Communication skills in child protection: how do social workers talk to parents?

Communication skills are fundamental to social work practice, yet there is little research on the skills that workers have or how they use them. This study analyses 24 taped interviews between social workers and an actor playing a parent (a ‘simulated client’). Two child protection scenarios with different levels of seriousness were used. On average, social workers asked many closed questions and often raised concerns. They used few reflections and rarely identified positives. In all but one interview, social workers were rated as achieving clarity over issues of concern; however, they tended to demonstrate low levels of empathy. The responses of the simulated client were rated for resistance and information disclosure. The factor that most strongly influenced simulated client responses was empathy. Empathic social workers created less resistance and increased the amount of information disclosed by clients. This was not associated with failure to identify and discuss concerns. Empathy, therefore, appears to be central to good social work communication in child protection situations. Given the comparatively low level of empathy expressed by most participants, development of skills in maintaining empathic communication while raising child protection concerns appears a priority. Practical, theoretical and training implications are discussed.     

INTERPERSONAL SKILL TRAINING FOR SOCIAL WORKERS IN SMALL GROUPS

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a small-group training program aimed at teaching social workers those interpersonal skills necessary for effective practice. Participants were taught to deal with critical situations commonly encountered by professional social workers in their clinical practice. Modeling, overt and covert rehearsal, videotaped and verbal feedback, coaching, behavioral assignments, delegation of group leadership, and other small group procedures were utilized in the training program. Participants met in small groups offour to six members for 2-hour sessions each week over a period of 6 weeks. The results of the study indicated that, following training, the participants were significantly (p≤ .o1) more effective than the controls in dealing with both trained and untrained items on a behavior role-play test. Methodological limitations, implications for future research on small-group training of social workers, and training of group leaders are discussed.     

The Portuguese Version of the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Competency Scale II – Assessment Subscale: Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties

The current study aimed to test the fit of the Portuguese version of the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Competency Scale II – Assessment subscale (GSWCS-A) and explore its factor structure and psychometric properties in a sample of 534 social workers working in the gerontology field. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that all items presented good factor loadings and that the single-component model fit the data well. The GSWCS-A showed very good internal consistency. Despite the existence of different theoretical perspectives on Social Work, which frame the required competencies for professional practice, the GSWCS-A Portuguese version revealed similitudes with studies conducted in other countries. Nevertheless, the different factor structures (single-component vs. bi-factorial) may indicate that different competencies are being emphasised in terms of professional training. To sum, the GSWCS-A may be a short and useful self-report instrument for addressing social workers’ assessment competencies in the gerontology setting.     

Defining the boundaries: social worker assessment of sexual abuse in a cultural context – multivariate analysis of personal and professional factors influencing social workers' labelling of intimacy behaviour

To explore personal and professional factors influencing social worker assessment of family intimacy behaviour in diverse cultural groups, a 27‐item questionnaire was mailed to a random, stratified sample of MSW‐level social workers. The instrument measured rank‐order responses to 10 questions about attitudes towards public exposure to sexual stimuli and rank‐order responses to questions about three vignettes depicting culturally informed family intimacy behaviour. The instrument also measured sample characteristics such as area of social work practice and per cent of caseload involving sexually abused as well as diverse clients. Completed questionnaires (n = 387) were analysed for association between respondents' definition of intimacy behaviour (dependent variable), attitude towards sexual stimuli, and intervening variables thought to explain variance in the dependent measure. Labelling theory provided a basis for hypotheses testing. When mean attitude scores were correlated with mean definition scores, Pearson's r returned a significant low, positive association between conservative attitudes towards exposure to sexual stimuli and definitions of cross‐cultural scenarios as sexual abuse. Holding attitude scores constant, regression modelling of the sample's definition of scenarios indicated that practice area, minority status, and per cent of caseload with sexual abuse clients were significant predictors of R² change in the dependent variable. Further analysis of data through regression tree modelling showed that a small group of conservative practitioners with ethnically diverse caseloads were more likely to label culturally influenced behaviours as deviant. Among conservative practitioners with less diverse caseloads, number of hours in sexuality training had a moderating influence on deviancy labelling. Tree modelling of the data also indicated that an ethnic minority subgroup within the sample accounted for the lowest ranking of scenarios as sexual abuse. Results support earlier work on social worker assessment of child maltreatment as a function of agency setting. Another implication for social work is the need for practitioners to understand their attitudes towards human sexuality in relation to assessment of diverse patterns of childhood sexual socialization.     

