Abstract:Rural social work may be defined as the practice of social work in any setting identified by those present in the area as rural. This may include farming, mining, fishing, logging, or ranching communi...Rural social work may be defined as the practice of social work in any setting identified by those present in the area as rural. This may include farming, mining, fishing, logging, or ranching communities and small towns and villages of many types. There is ongoing debate over how to definitively categorize rural areas, but generally such debate is mostly restricted to those who believe themselves to be, or have an interest in, rural areas, however defined. The most widely used definitions involve uses of census data for population and area. In addition to the traditional rural-urban distinction (less than twenty-five hundred people) and the more recent nonmetropolitan areas distinction, in 2000 the U.S. census introduced an entirely new category of “micropolitan” areas. In all three cases rural is the residual category of those areas that are not urban. Rural social workers tend to utilize the full range of professional knowledge and skills and to share social work values. It is primarily the distinctive characteristics of rural settings that set rural practice apart.Read More