Working with Families presents an innovative model for choosing specific intervention methods that meet the discriminate level of need of a particular family.

This is one of the few texts that addresses work with families from a social worker's perspective. The text assesses families by their level of need, from the most basic level (needs for food, clothing, and shelter) to more advanced levels (needs for intimacy and self-actualization), and provides students with models for assessment and interventions at each level. While other family practice texts present many different models of family work, often focused on middle-class, private practice clients (leaving students feeling undecided about which model to use and when), this text provides an integrative model with guidelines for when and how to use different practice methods.