T. LAINE SCALES, PhD, is Professor of Higher Education and Associate Dean of the Graduate School at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. She taught social work for 17 years and has published in the areas of social welfare history, rural social work, religion in social work, and teaching with decision cases. CALVIN L. STREETER, PhD, is the Meadows Foundation Centennial Professor in the Quality of Life in the Rural Environment and former chair of the Community and Administrative Leadership Concentration in Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin. H. STEPHEN COOPER, PhD, is Associate Professor of Social Work and Associate Dean, College of Liberal and Applied Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.

"There are so few texts on rural social work it is exciting to
see this excellent update. It fills an important niche for rural
practitioners, helping social workers creatively recognize and
build on the unique set of assets that can be found in rural
communities. It's just what I want for my students. Congratulations
to Drs. Scales, Streeter & Cooper on their
accomplishment."

--Linda Hillemann, MSW, LCSW, Coordinator, UM School of
Social Work Off-Campus MSW Program

"As the social work profession has evolved we have learned the
value of identifying social problems while simultaneously
refocusing on the qualities that empower people and move them
through their hardships. Rural Social Work: Building and
Sustaining Community Capacity, does a masterful job of
capturing this professional growth. It demonstrates movement away
from our disillusionment about what cannot be done and instead
focuses on our sanguine assessment of community possibilities. The
editors, Scales, Streeter and Cooper, have selected contributors
who understand the myriad qualities inherent to rural communities,
embrace possibilities, and skillfully discuss ways and means of
rural policy practice."

--Iris Carlton-LaNey, Ph.D., Professor, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Social Work

"Whether at the individual, family, group, community or
organizational levels, rural social work practice requires a
specific body of knowledge and a unique skill set. Since much of
social work education assumes practice will occur in an
resource-rich urban area, social workers are often perplexed when
the knowledge, values and skills they have learned do not
effectively translate to a rural setting. This book takes the
reader from a thorough history of social welfare in rural settings
to practice with diverse rural populations rarely covered in the
literature (e.g., rural African Americans, Latinos, GBLT
populations, rural children and adolescents, the homeless, etc.).
Both the beginning and advanced practitioner will learn how to work
effectively with rural congregations, formal and informal helping
networks, and mapping frameworks to address capacity building in
rural mental health services, schools, hospice centers, AIDS
services, and community development. The authors have richly added
to the body of knowledge on rural social work practice from a "down
home," multisystem perspective. Social workers, both urban and
rural, must have this practical "how to" on their shelves. It will
be required reading in our social work practice classes."

--Barbara J. Nowak, Ph.D., LCSW/MSW, Program Director,
Department of Social Work, Albany State University

"Rural Social Work: Building and Sustaining Community
Capacity, Second Edition is a wonderful update to a major text
in the rural social work literature. Scales, Streeter, and Cooper,
along with the chapter authors, expertly explain and demonstrate a
strengths-based, asset and capacity building approach to rural
social work practice. Engagingly written, this text includes useful
discussion topics and activities. It will continue to be a must
read text in rural social work."

--Barbara Pierce, PHD, LMSW, ACSW, Associate Professor,
Indiana University, School of Social Work