ABSTRACT
The social work profession’s helping mission places it in the center of people’s lives and the societal issues that infl uence their lives. Therefore, social workers must be knowledgeable about the makeup of society in general and the populations who use social workers’ services in particular. Social work “is created within a political, social, cultural, and economic matrix that shapes the assumptions of practice, the problems that practice must deal with and the preferred outcomes of practice” (McNutt & Floersch, 2008, p. 4:138). Fortunately, the political, economic, and sociocultural issues that present obstacles for persons served by social workers also provide opportunities for growth and social change. In this chapter, you will gain an understanding of the diversity of the U.S. population and then examine the challenges that confront social workers in contemporary society.
