Showing papers in "Social Service Review in 1982"
TL;DR: Heineman's article on the bases of social work research (Social Service Review 55, no. 3 [September 1981]: 371-97) is a fascinating and challenging piece as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Martha Brunswick Heineman's article on the bases of social work research (Social Service Review 55, no. 3 [September 1981]: 371-97) is a fascinating and challenging piece. The point of view she presents is not new but has rarely been presented in such a scholarly way within social work. I want to discuss two aspects of the article, its rhetoric and its substance. With regard to the rhetoric, Heineman begins with quotations from a number of social work researchers. She then recites several principles of \"logical empiricism,\" a set of methodological prescriptions based on but less rigid than classical logical positivism. She proceeds to attack these principles using, for the most part, well-known arguments of \"post-logical positivist\" philosophers. Having presumably demolished certain elements of logical empiricism, she assumes that she has also discredited the views of the quoted social work researchers, views she believes are derived from logical empiricism. While it may be good rhetoric, Heineman has committed the classic logical error of affirming the consequent. The argument might be schematized as follows: Logical empiricism implies that social work researchers are correct; logical empiricism is wrong; therefore, social work researchers are wrong. At least from a logical standpoint, Heineman has proved nothing about the views of social work researchers in going after the theories of logical empiricists. (If L implies R then not-R implies not-L, and showing that not-L is true says nothing about the truth of not-R.) Perhaps more serious is the assumption that the views of social work researchers are derived from logical empiricism. Social work research uses a wide variety of methodologies with varying intellectual roots. It is a gross oversimplification to assert that the principles used by social work researchers are derived from logical empiricism, although they may be consistent in some respects. Most of these principles have roots that far predate the Vienna circle.
105Â citations
TL;DR: The authors evaluated a demonstration project to find permanent homes for children in foster care and found that more children were placed in homes with prospects for permanence by the project than by regular agency services and the placements tended to be stable.
Abstract: This study evaluates a demonstration project to find permanent homes for children in foster care. More children were placed in homes with prospects for permanence by the project than by regular agency services, and the placements tended to be stable. Children scoring highest on well-being measures were younger, were seen as permanently entrenched in their home, and got along well there initially. Parents of these children felt prepared for the child's arrival, knew enough about his past, and felt the past had not caused problems. Whether a child was reunited with parents, adopted, or in foster care made little difference to his well-being.
70Â citations
TL;DR: The authors examines recent assertions regarding shortcomings of method and prescription alleged to occur within the field of social work research and attempts to clarify misinterpretations of scientific thought and to correct misinformation presented in a recent article in this journal.
Abstract: This article examines recent assertions regarding shortcomings of method and prescription alleged to occur within the field of social work research. It attempts to clarify misinterpretations of scientific thought and to correct misinformation presented in a recent article in this journal. The major purpose of this article is to set forth, in this author's opinion, a sounder view of the use of scientific imperatives in the conduct of social work research and practice.
65Â citations
TL;DR: In response to major social changes, the social work profession's moral philosophy and mission have become fragmented and weakened, and some social workers are being charged as "immoral" as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In response to major social changes, the social work profession's moral philosophy and mission have become fragmented and weakened. Some social workers are being charged as "immoral." Official positions taken by professional organizations on certain moral issues are controversial and express a libertarian morality that is open to question and criticism. It is suggested that this whole subject merits open dialogue, that the profession's moral philosophy be reformulated and tested in practice, and that the study of social work philosophy and ethics be reestablished in the basic social work educational curriculum.
46Â citations
TL;DR: Professions are characterized by mastery of technical information, concepts and theories that guide choices, institutionalization that exercises social controls, and, at least traditionally, a service orientation.
Abstract: The idea of an occupation as a "calling" refers to some moral and perhaps religious motives and to a vision of the larger ends and purposes that work serves. Professions are characterized by mastery of technical information, concepts and theories that guide choices, institutionalization that exercises social controls, and, at least traditionally, a service orientation. "Calling" without professionalization is inept, and a profession without a calling lacks moral and humane roots, loses human sensitivity, and restricts the vision of the purposes of human good that are served.
45Â citations
TL;DR: This article reported that government fees and grants comprise approximately half of combined agency budgets for each denomination and have increased in both dollar and percentage amounts since 1950 United Way and church contributions have increased by increasing in dollar amounts, but their percentage of combined agencies budgets has either remained the same or decreased.
