When a client faces a penalty of death, defense attorneys may call on social workers in many capacities: mitigation specialist, expert witness, consulting specialist, direct witness, or defense-initiated victim outreach worker. The American Bar Association set forth standards for capital defense attorneys, which led an interdisciplinary team to…

The Uniform Accident and Sickness Policy Provision Law (UPPL) is a statute existing in 26 states that permits health insurance companies to deny payment for claims made by individuals who have sustained injuries as a result of drug or alcohol use. This law presents a series of complicated clinical and ethical dilemmas for social workers and other…

Self-determination is a primary ethical principle underlying social work practice in health care settings. Since the 1970s, a right-to-die movement that shares the social work commitment to self-determination has grown and influences end-of-life care decisions. However, the role of culture is notably absent in discussions of the right to die. A…

Using semistructured interviews and participant observation, this two-year pilot study of male Mexican migrants in Freehold, New Jersey, explored how day laborers perceive their struggles to support families despite escalating anti-immigrant legislation at virtually all levels of government. In particular, the author looks at efforts by Mexican…

Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) are legal documents that allow individuals to express their wishes for future psychiatric care and to authorize a legally appointed proxy to make decisions on their behalf during incapacitating crises. PADs are viewed as an alternative to the coercive interventions that sometimes accompany mental health crises…

This article reviews the social science, legal, and criminal justice literature regarding interventions used to stop domestic violence. Examines the theoretical foundations and effectiveness of police interventions, the use of protective orders, prosecutions and victim advocacy, court responses, and coordinated community responses to domestic…

Traces the evolution of the concept of informed consent and discusses its implications for social work practice. Devotes particular attention to legal statutes and case law with which social workers need to be acquainted to protect client rights and to avoid being held liable for malpractice or negligence. (Author/ABL)

Notes that state courts may provide avenues for law reform litigation. Focuses on litigation campaigns, summarizing potential roles of social workers in conceptualizing, planning, and pursuing such campaigns and in monitoring and protecting reforms achieved through such campaigns. References are made throughout to examples of social work roles in…

Social workers' understanding of the relevance of documentation has evolved over time. During the profession's earliest years, social workers viewed documentation primarily as a mechanism to facilitate theory building, research, and teaching. This was followed by social workers' development of detailed and sophisticated documentation standards for…

With the growing demands from insurance companies, employers, review boards, and the like for information from personal health care records, how much assurance can a helping professional give clients that what he tells them will be kept confidential? The author alerts practitioners to the conflicts that threaten confidentiality. (Author)

Describes the newly emerging legal system of the People's Republic of China, particularly the 1980 marriage law and its effects on marriage customs and divorce. In China, many roles perceived as social work roles are blended with the role of attorney. (JAC)