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Decision-making is a core skill in social work; it is crucial both to effective professional intervention and to successful practice outcomes. Yet it is a surprisingly neglected subject in the social work literature. This text offers a focused and systematic account of this complex and sometimes hazardous skill with the aim of providing practitioners with a clear and supportive framework for navigating their way successfully through difficult and demanding practice situations. Written in an accessible style and making imaginative use of case illustrations, it develops a framework chapter by chapter that addresses the social, organisational and psychological context of professional decision-making; the interests of different stakeholders; issues of power and oppression; and the processes involved in arriving at a decision and evaluating the outcome. By identifying the components of sound decision-making and linking these with the realisation of long-term goals, the text highlights how to improve the quality of social work and promote the wellbeing of clients while recognising that in a world of scarce resources, contradictory demands and social inequalities, the best-informed and most considered decisions will not always lead to good outcomes. This text is essential reading for all those involved in social work, whether as students, practitioners, managers or educators.