Facing adulthood alone: the long-term impact of family break-up and infant institutions, a longitudinal study

Summary This is the summary of a long-term follow-up study of 268 youngpeople who were infants living in Northern Israel's three pre-schoolinstitutions in 1973. In this third, and final, stage of theresearch it was found that, considering the extent of pathologyin their families of origin, the cycle of intergenerationaltransmission of pathology has been quite limited, and the largemajority are functioning adequately or well as young adults.They are, between them, now parenting 115 children, none ofwhom are in institutional care. Without the backing of a supportivefamily, life is difficult, and they tend to be sadder, lessenergetic and less educated than a more advantaged comparisongroup. Fully two-thirds have had pervasive learning problems,which continue to impact on their vocational options as youngadults. However, the intervention of social work counsellinghas been helpful, and neither pre-school, nor long-term institutionalcare was found to be harmful in terms of normative living.     

Public Attitudes to Problem Definition and Problem Solving: A Pilot Study

Summary An attempt is made to discover how people define their problemsand on what basis they decide when, and from where, to seekhelp. The focus is upon legal problems since the study formspart of a wider project concerned with the provision of legalservices. Ignorance and misinformation concerning the availabilityof both social and legal services, combined with apathy andresignation on the part of many who need help, are importantfactors determining the non-use of services. Nor can people'sneeds be neatly categorized as social or legal. The overlappingnature of their problems exists at a structural as well as anindividual level; many of the legal problems experienced byindividuals arise from inequalities in the social and economicstructure of society.     

Renting in New Zealand: perspectives from tenant advocates

Currently, around a third of New Zealand’s households, and half its population live in rental accommodation. The proportion of tenant households is growing. Tenant advocates, who are a first port of call for tenants experiencing difficulties in their housing situation, can provide unique insight into the experience of renting in New Zealand. This article presents key themes generated from semi-structured interviews with tenant advocates. Tenants are confronted with issues of poor housing quality, insecure housing, high rents relative to income, lack of autonomy, and difficulty asserting their legislative rights. These aspects of renting in New Zealand are likely to have adverse effects on health. Tenant advocates play an important role in supporting tenants to better housing. Their knowledge of the relationship between a landlord and tenant, particularly in times of trouble, means they can provide unique perspectives on policy solutions.     

Group Living in Homes for the Elderly: A Comparative Study of the Outcomes of Care

Correspondence to Tim Booth, Department of Sociological Studies, Joint Unit for Social Services Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN. Summary This paper traces the theory and practice of group living inhomes for the elderly in the literature and in the field. Itreviews the current state of research and calls for more workon the comparative evaluation of outcomes. It describes andpresents the results from a longitudinal study of matched samplesof residents in group homes and traditional homes which assessedthe relative changes in their personal functioning over time.The findings suggest that group living arrangements have beenoversold—in so far as they promise more than they deliver.     

Tolerating Stress in Social Work Practice: The Example of a Burns Unit

Summary Social work in a burns unit exposes the practitioner to continuousand extreme stress, which arises both from the nature of thecaseload and from the nature of the setting. Burned patients,and the staff who care for them, tend to adapt in characteristicways to the suffering they encounter. The social worker, bygoing through a similar process of adaptation, can perhaps becomeable to offer sensitive help to patients without becoming overwhelmed.Stress can be contained more readily if informed personal supportis available to the worker; however, because of certain featuresof the setting, such support is not always easily obtained.     

The Association between Child Abuse and Attempted Suicide

Summary A recent survey by the authors has demonstrated that attemptedsuicide is common in parents, particularly mothers, who abusetheir children. However, the nature of the association betweenchild abuse and attempted suicide is complicated. Here somepossible types of association are suggested. In management ofchild abuse, special note should be taken of a history of attemptedsuicide in the parents because, in some cases, it suggests apoor prognosis. Similarly, young children of parents who attemptsuicide should be assessed in case they are at risk of abuse.     

Poetry Can Help: The Work of Kenneth Koch

Summary Living in an institution at the end of one's life can be a verysad and drab affair—even soul-destroying. This articlelooks at an experiment by a poet in teaching poetry writingto a group of people in a nursing home who were old and ill.The poet shows how poetry made them happier and gave them alively interest and sense of achievement in doing somethingthey had never done before, enabling them to look at the thingsaround them with fresh eyes. He believes that poetry is an artform that many kinds of people can learn to enjoy and practiseindividually and in a group, opening up as it does a world ofdelight previously unimagined.     

