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Social Work Practice (social + work_practice)
Selected AbstractsA review of generalization methods used in empirical social work literatureINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 4 2009Marina Lalayants This article reviews methods currently used for generalization of findings, based on a review of a representative sample of empirical research studies drawn from three major social work research journals: Social Work Research, Journal of Social Service Research, and Research on Social Work Practice, over a 10-year period (1996,2005). Findings revealed a greater discussion of generalizability limitations in comparison with the past, and other types of generalization methods such as conceptual generalizations and qualitative comparisons of study results with those of other studies. Relatively low usage of quantitative comparisons of sample to population and replication procedures was detected. Implications of these trends are discussed and approaches for improvements are explored. [source] Sex Differences in Perceived Family Functioning and Family Resources in Hong Kong Families: Implications for Social Work PracticeASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 3 2009Joyce L.C. Ma Although enhancing family functioning has become a rising concern of social workers in Chinese contexts such as Hong Kong, little has been known on perceived family functioning and family resources. To fill in this knowledge gap, this article reports part of the results of a telephone survey conducted in Hong Kong, aiming to identify the sex differences in these two areas. The results of the study have shown that Chinese women perceived better affective involvement, one of the crucial indicators of family functioning, than Chinese men. However, among the different family resources, men rated better physical and mental well-being whereas women's social connection was stronger than men's. Further analysis have shown that the linkage of three family resources (namely stress coping efficacy, time spent with family and income) to perceived family functioning was statistically significant irrespective of genders. Implications of this study for social work practice are discussed at the end of the article. [source] The Sufic Paradigm for Stress Management and its Contribution to a Model of Social Work PracticeASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 2 2009Zulkarnain A. Hatta This article presents Sufism as a model for helping to alleviate human miseries. As the instability, contradictions, and stress of the socioeconomic structure create a frantic search for relevant modes of treatment, the theories and methods espoused in Sufism present an alternative approach to be taken up in the interest of more effective practice; especially in the field of social work, psychology, and counseling. Sufic masters or teachers, by the nature of their work are social workers; hence, their role in helping stressed people is discussed. Existing tools of measurement that can test stress levels are used in order to present Sufism as being compatible with the mode of scientific inquiry. The article shows that sticking to traditional psychoanalytic, behavioral, transactional and analytical practices, to name a few, limits the avenues of help that can be offered to those in need. Social workers and human service agencies have to work in collaboration with religious institutions and other spiritual organizations in order to better serve the population. [source] Inclusion or control? commissioning and contracting services for people with learning disabilitiesBRITISH JOURNAL OF LEARNING DISABILITIES, Issue 4 2006Liam Concannon Accessible summary ,,The rise of new public management has seen the role of the social worker becoming increasingly administrative and less about face to face contact with service users. ,,When commissioning managers seek to help people with learning disabilities plan their services, who actually makes the decisions? ,,Direct payments are proposed as the answer for people with learning disabilities to take the lead, but is this a real shift in power from managers to service users? This paper examines what commissioning and contracting means for people with learning disabilities. It asks if the voices of service users are heard when it comes to planning their services and, more significantly, are their choices respected and acted upon by commissioners? The government believes the introduction of direct payments will change the way social care is administered, by placing both the decision-making and funding, firmly in the hands of people with learning disabilities. However, the question remains as to how far this can be successful, considering the complicated administration and financial processes involved. The paper explores new ground in terms of research by investigates the effects that new public management, in the form of commissioning and contracting, has on the lives of people with learning disabilities. It looks at the relationship between the service user, care manager and commissioner, and asks whether management structures help individuals or actually create further barriers to participation and inclusion. Summary This paper seeks to critically assess the impact made by the introduction of commissioning and contracting as a new culture of social care in learning disability services. It offers an evaluation of the growth in importance of the user as consumer. Does the commissioning and the contract process give users with learning disabilities a greater influence over their services and ultimately their lives? It is suggested that far from empowering people with learning disabilities to have a say in the services they want, the emerging culture of business contracts and new public management transfers power firmly back into the hands of professionals making the decisions. Social work practice is changing in response to major shifts in social trends and at the behest of market