British Journal of Social Work - Advance Access

Squeezing the Toothpaste Tube: Will Tackling Court Delay Result in Pre-Court Delay in its Place?

McKeigue, B., Beckett, C. — 2008-09-04

This article is the first to report on a study that tracked all the care proceedings initiated by an English local authority over a one-year period, obtaining factual information and opinions from the social workers involved in the case through the use of guided interviews. The main objective of the researchers was to contribute to understanding of ways in which children are kept waiting in difficult and insecure situations for decisions to be made about their long-term future. This article focuses in particular on the problem of delays that occur prior to a case coming into the court arena. The article offers evidence that current initiatives to reduce court delay may have the unintended result of increasing pre-court delay.

The Views of Children and Young People on Being Cared For by an Independent Foster-Care Provider

Selwyn, J., Saunders, H., Farmer, E. — 2008-08-27

This paper reports some of the findings from a study (Farmer et al., 2007) commissioned by an independent foster-care provider, Foster Care Associates, to examine the progress and outcomes of children in their care over a one-year period. This is the first published study to ask children and young people placed with an independent fostering provider (IFP) about their views on the care they have received. While most children and young people were very positive about their placements and the support and activities provided for them, the research also raised questions about the stability of placements within the IFP sector and the promotion of children's friendships.

Assessing the Influence of Religious Beliefs and Practices on Parenting Capacity: The Challenges for Social Work Practitioners

Horwath, J., Lees, J. — 2008-08-27

The 1989 Children Act emphasizes the importance of giving due consideration to the child's religious persuasion. Yet, government assessment guidance provides practitioners with very little assistance in terms of establishing ways in which religious beliefs and practices influence family life. This is concerning at a time when considerable attention is being paid in the media to the negative influences of religious beliefs on parenting and Britain is becoming increasingly diverse. Drawing on a literature review of seventy-seven papers on religion and parenting, consideration is given to some of the challenges encountered by social workers when assessing the influence of religious beliefs on parenting. These challenges include: a lack of clarity with regard to what is meant by ‘religion’; small-scale research studies with limited scope; a focus on perceptions of the influence of religious beliefs; disregard for both social workers' own views about religion and the ways in which these views are likely to influence practice. Moreover, poor preparation on social work training programmes and minimal support from supervisors mean that practitioners do not feel confident exploring religious beliefs and practices with families. All these factors lead to a significant influence in many families' lives being ignored.

Teaching Social Workers to Harness Technology and Inter-Disciplinary Collaboration for Community Service

Rosenthal Gelman, C., Tosone, C. — 2008-08-27

Relatively little has been written encouraging social workers to use communication technologies for community service purposes, such as education and advocacy with general populations, and empowerment of individuals, groups and communities, especially marginalized and voiceless populations traditionally served by social workers, to tell their own stories using these media. This paper reviews relevant literature on the use of media in social work, presents examples of ways visual technologies have been used to serve populations-at-risk, and briefly describes a course jointly offered by a school of social work and a school of the arts intended to teach students the use of various technologies for community service purposes. The application of social work practice, theory, research and policy to media production reflects a little-explored potential modality for micro and macro intervention, and thus is an innovation in the field, combining service learning, inter-disciplinary collaboration and application of social work knowledge through technology. We also argue that social workers should become competent in using media to harness their power for intervention with and on behalf of clients, and to positively and actively shape the way clients and our profession are portrayed and viewed in the larger world.

Conceptualizing Young People's Strategies of Resistance to Offending as 'Active Resilience'

Murray, C. — 2008-08-20

This paper draws on the Quest for Identity study, which comprised secondary analysis of interviews with young people who have never offended (‘resisters’) and young people who have offended, then ceased (‘desisters’), as well as peer led focus groups with resisters. However, the paper focuses solely on the semi-structured interviews with 62 young resisters and addresses the research question as to how they maintain their resistance to offending. Contrary to the passivity associated with non-offending, it is argued that in maintaining their resistance to offending young resisters engage in what I term ‘active resilience’. This is exemplified by a range of strategies employed by resisters, which includes: managing offending peers, taking temporal leaps, ‘othering’ offenders and telling atrocity stories. The concept of active resilience resonates with the key theoretical perspective associated with the social studies of childhood, which characterises young people as agentic social actors, and also with the resilience literature, with its recent perceptible shift towards acknowledging young people's contribution to their own resilience. The paper concludes with the implications of the findings for policy, practice and future research.

Caring as a Moral, Practical and Powerful Endeavour: Peer Care in a Cambodian Orphanage

Emond, R. — 2008-08-02

Research on children's participation in domestic life has tended to focus on the experiences of those living within families. This article reports on a pilot project, undertaken in one Cambodian orphanage, which focused on the care that children provided to themselves and to one another. It argues that not only were such care practices manifest, but they were understood by children to contribute to their power and status within the orphanage as well as the construction of their individual moral self-identities. The boundaries of relationships between children were defined and redefined through care-related actions.

Conducting Needs Assessments in Children's Services

Axford, N. — 2008-08-01

Recent years have witnessed a revival in the popularity of measuring need in developing and developed countries as a precursor to distributing health, education, housing, social security and social care resources. The concept of needs-led children's services has particular purchase in England and Wales, where there is a legal requirement for local authorities to identify and assist ‘children in need’. Yet, children's services agencies have consistently struggled to do this meaningfully and efficiently. This article analyses the strengths and weaknesses of needs assessments in the field before discussing new methods that are appearing. The final section considers how to encourage children's services to shift resources into the new methods.

Building and Sustaining Local Co-ordination: An Australian Rural Community Responds to Domestic and Family Violence

Wendt, S. — 2008-07-30

The aim of this paper is to share a story about how a rural community in South Australia strived to work more collaboratively and effectively to respond to domestic and family violence in their local area. Human service workers in the community raised concern about clients' needs not being met, lack of co-ordination amongst services, confusion amongst service providers of who was doing what, and lack of understanding of the complexities of violence and abuse amongst workers. As a result, a qualitative, interpretative study involving face-to-face semi-structured interviews with twenty-two human service workers and two women who had experienced domestic and family violence was undertaken to examine the barriers to working collaboratively at the local level. Once barriers to co-ordination were identified and talked about, workers were able to visualize their local response. This included naming practice strategies to build co-ordination and integration of workers and agencies to create sustainable long-term practice, and advocating as a community for the re-introduction of domestic violence specialized services and programmes to meet local needs.

Predictors of Role Legitimacy and Role Adequacy of Social Workers Working with Substance-Using Clients

Loughran, H., Hohman, M., Finnegan, D. — 2008-07-30

Role adequacy (feeling knowledgeable about one's work) and role legitimacy (believing that one has the right to address certain client issues) have long been key theoretical constructs regarding explanations why various helping professionals are reluctant to address drug misuse problems with clients. This study examines these concepts in a sample of social workers and social work students. Using regression analysis, it was determined that the social workers who had more clients with drug problems, had taken a course in drug work and had support for their role were more likely to feel legitimate in their work with drug-using clients. Training in drug use identification and intervention, being male, having more clients with drug problems and role support predicted role adequacy. Having a Master's degree, work setting and job function were not related to role adequacy or role legitimacy. Implications for social work education are discussed.

