Transnational Social Work Practice

A growing number of people—immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, displaced individuals, and families—lead lives that transcend national boundaries. Often because of economic pressures, these individuals continually move through places, countries, and cultures, becoming exposed to unique risk and protective factors. Though migration itself has existed for centuries, the availability of fast and cheap transportation as well as today's sophisticated technologies and electronic communications have allowed transmigrants to develop transnational identities and relationships, as well as engage in transnational activities. Yet despite this new reality, social work has yet to establish the parameters of a transnational social work practice.

In one of the first volumes to address social work practice with this emergent and often marginalized population, 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 and explore the psychosocial, economic, environmental, and political factors that affect at-risk and vulnerable transnational groups. They then detail practical strategies, supplemented with case examples, for working with transnational populations utilizing this population's existing strengths. They conclude with recommendations for incorporating transnational social work into the curriculum.

Nalini Junko Negi is assistant professor of social work at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work and coeditor, with Rich Furman, of Social Work Practice with Latinos: Key Issues and Emerging Themes.

Rich Furman is associate professor and director of social work at the University of Washington, Tacoma. His most recent books are Social Work Practice with Men at Risk, Navigating Human Service Organizations, and Group Work: An Experimental Approach.