Showing papers in "Journal of Social Work in 2018"
TL;DR: In this paper, cultural competence has commanded respectable attention since its introduction in cross-cultural discourse, and has been presented as a framework capable of promoting cultura, which has been defined as:
Abstract: SummaryCultural competence has commanded respectable attention since its introduction in cross-cultural discourse. Cultural competence has been presented as a framework capable of promoting cultura...
149 citations
TL;DR: The revised global definition for social work promotes the profession's commitment to social change and development, social cohesion and the empowerment and liberation of people as mentioned in this paper. But the implications of this definitional shift and locating this within existing influential social work ontological models are critically reviewed.
Abstract: SummaryThe revised global definition for social work promotes the profession’s commitment to social change and development, social cohesion and the empowerment and liberation of people. By reviewing the implications of this definitional shift and locating this within existing influential social work ontological models, the implications for social work within global and national contexts are critically reviewed.FindingsThe changes to the global definition, along with recognition of the importance of strengthening knowledge and theory, encourage critical review of the implications of a shift from an emphasis on individual approaches to the importance of collective and macro perspectives in social work intervention. The location and exploration of these debates using existing key ontological frameworks and socio-economic contexts encourages critical reflection on the purpose, role and function of social work in society.ImplicationsSocial work must critically review what it means by, along with the implicatio...
44 citations
TL;DR: A high prevalence of negative workplace interactions between workers is found, and that these experiences have consequences for worker experience’s with burnout and life satisfaction, and contributes to intentions to leave the workplace.
Abstract: SummaryPrimary emphasis within the literature on mechanisms to address the prevalence of negative occupational well-being outcomes among human service workers has tended to focus on individual self...
23 citations
TL;DR: In youth social work, the trend of using various forms of information and communication technology (ICT) is increasing as mentioned in this paper, however, evidence showing in what ways ICT has enhanced intervention e...
Abstract: SummaryIn youth social work, the trend of using various forms of information and communication technology (ICT) is increasing. However, evidence showing in what ways ICT has enhanced intervention e...
22 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the informational context in which social work has been operating over the past decade has gained much more significance, and Electronic Information Systems are often implementable in this context.
Abstract: Summary The informational context in which social work has been operating over the past decade has gained much more significance. In this context, Electronic Information Systems are often implement...
22 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a brief history of residence restriction laws is provided and then the research around their impact and effectiveness will be summarized, followed by empirically supported recommendations for reform, concluding that "legislating individuals into homelessness is not sound social policy, nor is it humane".
Abstract: SummaryZoning laws that prevent sex offenders from living within close proximity to schools and other places where children congregate have proliferated over the past 10 years. In many communities, few dwellings are compliant with these laws, causing sex offenders to become homeless. First, a brief history of residence restriction laws will be provided and then the research around their impact and effectiveness will be summarized, followed by empirically supported recommendations for reform.FindingsLegislating individuals into homelessness is not sound social policy, nor is it humane. These laws do not conform to what is known about patterns of sexual perpetration and victimization, and thus do little to prevent recidivistic sexual violence. In fact, these policies may undermine the very factors shown by research to be associated with positive reentry and reduced recidivism.ApplicationsThe grand challenge of social justice requires social workers to advocate on behalf of those who are marginalized in our ...
22 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on an empirical case study into the process of establishing a working relationship between social workers and service users in an online social work service, where workers wer...
Abstract: SummaryThis article reports on an empirical case study into the process of establishing a working relationship between social workers and service users in an online social work service. Workers wer...
19 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how the voluntary care order differs in practice from the involuntary one and how voluntarism and involuntarism are represented in these two types of care order.
Abstract: SummaryFinnish child welfare divides care orders into voluntary and involuntary care orders, based on the consent or objection of different parties. When giving consent to a care order, the parties allow their rights to family life and self-determination to be restricted. This article examines how the voluntary care order differs in practice from the involuntary one and how voluntarism and involuntarism are represented in these two types of care order.FindingsThe analysis of 37 care orders highlights different shades of voluntarism and involuntarism as well as formal and informal spheres of consent and objection. The binary distinction between voluntarism and involuntarism becomes problematic. Instead, new forms and arenas for consent and objection, e.g., resistance, become topical in child welfare.ApplicationsThe spectrum of voluntarism and involuntarism should be recognised in every type of child welfare. The study points out several critical points in the dual decision-making system in Finland, in part...
