Transnational Social Work Practice

A growing number of people& dash;immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, displaced individuals and families& mdash;lead lives that transcend national boundaries. Often because of economic pressures, these individuals move continually among places, countries, or cultures, never residing in one residence long enough to establish healthy and stable ties.

Though migration itself has existed for centuries, today's sophisticated technologies and electronic communications, as well as the availability of fast and cheap transportation, enable transmigrants to develop transnational identities and relationships and engage in transnational activities. Yet despite the transnational nature of these lives, social work lacks a transnational social work practice. In this innovative and pioneering volume, practitioners and scholars specializing in transnational issues develop a framework for transnational social work practice. They begin with the historical and environmental context of transnational practice, exploring the economic, ecological, and additional factors that affect at-risk and vulnerable transnational groups. They then detail practical strategies, supplemented with case examples, for working with transnational populations, concluding with ways to incorporate transnational social work into the curriculum.