values. Traditional models are being rejected and the challenge for social work is to adapt itself to operate within a competency based paradigm. The paper argues that at the centre of this new culture is a government use of a system of performance management that successfully drives down cost. Thus there remain contradictions between the adoption of a mixed economy of care; services planning; consumerism; resource constraints; and the communication difficulties experienced by many people with learning disabilities. [source] Social work practices: contemporary perspectives on change by Karen Healy, Sage, London.CHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 2 2001165 pp. No abstract is available for this article. [source] Rethinking social work ethics: what is the real question?INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 2 2010Against difference, Responding to Stephen Webb's, diversity in social work' Jose J. Rethinking social work ethics: what is the real question? Responding to Stephen Webb's ,Against difference and diversity in social work' Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 246,252 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. In his recent article, Stephen Webb argued that the real question for social work ethics concerns ,recognising the Same and of restoring the principles of equality and social justice'. This argument also included raising questions about what should be considered an appropriate philosophical basis for progressive social work ethics. In his view, social work's emancipatory potential has been blunted by overstated and philosophically ill-informed human rights claims about difference and diversity. He suggested that French philosopher Alain Badiou offers social workers a ,set of conceptual devices for rethinking social work ethics'. I argue that pressing his points into Badiou's philosophical mould is unlikely to lead to a progressive social work practice, let alone solve the issues identified by Webb. Badiou's philosophical pronouncements about ethics are of questionable value and offer little or no assistance to social workers seeking to establish an ethical grounding for their professional practice. [source] The role of law in welfare reform: critical perspectives on the relationship between law and social work practiceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 1 2006Suzy Braye This article considers the complex relationships between law, welfare policy and social work practice, in order to address the question of what role legal frameworks might play in achieving welfare policy and professional practice goals. It traces how law has developed as a core component of professional practice, and challenges some of the false expectations placed upon it. It then draws on findings from an international knowledge review of law teaching in social work education to propose a model for understanding how professional practice incorporates legal perspectives, and proposes ways in which legal frameworks can provide positive and constructive vehicles for accountable practice. [source] Guest editorial: the ethnography of memory in social welfare and social work practiceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 4 2002Darja Zavir First page of article [source] Sex Differences in Perceived Family Functioning and Family Resources in Hong Kong Families: Implications for Social Work PracticeASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 3 2009Joyce L.C. Ma Although enhancing family functioning has become a rising concern of social workers in Chinese contexts such as Hong Kong, little has been known on perceived family functioning and family resources. To fill in this knowledge gap, this article reports part of the results of a telephone survey conducted in Hong Kong, aiming to identify the sex differences in these two areas. The results of the study have shown that Chinese women perceived better affective involvement, one of the crucial indicators of family functioning, than Chinese men. However, among the different family resources, men rated better physical and mental well-being whereas women's social connection was stronger than men's. Further analysis have shown that the linkage of three family resources (namely stress coping efficacy, time spent with family and income) to perceived family functioning was statistically significant irrespective of genders. Implications of this study for social work practice are discussed at the end of the article. [source] The Efficacy of a Community-Based Project in a Chinese ContextASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Joyce L. C. Ma In this paper, the authors report the results of an exploratory study which assessed the service efficacy of a collaborative service initiative developed by a university academic department and a community-based social service agency in a socially deprived and remote community in Hong Kong. The project aimed to foster mutual help and self-help of low-income families and deepen their social connection with the community. Service efficacy was assessed using a structured questionnaire and a focus group interview. After participating in the service project, the well-being of the participants has become better and their family relationships have improved. They have developed a stronger sense of belonging toward the community. The preliminary findings support the importance of creating social network in social work practice for low-income families residing in a deprived and remote neighborhood. [source] Service user participation in diverse child protection contexts: principles for practiceCHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 4 2009Karen Healy ABSTRACT Promoting the participation of children and parents in child protection practice is one of the most complex and sensitive areas of social work practice. Increasingly, child protection legislation and policy in many parts of the world enshrines ideals of service user participation. Yet, with the exception of extensive