A Systematic Review of Structural Equation Modelling in Social Work Research

Guo, B., Perron, B. E., Gillespie, D. F. — 2008-07-20

Structural equation modelling (SEM) is serving an increasingly important role in developing knowledge for the social work profession. Numerous advances have made the software more user-friendly, enabling users to conduct analyses without fully understanding the underlying assumptions or the implications from their analytic decisions. Unlike other fields, there have not been any published reviews in social work research that systematically describe and critique the use of SEM. This study systematically reviewed how SEM is used in social work research and the extent to which it reflects best practices. Thirty-two articles from top-ranked social work journals published from 2001 to 2007 were examined. Of the different types of SEM, the most commonly used was confirmatory factor analysis. Strengths of the research reviewed included examining models and measures not previously tested empirically and generating new insights into old topics through the use of SEM. Weaknesses included significant model modifications without theoretical justification or substantive interpretations. Suggestions are offered for improving applications of SEM in social work research. Specifically, we encourage social work researchers to test competing models, to make model modifications only when theoretically justified, to detail the process of making modifications and to use estimation procedures appropriate to the data.

Parental Monitoring, Religious Involvement and Drug Use Among Latino and Non-Latino Youth in the Southwestern United States

Parsai, M., Marsiglia, F. F., Kulis, S. — 2008-07-03

The purpose of this study was to examine parental monitoring practice and religious involvement (protective factor) and substance use among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic adolescents in the Southwest of the US. We also relied on social control theories to guide our investigation of why adolescents may choose not to use drugs. The sample was n = 1087 adolescents, the age ranged from thirteen to fifteen years, and the gender distribution was approximately equal. There were 71 percent Hispanics and 29 percent non-Hispanics in the sample. A number of measures were used including recent substance use, religiosity, religious affiliation, parental monitoring, parental permissiveness, parental norms, and acculturation. Linear regressions were used to examine the relationship between the variables of interest and the outcomes. Although the effect sizes of the significant relationships were modest, our findings are of interest because they reinforce the importance of the role of parents in the lives of their adolescents and supports previous studies that find that parents have great influence on children's behaviours including substaince use. The results suggest that adolescents benefit from having clear rules from their parents concerning substance, and from believing that there is some kind of consequence attached to their behavior. This study is useful to practitioners, social workers, educators and other professionals working with parents and adolescents.

Child Welfare Interventions: Patterns of Social Work Practice

Hayes, D., Spratt, T. — 2008-06-26

Some 10 years ago one of the authors embarked on a research study examining the potential for social workers to shift from a child protection to a child welfare practice orientation (Spratt, 2000; 2001; Spratt and Callan, 2004). The research reported here develops that work; examining how social workers respond to ‘child care problems’ (CCPs). The results indicate that Northern Irish Health and Social Services Trusts (equivalent to Local Authorities in England and Wales) have responded to social policy goals to balance the protection of a lesser number of children whilst meeting the welfare needs of the greater by reducing the number of referrals designated ‘child protection investigations’ (CPIs) and increasing the number of CCPs. Closer analysis reveals, however, that a filtering system has been developed by social workers to address perceived child protection risks within CCP cases. Paradoxically, this leads to early closure of the more concerning cases, with service provision largely confined to the least concerning. The authors argue that the ways in which social workers balance social policing and supportive functions in practice may indicate possible responses to an increase in referred families anticipated within Every Child Matters (Chief Secretary to the Treasury, 2003)

Social Support Use as a Parental Coping Strategy: Its Impact on Outcome of Child and Parenting Problems--A Six-Month Follow-Up

Sheppard, M. — 2008-06-26

Long standing policy and practice interest in Prevention and Family Support has been reiterated in recent years in the Every Child Matters programme. At the same time, however, official concerns have been expressed about the high thresholds operated by mainstream Children's Services, whose focus is, to a considerable degree, on safeguarding children. This concern emanates from a recognition that many applicants who do not receive a service because of the thresholds operated, have considerable needs. Without access to services, it is thought, there is a danger that they will end up being re-referred with greater problems and higher risks to the children. This paper focuses on this issue by carrying out a longitudinal comparative study on outcomes for families who, while having child and parenting problems, did not qualify for a service because of the high thresholds operating. In particular it focuses on the relationship between their social support and outcomes at six months. The findings show a significant relationship between the adequacy of some forms of support and positive outcomes. The significance of this for policy and practice is explored, including recognition of the importance of informal support to outcomes.

Performance Measurement in Adult Social Care: Looking Backwards and Forwards

Clarkson, P. — 2008-06-24

Approaches arising from the publication of performance data for adult social care in the UK nationally have led to unintended and often perverse consequences. A case is made in this paper for examining locally-based models, which offer substantial benefits to both managers and practitioners, and by extension, service users. Whilst there is no shortage of statements outlining the intentions behind monitoring performance in this setting, actual evidence as to its benefits is lacking. Different approaches to performance measurement (both in the UK and elsewhere) and their relevance to recent debate, particularly that which advocates the wholesale abandoning of performance monitoring, are examined. This review of existing evidence, as opposed to rhetoric, suggests that a different approach, involving the local collection and interpretation of data, offers an opportunity for workers to foster a culture of enquiry. Such a change in emphasis may require the implementation of a different set of incentives to those previously in operation.

Unified Assessment: Policy, Implementation and Practice

Seddon, D., Robinson, C., Perry, J. — 2008-06-19

The introduction of single and unified assessment processes across England and Wales heralds opportunities to develop more consistent approaches to the assessment and management of care that are underpinned by an agreed evidence base and inform the development of person-centred, outcome-focused support. This paper presents key findings from a qualitative study that considers the implementation and effects of unified assessment on direct practice in general and care management in particular. Drawing on interview and focus group data that reflect the experiences of strategic and operational staff, this paper describes key challenges to the development and implementation of unified assessment procedures, highlights the ways in which unified assessment has facilitated positive changes to practice and explores aspects of unified assessment where translation into practice has proved difficult. It suggests that unified assessment promotes the more consistent application of eligibility criteria and encourages more creative approaches to both care and service delivery planning. However, considerable variability in the nature and volume of information collected by practitioners, who expressed reservations about the domain approach to assessment, is noted and problems relating to the sharing and management of information are highlighted. Recommendations to inform assessment practice across the UK are presented and areas for staff training are identified.

Paying the Piper and Calling the Tune: Power and the Direct Payment Relationship

Leece, J. — 2008-06-17

This paper provides empirical evidence from original research, which investigated the impact on the support relationship of the direct employment of workers, by direct payment users. The study used a grounded theory approach, with questionnaires to measure job satisfaction and stress, and in-depth interviews with respondents. It explored and compared the experiences of eight direct payment relationships with eight traditional service delivery homecare relationships. The research reveals the importance of the concept of power in helping us to understand the effect of direct employment and, based on this research, makes some suggestions for policy and practice.

The Impact of Regulatory Fitness Requirements on Disabled Social Work Students

Sin, C. H., Fong, J. — 2008-05-31

The Disability Commission of Great Britain conducted a Formal Investigation into the impact of regulatory fitness requirements on disabled people in three public sector professions, including social work. This article reports on the types of fitness requirements that have an impact on disabled social work students, and how these are interpreted and implemented in practice. IN terms of the regulatory framework, there is a requirement for mental and physical fitness in England and Wales, but not in Scotland. These requirements appear more stringent for social work students than for qualified social workers. There is no explicit mention of the Disability Discrimination Act in the regulatory framework. Key stakeholder organisations find fitness requirements unclear and articulated the need for clearer guidance for practice purposes. Different challenges present at different stages of social work education and there is a variety of ad hoc management strategies leading to the potential for discrimination against disabled people.

Labelling Clients 'Risky': Social Work and the Neo-liberal Welfare State

Pollack, S. — 2008-05-30

The literature on neo-liberal transformations of the welfare state and forms of governance—inspired by Foucault's concept of governmentality—has much to offer theorizations of the role of social work in contemporary society. Rather than assuming a top/down analysis in which power is located within individuals or institutions, power is ‘not a matter of imposing a sovereign will, but instead a process of enlisting the cooperation of chains of actors who "translate" power from one locale to another’ (Garland, 1997, p. 182). The profession of social work occupies an intermediary space, charged with ‘translating’ state power to individuals, families, groups and communities. In this paper, I use the experience of criminalized women to bring to life the theoretical understandings offered by neo-liberal analyses of the regulation of social marginality. I focus particularly on one key feature of neo-liberal governance—'risk thinking'—and examine the gendered nature of risk as a neo-liberal regulatory strategy across the penal–welfare complex. I conclude with a discussion of lessons learned from criminalized women about social work and risk assessment.

Developing Inclusive Health and Social Care Policies for Older LGBT Citizens

Concannon, L. — 2008-05-28

Creating anti-oppressive practices in service provision that successfully remove barriers to the social inclusion of older lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered (LGBT) citizens has proven thus far tremendously difficult. The White Paper, Better Care, Higher Standards: A Charter for Long Term Care, (Department of Health, 1999) addresses the development of non-discriminatory services that treat users with dignity and respect, taking account of sexual orientation (Department of Health, 1999, p. 3). Such government social policy holds out the hope that services will be designed to support senior LGBT people. This paper examines the unique oppression and marginalization faced by older lesbian, gay men, bisexual and transgendered citizens in homophobic and ageist societies, which often fail to acknowledge their existence. The research findings highlight strategies being created through social policy that aim to successfully achieve the inclusion of this group in the planning and delivery of their services.

Women in No Man's Land: The Abortion Debate in the USA and Women Terminating Desired Pregnancies Due to Foetal Anomaly

McCoyd, J. L. M. — 2008-05-27

Abortion is a politicized and contested topic in many countries. In the USA, it is subject to particularly polarized debate and increasingly stringent policies. Women who terminate a desired preganancy due to diagnosis of foetal anomaly (TFA) are stuck in the middle of the debate. The debate is framed as "pro-life" vs. "pro-choice" though neither camp fits the experience of women who TFA. These women report a sense of responsibility and love toward the foetus that they refer to as their baby, yet they also make use of the choice to terminate the pregnancy when fetal anomaly is diagnosed. This article summarizes the historical context of abortion in the USA and then reports findings from qualitative data about the impact of the abortion debate on women who TFA. The social work person-in-environment perspective is shown to be crucial to assisting women in their coping.

Assessing Student Social Workers' Professional Suitability: Comparing University Procedures in England

Currer, C. — 2008-05-21

Universities providing social work education and training must ensure that those who qualify as social workers are ‘suitable’ or ‘fit for practice’—a gate-keeping role that has been discussed in a number of different national settings. In England, the introduction of registration for both qualified and student social workers has brought assessment of standards of professional conduct to the fore. For qualified workers, there is a single national ‘conduct procedure’ involving a public panel hearing. In relation to student social workers, procedures are particular to each university, albeit subject to scrutiny by the professional body, which has, to date, offered little guidance. This paper reports on a study comparing procedures in different universities. These were found to vary in relation to a number of factors, such as whether professional suitability is an academic or disciplinary matter; the name of the procedure and rationale; its focus and scope; the personnel involved and possible outcomes. The paper concludes that such variation is in the interests of neither students nor the profession, and that the professional body might helpfully offer more guidance to universities, as well as being specific about their own role in relation to aspects of registration.

Infants in Australian Out-of-Home Care

Zhou, A. Z., Chilvers, M. — 2008-05-12

This paper presents findings from a study examining the out-of-home care (OOHC) experiences of children aged less than one year (infants), based on data collected by the NSW Department of Community Services (DoCS), Australia. The purpose of the study is to develop a profile of infant children in OOHC and to better understand why so many young children require OOHC services and their experiences with the child welfare system. Using administrative data, we employ both descriptive and multivariate analysis to explore how child, child maltreatment history and system factors are related to the placement of infants in care. Our results are in line with research conducted in the USA and UK. The most notable finding is the high child protection reporting rate and high entry rate by infants and by Indigenous infants in particular. The tendency for infants to stay in care longer than other children, coupled with a high entry rate to care, has and will continue to have a significant impact on the child welfare system and its consequences. The implications for development of policy and early intervention programmes are discussed.

Impact of Problem-Based Learning on Social Work Students: Growth and Limits

Lam, D. O. B. — 2008-05-07

Social workers are expected to constantly improve their knowledge and experience and respond quickly to new challenges. Educators appreciate the significance of learning how to learn to prepare students for real-life demands at work. For these reasons, problem-based learning (PBL) has been used experimentally in the training of different disciplines including social work. In recent years, the University of Hong Kong implemented PBL to cultivate social work students' self-directed learning and group learning/collaboration abilities. A PBL Questionnaire was devised to assess the growth of students in these areas. Students were invited to fill in the PBLQ at the beginning and at the end of the PBL programme. Two focus groups of graduates and agency supervisors were also conducted to see how PBL training might affect work performance. The PBLQ scores reflected a varied personal growth profile across the different student cohorts. The training stimulated their growth in employing multiple sources of learning, directing their own learning goals and activities, and teamwork collaboration. But growth in group learning abilities was not found. While there was positive feedback from the graduates and supervisors, generalization of the findings requires more rigorous exploration.