18 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the association between a series of independent variables and meaning in life among social workers in Israel, finding that age, subjective well-being, professional quality of life (compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, burnout), loneliness, personal work-related subjection to violence, fear of being subjected to violence and age, age, parental status, and marital status can predict the meaning of life for social workers.
Abstract: SummaryMeaning in life is an important element in the context of the workplace. The purpose of this study was to explore how certain factors, namely: subjective well-being, professional quality of life (compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, burnout), loneliness, personal work-related subjection to violence, fear of being subjected to violence, age, parental status, and marital status can predict meaning in life among social workers in Israel. An extensive battery of online questionnaires was administered to 501 participants. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the association between a series of independent variables and meaning in life among social workers.FindingsThe findings suggest that age, subjective well-being, compassion satisfaction and fear of being personally subjected to violence were positively associated with meaning in life. However, loneliness and burnout were negatively associated with meaning in life. The other variables were not significantly associated with me...
18 citations
TL;DR: It is argued for a re-engagement of adult social workers with domestic violence that has increasingly become over identified with child protection and whether multi-agency risk and assessment conferences remain fit for purpose and whether they still represent the best possible response to multi- Agency coordination and practice in domestic violence.
Abstract: SummaryThis article focuses on adult social work’s response in England to high-risk domestic violence cases and the role of adult social workers in multi-agency risk and assessment conferences. The research was undertaken between 2013 and 2014 and focused on one city in England and involved the research team attending multi-agency risk and assessment conferences. Interviews with 20 adult social workers, 24 multi-agency risk and assessment conferences attendees, 14 adult service users at time T1 (including follow-up interviews after six months, T2), focus groups with independent domestic violence advocates and Women’s Aid and an interview with a Women’s Aid service user.FindingsThe findings suggest that although adult social workers accept the need to be involved in domestic violence cases they are uncertain of what their role is and are confused with the need to operate a parallel domestic violence and adult safeguarding approach, which is further, complicated by issues of mental capacity. Multi-agency ri...
16 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a group of tenants' perspective on structure in public housing was examined, and the authors concluded that although tenants of public housing face numerous challenges, they can experience positive well-being.
Abstract: SummaryAlthough tenants of public housing face numerous challenges, recent research suggests they can experience positive well-being. The study examines a group of tenants’ perspective on structure...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the long-term impact of maternal suicide as evident in the mothering experiences of 12 Israeli women who lost their own mothers during their childhood/adolescent years.
Abstract: SummaryRaising children, while challenging in the best of times, can be more complicated for a woman who lost her own mother during her childhood/adolescent years. This study examines the long-term impact of maternal suicide as evident in the mothering experiences of 12 Israeli women.FindingsThe participants’ descriptions reveal a constant Sisyphean struggle to move away from their legacy only to be pulled back—a fervent wish to be different from their mothers along with the simultaneous realization that they cannot escape their past. This continuing struggle is captured through four themes: (a) being a mother long before having children, (b) the past casting a pall over the present, (c) mothering as a means of fixing what is broken, and (d) the lack of a maternal model: an irrevocable absence.ApplicationsThe results of this study are discussed from an emotional socialization perspective which points to the relevance of two theoretical perspectives: the modeling and the compensation views of emotional soc...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on part of a research study carried out in three local authority adult social care departments in England, which explored links between adult safeguarding and personalisation.
Abstract: SummaryThis paper reports on part of a research study carried out in three local authority adult social care departments in England, which explored links between adult safeguarding and personalisat...
TL;DR: The findings offer a detailed exploration of the impact of personal budgets on carers, suggesting that even in countries with relatively well-developed systems of support for carers such as England their impact remains overlooked.
Abstract: SummaryThis paper focuses on the impact of a personal budget – either in the form of a direct payment or managed personal budget – on the role of unpaid carers of older budget holders. Data were co...
