Workfare Oz-Style

Summary

Traditional approaches to the promotion of welfare have disappeared in Australia, replaced by a new institutional order represented by welfare-cum-workfare. This has impacted on social work—both as a collective entity and as a set of practices. This paper maps the shift to workfare in Australia and examines its impacts on and implications for social work. We briefly discuss the Australian model of social protection, illustrating our own brand of “exceptionalism,” and lay out what we have termed “Workfare Oz-style.” Drawing upon neo-institutional theory, we review and analyze two key contexts where “Workfare Oz-style” is operationalized—the Job Network and Centrelink. Some tentative conclusions are given and the dimensions of a research agenda, which will put any emerging propositions to empirical test, are proposed.     

Training as a factor in policy implementation: Lessons from a National Evaluation of Child Welfare Training

Federal, state, and local governments spend substantial resources on training child welfare staff. Moreover, enhanced training is often proposed as a core solution to many problems facing public child welfare and other human service agencies. In this paper we conceptualize training as an element of the policy implementation process. We use data from a multiple case study evaluation of nine federally-funded training projects to examine training activity within a policy implementation framework. Findings indicate federal, state, county and organizational contexts were important in successful implementation; the projects were, for the most part, successfully implemented; training projects lacked explicit causal theory to link training activities to training outcomes; and elements of both top-down and bottom-up implementation frameworks were identified. Conclusions focus on the utility of training for enhancing policy implementation, as well as the need for greater theory development in this area.     

The surprisingly weak evidence base for supervision: Findings from a systematic review of research in child welfare practice (2000–2012)

Objective

The objective of this study is to ascertain what is known about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of supervision in child welfare in relation to outcomes for consumers/service users, staff and organizations.

Method

This is a systematic review of the English language literature (2000–2012). Scoping study is followed by database searches of indexes and abstracts including Campbell Collaboration, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Medline, PsycInfo and Social Work Abstracts, journal hosts (EBSCO and IngentaConnect) plus specialist journals. Inclusion criteria: studies that reported on the associations between the provision of supervision and outcomes for service users/consumers, workers and organizations as well as intervention studies. Potentially relevant studies were independently screened by two reviewers (Stage 1) and if meeting the eligibility criteria proceed to full text review and data extraction (Stage 2). Studies were subject to critical appraisal by three reviewers using the Weight of Evidence approach (Stage 3). An analysis of included study characteristics is followed by a narrative synthesis of findings structured to answer the research objective.

Results

690 unique studies were identified at Stage 1, 35 proceeded to Stage 2 and, following quality appraisal, 21 were included in the review. Almost all of the studies were cross-sectional, providing evidence of associations between the provision of supervision and a variety of outcomes for workers, including job satisfaction, self-efficacy and stress and for organizations, including workload management, case analysis and retention. There was only one, poorly reported, intervention study and no studies of outcomes for consumers. No economic evaluations were found.

Conclusions

The evidence base for the effectiveness of supervision in child welfare is surprisingly weak. An agenda for research based on a framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions is proposed.     

Child welfare workers go to court: The impact of race, gender, and education on the comfort with legal issues

This study examines perceptions of 425 public and private agency child welfare workers from one state in terms of their level of comfort with the court work components of their jobs, at baseline, which is after their initial training but before beginning their child welfare work, and again after six months on the job. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were undertaken. Bivariate analyses reveal that being older and male were associated with higher court comfort levels at baseline and at six months. Being white was associated with higher comfort levels at six months. In addition, private agency workers were more comfortable with court at baseline and six months. Workers with a social work education had higher court comfort levels at baseline and six months, when compared to those with criminal justice or other education. In the multivariate analysis, there were no significant differences in level of comfort with court work based upon worker characteristics at baseline. However, at six months on the job, predictors of comfort with child welfare work were being white and being male; having a social work education approached statistical significance. When change in comfort level was examined, the only significant positive predictor of court comfort was having a social work education.     

Helping People with Learning Difficulties into Paid Employment

Summary

Welfare to work policies have developed partly from policy rhetoric that argues employment as the best way of ensuring social inclusion for marginalised groups. In the United Kingdom, welfare to work policies for disabled people have developed within an enabling rather than a mandatory system, although organisation and practice have lagged behind. This article explores policies that provide this enabling context for facilitating the transition of people with learning difficulties from benefits to paid employment. It also explores the role of social workers, examining the degree to which their practice reflects the empowering rhetoric of the policy framework and of contemporary social work values.     