Social Workers in Community Care Practice: Ideologies and Interactions with Older People

Sullivan, M. P. — 2008-05-02

Since the inception of the NHS and Community Care in 1990, there has been a proliferation of studies examining its implementation at the front line. Considerable attention has been aimed at understanding how it is that social work practitioners, charged with the responsibility to implement community care recommendations for older people, are doing so in a challenging care environment. How a practitioner's ideological frame of reference may impact on his/her practice interactions remains relatively unanswered. However, the course by which professional ideology matures and then directs practice would appear to both complex and multifaceted. The outcome is one that may render the professional both powerful and political, and one that may leave the older care recipient both vulnerable and stigmatized. This paper explores community care practice with older people, emphasizing the ideological underpinnings in practice and their influence on practice interactions. Social work practitioners working on older people's teams in two contrasting communities in England were interviewed to discuss their assessment and care management interactions with older people. Using grounded theory and Goffman's theoretical constructs within frame analysis, a conceptual model for practice emerged, reinforcing that practitioners' understandings of social events, anchored in government and professional discourse and individual perceptions about older people, enabled them to organize and influence the interaction to lead to a professionally determined outcome. The routine work of assessment and care management became very powerful in absence of strategic intention by the practitioner. A move to more strategic behaviour occurred when practice dilemmas required practitioners to intervene, informed by their professionally based values juxtaposed against those supported within official discourse. The findings provide an insight into how social work practitioners manage to deliver community care in a complex environment. The outcomes also reinforce the need for practitioners to develop an understanding of how they construct their social realities, as this may impact on the experience of community care for older people.

Family Intervention Projects: A Site of Social Work Practice

Parr, S. — 2008-04-29

Family Intervention Projects (FIPs) provide intensive support to ‘problem families’ and are a core element of the Government's Respect Action Plan (2006). Drawing on recent research findings from an independent evaluation of the FIP ‘Signpost’, this paper aims to offer a new insight into our understanding of FIPs. The paper draws attention to two key points. First, the organizational context within which Signpost has emerged is one dominated by a social work ethos. It is suggest that the FIP has been implemented in a way which has provided social work professionals with an opportunity to engage in the kind of creative practice that proceduralization, bureaucracy and managerialism have made impossible to achieve in mainstream social work arenas. Following on from this, the paper emphasizes the limitations of evaluating anti-social behaviour policy effects without due consideration of the local policy and practice context within which policies are embedded. The paper is not intended to discount important critical reflections on FIPs, but seeks to illustrate the gaps that can open up between political rhetoric and policy effect, demonstrating why we should not be too quick to foreclose the possibilities afforded to vulnerable families by this type of intervention.

Questioning Habermasian Social Work: A Note on Some Alternative Theoretical Resources

Garrett, P. M. — 2008-04-28

It has been maintained that the social theory of Jurgen Habermas may assist social workers, and others, involved in child protection and related forms of endeavour. Whilst welcoming Hayes and Houston's willingness to utilize social theory, it is argued that Habermas' work is also problematic because of an unsatisfactory approach to issues connected to power differentials. In this context, it will be suggested that there is a need to be wary about the emphasis which Habermas places on the possibilities for unconstrained dialogue. Moreover, the work of a number of other European writers may help to illuminate key factors which Habermas neglects and also provide alternative theoretical resources for social workers and those working in associated fields.

Accountable and Countable: Information Management Systems and the Bureaucratization of Social Work

Burton, J., van den Broek, D. — 2008-04-26

A key feature of new public management is the tendency to equate quality and accountability with documentation (Tsui and Cheung, 2004). Human service organizations increasingly rely on computer databases to compile and record client information and to demonstrate outcomes for quality assurance and accountability purposes. This has resulted in substantial changes in work practices, processes and relationships for social workers. This paper draws on interview data from social workers in several Australian agencies to examine professional interactions with, and response to, changes in their work after the introduction of new technologies. It particularly focuses on the shift of accountabilities from professional values and identities to organizational and bureaucratic accountabilities. The paper recognizes that while social workers have always been subject to organizational accountabilities, due to the changes in social service delivery and limited practitioner input into the implementation of new technologies, tensions between professional and bureaucratic accountabilities have intensified.

The Descriptive Tyranny of the Common Assessment Framework: Technologies of Categorization and Professional Practice in Child Welfare

White, S., Hall, C., Peckover, S. — 2008-04-16

The Common Assessment Framework is a standard assessment tool to be used by all professionals working with children for assessment and referral. The CAF is hailed as a needs-led, evidence-based tool which will promote uniformity, ensure appropriate ‘early intervention’, reduce referral rates to local authority children's services and lead to the evolution of ‘a common language’ amongst child welfare professionals. This paper presents findings from a study, funded under the Economic and Social Research Council's e-Society Programme. Our purpose in is not primarily evaluative, rather we illustrate the impacts of CAF as a technology on the everyday professional practices in child welfare. We analyse the descriptive, stylistic and interpretive demands it places on practitioners in child welfare and argue that practitioners make strategic and moral decisions about whether and when to complete a CAF and how to do so. These are based on assessments of their accountabilities, their level of child welfare competence and their domain-specific knowledge, moral judgements and the institutional contexts in which these are played out.

Recent Policy Initiatives in Early Childhood and the Challenges for the Social Work Profession

Winter, K. — 2008-04-15

The Labour Government in the UK has announced, as part of its launch of The Children's Plan, that it ‘wants to make this country the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up’ in. This latest Plan is further evidence of the surge of interest that there has been in children (and, in particular, early childhood) over the last ten years in the UK and indeed elsewhere. Many of the recent policy and practice initiatives have implications for social workers working with young children. Yet, social work as a profession, in comparison with education, has remained relatively silent on these initiatives and it is hard to find any critical analysis of these developments in terms of either their underlying discourses or their implications for social workers. This article sets out to address these gaps by providing a critical analysis of: what types of knowledge regarding the early years have gained political currency; why and how this is the case; and what the implications are for the role and practices of social workers. The article proposes that discourses of ‘need’ and ‘provision’ mask more powerful discourses of economics, social control and risk avoidance, and it concludes by advocating more critically reflexive social work practice with young children and their families.

Communication, Recognition and Social Work: Aligning the Ethical Theories of Habermas and Honneth

Houston, S. — 2008-04-11

The modern world is replete with ethical challenges of Orwellian proportions. The violation of human rights and misrecognition of identities are two of the most pressing examples. In this paper, the ethical theories of Habermas and Honneth are aligned as a way of addressing these specific challenges within social work. It is suggested that these theories are complementary, mutually rectifying and concordant at the meta-ethical level of analysis. The alignment is also justified, pragmatically, through the construction of three hypothetical vignettes demonstrating different kinds of practice dilemmas. The need for egalitarian communication and the imperative to recognize human identity in all its dimensions subsequently emerge as the two foundation stones for ethical deliberation in social work.