Enabling Adults with Learning Disabilities to Articulate their Housing Needs

Correspondence to Dr Alex McGlaughlin, Department of Social Sciences, The Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham NG1 4BU, UK. E-mail: alex.mcglaughlin{at} ntu.ac.uk Summary This study is about involving adults with learning disabilitiesin service planning by asking them to articulate their own needsin relation to housing. It also identifies some of the barriersto meeting the housing needs of this group. The views expressedindicate that ordinary housing with small numbers is the preference,and that appropriate support is highly valued. This suggestsa need for housing of a supported living model or similar. Theservice users in this study were clearly able to verbalize theirpreferences as well as to think through potential options. However,there is also clear evidence that they feel powerless in makingchoices, with decisions being taken on their behalf by professionalsand carers. This demonstrates the need for a cultural shiftwhereby the voices of adults with learning disabilities areheard and acted upon.     

Children's and young people's experiences in various residential arrangements: a longitudinal study to evaluate criteria for custody and residence decision making

Summary The child's welfare or the child's best interest is, in manycountries, the court's paramount consideration for determiningcustody and residence of a child after parental separation ordivorce. This longitudinal study evaluates the custody criterionchild's relationships and residence preferences. Based on aqualitative study design including interviews with childrenand parents, the experiences of 62 children of separated ordivorced parents in various residential arrangements are analysed.The main findings are: (i) a residential arrangement in accordancewith the child's relationships and residence preferences accordswith the child's welfare and represents a positive living situationwith loved people in the family and social environment; (ii)the personal relationships of the child are in no way static,but demonstrate a noticeable dynamic as they change under theinfluence of internal and external factors. Therefore a timelychange of residence, which occurs in accordance with the changedemotion preferences of the child, is beneficial; (iii) a residentialarrangement contrary to the child's relationships and residencepreferences represents for the child involved a difficult situation,which can lead to one of three different processes: adjustment,a trajectory of suffering or initiatives to change the livingsituation. This means that some children adjust, others experiencetrajectory processes of suffering, and those in the remainingcases act as competent social agents, who can autonomously representtheir own interests and pursue them in order to initiate orcontribute to a change of their residence. Findings of the studyare discussed, and suggestions are offered for substantive andprocedural laws to guarantee the child's welfare in custodyand residence settlements and for further research.     

Career Patterns in Child Care--Implications for Service

Correspondence to Dr David H. Thorpe, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Department of Social Administration, Fylde College, Lancaster LA1 4YF Summary This paper reports an empirical study of the 12-month careersof 231 children who entered care in one local authority in 1985.Career is analysed primarily in terms of length of time in care(weeks), legal status, age on ently to care and placement changesin care. The study shows that almost half the children who enteredcare went home within 6 weeks, and that those who stayed onin care after that time stood only a 1 in 3 chance of goinghome before one year. Onl a quarter of these children remainedin the same placement during their year in care. Drawing onbackground data derived from recently published child care researchand successful diversionaiy intermediate treatment schemes thepaper outlines child care practices which are targeted on childrenwho remain in care beyond 6 weeks and who would benefit fromintensive efforts to restore them to natural parents.     

Black, with a White Parent, a Positive and Achievable Identity

Correspondence to Beverley Prevatt Goldstein, Centre for Applied Social Studies. University of Durham, 15 Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HL, UK. Summary This paper focuses on black children with a white parent inBritain. It is based on historical, research and theoreticalmaterial deriving largely from anti-racist and psychologicalframeworks and synthesizes and critically reappraises the existingresearch on black children with a white parent, living withtheir original families, in Britain. The objective is to ‘normalize’black children with a white parent by identifying and rejectingthe forces that pathologize them. The paper therefore highlightsthe racism, marginalization and alienation which are likelyto impact on their world so that action may be taken to combatthese. A lack of clarity as to the personal and political complexityof identity has hampered professional perspectives and intervention.The paper consequently explores, from a postmodernist blackperspective, the ‘racial’ self-concepts that areavailable to this group, identifying their underlying agendasand their consequences. It concludes that the availability ofthe self-concept ‘black, with a white parent’, offeredin the framework of change, multiplicity and individuality,is beneficial. However any consideration of ‘racial’self-concept or identity is deemed productive only when combinedwith efforts to reduce racism, marginalization and alienation.     

The Characteristics of Children with a Disability Looked After away from Home and their Future Service Needs

Correspondence to Professor Roy McConkey, School of Nursing, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, N. Ireland BT37 0QB. E-mail: r.mcconkey{at}ulster.ac.uk Summary Little is known about the characteristics of children with disabilitieswho meet the British legal definition of ‘looked after’children. Data were obtained on 108 such children living withinone geographical area in Northern Ireland and who spent 90 daysor more in a 12-month period living away from the family home.However, this figure may under-estimate the numbers, given thedifficulties in tracking children aged over 14 years who wereadmitted to hospitals on a short- or long-term basis. The medianage of the children was 14 years; most had learning disabilitiesallied with challenging behaviours, communication difficulties,autism and some were technologically dependent. Many of theirfamilies experienced a range of problems. One-third of the childrenwere accommodated in various residential settings but half ofthese placements were in hospital or adult residential accommodation.However, there were marked differences in the services providedto this client group by the four provider agencies. Future serviceneeds included increased respite breaks for families and theprovision of both more residential placements and more appropriateaccommodation, especially for teenagers. The dilemmas in reconcilingthe need for local, but specialized, service provision are discussed.     