Discharge procedures for mentally ill people: The prespective of former psychiatric patients on their professional social network

The analysis of the perspective of mentally ill people on their social network is not complete if the professional arena is left out. This article draws on literature about social network and other forms of human interaction to support the social network concept and an idea about how the professional arena has developed and become a vital part of the network. Fifty-three former patients were interviewed to get their perspective on the professional network. Intimate relations with family and friends seemed to be a model even for contacts with professionals. A social psychological analysis of the satisfaction of the long-term mentally ill respondents with relations to home care workers and their dissatisfaction with psychiatric professionals seemed to be connected to the professionals' ability to undertake a caring relationship.     

浅析个案辅导技术实施中的操作性语言

尽管在个案工作的辅导中与服务对象建立良好的专业关系是至关重要的,但无论是何种沟通形式,要实现有效的专业服务就必须透过操作性的语言来进行。不同的操作性语言在个案辅导中显然会带来不一样的服务效果,选择合适的具有专业规范的操作性语言是每一个合格社会工作者实施专业服务必备的基本素养之一。     

A Framework for Cultivating and Increasing Child Welfare Workers’ Empathy Toward Parents

ABSTRACT

Much emphasis has been placed on child welfare workers’ skills and attributes when working with parents involved in the child welfare system; however, few studies have examined the potential benefits of using an empathic approach to interacting with parents. Child welfare workers may have negative perceptions of parents involved in the child welfare system and might have a tendency to reflect these attitudes and value judgments in their practice. The lack of empathic understanding and communication between workers and parents impacts service implementation and the success of family interventions. Increasing the workers’ ability to empathize with parents can enhance their relationship while increasing parent participation in services and ultimately family reunification. This article will discuss specific ways to cultivate and increase child welfare workers’ empathy for parents by enhancing workers’ emotional response and self/other-awareness, ability to perspective take, emotion regulation, and their ability to make appropriate decisions. Implications for application to practice and training are discussed as is the need for future research to validate the proposed framework for increasing child welfare workers’ empathy toward parents.     

Whether Professional Training Matters: Attitudinal Antecedents to the Turnover Intentions of Social Workers in Guangzhou,China

This study aims to identify whether the professional training of social workers has an effect on the attitudinal antecedents of turnover intention. This study investigated 395 trained and 353 non-trained social workers from the Integrated Family Service Centers in Guangzhou, China. It was found that professional education did not significantly alter the attitudinal antecedents to turnover intention. In both groups, a higher feeling of burnout or a lower level of organizational commitment produced a higher intention of turnover. Furthermore, the significant influences of burnout and organizational commitment were found to be respectively mediated by job satisfaction with professional association or job satisfaction with organizational environment. This study not only provides insights into the stabilization of the emerging workforce of Chinese social workers, but also poses serious questions about social work education.     

职业社会工作者的专业标准与考核评价体系研究

我国社会工作职业化进程方兴未艾。实际社会工作从业人员如何转变为专业社工,高校的社会工作专业教育和社会培训机构如何把握专业社会工作者的标准,解决这两大问题的关键在于,尽快制定和建立职业社会工作者的专业标准和考核评价体系。作为整个社会工作者职业制度体系的核心机制,职业社会工作者的专业标准和考核评价体系,为职业社会工作者提供了从业标准和实践规范,从而为打造一支高水平、强素质的社会工作人才队伍提供了科学的制度保障。     

职业社会工作者的专业标准与考核评价体系研究

我国社会工作职业化进程方兴未艾。实际社会工作从业人员如何转变为专业社工,高校的社会工作专业教育和社会培训机构如何把握专业社会工作者的标准,解决这两大问题的关键在于,尽快制定和建立职业社会工作者的专业标准和考核评价体系。作为整个社会工作者职业制度体系的核心机制,职业社会工作者的专业标准和考核评价体系,为职业社会工作者提供了从业标准和实践规范,从而为打造一支高水平、强素质的社会工作人才队伍提供了科学的制度保障。     

Survivor of Suicide Loss Support Group Facilitators: Do Peers and Professionals Differ?

ABSTRACT

Suicide is a major public health issue affecting countless people each year worldwide. Support groups are one of the few resources available to survivors of suicide loss to aid the healing journey. This study examined differences among support group facilitators based on status as a peer, professional, or peer/professional. Differences emerged among the facilitator types, particularly on attitudes of group effectiveness, the role of sharing stories in the group, when loss survivors should attend, and who should facilitate groups. The results provide important insights about group facilitation differences, though further research is necessary to understand effective approaches. A degree in social work was the most common educational background for facilitators who identified as professionals. As social workers often facilitate groups or work alongside peers in the provision of support groups across a variety of areas, the findings provide insights regarding facilitation differences to which social workers may need to attend.     