Abuse of Children in West Africa: Implications for Social Work Education and Practice

Sossou, M.-A., Yogtiba, J. A. — 2008-04-10

This article discusses the pernicious problem of several abuses of children and the lack of professional social work programmes to address the problem in three West African countries of Ghana, Nigeria and Togo. Despite inaccurate statistical data, available public information reveals an alarming ascendancy of the problem in the region. Abuse and neglect of children in the sub-region has become a very serious issue of violation of human rights, social justice and violence against children, which demands a call for action on behalf of the children. The article outlined the various incidents of child sexual abuse, child trafficking, child marriage, Trokosi and neglect of disabled children in the sub-region. Poverty and traditional cultural practices have been discussed as the main causes of this phenomenon. The implications for social work education, policy, research and practice have been discussed in addition to a call for enforcement of legislations and mass education of citizens in the sub-region.

A Qualitative Examination of Power between Child Welfare Workers and Parents

Bundy-Fazioli, K., Briar-Lawson, K., Hardiman, E. R. — 2008-04-08

This qualitative study examines the distribution of power in the working relationship between child welfare workers and parents mandated to services due to child abuse and/or neglect. In child welfare settings, the relationship between workers and parents is complicated by institutional power structures governing rules and regulations for practice. Paradoxically, workers are expected to share power with families through the implementation of empowerment, collaboration and strength-based practices. This article focuses on three emergent themes: parents' and workers' feelings of powerlessness, their ability to each wield power in the relationship, and their perceptions of how power should be distributed. The emergent themes are discussed through the lens of three power constructs—hierarchical and imbalanced, negotiated and reciprocal, and shared and balanced power—as a theoretical and conceptual framework. Our findings indicate that how workers and parents choose to interact may influence service outcomes.

Effectiveness of Welfare Organizations: The Contribution of Leadership Styles, Staff Cohesion, and Worker Empowerment

Boehm, A., Yoels, N. — 2008-04-07

Numerous recent studies reveal the contribution of leadership and leadership style, in particular, to effectiveness in different organizations (Sosik et al., 1998; Ogbnna and Harris, 2000; Hoyt and Blascovich, 2003; Hullinger, 2003; Berson and Avolio, 2004), including the field of welfare organizations (Gummer, 1995; Arches, 1997; Fisher, 2005; Mary, 2005). These publications suggest a preference for the transformational, compared with the transactional, leadership style. However, the studies reviewed do not examine the contribution of organizational leadership compared with other aspects of organizational life. Using the previous studies as its point of departure, the present research examines the contribution of the leadership styles of the directors in welfare departments to the effectiveness of the social workers in these organizations. However, it also undertakes another task, by comparing the contribution of leadership style to effectiveness with that of staff cohesion and social worker empowerment. Thus, the findings and discussion presented in this paper compare the respective contributions of three central levels of the organization to effectiveness—the administrative level (director's leadership styles), the staff level (staff cohesion), and the individual level of the social worker (worker empowerment). The research examines this issue in a public welfare department in Israel.

'Yesterday's Men': The Inspectors of the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 1888-1968

Clapton, G. — 2008-03-31

This paper presents findings from an in-depth study of the archives of the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Its particular focus is the work of the Society's Inspectors. The Inspectors' guiding principles, beliefs and motivations are brought out from a variety of archived sources including case records, Society Annual Reports and Minutes, memoranda and memoirs. The period of study covers the origins of the Society in the late 1880s until 1968, when the passing of the Social Work (Scotland) Act gave local authorities greater powers and responsibilities to promote child welfare; this legislation signalled the beginning of the end of the RSSPCC's dominance in the field of the prevention of child cruelty. The paper provides a rich eighty-year-long picture of a group of men—and women—who belonged to the first child welfare agency to intervene systematically in the homes and lives of families. The Inspectors' practices were both punitive and materially helpful. This study of the Inspectors and their attitudes to fathers, mothers and beliefs about what was best for children seeks to place their work and outlooks within a history of modern social work and suggests that the Inspectors and their work can be seen as part of the DNA of social work.

Cane of Love: Parental Attitudes towards Corporal Punishment in Korea

Yang, S. — 2008-03-29

Speaking from the Margins: A Critical Reflection on the 'Spiritual-but-not-Religious' Discourse in Social Work

Wong, Y.-L. R., Vinsky, J. — 2008-03-28

This paper attempts to make visible the invisible Euro-Christian ethnocentrism and individualism in the ‘spiritual-but-not-religious’ discourse in social work. A critical analysis of the current literature on spirituality and social work, intertwined with the authors' personal narratives of spirituality and religion, calls into question the subject positions of social work authors who argue for differentiating spirituality from religion. We ask: From whose vantage point is the ‘spiritual-but-not-religious’ discourse produced? What gets legitimized and who gets excluded from this particular construction of spirituality? This paper deconstructs the power relations of race, ethnicity, and sexuality in the discourse of spirituality in social work. It destabilizes the assumption of spirituality as non-sectarian and inclusive. Contrary to many social work authors and educators' best intention of inclusivity, we contend that the ‘spiritual-but-not-religious’ discourse in social work may have inadvertently reproduced the process of colonial othering and further marginalization of racialized ethnic groups who are more often represented as ‘religious’.

Life after Caring: The Post-Caring Experiences of Former Carers

Larkin, M. — 2008-03-27

This qualitative study was informed by grounded theory and data were gathered primarily through semi-structured in-depth interviews with thirty-seven theoretically sampled former carers. They were all white British, lived in the East Midlands and were predominately over sixty (68 per cent) and female (70 per cent). With the exception of one, all had cared for a close relative, 65 per cent having cared for a partner/spouse. Most of their dependants were older adults and each case the cessation of caring had coincided with the death of the dependant. The findings showed that post-caring life for the interviewees had an identifiable trajectory with three phases—the ‘post-caring void’, ‘closing down "the caring time"‘and ‘constructing life post-caring’. Each of these phases involved a distinct set of experiences. In addition, the study established that 70 per cent of those in the sample had cared more than once. Thus, two new concepts—'the post-caring trajectory' and the ‘serial carer’—were developed to reflect these findings. Suggestions are made about ways in which policy, practice and further research can be developed in order to ensure there is effective provision for those who have ceased caring.

What Are Child-Care Social Workers Doing in Relation to Infant Mental Health? An Exploration of Professional Ideologies and Practice Preferences within an Inter-Agency Context

Ross, J. W., Hooper, L., Stenhouse, E., Sheaff, R. — 2008-03-26

Infancy is a crucial time for interventions to reduce later developmental difficulties. In England, recent policy has required children's service delivery to be redesigned to attend to infant mental health across all four tiers of NHS provision through inter-agency networks of child-care professionals. The policy identifies child-care social workers as primary care professionals, able to recognize early infant mental health problems, promote mental health and prevent deterioration. Our paper explores whether, as a profession, English child-care social workers are well prepared in terms of their knowledge, ideological beliefs and professional acculturation to implement such changes to their practice. Empirical information is provided from a funded, independent evaluation of the implementation of the NSF policy at a local level. Data from professional focus group interviews describe and compare the differing professional ideologies and professional practice preferences within the infant mental health network of an English NHS Primary Care Trust in an urban local authority. The findings identified obstacles that were personal–ideological, cultural and structural in nature. Progress towards achieving the NSF policy standards appeared slight.