The Cost of Selling Public Rental Housing: Victoria and South Australia Compared

A comparison of the cost of selling public rental housing is made between two state housing authorities which have similar sized rental stocks but which have sold different percentages of total constructions. Using data from annual reports, it is found that Victoria's policy of selling to sitting tenants has resulted in higher per unit costs on the unsold rental stock than in South Australia where very few houses have been sold to sitting tenants. It is argued that tenants who do not buy necessarily subsidize those who do buy, and that if governments wish to encourage sales then they, and not the bulk of public tenants, should pay for the cost of sales.     

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.     

Adolescents in Care and their Social Workers: A Research Note

Summary There has recently been an increasing concern that young people,and especially those in residential care, should be encouragedto express their views, and that the views expressed shouldbe used in improving the care which they receive. The publicationof the Who Cares? booklet (Page and Clarke¹), and the emergenceof ‘Who Cares’ groups and the ‘Voice of theChild in Care’ organisation, is evidence of this concern.In sympathy with these developments has been a study of adolescents'perceptions of social workers, and a part of this research hasincluded a pilot study of the views of adolescents living intwo family group homes.     

Assessment and Action Records: Will they Promote Good Parenting?

Correspondence to Theo Knight, Department of Applied Community Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University, 799 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 2RR. Summary In this article the authors seek to provide a critical lookat Looking After children: Good Parenting and Good Outcomes(Department of Health, 1995). They welcome the sentiments underpinningthis major contribution, which recognizes the many disadvantagesfaced by children and young people who are looked after by localauthorities, and acknowledge that local authorities have notbeen positive parents of those in their care. The writers alsoacknowledge the thoroughness which has gone into the detailof the Action and Assessment Records contained in the abovepack. What is questioned is the normative view of parentingand family life which is seen to be at the heart of these documentsand the lack of consideration of the resourcing of action plans.The checklist approach is criticized for the way in which itwill enhance the bureaucratic nature of being in public care,which in turn affects the relative power positions of parentsand children in relation to the local authority and which willimpact on the development of a partnership model of care. Thewriters conclude that children and young people in care arebut one group of young people facing disadvantage and deprivationin British society. An examination of their plight and how toaddress it need to be based within a clear framework of children'srights and a recognition of the power adults hold over them.     

“Go forth and wrestle with the legal system”: Some perceptions and experiences of lesbian parents in rural Australia

This study explores the perceptions and experiences of a small group of lesbian parents living in rural Australia, who discussed the decisions they made in creating their families, their expectations and understanding of their roles and relationships and their concepts of family and parenthood. The study also explores how these lesbian‐parented families have negotiated the complex legal frameworks under which they exist.     

Social Work with Single Parent Families: Consumer Views

Summary The article describes a research project undertaken to determinethe satisfaction of a particular client group—single parents—withthe service they were given. The research examines five kindsof problems—legal, accommodation, financial, child care,and emotional-and concludes that problems were likely to arisein all these areas, and that, whatever the problem, the socialworker's ability to help solve it depended to a large extenton the quality of the relationship with the client.     

Searching again and again. Inclusion, heterogeneity and social work research

Summary Once upon a time there was a society of priests who built aCelestial City with gates secured by word combination locks.The priests were masters of the Word and, within the City, ascendinglevels of power and treasure became accessible to those whocould learn ascendingly intricate levels of Word Magic. At thevery top level, the priests became gods; and because they thenhad nothing left to seek, they engaged in games with which topass the long hours of eternity. In particular, they liked toride their strong, sure-footed steeds around and around theperimeter of heaven: now jumping word hurdles, now playing polowith concepts of the moon and the stars, now reaching up totouch that pinnacle, that Splinter of Refined Understandingcalled Superunderstanding, which was the brass ring of theirmerry-go-round (Williams, 1991, p. 1)     

The Client, The Caseworker and The Absent Third Person

Summary Some people seek social work help with problems that have arisenin their relationships with others to whom they are very closeand by whom they feel betrayed, attacked or maltreated. Often,so great are the distress and force with which the problem isbrought, the social worker may find himself drawn to acceptas substantially accurate the client's view of the situationand to act accordingly. This article argues that such a lineof action may be misguided or even harmful, and that help canonly be effective in the situations described if it has as oneof its basic assumptions the notion that the picture conveyedof 'the absent third person' has more connection with the client'sown inner needs than with anyone else