1st Edition

Social Work and Migration Immigrant and Refugee Settlement and Integration

By Kathleen Valtonen Copyright 2008

    Social work increasingly finds itself at the frontline of issues pertaining to immigrant and refugee settlement and integration. In this timely book, Kathleen Valtonen provides the first book-length study on the challenges these issues create for the profession. Drawing on a wide range of research in migration which is not widely available to social workers or included in social work literature, she offers readers an opportunity to explore the capacity of the profession to take a primary role in the course and outcome of settlement. The book fills a gap in the social work literature by providing scholars, practitioners and students with a critical knowledge base that will strengthen their ability to engage with issues of immigration and integration and to open up options for effective practice with growing numbers of immigrant and refugee clients.

    Contents: Preface; Perspectives on Migration: 'here and now' implications for social work; Social work approaches to practice with immigrants and refugees; Immigrants and refugees in society: the field of action, relations, roles and status; Frames for understanding settlement and integration processes; The politics of inclusion and exclusion; Practice modes for settlement social work; Practice with family systems; The second generation; Developing and implementing social policy and social/settlement services; Settlement practice and ethical principles; Bobliography; Index.

    Biography

    Kathleen Valtonen is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago. She has published widely within social work and migration in journals such as the Journal of Refugee Studies, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, International Social Work, European Journal of Social Work, Asia Pacific Migration Journal and the British Journal of Social Work.

    'In this well-researched and useful book, Kathleen Valtonen offers a comprehensive response to the challenge of immigrant and refugee settlement...the author demonstrates a thorough understanding of settlement concerns and the challenges facing social work in order to meet them. Both practitioners and students will benefit from this outstanding book.' INSCAN 'Valtonen provides the reader with a broad multidimensional perspective on agendas of settlement and integration for migrants and refugees. This is particularly pertinent in the current climate, as these issues are being heatedly debated and contested at a time of rising xenophobia and discontent with mainstream political groupings within the UK. For students of social work, the publication is an important source of reference and one that would considerably enhance their knowledge of this complex and often highly charged subject.' British Journal of Social Work 'This book is intended primarily for scholars, practitioners and students in the discipline of social work. However, the broad spectrum of the content and the theoretical approach of the presentation also make the book suitable for a far wider audience... The author has long been engaged in research on the integration of immigrants and refugees in Finland, Canada, Trinidad and Barbados. Her varied background gives the book a rare international perspective, and enables an examination of general, rather than nation-specific, processes of immigrant integration and the role of social work therein... The wide scope of the book is impressive; it covers various social, political, economic and cultural issues on macro, meso and micro levels... The volume’s strength is this broad theoretical and general perspective... Social Work and Migration provides an important reference source... The author’s own extensive experience has contributed to this well-balanced introduction to a difficult subject.' Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies