Systematic Thinking for Social Action. Alice M. Rivlin. Washington,D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1971. 150 Pages, $2.50

There is an educational and professional policy within social work that obstructs needed doctoral preparation for the individualized services. This is in contrast to the trend in other professions that require the doctorate as a minimum standard for certification of professional competence The present policy is contradictory, unrealistic, and frustrating to many clinical practitioners. There are negative consequences in an abdication of social work responsibility for knowledge-building, program development, and service provision, as well as in the evocation of dysfunctional social work practitioner behavior.