Policy,citizenship and governance: the case of disability and employment policy in Australia

Current discussions regarding the relationship between welfare governance systems and employment promotion in disability policy appeal to a rejuvenated neo-liberal and paternalistic understanding of welfare governance. At the core of this rationality is the argument that people with disabilities not only have rights, but also duties, in relation to the State. In the Australia welfare system, policy tools are deployed to produce a form of self-discipline, whereby the State emphasises personal responsibility via assessment tools, ‘mutual obligation’ policy, and motivational strategies. Drawing on a two-year semi-longitudinal study with 80 people with a disability accessing welfare benefits, we examine how welfare governance subject recipients to strategies to produce productive citizens who are able to contribute to the national goal of maintaining competitiveness in the global economy. Participants’ interviews reveal the intended and unintended effects of this activation policy, including some acceptance of the logic of welfare-to-work and counter-hegemonic resistance to de-valued social identities.     

Indian Ocean Tsunami and its influence on the resurgence of social work as an academic discipline in Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT

In December 2004, the massive Indian Ocean Tsunami hit the coastal areas of Sri Lanka causing a devastating impact on the lives of people. National and International humanitarian aid received in the aftermath was unprecedented. Among this was a team of professors and students from the faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, who conducted a summer camp as a social work practice project together with Sri Lankan undergraduates. The objective was to initiate a project for support based on an action research model adopting a short-term design built upon a needs assessment. While critically looking at the process of international support in the context of country’s long history of state welfare and community support systems, the paper also focuses on one major lapse among others, negligence of people’s needs during disaster interventions. The paper attempts to view this situation in relation to the absence of an established social work profession in the country and examines the applicability of an international framework and concepts of social work in developing academic and professional social work in a context as diverse as Sri Lanka.     

Freedom as self-transgression: transformations in the ‘governmentality’ of social work

This article takes as its starting point the growing prominence of what might be called ‘neo-philanthropic’ forms of knowledge in social work during recent years. Inspired by Foucault's concepts of genealogy and governmentality, the article presents an historical analysis including eighteenth century poor policies, philanthropy in the late nineteenth century, welfare planning in the 1960s and the emergence of neo-philanthropic social work from the 1980s onwards. The article argues that the recent rediscovery of concepts and techniques invented by late nineteenth-century philanthropy breaks with traditional welfarist forms of knowledge and practices of social work. As a result, it seems that social work is now to foster new kinds of subjects and create new types of communities. This development indicates that a more profound transformation of the welfare state and its conception of citizenship might be taking place.

The article draws upon the PhD thesis entitled The Genealogy of Social Work: The Struggle to Turn the Poor and Marginalized into Free Persons by the author.     

Integrating welfare economics in social work curriculum: a Malaysian case

This paper makes a case for why welfare economics should be integrated and taught in social work courses, taking Malaysia a case in point. This is mainly a conceptual paper and secondary data are used to further support the arguments. Commencement of professional social work in Malaysia dates to 1946, to address the socio-economic problems of the Malaysians and migrants at that time. Social workers need a multi-pronged approach that is crucial to address the human problems that includes psychological, social, political, cultural and economic at micro and macro levels. Most of the problems referred to the social workers stem from poverty, unemployment, low access to material resources and corrupt governance practices coupled with unjust economic policies. Keeping in view the diverse economic needs and strengths of the clients referred to social workers, it is necessary that social workers are equipped with appropriate skills that include broader understanding about political economy. This paper argued that integration of welfare economics in the social work curricula is an urgent need considering the Malaysian economic development, austerity measures and the proactive role that social work as a human rights profession could play in the Malaysian society.     

Kevin and Peter: responses to two ‘preventable deaths’

European welfare states have substantial provision to ensure that children are brought up in conditions that meet the articles of the United Nations’ Convention of the Rights of the Child. In our analysis of two preventable deaths in Germany and England, we focus primarily on Article 18, which directs states to ensure that there is adequate provision to support parents in their responsibilities, and Article 19, which ensures children’s safety and protection. We outline the legal framework, which existed at the time of two child deaths: Kevin from Bremen and Peter in London, both young children who were subject to formal state supervision and oversight. The events – including the press response, their aftermath and the subsequent changes to social work practice through legislation and guidance will be examined. Our subsequent analysis will evaluate the extent to which events altered the balance between Articles 18 and 19 in the two countries, and the extent to which a Children’s Rights approach in this area offers new insights. The analysis will suggest that a rights-based approach offers some benefits for a comparative framework and understanding child and family social work, but also that it is not without some difficulties.     

Social work and macro-economic neoliberalism: beyond the social justice rhetoric

Macro-economic policy shapes and structures social welfare policy, services, and their implementation. As a result, the commoditisation of social welfare services and the use of markets as well as private sector management philosophies and tools have colonised and fashioned the design, provision and implementation of social welfare policy and structures. The impact has been far reaching, from limiting social welfare responses of elected democratic government to shaping the profession in a range of intended and unintended directions. Written from a UK perspective, this paper proposes a discussion of the impact of macro-economic neoliberal policies in the field of social welfare and explores the implications for social work practice. The paper also promotes a debate within the profession regarding the importance of macro-economic analysis and possible responses, as well as suggesting a way forward within European and, more broadly, international practice contexts.     

