Understanding Legal Concepts That Influence Social Welfare Policy and Practice

by Alexander, Jr., Rudolph

• ISBN13: 9780534596613
• ISBN10: 0534596614
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-05-13
• Publisher: Cengage Learning

Summary

The law plays an important role in influencing social welfare policy and social work practice. Court decisions in policy areas, whether the rulings are perceived as positive or negative, determine what social welfare policy is and what social workers do. By reading this book, social work students will gain a useful understanding of and application of key legal concepts that influence social welfare policy. Instead of just telling students that the law has a major influence on social welfare policy, this book will teach students basic constitutional and legal principles as well as how and why the law shapes social welfare policies and social work practices. For example, students will learn that one legal concept, such as the liberty component in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U S. Constitution, affects a social worker's professional reputation, adoption, mental health treatment in an institutional setting, receipt of public assistance from a state where a person has just moved, dismissal of a student from a school of social work, and child welfare.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Rationale, Foundation and Explanation of Constitutional Law, and Organization	1	(16)
Rationale for Text	3	(6)
Foundation and Explanation of Constitutional Law	9	(1)
How the Federal Courts Work	10	(4)
Organization of Text	14	(1)
Conclusion	15	(2)
Key Terms and Concepts	16	(1)
Basic and Key Legal Concepts and Principles	17	(26)
Substantive and Procedural Law	17	(1)
Sources of Law	18	(1)
Why Conflicts Occur Between Government and Individuals	19	(4)
Government Powers and Responsibilities	19	(3)
Individual Rights	22	(1)
Clashes Between Government and Individuals	23	(3)
Constitutional Principles	26	(8)
No State Shall Make or Enforce Any Law Which Shall Abridge the Privileges or Immunities of Citizens of the United States	27	(1)
Liberty	27	(1)
Property	28	(1)
Due Process	29	(1)
Equal Protection	30	(1)
Right to Privacy	31	(3)
Legal Tests to Determine the Constitutionality of a Statute or Policy	34	(4)
Legal Standards to Decide Civil and Criminal Proceedings	38	(2)
Absolute and Qualified Immunity	40	(2)
Conclusion	42	(1)
Key Terms and Concepts	42	(1)
Child Protection and the Law	43	(22)
Legal Standard for Separation of Parent and Child	44	(1)
Legal Standard for Parental Rights Termination	45	(7)
Cases in Which Parental Terminations Were Upheld	47	(3)
Cases in Which Parental Terminations Were Reversed	50	(2)
Fetuses as Children Needing Protection	52	(2)
Protection of Children from Violence	54	(1)
Protection of Children from Caseworkers' Decisions	55	(4)
Implications for Social Welfare Policy and Practice	59	(3)
Conclusion	62	(3)
Key Terms and Concepts	63	(2)
Legal Aspects of Adoption Policy and Practices	65	(18)
Federal Statutes Governing Adoption	66	(1)
Native American Adoption	67	(2)
One State Statute Governing Adoption	69	(2)
Legal Cases Concerning Adoption Issues	71	(7)
Adoption Subsidy	71	(2)
Gay and Lesbian Adoption	73	(2)
Transracial Adoption	75	(3)
Access to Adoption Records	78	(2)
Implications for Social Welfare Policy and Practice	80	(2)
Conclusion	82	(1)
Key Terms and Concepts	82	(1)
Legal Challenges Shaping Public Assistance	83	(18)
Legal Requirements for Terminating Benefits	84	(1)
TANF and the Right to Travel	85	(3)
Legal Restrictions on Receiving Food Stamps	88	(4)
Social Security Disability Benefits	92	(5)
Legal Congruence of Social Security Disability Insurance and the Americans with Disabilities Act	95	(2)
Drug Testing of Recipients Receiving Public Assistance	97	(1)
Implications for Social Welfare Policy and Practice	98	(2)
Conclusion	100	(1)
Key Terms and Concepts	100	(1)
The Law's Effect on Mental Health Policy	101	(24)
Legal Principles Affecting Mental Health Policy	102	(1)
Intervening with Individuals with Mental Illness	102	(6)
Standard of Proof Needed for Civil Commitment	103	(2)
Right to Mental Health Treatment in Mental Institutions	105	(2)
Right to Mental Health Treatment in the Least Restrictive Setting	107	(1)
Right to Mental Health Treatment in Correctional Institutions	108	(1)
Right to Refuse Mental Health Treatment	109	(5)
State Mental Institutions	110	(1)
Correctional Institutions	111	(3)
Access to Mental Health Records	114	(6)
Implications for Social Welfare Policy and Practice	120	(2)
Conclusion	122	(3)
Key Terms and Concepts	123	(2)
Legal Liability and Malpractice Affecting Social Workers	125	(28)
Malpractice in Child Protection	126	(1)
Malpractice in the Adoption Process	127	(7)
Duties of Mental Health Clinicians	134	(11)
Duty to Warn of Clients' Threats of Physical Harm	135	(3)
Duty to Not Harm Third Parties Socially and Mentally	138	(3)
Duty to Not Sexually Exploit Clients	141	(4)
Implications for Social Welfare Policy and Practice	145	(6)
Conclusion	151	(2)
Key Terms and Concepts	151	(2)
Legal Contentions of Social Workers	153	(18)
Social Work Professionals and Employment Issues	154	(13)
Standard for Deciding Discrimination in Employment	155	(1)
Wrongful Discharge	156	(7)
Employment Discrimination from Sexual Harassment	163	(2)
Religious Objections to Some Clients	165	(2)
Implications for Social Welfare Policy and Practice	167	(2)
Conclusion	169	(1)
Key Terms and Concepts	169	(2)
Conclusion	171	(4)
Glossary of Terms	175	(4)
References	179	(12)
Index	191