Development of the Detroit Target Cities Management Information System

SUMMARY

The Detroit Target City project was developed on a previously existing central intake system. The management information system, developed using a terminal-host model with a character based user interface, supports client treatment matching, treatment slot management, and case management tools. In addition to describing the system and its development lessons learned in the creation and implementation of the system are discussed.     

The HIV Cybermall: A Regional Cybernetwork of HIV Services

SUMMARY

The HIV Cybermall is a computer network and transportation system designed to link case managers at 18 partner agencies. The purpose of the project is to enhance and evaluate HIV-related medical, dental, drug treatment and psychosocial service delivery to people living with HIV in northern Los Angeles County. Participating agencies decided that the most important aspects of any linkage computer system were user-accessibility, cost-feasibility, and security of information. The investigators then designed a password-controlled wide-area network with a shared intake template and layered access to information. This network was combined with training sensitive to the particular needs of the agency worker, technical support, shared governance, and an integrated transportation system. The project intranet has two elements: (1) a closed, private network for confidential communication and information exchange, and (2) access to the public Internet. A key element in the project was the need to work closely with agencies in order to develop staff confidence and investment in the project. The paper describes the organizational processes that were essential for the successful design and implementation of this network. The article also outlines system hardware, software, security specifications and evaluation process. A website was also published at www.HIVCybermall.org.     

Teaching Information Technology to Human Service Students

Summary

This article specifies the knowledge and skills needed by human service professionals in order to utilize the potential of information technology for better care delivery. The conceptual foundation proposes an integrative approach that views management, case management and treatment as one integrated process in the human service agencies and which must be reflected in the information system design. A course for graduate students that incorporates this concept was developed in two schools of social work during a three-year period and is presented in details.     

A Survey of Problematic Sexualized Behaviors of Children in the New York City Child Welfare System: Estimates of Problem,Impact on Services,and Need for Training

ABSTRACT

Forty-eight of 52 (92%) agencies contracted with the New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS) responded to a survey about problematic sexualized behaviors (PSB) of children in different levels of care within the child welfare system. Results revealed that almost all agencies reported PSB within their foster boarding home and residential treatment centers. A majority of agencies perceived PSB to be a significant problem for which staff and families were not sufficiently trained. These findings highlight many avenues for advocacy, clinical intervention, and staff development.     

A Computer-Integrated Approach to Program Evaluation

Abstract

Outcome evaluation of group work intervention in residential agencies. Development of a management/clinical information system and related computer applications.

Program evaluation as discussed in this article describes a service delivery-focused approach to program evaluation which is actually designed and implemented in a residential treatment agency for delinquent youth, the evaluation approach represents a practical strategy which applies much of the current thinking and research in the area of user focused evaluation. The approach has been refined by incorporating the product of the authors' experiential learning and pragmatic adaptations which evolved out of field testing the model over several years.

The authors present the overall approach to evaluation and the development of the evaluation model within an agency context. The author's then describe the development of a computer-based system which is designed to serve as both a management information system and a clinical information system. Basic aspects of the computer-based evaluation system are presented. Throughout the article, the authors discuss process-related issues pertaining to the introduction of evaluation to both management and staff and movement toward the implementation of an automated evaluation system.     

The Dutch Client Databank in Public Social Work

ABSTRACT

The history of the Dutch National Databank for Public Social Work began in 1960 in the province of Limburg. Social workers in that province met at a seminar and decided to set up a registration system concerning client characteristics and the counselling process which all the institutes of public social work in Limburg could be required to register in a uniform way. Thirty-three years later Dutch Public Social Work agencies are registering data according to a national system which was wanted, designed and developed by the united local authorities and all the institutes of Public Social Work. As a result, the National Databank for Public Social Work administers the data of all of the 166 institutes in the Netherlands and consequently is privileged to deal with the client characteristics and other specific data of the 250,000 client units that are involved every year with Public Social Work.     