Teaching social policy to social work atudents: a critical reflection

Local and international evidence suggests that professional social work education often fails to effectively prepare graduates to implement social policy objectives within their everyday practice. This paper critically analyses the development of social policy subjects within one particular Australian social work course. Particular attention is drawn to subject objectives, content, reading material, teaching methods and assessment. Some suggestions are made for new educational initiatives that could potentially lead to more effective social policy practice.     

Financial oppression and post-separation child positions in Sweden

The present paper deals with post-separation child positions in two domains of practice in the Swedish welfare state: welfare benefits such as financial aid and child contact. The area of concern is financial oppression in the context of parental separation. Empirically, the study draws upon three types of material: interviews with victimised mothers, court orders in welfare benefit appeals and court orders in contested contact cases. Findings suggest that financial abuse in the context of parental separation is a non-question in the domain of welfare benefits, and in the domain of child contact framed as a conflict between equal parties. Object without voice and with needs ignored was the typical child position in welfare benefits cases, whereas incompetent subject was more prominent in child contact cases. Age order as a form of domination may be reinforced by the practice of both domains.     

Embracing Applied Policy Practice: A Case Study From a Robust BSW Program

This article, first presented at the Policy Conference 2.0 in Austin, Texas, May 2014, portrays a case example of an undergraduate social work program’s robust response to the imperative that policy advocacy serve as a demonstration to students of commitment to the profession and its mission. Initial evidence from field supervisors, students, and examples of recognition suggests that students are prepared to engage in policy advocacy as they enter the profession.     

Classroom and Advocacy: A Project on the Working Poor in St. Louis

A social work seminar on employment issues was devoted to a research-based advocacy project on the working poor. All class members participated in data gathering, interviewing, and report writing. The report included national, state, and local data describing the working poor population. Particular attention was given to single mothers, the homeless, and health care issues. The project resulted in a published report by a major social welfare ad     

European policy developments and their impact on social work†

ABSTRACT

Europe, in the throes of global trends, dissolves and yet re-establishes boundaries, both on its external perimeter and in terms of its internal social and political structures in a process reminiscent of the early period after the industrial revolutions. Once again it poses a fundamental question for social work: is the profession’s mandate limited to containing the effects of this process at the level of its individual victims or can it play a role in shaping European social policies which would deal with structural issues and further the cause of European integration? By examining the spaces created by the EU’s ambiguous initiatives on social issues – in areas like child welfare, poverty or migration – it will be shown that social ‘rescue’ attempts might only serve to legitimate exclusion and to further the decline of social solidarity within European states – and ultimately the disintegration of the European Union itself. The alternative lies in taking a wider political perspective and practising ‘relational citizenship’, giving people rights to belong and to participate.     

Generativity in a Professional Sense

No abstract available for this article.     

The impact of socio-economic status and caregiver cooperation on school professionals' reports to child protection services in Switzerland

Children spend a considerable amount of their time at school; many have trusted relationships with their teachers and some are supported by school social workers or school psychologists. However, factors driving school professionals' decision to report child victimisation to child protection services lack research. Based on a stratified random sample, 549 Swiss principals, school social workers and school psychologists participated in an online survey including two vignettes. While the family's socio-economic status was randomly presented as either high or low in the first vignette, caregiver cooperation was randomly varied in the second. Principals, school social workers and school psychologists were less likely to report to child protection authorities if the family had been described as cooperative or of high socio-economic status. The impact of both case characteristics was significant even while controlling for decision-maker and organisational factors. While the increased tendency to report a neglected child of a low socio-economic status family might actually be driven by need, the reluctance to report whether caregivers are cooperative should be examined more critically. Although caregiver cooperation might be considered an asset to working together for the best of the child, it does not guarantee improvement because cooperation might actually be superficial or driven by a hidden agenda.     

Parental substance misuse and child care social work: research in a city social work department in England

This research set out to establish evidence about the scale and impact of and response to parental substance misuse in child care social work teams in a city social services department in England. The article draws on some aspects of the data collected in the research, which includes: a snapshot survey of all child care social work caseloads in the city; group interviews with practitioners and parents in recovery; individual interviews with parents using a pilot project that focused on parental substance misuse. The research provides evidence of parental substance misuse as a key factor that needs greater consideration within child care social work assessments and as an issue to target in developing preventative responses to child welfare concerns. Child care social workers are shown to need specialist support in undertaking this task to best effect. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Human Rights and the Social Work Curriculum: Integrating Human Rights into Skill-Based Education Regarding Policy Practice Behaviors

This article provides a model for social work educators seeking to integrate human rights content in the policy course. Each of the four policy-related practice behaviors (e.g., policy formulation, policy analysis, policy advocacy, and collaboration in policy practice) is examined with respect to the traditional methods used in social welfare policy courses and the ways in which these methods can be expanded to include human rights content. Available literature and multimedia resources are noted and practical human rights applications are presented with the goal of supporting efforts to achieve this integration.