Safeguarding and System Change: Early Perceptions of the Implications for Adult Protection Services of the English Individual Budgets Pilots--A Qualitative Study

2008-03-26

Cash for care or consumer-directed services are increasing in scope and size in Europe and North America. The English Department of Health initiated a pilot form of personalised support for adults (Individual Budgets) in 13 local authorities that aimed to extend opportunities for users of social care services to determine their own priorities and preferences in the expectation that this will enhance their well-being. This article reports on and discusses interviews undertaken with adult protection leads in the 13 Individual Budgets sites about the linkages to their work, their perceptions of the launch of the pilots and the policy s fit with safeguarding and risk agendas. The interviews were undertaken as part of the national evaluation of the pilots, which aims to evaluate outcomes and identify the contexts and mechanisms of those outcomes. Findings of this part of the study were that the adult protection leads were not central to the early implementation of Individual Budgets and that some of their concerns about the risk of financial abuse were grounded in the extent of this problem among current service users. The implications of their perceptions for the roll out of Individual Budgets are debated in this article with a focus on risk and the policy congruence between potentially competing agendas of choice and control and of protection and harm reduction.

The Effect of Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment on Assessments under the 1983 Mental Health Act: An Increased Workload for Approved Social Workers?

Furminger, E., Webber, M. — 2008-03-25

There is an extensive body of research into trends in use of the 1983 Mental Health Act (MHA) and Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment (CRHT) teams, but only one study has examined the relationship between the two. The introduction of these teams led to the belief that use of the MHA would decrease as more people with mental health problems were treated in their own environment when in crisis and at risk of admission to hospital. However, in one county authority in south-east England, the numbers of MHA assessments continued to rise after the introduction of a CRHT team. To investigate this pattern, we examined a random sample of MHA assessments conducted in the catchment area of the CRHT team both in and out of office hours from two time periods—one before and one after the introduction of the CRHT team. The presence of the team was associated with a significant increase in the use of section 2 MHA, although the use of section 3 MHA decreased. To explore these findings, we held focus groups to obtain the views of mental health professionals on the reasons for the continued rise and how their views influenced decisions. We found that the role of the Approved Social Worker (ASW) was poorly understood in the new CRHT team and that communication between it and the ASWs was disjointed. Integration of ASWs into predominantly medical CRHT teams will assist joint decision making about use of the MHA and may help to reduce unnecessary compulsory hospital admissions.

Exploring the Impact of Parental Drug/Alcohol Problems on Children and Parents in a Midlands County in 2005/06

Fraser, C., McIntyre, A., Manby, M. — 2008-03-17

This paper reports on a small-scale research project which used semi-structured interviews and a ‘Draw and Write’ technique to explore the views of parents/carers and children and young people about the impact of parental substance use and implications for services. It was found that most adult participants recognized their need for help and had obtained treatment for their drug/alcohol use. They were often ambivalent or self-critical about their abilities as parents and had tried to combine their substance use with ensuring that the basic needs of their children had been met. Access to methadone prescriptions had helped stabilize the lives of those who had previously been heroin users, and parents' wishes to look after their children properly, or to resume their care, were a powerful motivator for them to stop using drugs/alcohol. The children in the study, who displayed considerable resilience, were aware of the emotional turmoil caused by their parents' substance use and they saw social workers as important people in their lives. It was also found that families in the study either needed substantial help from their extended family, or from social services (now Children's Social Care), or both. The implications of the study for professionals supporting substance-using families are highlighted.

Individual Budgets: Lessons from Early Users' Experiences

Rabiee, P., Moran, N., Glendinning, C. — 2008-03-17

Within the context of modernization, there has been a trend towards ‘cash-for-care’ schemes designed to bring choice and control closer to the service user. In England, Individual Budgets (IBs) are being piloted, with the aim of promoting personalized support for disabled people and other users of social care services. This paper reports on the experiences and outcomes of early IB users two to three months after first being offered an IB. The users included adults with physical/sensory impairments, learning difficulties, mental health problems and older people. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with nine service users and five proxies. The findings suggest that IBs have the potential to be innovative and life-enhancing. However, achieving this potential in practice depends on a range of other factors, including changes in the routine practices and organizational culture of adult social care services and ensuring users have access to appropriate documentation and support. Any conclusions drawn from the experiences of these early IB users must be treated with caution. The findings nevertheless indicate some of the issues that will need to be addressed as IBs are implemented more widely to replace conventional forms of adult social care provision.

Management, Leadership and Resources in Children's Homes: What Influences Outcomes in Residential Child-Care Settings?

Hicks, L., Gibbs, I., Weatherly, H., Byford, S. — 2008-03-11

This article provides an overview of research, originally funded by the Department of Health, about the internal management and use of resources in residential child care. It explores ways in which children's homes are managed and leadership is established and the relationship of these to their use of resources and the outcomes for young people in their care. The paper examines variations in the functioning of a sample of 45 non-specialist children's homes drawn from local authority and independent sectors in England. Utilising both qualitative and quantitative analyses including an economics component, the functional relationships of structures, processes, resources and service user outcomes are investigated. The results of multi-level modelling analysis, used to draw together the different strands of the research, are discussed. Main findings indicate that the influence which the process of providing care has on the kind of outcomes experienced by young people is of paramount importance. The paper relates findings to areas for development in practice and its management, specifically in terms of training and policy arenas.

Working in Human Services: How Do Experiences and Working Conditions in Child Welfare Social Work Compare?

Tham, P., Meagher, G. — 2008-03-11

Child welfare agencies in many rich countries are having difficulty recruiting and retaining social workers. However, these problems are not unique to child welfare: retention problems have also been widely reported in both mental and general health facilities. In this paper, we compare the perceptions of work and working conditions held by child welfare social workers with the perceptions held by other professional human service workers in the public sector in Sweden. Do the social workers' experiences of their tasks or organizational conditions differ from the other groups, and, if so, how? Are workforce problems particularly acute in child welfare, or do social workers in this field share more or less common problems with other human service professionals? We found that although social workers in general, and child welfare social workers in particular, made positive assessments of some dimensions of their working lives, social work was unusually demanding among human service professions on several measures of workload, complexity of tasks and quality of management. The strains of the job that social workers expressed call upon employers to promote working conditions that offer more support, and to recognize and value social workers for their work.

