Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice and the Carceral State

Anti-oppressive Social Work Practice and the Carceral State is a contribution that fills a significant gap. Increasingly there are calls for anti-oppressive social work, particularly related to carceral systems, and this book provides language and context. O'Brien and Willison have created a text for those who are new to the topic to begin to understand the important issues, and for someone who is familiar, to expand their knowledge. Anyone interested in anti-oppression should add this resource to their library. * Henrika McCoy, PhD, Associate Professor, Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago *
It's not easy to find space for anti-oppressive frameworks in a place that is created for and animated by oppression. And yet this space is in deep need of both humanity, for those who are currently locked in, and disassembled. O'Brien and Willison attend to both sides of this spectrum with wisdom, strategies for anti-oppressive social work practice, and some of the most important ethical considerations for this period in social work. The books attention to practice and ethics makes it invaluable to students and practitioners. * Elizabeth L. Beck, PhD, Professor, School of Social Work at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Georgia State University *
The social work profession is at a critical point where we must question our role in maintaining the carceral state and the conflicts this creates with our professed values. Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice and the Carceral State raises the important questions we must consider and provides some paths forward. If the profession does not address the questions raised in this important text, it risks moving towards irrelevancy. * Alan Dettlaff, Dean and Maconda Brown O'Connor Endowed Dean's Chair, University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work *
Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice and the Carceral State delivers fully and dynamically on its stated promises. Patricia O'Brien and Judith Willison offer a creative and timely book that greatly expands the reader's grasp of the U.S. carceral state as a whole and as a set of parts. The contours and mechanisms of Its operations and unjust aspects are clearly illuminated through illustrations from the reports of people caught up in the bowels of the carceral state and from the reflections of experienced social work practitioners. * Barbara Levy Simon, PhD, Professor Emerita and Special Lecturer, Colombia School of Social Work *
Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice and the Carceral State stands out as a timely and practical book. * Ran Hu, Affilia: Feminist Inquiry in Social Work *