Sharlene Furuto – författare

In this singular collection, indigenous experts describe the social welfare systems of fifteen East Asian and Pacific Island nations and locales. Vastly understudied, these lands offer key insight into the successes and failures of Western and native approaches to social work, suggesting new directions for practice and research in both local and global contexts. Combining international experiences and professional knowledge, contributors illuminate the role of history and culture in shaping the social welfare systems of Cambodia, China, Hong Kong (SAR, China), Indonesia, Malaysia, the Micronesian region (including the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam [Unincorporated Territory, U.S.A.], Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands [Commonwealth, U.S.A.], and Palau), Samoa and American Samoa (Unincorporated Territory, U.S.A.), South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The contributors link the values and issues that concern populaces most to the development of social work practice, policy, and research. Sharlene B. C. L.Furuto then conducts a comparative analysis of the essays including their data and social service programs, highlighting the similarities and differences between the evolution of social welfare in these nations and locales. She contrasts their indigenous approaches, the responses of governments and NGOs to social issues, the availability of social work education, as well as API models, paradigms, and templates, and the overall status of the social work profession. Furuto also adds a chapter comparing the distinct social welfare systems of Samoa and American Samoa. The only volume to focus exclusively on social welfare in East Asia and the Pacific, this anthology holds immense value for practitioners and researchers eager for global perspectives.

From the resettlement experiences of Indochinese refugees to the cross-generational differences of early Japanese immigrants and their descendants, this impressive volume provides vital information on the issues, needs and services for Asian Americans. Written by an outstanding collection of scholars, Social Work Practice with Asian Americans offers a comprehensive treatment of social work theory and practice as they relate to Asian Americans. The contributors stress the profound differences between the value systems of Asian Americans and mainstream American culture by including descriptions of recently arrived immigrants and refugees and their resettlement in the United States. They also analyze the continued adjustment of descendants; offer models, frameworks, and concepts for effective social service practices; discuss problems experienced by adolescent gangs, Korean American elderly and minority women; introduce successful intervention methods; and cite implications for social work education and practice with Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. With thousands of Asian Americans residing in the United States, and thousands more entering each year as immigrants and refugees, Social Work Practice with Asian Americans is essential reading for students and professionals in social work, ethnic studies, psychiatry, public health, gender studies, and gerontology.