discussion about family group conferencing, the principles and methods for achieving participatory practices in child protection work remain underdeveloped. We use the term ,child protection' to refer to a broad spectrum of child and family welfare services aimed at prevention of (or intervention to address) child abuse and neglect. This spectrum of services includes intensive family support, family support, domestic violence, statutory child protection and child and family advocacy services. In this paper, we present findings from the first phase of a 3-year study into participatory practice in child protection. In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative analysis of interviews with 28 child protection practitioners across five domains of child protection work. Our analysis reveals three core principles of participatory practice underpinning these practitioners' accounts as well as contextual differences among them. We conclude with a discussion of the educational implications of our findings. [source] Missing siblings: seeking more adequate social responsesCHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 3 2009Julie Clark ABSTRACT Little is known about the experience of family and friends when a young adult goes missing, less is known about how siblings make sense of the experience. Police assistance to locate the missing person may be sought but there is little recognition of going missing or missingness as a social issue, and there is little or no adequate social response to the needs of those left behind. This paper links knowledge of siblings, loss and grief to an understanding of this phenomenon. It presents the methodology and findings of an exploratory, qualitative study into the experiences of nine adult siblings of long-term missing people in Australia and presents the themes drawn from their accounts. The themes are briefly elaborated using direct quotations from participants in the study and represented in a diagram. The paper seeks to develop greater understanding of the inter-relationship between missingness and other social issues, to give voice to the views of participants and to encourage practitioners to engage more purposefully in work with family and friends affected by this issue. Some implications for social work practice are presented. [source] Congruence and co-operation in social workers' assessments of children in needCHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 4 2007Dendy Platt ABSTRACT This paper examines the concepts of congruence and co-operation in social work practice with children and families. It describes findings from the author's own research and attempts to deconstruct the interaction of the two phenomena. Using material from other published research, the paper proposes a model and suggests methods for analysing congruence and co-operation in the practice context. The key implication is that the depth of a social worker's understanding of a family situation may affect his or her assessment of parental co-operation. [source] Identifying and assessing cases of child neglect: learning from the Irish experienceCHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 2 2005Jan Horwath ABSTRACT Although child neglect is arguably the most prevalent form of maltreatment in the western world, studies of social work practice in cases of child neglect are limited. This paper seeks to add to the body of knowledge by describing a small-scale study completed in the Republic of Ireland of social work assessments in cases of child neglect. The findings are based primarily on an analysis of case files, but reference is also made to practitioners' and managers' responses to a postal questionnaire and focus groups. The study findings highlight that social workers interpret the assessment task and process in different ways. Variations in the interpretation of the task appear to be influenced by workload pressures, resources and local systems, with teams focusing either on immediate safeguarding issues or on both safeguarding and the longer-term welfare of the child. Individual variations amongst workers irrespective of team were more apparent in the way practitioners approached the assessment task. For example, practice varied regarding which professionals and family members were contacted as part of the assessment, the type of communication workers had with children and carers, and the use the social workers made of information on case files. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role of the team in determining the focus of assessments and the subjective factors which impact on the way the individual social worker works with children, families and other professionals. [source] Threshold decisions: how social workers prioritize referrals of child concernCHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 1 2006Dendy Platt Abstract This paper examines local authority social workers' decision-making when considering referrals of children, where the concerns are on the margin of child protection procedures. In doing so, it describes the findings of a qualitative research study undertaken in the policy context of attempts to ,refocus' social work practice in the late 1990s and early twenty-first century. Data collection involved interviews with social workers and parents in 23 cases. Conclusions are that referrals were evaluated on the basis of five key factors, specificity, severity, risk, parental accountability and corroboration, the use of which determined whether an initial assessment or an investigation of alleged abuse took place. The analysis builds on previous work in the child protection field, but demonstrates how the application of these factors differs between cases of child concern and cases of child protection. Policy implications concern the complexity of decision-making in the uncertain context of limited referral information and it is proposed that the simplistic notion of a continuum of abuse is now outdated. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||