Befriending Excluded Families in Tower Hamlets: The Emotional Labour of Family Support Workers in Cases of Child Protection and Family Support

Gray, B. — 2008-03-07

This paper describes the befriending of severely excluded families, particularly Bangladeshi and Somali families, in Tower Hamlets, East London by Family Support Workers (FSWs). Tower Hamlets is one of the most deprived boroughs in the UK. The study is derived from an evaluation of the Family Welfare Association's (FWA's) Tower Hamlets Family Support Services (FSSs) conducted by South Bank University. A key finding is that engaging the emotions of families enables high-quality and effective support in the family home. FSWs win trust and elicit narratives from families, particularly from mothers and children. The narratives of families are a rich source of informing better practice. In line with government objectives, the participatory work of FSWs helps to balance understanding on family support, health and child protection. The early identification of child protection issues is particularly important in mitigating their worst effects. FSWs gain trust and early disclosure on child protection cases. This prevents child-care problems from deteriorating into child protection issues. FSWs also act as informal advocates and help to balance social service assessments with the views of families. FSWs take a proactive, non-stigmatizing, non-intrusive approach to families. FSWs are sensitive and responsive to the emotions, ethnicity, gender and specific needs of families.

Training for Change: Early Days of Individual Budgets and the Implications for Social Work and Care Management Practice: A Qualitative Study of the Views of Trainers

2008-03-07

Individual Budgets are central to the implementation of English government policy goals in social care. Like other consumer-directed or self-directed support programmes operating in parts of the developed world, they are envisaged as a way of increasing individuals' choice and control over social care resources provided by the public sector. While the opportunities they provide for people using services have been identified prospectively in the English context and reflect positive outcomes internationally, little attention in England has been paid to the potential impact on the redesign of social workers' and others' current roles and practice and the training that might be necessary. This article draws on the Department of Health-commissioned evaluation of the thirteen pilot Individual Budget schemes, which aims to evaluate outcomes and identify the contexts and mechanisms of those outcomes. The article focuses on a sub-set of the study that comprised an exploration of early training activities for social workers/care managers and wider stakeholders around the introduction of Individual Budgets. It is based on interviews with representatives from all thirteen pilot local authorities. What happens to social work in adult social services departments in England may be determined in part by these pilots; however, the article also highlights the role of those responsible for training in managing the demands upon social workers/care managers, in responding to their concerns and aspirations, and their possible responsibilities for training people using services in their new consumer roles.

Growth in the Shadow of War: The Case of Social Workers and Nurses Working in a Shared War Reality

Lev-Wiesel, R., Goldblatt, H., Eisikovits, Z., Admi, H. — 2008-03-05

This study aimed to assess post-traumatic stress symptoms and vicarious traumatization (VT) versus post-traumatic growth (PTG) among Israeli practitioners who shared war-related reality with their clients during the Second Lebanon–Israel war (2006). In addition, the contribution of potency (one's personal resource) and the role of peri-traumatic dissociation (the emotional detachment activated during or immediately after a traumatic event) were examined. Two months after the war, a convenience sample of 204 practitioners (seventy-six nurses and 128 social workers), all residents and employees in the Haifa area, were administered a self-report questionnaire. Findings showed that nurses had higher post-traumatic growth (PTG) compared with social workers. Personal resource (potency) was found to contribute to the reduction of vicarious traumatization (VT), whereas peri-traumatic dissociation was found to contribute to both PTG and VT in the group of social workers.

Working Girls: Abuse or Choice in Street-Level Sex Work? A Study of Homeless Women in Nottingham

Harding, R., Hamilton, P. — 2008-02-29

This paper uses fifteen indices of abuse and a definition of ‘coercion’ as ‘constraint, restraint, compulsion; the application of force to control the action of a voluntary agent’ (OED Online, 2006) to explore how homeless women understand their choice to sex work. Twenty-six homeless women were interviewed, nine of whom had sex worked. A structured, qualitative questionnaire was used in a case study design from which information was gathered about the relationship between a woman's experience of abuse and coercion and her decision to sex work. By exploring the motivations given by women as to why they sex worked, it is argued that homeless women's decisions are, in part, a consequence of systemic familial abuse and coercion from abusive partners. However, in responding to the complex needs of such women, it is also suggested that ‘abuse’ and ‘coercion’ should not routinely equate to ‘victimhood’. Consequently, our findings challenge the homogeneous approach to ‘victimization’ as demonstrated within the government's Prostitution Strategy (Home Office, 2006a). Subsequent recommendations are made for social work practice in the context of the Strategy when working with abused and coerced homeless women who choose to sex work.

Ways of Enhancing Hope among Social Workers Working with Adolescents in Residential Treatment Centres

Lipschitz-Elhawi, R. — 2008-02-26

This article suggests ways to enhance a sense of hope among social workers working with adolescents in residential treatment centres. The author describes difficulties in treating this population of adolescents, focusing on how these difficulties contribute to the therapist's sense of hopelessness. The importance of enhancing the therapist's sense of hope in order to facilitate successful treatment is stressed. The author maintains that it is possible to ‘work’ towards creating hope and to ‘foster’ its growth, using the components of hope defined by Jacoby (1987, 2003).

But Is It Social Work? Some Reflections on Mistaken Identities

Hugman, R. — 2008-02-26

Throughout its history, social work has been marked by disputes about its identity, especially in the ‘global North’. The question of where boundaries, if any, should be drawn around the profession is one that apparently has not been resolved. In particular, should the focus of social work be on ‘micro’ or ‘macro’ issues and what problems are at stake in such debates? As professional social work continues to develop in many countries, these questions continue to be posed and to be contested. This paper reviews the core issues of such debates, noting that they are important because they show the inevitably contested nature of social work and arguing for a breadth of vision in discussions about this. It suggests that by considering a common thread but, at the same time, recognizing diversity, the profession will be able to maintain and further develop a coherent broad identity. In particular, it is suggested that countries of the ‘global North’, where modern social work first began to professionalize, can gain by considering development of different ‘authentic’ forms of social work in the ‘global South’.

Identifying Families with Multiple Problems: Possible Responses from Child and Family Social Work to Current Policy Developments

Spratt, T. — 2008-02-22

What's in a Name: 'Client', 'Patient', 'Customer', 'Consumer', 'Expert by Experience', 'Service User'--What's Next?

McLaughlin, H. — 2008-02-21

This article challenges the terms we use to describe the relationship between those who assess and commission services and those who are the recipient of those services. In particular, the article identifies the different terms that have been used in British social work, including ‘client’, ‘customer’, ‘consumer’, ‘service user’ and ‘expert by experience’, highlighting their assumptive worlds and the relationships the terms suggest and signify. Service user (the most popular term at present) is highlighted and critically analysed and found to be increasingly problematic and unable to describe the complexities of the service–recipient relationship. Alternative terms are discussed and found wanting, whilst a possible way forward is suggested to avoid the negative connotations of any one particular term.

Expertise and Experience: People with Experiences of Using Services and Carers' Views of the Mental Capacity Act 2005

Manthorpe, J., Rapaport, J., Stanley, N. — 2008-02-16

The views of people with experiences of using services and the views of their carers about the 2005 Mental Capacity Act (England and Wales) are reported in this article. Interviews with ten people about the detail of the Act prior to its implementation revealed that they welcomed the principles of the Act, and were able to relate these to aspects of their experiences. The Act's framework for planning around care and treatment and for making advance decisions was seen as offering greater choice and empowerment. Comments were made about the need for the Act to be publicized by professionals, for practitioners to provide specific information and for people with experiences of using services and carers to be included in training and monitoring. The data also revealed some concerns about implementation processes, about missed opportunities for legislative reform and the difficulty of balancing risks and safeguards. Such issues are likely to be highly relevant to social work practice; social workers are alerted to the expertise existing among many people with experiences of using services and carers and to the variations in opinion and knowledge likely to be found among people using services and carers.