TL;DR: In this article, field education is a key curriculum component in social work programs and students as well as researchers have identified this learning experience as central to the students' transition to social work.
Abstract: Summary: Field education is a key curriculum component in social work programmes. Students as well as researchers have identified this learning experience as central to the students’ transition to ...
TL;DR: The findings indicate the need for capacity-building strategies, such as developing networks of Australian social work researchers on ageing and aged care, to improve research outputs in this area.
Abstract: SummaryLittle is known about the quantity, nature and range of Australian social work research on ageing and aged care. This scoping review involved a comprehensive search of seven online bibliogra...
TL;DR: Analysis of administrative data at the discrete level using statistical learning methods is more accurate in predicting recidivism than using conventional statistical methods, providing an opportunity to direct intervention efforts at individuals who are more likely to reoffend.
Abstract: SummaryOffender rehabilitation seeks to minimise recidivism. Using their experience and actuarial-type risk assessment tools, probation officers in Singapore make recommendations on the sentencing ...
TL;DR: In this paper, limited research exists on the clinical benefits resulting from micro-practice interventions on clinical outcomes and macro-practice intervention on structural outcomes, due to the focus of micro-practices on clinical outcome and macro practice interventions on structural outcome.
Abstract: SummaryDue to the focus of micro-practice interventions on clinical outcomes and macro-practice interventions on structural outcomes, limited research exists on the clinical benefits resulting from...
TL;DR: In this paper, the non-statutory sector is increasingly evident in the provision of care services previously undertaken by the National Social Care Trust (NSCT) in the UK and the National Health Service (NHS).
Abstract: SummaryAs a result of national policy in respect of social care of adults in England, the non-statutory sector is increasingly more evident in the provision of care services previously undertaken b...
TL;DR: It was found that the pre-acceptance group interview can differentiate between those candidates who will complete their studies and those who will not, and can hopefully help social work departments improve the procedures they use in their admissions’ mechanisms.
Abstract: SummaryThis study explored differences between 389 Israeli students in a Social Work department who finished their studies and 120 students who began, but did not complete their degree. Three group...
TL;DR: There continues to be a movement to address the gap between empirically supported treatment research and social services practice as mentioned in this paper, while the general social services field values services basing on empirical evidence.
Abstract: SummaryThere continues to be a movement to address the gap between empirically supported treatment research and social services practice. While the general social services field values services bas...
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study analyzes the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission from a community practice perspective by highlighting relevant aspects of the intervention for social work practice, including context, theoretical basis, practice model, framing, strategy, and tactics.
Abstract: SummaryTruth and Reconciliation Commissions represent an innovative model for social work practice. The Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a community-based intervention that sought to address lingering social trauma and tension from a 1979 incident of racial violence in North Carolina. This case study analyzes the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission from a community practice perspective by highlighting relevant aspects of the intervention for social work practice. The intervention is examined along the community practice dimensions of context, theoretical basis, practice model, framing, strategy, and tactics. Each dimension is presented and related to a specific aspect of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission case.FindingsThe historical context of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission includes legacies racism, labor exploitation, and violence that was pervasive in the U.S. south, as well as traditions of resistance to oppression. The theoretical underp...
TL;DR: In this paper, community activists, supervised by macro-intervention social workers, can realize the potential to go from passive consumers of social services to producers of appropriate responses to the n...
Abstract: SummaryCommunity activists, supervised by macro-intervention social workers, can realize the potential to go from passive consumers of social services to producers of appropriate responses to the n...
TL;DR: The authors examines both the epistemological and practical limitations and challenges of data collection by reflecting on the experiences of a team of both junior and senior researchers in the field of data mining.
Abstract: SummaryThis paper examines both the epistemological and practical limitations and challenges of data collection by reflecting on the experiences of a team of both junior and senior researchers enga...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on the factors that were found to contribute to or impede the amount of time that social work academics reported spending on research by using a mixed-methods cross-sectional survey and individual interviews.