The Role of Theory in the Assessment of Sex Offenders

SUMMARY

No generally accepted theory of sex offender behavior exists at this point. As clinical experience and research findings interact within an evolving theoretical framework, the picture of what is important, as well as what is possible to know about a sex offender, is rapidly changing. It is vital that mental health professionals, the legal system, social service agencies, and other consumers and providers of sex offender assessments be aware of both what is possible to learn about an offender as well as the limitations on that knowledge and its application. Prominent theories that influence the assessment of offenders in North America and Europe are presented and examined. Uses and limitations of each theory are discussed. Several trends emerge which could influence the future of sex offender assessment, treatment, management, and policy.     

The impact of P.L. 93-641, the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act, upon health and mental health programming

Federal legislation regarding health care in the U.S. has increased rapidly in the past few years. A major law with potential far-reaching effects was enacted as a result of increasing legislation and rising health care costs. This law,The National Health Planning and Resources Development Act,has created a network of over 200 local, mostly nongovernment units, called health systems agencies. These agencies are responsible for areawide health planning, plan implementation, review and approval of federal health care expenditures for local programs, and facilities review. They will affect health and mental health programs at the local level. The article is directed to local health and mental health care providers who will, of necessity, deal directly with the local HSA's.     

Untapped Sources for Recruiting Minority BSW Students

Abstract

Social agencies and social services units currently are experiencing a personnel crisis. Many agency employees who provide direct services to clients lack professional education. Decreasing commitment to traditional social work practice with the most vulnerable populations and increasing interest in psychotherapeutic services may account for the shortage of professionally trained social workers.     

Technology Investment Trends

SUMMARY

Social service agencies across the country are investing in a wide range of technological, business process reengineering, and organizational change projects. These projects include:

? ? using technology to connect social workers to enable collaborative case management;

? ? building databases with sophisticated querying applications that allow quick, effective decision making at the front-line and management levels; and

? ? expanding the number of ways clients can access services through the use of the Internet, kiosks, electronic benefit transfers, etc.

Successful projects have a clearly identified business need and a strategy for addressing that need. This strategy includes understanding the process, organizational and technological context, evaluating alternative means of meeting the need, and developing a solid program management plan.     

St. Louis Target City Information System

SUMMARY

In 1993, St. Louis was awarded a cooperative agreement to develop a centralized intake system which would serve as a single entry point to all of the publicly funded adult substance abuse treatment centers in St. Louis City and County. This article follows the development of the information system established to meet these goals from conceptualization to implementation. The obstacles encountered during the development are discussed, along with the current design of the system that has been instituted statewide.     

EDITORIAL

Abstract

Hope is a key construct for successful community adjustment among those with severe mental illnesses, particularly given the strengths-based recovery model increasingly prevalent in mental health services and in social work. Consumer-run mental health self-help agencies (SHAs) are well suited to fostering hope via their supportive program environments. This study examines factors associated with hope among members of four self-help agencies via a two-stage least squares regression model (N =310). Findings provide evidence of both individual and program-level associations with hope. These findings mirror social work ethical values of focusing on consumer strengths and self-determination, which are primary goals of SHAs.     

The Legal Response to Elder Abuse and Neglect

ABSTRACT

The United States legal system, both civil and criminal, has been underutilised in dealing with elder abuse and neglect. Social service and health practitioners have been unfamiliar with the language and procedures in legal settings. Legal remedies have been obscure or inadequate to address the problems. When elder abuse and neglect were first “discovered” in the late 1970s, efforts focused on safeguarding the victim through civil justice remedies, i.e., guardianships, mandatory reporting laws, adult protective services. The criminal justice system also became involved in order to hold the alleged wrongdoer accountable. Specialised units have developed in police departments and prosecutor offices to deal with the criminal behavior. New laws are providing more flexibility for the legal system, both civil and criminal. A multidisciplinary approach to elder abuse and neglect is needed because abused or neglected elders are frequently involved with many agencies. Attention to the legal aspects of the issue are apparent in the Summit Conference held by the National Center on Elder Abuse in 2001 and the development of the Elder Justice Act which was introduced into the U.S. Senate in 2003.     

