Changing Patterns of Fieldwork: Organization: II: The Team Leaders' View

Correspondence to Dr. David Challis, Assistant Director, Personal Social Services Research Unit, Cornwallis Building. The University, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NF. Summary In an earlier paper we discussed the organization of fieldworkin Social Services Departments based upon a survey of headquartersrespondents. Here we discuss the findings from a survey of fieldworkteam leaders. A substantial trend towards client-group specializationwas noted, not only at team level but also in the caseloadsof individual workers. There was a trend away from patternsof generic working common in the early days after the Seebohmreorganization. This trend away from generic practice is discussedin the light of arguments about the relative efficiency andeffectiveness of alternative models of organization.     

Transformation:

No abstract available for this article.     

Preface:

No abstract available for this article.     

Self-Help:

The Strengthening the Informal Support System of the Hispanic Elderly, a project designed to supply the Hispanic adult caregiver, i.e., relatives, friends and neighbors, with information and social support through a self-help group approach offered experiential learning and facilitated the formation of an informal network in which the participants explored their personal feeling towards the caregiving role, shared problems and concerns and engaged in mutual problem-solving activities. The project was conducted with fifty-eight persons who were the major caregivers of Hispanic elderly residing in four selected sites throughout New York City.     

Referral:

Referral increases the resources available to address client problems, but it also consumes the scarce resources, especially worker time, of the referring agency. This latter fact justifies the search for more efficient ways to carry out the activity. The study reported here moves in that direction by investigating two referral activities, client contacts and collateral contacts, and describes the productivity of each. The specific findings are tentative, bur strongly suggest that the technology of referral can be made explicit and that tradeoffs between referral activities can be evaluated.     

Self-Help:

The Strengthening the Informal Support System of the Hispanic Elderly, a project designed to supply the Hispanic adult caregiver, i.e., relatives, friends and neighbors, with information and social support through a self-help group approach offered experiential learning and facilitated the formation of an informal network in which the participants explored their personal feeling towards the caregiving role, shared problems and concerns and engaged in mutual problem-solving activities. The project was conducted with fifty-eight persons who were the major caregivers of Hispanic elderly residing in four selected sites throughout New York City.     

Chemotherapy:

No abstract available for this article.     

Conservatorship:

The term "protective services" for older adults has often implied the complete faking over of an impaired elderly person's life. In the past, the only way to protect an even partially impaired elderly person was to have him or her judicially declared incompetent. This was frequently followed by institutionalization. The social work profession's commitment to preserving as much of the client's right to self-determination as possible has made practicioners reluctant to pursue this course of action. Conservatorship, the authors believe, is a viable alternative to this.     

Introduction: Welfare Reform: Preliminary Research and Unanswered Questions

This article summarizes the 1996 welfare reform act and introduces a set of key questions that remain unanswered as initial results concerning the effects of welfare reform are being analyzed and discussed by policymakers andresearchers. We introduce the collection of articles presented in this issue of the Journal of Social Issues, which are devoted to the topic of welfare reform and its potential ramifications for the well-being of families. The articles are grouped into three broad areas that represent major topics of interest to researchers, policy analysts, and others concerned with how welfare reform affects the lives of women and families: the politics of welfare reform, barriers to employment, and the impact of welfare reform on family life.     

Personal Networks:

When fraying networks threaten the very old with isolation, interventions should take into account thinning ties and changing patterns of linkage. Network analysis with attention to linkages for instrumental and expressive social exchange provides a guide to repairing support systems weakened by death, time, and distance.     

Institutionalized Elderly:

Couples who have experienced institutionalization reveal unique problems while attempting to cope with drastic life changes. This paper describes an effort to help such couples through a group process.