Krishna Samantrai is associate professor at Smith College for Social Work. Prior to moving to Smith in 1997, she was professor at California State University, Sacramento, where she developed the practice model presented in this book. She is the author of two previous books, PREVENTION IN CHILD WELFARE: STATES' RESPONSE TO FEDERAL MANDATE (Garland Publishing, 1993) and INTERVIEWING IN HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (Nelson-Hall, 1996, reprinted, 1999; now available from Brooks/Cole). She has also authored several articles on the subject of practice and policy in child welfare.