50 Years and the Future of Agency-Based Clinical Social Work Practice: Introduction to the Special Issue

This special issue is a celebration of the Silver School of Social Work’s 50th Anniversary in 2010–2011. The articles in this issue celebrate the School’s distinct reputation for excellence in clinical social work. They also celebrate the school’s current mission, which includes knowledge development for social work practice, with an emphasis on urban problems, poverty and social justice, and agency-based practice. The majority of the submissions focus on contemporary and future social work practice. This paper concludes with a discussion of several issues that confront the future of clinical social work practice including workforce trends, technology, and the scientific basis for practice, wealth disparity and race as contemporary American issues that affect clinical social work, the globalization of social work and mental health services, and education for tomorrow’s clinical practice.