both an historical and practical overview of the profession. In each chapter, the authors continue to integrate policy coverage with social work practice, values and ethics, and social justice issues. The relationship between policy and practice is carefully examined in the context of nine major fields of social work, and in discussions of the challenges faced by today's practitioners. Comprehensive coverage is delivered in the highly readable style readers have come to expect of this author team, with engaging case studies as chapter openers, exhibit boxes, debate boxes, and research activity sections designed to draw readers into the text.