Empowerment Series: Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills

Ronald Rooney is a Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. A practitioner in child welfare, community mental health, and school social work, Dr. Rooney is also the author of STRATEGIES FOR WORK WITH INVOLUNTARY CLIENTS. He was the 2004 winner of the Academic Leadership Award of the College of Human Ecology, University of Minnesota.Highly respected social work educators, Dean H. Hepworth and Jo Ann Larsen originally defined how direct practice should be taught.Glenda Dewberry Rooney is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Social Work at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She taught undergraduate and graduate courses in direct practice, ethics, and research as well as courses in organizations and administration. Her practice experience includes child welfare, mental health, and work with families and children. In addition to her practice experience, she has been involved in community-based research and has worked with agencies concerned with children, youth, and families as a trainer and as a clinical, program, and management consultant. Active in retirement, Dr. Rooney continues to be an advocate for child welfare policies and practices that strengthen and support families. She served as a state-wide leader involved in developing community partnerships for the public education during the enrollment periods of the Affordable Care Act.Kim Strom-Gottfried is a Professor at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work, where she teaches in the areas of direct practice, communities and organizations, and human resource management. Dr. Strom-Gottfried's scholarly interests involve ethics, managed care, and social work education. She provides training and consultation and research related to private practice, ethics, and managed care.