This best-selling introductory text focuses on social work with diverse groups, including people with disabilities and various ethnic, racial, gender, age and rural/urban/suburban populations. Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, now in its ninth edition, has established the all-time longevity record in social work texts as an introduction to the profession of social work, having educated approximately 130,000 students since 1977. This text includes historical material on the emergence of social work as a profession, the areas and groups where human services are provided, and career opportunities for social workers today. The book reflects up-to-date empirical data about where social workers are employed, what positions they hold, what personal characteristics they bring to their practice, and the competencies required to perform their work. The main focus of the text is on the various groups to whom social workers provide services, including children, older adults, women, disabled persons, and members of minority racial and ethnic groups. A new chapter entitled Social Work Throughout the World helps students gain a broader understanding of how the profession of social work has evolved in different parts of the world.