Tackling Inequalities in Physical Health: A New Objective for Social Work

Correspondence to Eileen McLeod, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK. Summary We argue that tackling the impact of social inequality on physicalhealth should become a central objective of social work andintrinsic to the development of anti-oppressive practice. Thisis on three grounds. First, the suffering embodied in inequalityin physical health should be a cause of concern to social workers,as a pervasive social problem. Secondly, awareness of socialwork's complicity in contributing to such a problem, throughits historical role in implementing state policies, needs toinform assessment of social work outcomes. Nevertheless, thirdly,social work—not confined to health care settings—whichredresses social disadvantage and tackles its consequences forphysical well-being can contribute to greater equity in health.Indicative examples of such practice are provided in relationto health maintenance, living with ill health and terminal illness.Finally, consideration is given to the current wider politicalcontext in which social work addressing health inequalitiesis embedded and to the need for complementary organizational,professional and political initiatives to buttress its development.     

Working with Prostitutes: Probation Officers' Aims and Strategies

Summary This small sample survey examines probation officers' aims andstrategies when working with street prostitutes within the contextof the Street Offences Act, and the results of their work. Itindicates that the officers fail in their main aim of encouragingstreet prostitutes to stay within the law because of the women'sintention to do otherwise. The officers' strategy of definingand tackling prostitutes' legal, emotional and material problemson an individual basis also leads to little impact being madeon such problems. The article suggests that probation officersmight more profitably adopt non-correctional aims when workingwith street prostitutes and consider alternative social workstrategies.     

Improving Social Workers' Knowledge Base in Child Protection Work

Correspondence to Dr Eileen Munro, 16 Aquarius, Eel Pie Island, Twickenham TW1 3EA, UK. Summary The present study was conducted to identify recurrent socialwork errors in the forty-five public inquiries held in Britainbetween 1973 and 1994. This article reports the findings relatingto the recurrent criticisms of social workers' knowledge base.The quality of investigations and assessments are repeatedlyfaulted. Also, many problems arise from social workers' failureto be explicit about what they are doing. The merits and shortcomingsof increased training and handbooks to improve practice arethen discussed. It is argued that social workers' widespreadpreference for a personal, private style of working is a majorobstacle to changing their use of theories and to evaluatingpractice.     

PRIVATE MATERIALISM, PERSONAL SELF-FULFILLMENT, FAMILY LIFE, AND PUBLIC INTEREST THE NATURE, EFFECTS, AND CAUSES OF RECENT CHANGES IN THE VALUES OF AMERICAN YOUTH

From the early seventies through 1986–87, private materialismas a life goal increased greatly in importance among Americanyouth, goals relating to family life increased somewhat, publicinterest concerns diminished modestly, and the goal of personalself-fulfillment declined sharply. Accompanying this shift invalues was a change in young people's college majors and careerplans toward those leading to higher paying jobs and a markedincrease in the attractiveness of working in large corporations.Jobs offering money and status became more preferred relativeto those with opportunities for self-fulfillment or public service.Support grew for capitalist institutions such as profit makingand advertising. At the same time, there was a retreat frompolitical involvement, and a conservative shift in politicalbeliefs. Explanations of the shift in values in terms of theimpact on the young of major political and social events orthe emergence of a feeling of economic insecurity among theyoung are not supported by the evidence. Nor are a number ofhypotheses relating to changes in young people's family structureor social ization experience. The shift in values of the youngdoes, how ever, apparently correspond to a similar change inthe values of adults generally and, thus, may reflect changesin the values transmitted to young people as they were growingup. We specu late that the shift in values among adults was,in turn, caused by a growing feeling of economic deprivationin the post-1973 period as real wage rates declined and materialaspirations continued to rise. In the last few years, the shiftin the life goals of the young appears to have ended and mayeven have started to reverse, but young people today are stillmuch different from those 15 years ago.     

The Independent Social Work Agency: A Report on the First Year of an Experiment in Social Casework

Summary The authors present an account of their experiences in organizinga research project to explore aspects of the need and demandfor social work through the use of an independent fee-payingagency. Some of the problems encountered in setting up the projectand the agency are discussed, along with some observations onthe first year's work in the agency.     

Avoidable and Unavoidable Mistakes in Child Protection Work

Summary This article argues that social workers and the general publicneed a clear understanding of the distinction between avoidableand unavoidable mistakes in child protection work. The publicis understandably distressed when a child dies and is rightto demand an inquiry to check the quality of help provided.But a child's death is not proof that any professional was incompetent.Our limited knowledge and the complexity of assessing risk meanthat professionals can only make the best judgement on the availableevidence. Analysis of forty-five inquiry reports shows thatinquiries appreciate this; in 42 per cent of them social workerswere not criticized. The analysis however also reveals one persistenterror: social workers are slow to revise their judgements. Psychologyresearch indicates that this error is widespread and by no meanspeculiar to social workers but it means that misjudgements aboutclients that may have been unavoidable on the limited knowledgeavailable when they were made continue to be accepted despitea growing body of evidence against them. Social workers needa greater acceptance of their fallibility and a willingnessto consider that their judgements and decisions are wrong. Tochange your mind in the light of new information is a sign ofgood practice, a sign of strength not weakness.