Empathy and Locus of Control in Child Abusers

Empathy and locus of control were studied in a group of abusing and non-abusing parents. Two groups of thirty-two abusing and non-abusing mothers were given the Hogan Empathy and Nowicki Strickland Internal-External Locus of Control Scales. Abusers reflected significantly less empathic ability and an external locus of control orientation as compared to non-abusers. The data suggest that empathy and locus of control may be significant variables upon which social workers might focus their interventions with abusive parents.     

社会工作实习联合督导浅析

社会工作实习联合督导是由社工院系与与专业机构或社区共同为学生提供集中实习训练和实习的督导制度,在美国已经相当成熟。在不同实习阶段的专业督导过程中,院系和机构的督导有不同的角色定位与工作内容,笔者对此进行了总结。     

Patterns of practice: An exploratory factor analysis of child and family social worker skills

There is relatively little research on the communication skills that social workers use in direct practice with families. This study explores patterns of practice skill found in child and family social work home visits. The study analysed 127 practice interactions in family homes, coding for seven dimensions of worker skill using a coding framework drawn from motivational interviewing. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to establish patterns of skill within the data and to group key dimensions of skill. The findings make two contributions. First, three fundamental dimensions of good practice emerged, which we characterize as care and engagement, good authority, and support for behaviour change. Second, in exploring the relationship between “care” and “control” elements of social work, skilled social workers were able to combine good authority and empathic engagement, whereas those who were less skilled in use of authority were also less good at engagement. This contributes to debates about care and control in social work. The usefulness of these dimensions for conceptualizing practice in child and family social work is discussed and directions for further research are suggested.     

社会工作实习联合督导浅析

社会工作实习联合督导是由社工院系与与专业机构或社区共同为学生提供集中实习训练和实习的督导制度,在美国已经相当成熟。在不同实习阶段的专业督导过程中,院系和机构的督导有不同的角色定位与工作内容,笔者对此进行了总结。     

Social Workers' Experiences of Virtual Psychotherapeutic Caregivers Groups for Alzheimer's,Parkinson's,Stroke, Frontotemporal Dementia,and Traumatic Brain Injury

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to examine the challenges for social workers who transition from facilitating face-to-face psychotherapeutic groups to online web-based video groups with family caregivers of persons with chronic disease. Study data consisted of survey responses of a group of therapists who had facilitated a series of web-based video-conferencing caregiver groups over a period of 4 years. All therapists were trained using an intervention training manual and weekly supervision. They received minimal training with regard to using technology (computers, Internet, web cams, and headsets). Despite reported challenges in how the technology affected the group process, therapists described overall positive experiences transitioning from face-to-face to working online. All therapists reported that group interactions and client outcomes in the Internet environment were overall comparable to those that occur in face-to-face groups.     

Determining state sector statistics training priorities

Despite a growing demand for ‘evidence-based’ policy and documented concerns about the overall statistical capability of state sector agencies, there has been a decline in the teaching of quantitative skills in social science courses. In response, Victoria University’s School of Government investigated the feasibility of providing post-graduate training in official statistics. Two focus groups, one comprised of state sector research and statistics managers and one of state sector policy managers, established priorities using a simple ‘prioritised weighting’ method. Focus group participants were given a fixed number of ‘sticky dots’ to use to register their preference (not to vote at all, to spread their votes across several options or to put all their votes on one option) which were then ranked. The participants viewed this as a fair method. Face-to-face interviews were also undertaken with 27 senior state sector managers. The results indicated that the highest priority gaps in capability were in basic statistical skills, understanding of statistical concepts, and interpretation and communication of statistics. Further statistics training for policy analysts was seen as desirable, but there was a clear preference for short or block courses. Gaining a qualification was not seen to be an important factor.     

Needs Assessment, Street-level Bureaucracy and the New Community Care

In the wake of the Seebohm reforms of the personal social services, a number of studies were carried out in the 1970s to explore the role of frontline professionals in identifying and meeting social need. A common finding was that social workers behaved like "street-level bureaucrats", using their discretionary authority defensively to manage an otherwise overwhelming workload. In the 1990s, top-down assessment and care management systems were put in place as part of community care reforms. Their aim was to reduce the scope of professional discretion so as to standardize responses to need and control demand according to resources available. In this paper, the authors consider the success of new systems in controlling "bottom-up" decision-making by drawing on a recent empirical study of needs assessment practice in three types of social work team. They point out that the assessment practice of those teams facing the highest bombardment rates was most obviously criteria-driven, reinforced by the use of new technology. Rather than creating informal stereotypes to manage demand, social workers could mobilize legitimate forms of rationing to protect their time and other resources. Yet the sense of professional identity, the level of frontline autonomy, and the ways in which this was exercised, varied across the different types of team. The authors conclude, therefore, that the scope of discretionary space available to frontline staff in social services departments, and the practices to which it gives rise, are empirical questions only adequately addressed by methodologies able to connect with "bottom-up" decision-making.