Abstract: As government is looking to the voluntary sector to fill in gaps left by social welfare cutbacks, there is limited research on how dependent church-related agencies are on government funds Selected findings are reported from a study of three groups of Protestant social service agencies Government fees and grants comprise approximately half of combined agency budgets for each denomination and have increased in both dollar and percentage amounts since 1950 United Way and church contributions have increased in dollar amounts, but their percentage of combined agency budgets has either remained the same or decreased
37Â citations
TL;DR: The authors found that atttitudes toward collaboration between social workers and lawyers are more positive than earlier studies indicate, when the social workers have received intensive training in court-related work and tested an educational model to prepare social work students for interprofessional collaboration.
Abstract: Positive collaboration between social workers and lawyers is an increasingly important issue in social work practice as the arena of professional interaction enlarges in court-related work with families. This paper presents the results of two recent studies of interprofessional collaboration. One study found that atttitudes toward collaboration between social workers and lawyers are more positive than earlier studies indicate, when the social workers have received intensive training in court-related work. The other study tested an educational model to prepare social work students for interprofessional collaboration.
32Â citations
TL;DR: Toynbee Hall and the American settlement houses had their origins in middle-class, largely college-educated men and women who were concerned with the conditions of the urban poor as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Toynbee Hall and the American settlement houses had their origins in middle-class, largely college-educated men and women who were concerned with the conditions of the urban poor. They saw in the settlement house an opportunity to share their lives and culture with the poor and to allay the dangers of class struggle. Toynbee Hall, founded in 1885, served as a direct impetus to the pioneer settlement houses in the United States. Americans imitated its form and many of its practices, but the circumstances of American life led to significant changes on the English model. By 1900, the American movement dwarfed its British predecessors, and international leadership passed to American settlement-house officials.
28Â citations
TL;DR: This article explores job dissatisfaction experienced by service providers in the field of aging and the policy sources of such dissatisfactions and whether or not policy changes should be made to alleviate worker dissatisfactions.
Abstract: This article explores job dissatisfaction experienced by service providers in the field of aging and the policy sources of such dissatisfactions. Workers interviewed identified four major areas of complaint about their jobs: lack of resources, agency problems, mandates and regulations, and client characteristics. Such problems, it is argued, are associated with specific characteristics of policies under which the respondents work. These characteristics include the symbolic nature of legislation, policy ambiguity, universal entitlement, and calculated fragmentation. Whether or not policy changes should be made to alleviate worker dissatisfactions is discussed in the concluding section of the article.
28Â citations
26Â citations
TL;DR: Using data from the National Study of Public Social Services to Children and Their Families, the authors compared black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American children on a number of service dimensions, including case planning and efforts toward permanent placement.
Abstract: Minority children and their families have traditionally experienced a number of difficulties in the child welfare system. Using data from the National Study of Public Social Services to Children and Their Families, this paper compares black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American children on a number of service dimensions, including case planning and efforts toward permanent placement. The discussion concludes with recommendations for changes to correct the problems faced by children and families in each of these groups.
TL;DR: In this article, the degree of "fit" between their theoretical orientations and their choices of interventive strategy was found to be a weak one, which raises questions as to the professional education process that future social work practitioners experience as well as the effectiveness of interventions in social work practice which may lack theoretical grounding.
Abstract: It is widely believed that congruence between one's theoretical framework and one's interventive strategies enhances the effectiveness of social work practice, though little evidence is available to demonstrate the degree to which this linkage between belief and action systems is achieved in practice. In an effort to explore this question, the present study sampled almost 700 practitioner/educators to determine the degree of "fit" between their theoretical orientations and their choices of interventive strategy. The study's findings indicate that this fit is a very weak one, which raises questions as to the professional education process that future social work practitioners experience as well as the effectiveness of interventions in social work practice which may lack theoretical grounding.
TL;DR: In this article, the knowledge necessary for pursuing independent social research is divided into eight essential areas which serve as a guide in determining the level of research training required of social work doctoral students.
Abstract: A controversy exists among educators and practitioners over the current role of research and the scientific imperative in social work. To establish the extent to which social work doctoral program graduates are being trained as social science researchers, the required research methodology courses in thirty-three doctoral programs are evaluated. The knowledge necessary for pursuing independent social research is divided into eight essential areas which serve as a guide in determining the level of research training required of social work doctoral students. Doctoral program chairpersons are found to be grossly overestimating the knowledge of research methodology held by social work doctoral program graduates.