Abstract: Summary: The research activity of social work academics in the UK has been of interest and concern amongst academics and research funders. Multiple initiatives have been implemented to develop social work research activity, yet research by social work academics remains limited, hindered by lack of time, support infrastructures, funding and training. Through the use of a mixed-methods cross-sectional survey (N = 200) and follow-up individual interviews (N = 11), this study reports on the factors that were found to contribute to or impede the amount of time that social work academics reported spending on research.
Findings: The results from the survey indicated that 73% of respondents were research active. Bivariate analysis revealed that academics spent less time on research and teaching, and more time on administration than expected by their employing universities. Multivariate analysis found that less time spent on administration and teaching, more university supports, and being from a pre-1992 university predicted more time spent on research.
Applications: The findings indicate that the administrative burdens associated with teaching and assessment in social work education result in academics struggling to fit research into their busy lives, despite initiatives to raise the profile and productivity of social work research. Research support infrastructures and strategies should be reviewed in light of such findings.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the findings from the evaluation of a UK initiative which engaged social work students as community partners within an educational based family intervention programme, and discuss the evaluation outcomes to illustrate the potential of utilising co-learning with families in social work education.
Abstract: Summary: This paper describes the findings from the evaluation of a UK initiative which engaged social work students as community partners within an educational based family intervention programme. Fourteen social work students in the first year of a BA (Hons) were placed in the programme to meet the volunteering requirements of their 'Community Project'. By engaging with the community-based family programme at an early stage in their education, students experienced the benefits of interventions, focussing on sustainability, citizenship and parent participation. We describe the approach and discuss the evaluation outcomes to illustrate the potential of utilising co-learning with families in social work education. In taking up the role of community partners, students observed first-hand the value of incorporating horizontal relationships into their learning and experienced direct knowledge exchange with service users at an early stage in their training.
Findings: The findings suggest that this experience enabled students to connect with conceptualisations of macro alongside micro practice in their professional development as social workers. Further, connecting critical social theories with the direct experience of families promoted the learners own empowerment and conscientization.
Application: This provided a means of embedding social work values and aspirations towards social justice in their future practice orientation.
TL;DR: The findings support the reconceptualization of parent education as a reflexive practice that can unleash parents’ capacity to construct knowledge from their lived experiences and reconstitute their reflexive and emotional selves to negotiate life choices among the diversity of options in childrearing.
Abstract: SummaryWhile the increasing awareness of risk in late modernity has resulted in the proliferation and complication of parental roles and choices, few attempts have been made to explore how parent education can empower parents to reconstruct parenthood and transform parental lives. Based on the results of a mixed-methods study conducted in Hong Kong, this article discusses the possible outcomes and experiences of a parent education program that aimed to facilitate parents’ holistic growth in dealing with the prevailing culture of intensive parenting. The program was composed of 30 h of seminars and workshops. The participants included 387 Hong Kong Chinese parents recruited from seven primary schools and 27 nursery schools. A pretest–posttest assessment survey and postintervention focus groups were adopted for the evaluation methods.FindingsThe quantitative results showed that the participants experienced an enhancement in confidence, understanding, and trust in parenting. The qualitative findings indicate...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how social work education, in relation to case reviews and inquiry reports, was structured and delivered to a range of social work students in Northern Ireland.
Abstract: SummaryThis article outlines a research study examining how social work education, in relation to case reviews and inquiry reports, was structured and delivered to a range of social work students in Northern Ireland. Adopting a qualitative design, nine social work educators in the region were interviewed and asked about their approach to presenting findings from the reports to social work students and the issues this raised for the research sample. The results revealed three key themes: the salience of the organizational context; how learning was structured and organized; and the various attempts to build social work competence.FindingsThese themes showed that the co-ordinators were delivering a complex area of knowledge. It was clear that they had given considerable thought to the essential messages from the reports even though the constraints of time and setting were apparent. Moreover, they employed a range of innovations in the way the reports were theorized and how the knowledge coming from them was ...
TL;DR: There has been growing concern about the quality of health services, including mental health services within the world's and prisons as mentioned in this paper, and the purpose of the current qualitative interpretive meta-synth is to address this concern.
Abstract: There has been growing concern about the quality of health services, including mental health services, within the world’s and prisons. The purpose of the current qualitative interpretive meta-synth...