Law for Social Workers has for 15 years been the leading text in its field, providing students with exactly what they need in order to understand the legal framework in which social workers act. This book covers the laws that protect people from harm and enable social workers to assess needs and provide services to meet those needs. It provides clear information on key issues in social work law, such as the role of human rights and professional ethics, the potential conflict between a social worker's duties to society and the user and the new focus on partnership working; law and the legal system (with detailed help on issues of discrimination, immigration status, and responsible information handling), plus the workings of the courts, working with children, including the civil and criminal courts; working with adults; and legal issues relating to violence, family breakdown, housing, and immigration and asylum.