ABSTRACT
Rural social work is practiced in United States (U.S.) Census-defined rural areas and in small towns and frontier areas throughout the United States. Rural people tend to have many of the same diversities as urban populations but with the added diversity of being from a rural community, and social workers who work with them require deep knowledge of the communities in which they live. Poverty is an ongoing nuanced social problem in rural communities. Rural social work agencies often address needs for housing, food security, and mental health and addiction services as itinerant workers move to work in these industries. Practice in rural areas can be rewarding but also presents some professional challenges. Gaining cultural competence ultimately becomes an important issue if the worker did not grow up in the rural community. All social workers have a professional responsibility to advocate for social justice and equitable distribution of resources. For social work policy advocates, the time is ripe for advocacy for fair telehealth reimbursement because the coronavirus pandemic has placed a spotlight on even the urban area need for telehealth services and has accelerated research on the best practice standards of what can safely and effectively be provided via telehealth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)