Language Politics, Linguistic Capital and Bilingual Practitioners in Social Work

Harrison, G. — 2008-02-06

Social workers have explored the role of language in communication, identity formation, meaning making and representation. However, they have rarely examined the political ramifications of what language is in use when discussing these roles, or how language operates as a form of differentially valued cultural capital that is an influential determinant of life chances. This article draws on an exploratory study carried out with eighteen bilingual practitioners residing in Australia who reflect on how language politics infiltrates their personal and professional identities. Although many informants viewed bilinguality as an asset for practice, they were equally aware of the influential position of English in both local and global contexts, its powers of exclusion, and its role in shaping social work knowledge. The article concludes that greater recognition needs to be given to these ‘language politics’ in social work, especially in terms of recognizing how inequitable relations are maintained through the privileging of certain language practices and processes of linguistic othering.

Negotiating Foster-Families: Identification and Desire

Riggs, D. W., Delfabbro, P. H., Augoustinos, M. — 2008-02-05

The Order of Chaos: Exploring Agency Care Managers' Construction of Social Order within Fragmented Worlds of State Social Work

Carey, M. — 2008-01-27

The paper explores the experiences of a small group of agency care managers, based in local authority Social Service Departments (SSDs). Utilizing a method influenced by ethnomethodology, it considers attempts by agency staff to construct order in their disparate worlds of work. It was discovered that organizational and legal procedures are especially significant in personal attempts to acquire order. In addition, conformity to established norms, including the ability to gain peer acceptance and support (both inside and outside the SSD), were also of importance. Despite some improvements, however, forms of personal order were rarely achieved (or achievable), due to an array of chaotic influences. They included the abundance of convoluted and ever changing organizational and legal procedures; limited discretion and access to training; and brief, and superficial, relations with colleagues and clients. It is argued that agency social work provides more intense exposure to the uncertainty and change that epitomize care management. Such temporary employment may also help to further fragment state social work, and increase the superficial relations and hazards that encompass market-driven public sector employment. It is concluded that agency work needs to be contextualized within broader trends—most notably globalization and marketization.

Community Anti-Poverty Strategies: A Conceptual Framework for a Critical Discussion

Strier, R. — 2008-01-23

Although communities are a recurring theme in poverty research and an essential component in anti-poverty strategies, the conceptualization of the link between communities and anti-poverty strategies has not been adequately addressed. The article argues that this inadequacy reflects the complexity of the construct. The difficulty in elaborating a more adequate conceptualization of the link between the ‘community’ concept and the ‘anti-poverty strategy’ construct derives from the discursive nature of the concepts of ‘poverty’ and ‘community’. The discursive nature of the term ‘community’ is mirrored in the ways in which the term is subject to multiple definitions, framed according different representations, affected by changing discourse, and interpreted by competing professional traditions of community practice. In addition to this complexity, the discursive character of the ‘poverty’ concept, which is manifested in the lack of consensus surrounding the goals of anti-poverty strategies and the contentious ideological nature of poverty theories, make the task of reaching a common conceptualization of ‘community anti-poverty strategy’ extremely difficult. The present article is based on a discourse analysis perspective and presents five analytical categories for a critical discussion of the concept. Moreover, it offers some practical recommendations that can guide social workers in developing strategies that better reflect the plights, desires and aspirations of communities living in poverty.

Identifying Families with Multiple Problems: Perspectives of Practitioners and Managers in Three Nations

Spratt, T., Devaney, J. — 2008-01-21

Choosing Language: Social Service Framing and Social Justice

Vojak, C. — 2008-01-17

Traditional social service language is embedded in an ideological framework that views individuals as the primary source of their predicaments and the solution to their problems, ignoring racism, poverty and other structural inequities. Stigmatizing language serves to maintain those inequities and reduce the collective sense of responsibility to address them. Social service providers who care about social justice, but do not understand the relationship between language and the larger social vision they want to help create, may unwittingly undermine their own project by reinforcing the language of hegemony.

Bullying of Lesbian and Gay Youth: A Qualitative Investigation

Mishna, F., Newman, P. A., Daley, A., Solomon, S. — 2008-01-05

The preponderance of bullying research does not address sexual orientation as a possible factor. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of service providers and youth advocates working with lesbian and gay communities in order to increase understanding of bullying of lesbian and gay youth. In depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine key informants from various education and social service settings. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive data analysis was conducted using a constant comparative method. Six major categories emerged: prevalence, sites and perpetrators, institutional and community factors, effects of bullying, and barriers as well as strategies to address bullying. Several dimensions of bullying that may be specific to lesbian and gay youth (e.g. pervasiveness across their social ecology and risks to coming-out; sexual prejudice in the media; and ‘conversion bullying’) suggest the importance of investigations to support development of targeted, multi-sectoral interventions.

A Hindrance or a Help? The Contribution of Inspection to the Quality of Care in Homes for Older People

Furness, S. — 2008-01-05

Tensions in the Delivery of Social Work Services in Rural and Remote Scotland

Turbett, C. — 2007-12-11

We do not live in the back of beyond. We live in the very heart of beyond

(Kevin MacNeil, The Stornoway Way, 2005).

Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work: Lessons from Judgment and Decision-Making Theory

van de Luitgaarden, G. M. J. — 2007-11-30

This paper introduces a critique of the experimentalist strand of the evidence-based practice movement in social work. It does so by drawing on the available body of knowledge that is found within the field of judgment and decision making. The nexus between experimentalist evidence-based practice and rational choice approaches to social work decision making is demonstrated. Subsequently, it argues that the properties of social work decision tasks are more likely to facilitate naturalistic than analytical decision making strategies. Recognition-primed decision making is introduced as a possible alternative to practice guidelines and decision aids. Finally, the consequences of embracing the principles of recognition-primed decision making are considered regarding social work practice, education and research.

In the Name of Love: Partner Abuse and Violence in Teenage Relationships

Barter, C. — 2007-11-29

This article provides a critical assessment of our understanding of partner abuse and violence in teenage relationships. Initially, an overview is provided of theoretical and methodological issues in this area, examining how these dominant trends have influenced perceptions of this problem. In contrast, a more encompassing approach, incorporating gendered power relations, teenagers’ own experiences and an acknowledgement of young people’s agency, is suggested. Incidence rates for different forms of teenage partner abuse and violence are discussed. The importance of understanding the context in which such violence occurs, and the meaning it holds for young people, are highlighted. Young people’s responses are explored and a range of risk factors associated with this form of violence evaluated. In conclusion, messages for policy and practice development are raised.