TL;DR: Examination of recent trends in American philanthropy relates these to changes in the composition and size of both the private and public welfare sectors in the United States to reveal that private welfare has been overwhelmed-but not replaced-by the growth in public welfare.
Abstract: This paper examines recent trends in American philanthropy and relates these to changes in the composition and size of both the private and public welfare sectors in the United States. The findings reveal that private welfare has been overwhelmed-but not replaced-by the growth in public welfare. Although private welfare maintains some of its traditional functions, it has become more closely linked to and in some cases dependent on, public welfare. Consequently, there have been significant changes in the institutional character and organizational format and operations of private welfare. These transformations of the American welfare system are interpreted within the mass-society perspective.
TL;DR: Work for welfare recipients has been promoted by the federal government as a strategy for reducing AFDC costs and caseloads as mentioned in this paper, but none of these efforts have been successful in increasing the work behavior of AFDC recipients.
Abstract: Since 1967, work for welfare recipients has been promoted by the federal government as a strategy for reducing AFDC costs and caseloads. The WIN program, the "thirty and one-third" exemption, and social services have all been attempted in the service of this goal. Over a decade later, it is apparent that none of these efforts have been successful in increasing the work behavior of AFDC recipients. In essence, there has been an ideological but not a pragmatic governmental commitment to work. What is suggested here is a work program that will avoid past failures and make a positive contribution to this objective.
TL;DR: This article reviewed fourteen introductory social work textbooks published during the 1970s, by means of a comparative content analysis, to ascertain their ideological and sociopolitical assumptions, and found that most of them contain assumptions about the political-economic structure of society, the nature of social class and social class relationships, and the change in social change.
Abstract: Fourteen introductory social work textbooks published during the 1970s were reviewed, by means of a comparative content analysis, to ascertain their ideological and sociopolitical assumptions. Virtually all were found to contain assumptions about the political-economic structure of society, the nature of social class and social class relationships, and the nature of social change. Contrary to our expectations, most authors stated their assumptions quite explicitly. A spectrum of assumptions was constructed, and the implications for using these textbooks were discussed.
TL;DR: This article argued that public policy for the elderly must be re-directed to emphasize a redistribution of benefits from an elite of high-income elderly to the poor and near-poor elderly.
Abstract: This article hypothesizes that public policy targets benefits to three classes of elderly: (a) the poor or marginal elderly, (b) the middle-and lower-middle-class downwardly mobile elderly, and (c) the middle-and upper-middle-class high-income elderly. It is suggested that public policy for the elderly serves as an intervening variable or mechanism which helps to ensure status maintenance in old age. It is argued, in conclusion, that public policy for the elderly must be redirected to emphasize a redistribution of benefits from an elite of high-income elderly to the poor and near-poor elderly.
TL;DR: It is suggested that among neighborhoods with centers serving adults, inner-city transitional neighborhoods where low opposition would be expected have significantly higher levels of treatment resources than do more affluent, suburban neighborhoods.
Abstract: This paper analyzes the compatibility of two characteristics of neighborhoods containing community-based treatment centers (CBTCs): the availability of resources that can be used in treatment and the likelihood of neighborhood opposition Do CBTC neighborhoods having high levels of geographically based resources also have characteristics associated with low opposition to these centers? The findings suggest that among neighborhoods with centers serving adults, inner-city transitional neighborhoods where low opposition would be expected have significantly higher levels of treatment resources than do more affluent, suburban neighborhoods The implications of these findings for selecting sites for community-based treatment centers are discussed
TL;DR: The role of cognition in direct practice is gaining increasing interest and application as discussed by the authors and Cognitive practice is not a new fad; rather, it is the product of the development of ideas about human thought that have been in the making for over three centuries.
Abstract: The role of cognition in direct practice is gaining increasing interest and application. Cognitive practice is not a new fad; rather, it is the product of the development of ideas about human thought that have been in the making for over three centuries. Current models of cognitive practice represent two different orientations to the nature of human thought-one mediational, the other phenomenological. It is shown that each model has distinct implications for the methods and outcomes of practice.
TL;DR: Both Saul Alinsky and the settlement houses worked with the neighborhood as a unit in achieving social change as mentioned in this paper, and both the settlements and the Alinsky-sponsored groups made significant and worthwhile contributions toward achieving the social change.