Sharing the Baton,Not Passing It: Collaboration between Public and Private Child Welfare Agencies to Reunify Families

ABSTRACT

Increasingly, public sector child welfare agencies are contracting with private agencies for the provision of specialized services to clients while maintaining oversight and case management responsibilities. At the same time, funders, both private and public, are demanding that service providers partner and collaborate with one another. In this article, we present results from a study of a unique partnership between two state child welfare agencies and a private child welfare agency aimed at reunifying families whose children have been removed and placed in foster care. Data was obtained from 41 key informants using a questionnaire and a structured interview. Findings support earlier studies of collaboration, and indicate the strengths of this partnership and factors that facilitated and hindered it. The results have implications for agencies that both contract for and provide a range of child welfare services as well as other interagency relationships.     

Computer Acceptance by Social Workers

Summary

Much has been said and written concerning the influence of intrinsic personal and professional factors on the use of computers in general and in the social services in particular. For example, much has been made of the negative attitudes of professional personnel towards computer use. Little data however has been forthcoming to demonstrate the accuracy of this viewpoint. Theoretical analyses of the computerization process have mentioned three general issues in overcoming the imputed outcomes of these negative attitudes.

An ex post facto study on computer acceptance by social workers, employed in municipal social service agencies (MSSA) in Israel, where a computerized case management system was implemented, was conducted. The impact of (1) intrinsic attitudes towards computer utilization in Human Services; (2) organizational factors; and (3) system design related factors on system acceptance was explored. It was found that readiness to computerize was related mainly to organizational and system design factors and not, contrary to expectations, to intrinsic attitudes of social workers. Implications of these findings on system implementation are discussed.     

How early is early intervention and who should get it? Contested meanings in determining thresholds for intervention

The latest wave of reforms of the child protection system in Australia have been based on attempts to provide support to all families with vulnerable children, rather than increasing surveillance of ‘at risk’ families and forensic responses to incidents of maltreatment. This includes a drive to widen the remit of child protection from the statutory child protection agency and involve other government agencies such as health and education as well as the non-government sector in child protection. This paper reports on the effects of one such reform, the NSW initiative Keep Them Safe. It focuses on the classification of families as needing either early intervention or intensive support, using thematic analysis of qualitative interview data.MethodInterviews and focus groups were conducted with practitioners and managers from human service agencies (total n = 115), and discussed their perceptions of the initiative and the changes it had introduced to service delivery.FindingsPractitioners discussed family needs in ways which contested the policy meanings of ‘early intervention’: whether families are conceptualised in terms of their needs or risk; whether engagement with services should be voluntary or mandated; and whether the agencies to support them should be the statutory agency or an NGO. The implications for these tensions, in terms of policy and practice, are discussed.     

Finding Our Way

Abstract

In the fall of 1992, a community needs assessment on the problem of family violence was completed in the Aboriginal community of Conne River, Newfoundland, Canada. This article reports both the process and findings of the study which was guided by two important principles. First, community participation was a critical component of all aspects of the assessment and, second, the assessment was based on multiple sources of data.

The data were collected from face-to-face interviews with key informants (community experts) and consumers/potential consumers of services, focus groups with youth and women, and informal contact and discussion with interested members of the community, some of them professionals.

The findings indicate that the people of Conne River are knowledgeable about the types of family violence that occur in the community and the various sources of support and help. There was also a high level of interest in the topic and a genuine concern that some positive action would result from this assessment.

The assessment identified the need for more supports for women with families in crisis, not just crisis intervention during incidents of violence but a more holistic network of supports. These supports need to be community-based, operating within existing agencies. The study identified the need for a community-based committee to undertake the planning of emergency services for women and families in crisis and long-term planning for a support network and/or community centre for women.     

The Maturation of a Multiagency Computerization Effort for Alzheimer's Respite Services

Summary

This paper reports on a two-year project which developed a computerized multiagency database of respite service users. The project's primary aim was to make seven non-profit respite programs technologically self-sufficient in terms of clinical information. The outcomes of computerization for these agencies are discussed, as well as modifications during the post-project period.     

Agency Utilization of Free Internet Web Sites

ABSTRACT

A social services department in the United Kingdom established a web portal and provided resources to enable agencies to publish their own pages on the Internet. Numerous web features were available, but few agencies utilized them. The portal is described, features identified, and several explanatory factors that may explain variance in uptake are considered.