Abstract: Both Saul Alinsky and the settlement houses worked with the neighborhood as a unit in achieving social change. In many ways, Alinsky's methods were opposite those of the settlements. Alinsky emphasized conflict, whereas the settlements traditionally stressed consensus across social class lines. In four cases, Alinsky groups came into contact with individual settlements. While each settlement reacted differently, in no one case could the Alinsky/settlement interaction be regarded as a success by both sides. Nevertheless, both the settlements and the Alinsky-sponsored groups made significant and worthwhile contributions toward achieving social change.
TL;DR: This paper reported that although social workers may be politically active, they are not politically influential and found that legislators do not have an accurate image of who social workers are and rate them as having little political influence compared with other groups.
Abstract: The research reported here suggests that although social workers may be politically active, they are not politically influential. The findings indicate that legislators do not have an accurate image of who social workers are and rate them as having little political influence compared with other groups.
TL;DR: This paper reviewed the evolution of the English poor laws and delineated their underlying principles, and assessed the current status of the poor laws in terms of their welfare principles and their effect on the social welfare system.
Abstract: Court decisions in the area of welfare law have influenced both the development and implementation of the social welfare system, particularly income maintenance. Many of the court rulings dealing with income maintenance have dealt directly with welfare principles derived from the English poor laws. This article reviews the evolution of the poor laws and delineates their underlying principles. Court cases related to the poor laws are then examined and the current status of the poor laws is assessed.
TL;DR: The authors examined the perception within social work of incompatibility between professional status (implying a service norm) and unionization (reflecting selfinterest) and found that the vast majority saw no incompatibility; indeed, many felt unionization may facilitate service goals, offsetting workplace bureaucracy.
Abstract: This study examines the perception within social work of incompatibility between professional status (implying a service norm) and unionization (reflecting selfinterest). Attitudinal data were collected through personal structured interviews with 121 randomly chosen professional social workers in Toronto. The vast majority saw no incompatibility; indeed, many felt unionization may facilitate service goals, offsetting workplace bureaucracy. Respondents also saw virtually no overlap between areas of greatest effectiveness for a union and professional association. Respondents' own priorities were highly congruent with an association's strengths. They believed a conventional trade union cotild best meet the priorities of "most social workers."
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the impact of tenant participation across 750 public housing projects and found no evidence to support the perspective that consumer participation enhanced the administrative process, and the findings appeared to buttress the view that tenant organizations can be effective in increasing the level of resources and services made available to tenants.
Abstract: The term "consumer participation" in public agencies has come to occupy an important place in discussions of administrative theory and practice without any real consensus on how and with what consequences they participate. This article examines the development of this phenomenon in the field of housing. It examines the impact of tenant participation across 750 public housing projects. Data were derived from a survey of housing projects carried out by HUD in 1978. The findings appear to buttress the view that tenant organizations can be effective in increasing the level of resources and services made available to tenants. There is no evidence to support the perspective that consumer participation enhanced the administrative process.
TL;DR: The authors chronicles the history of responses to wayward youth, focusing on fundamental changes in the structure of funding for social welfare (particularly the impact of the federated charities movement), the division of labor between the public and private sectors, the role that professionalization has played in the definition of deviance, identification of appropriate client populations, strategies for rehabilitation, and assumptions about the future opportunities of youth upon release from institutions.
Abstract: The forces shaping the evolution of social services for delinquent and pregnant young women have affected institutions serving a variety of urban residents. This article chronicles the history of responses to wayward youth, focusing on fundamental changes in the structure of funding for social welfare (particularly the impact of the federated charities movement), the division of labor between the public and private sectors, the role that professionalization has played in the definition of deviance, identification of appropriate client populations, strategies for rehabilitation, and assumptions about the future opportunities of youth upon release from institutions.
TL;DR: The 1818 Revolutionary War Pension Act combined features of a pension plan and poor law provisions to reward and assist impoverished Continental army veterans as mentioned in this paper, which included a means test which was administered with the aid of a national poverty line.
Abstract: The 1818 Revolutionary War Pension Act combined features of a pension plan and poor law provisions to reward and assist impoverished Continental army veterans. The act included a means test which was administered with the aid of a national poverty line. Approximately 20,000 veterans applied for benefits. Their claims produced a national survey of poverty conditions experienced by a large number of elderly men and their households. This article examines the pension act and offers the first systematic study of the claimants and their households who sought relief under the act.