Child and family social work: organizational context and identity

In the years since 1948, child and family social work has, to differing degrees at different times, sought to identify itself with a national centrally directed service, with the local service organization, with its clientele and with an independent source of professional regulation. Changes in the organizational context in which the work has been carried out over this period have affected the prospects for the development of a secure identity. The effects of the following are considered: national structures, particularly in relation to children's departments between 1948 and 1971; the corporate local authority; the managerial function in social services departments; social care; specialization; the detailed scrutiny of practice; care management and the Children Act 1989.     

Parenting by men who abuse women: issues and dilemmas

Summary Enabling children of abused women to maintain a positive relationshipwith the perpetrator is extremely complex in the light of thepotential danger for women and children and the conflictingneeds, interests and rights of different family members. Nevertheless,we can no longer ignore the role of abusive men as fathers.Holding such men accountable for their children's well-beingmay, under certain conditions, contribute to the healthier emotionaldevelopment of their children. This article critically discussesthis controversial issue by examining available literature on(a) children's perceptions of their violent fathers, (b) abusivemen as parents, qualifications for abusive men's access to theirchildren, and (d) intervention with children of abusive menand their fathers.     

Research note. Gaining access to looked after children for research purposes: lessons learned

Summary This article provides a researcher's account of gaining accessto looked after children for the purpose of conducting a studyof children's experiences of family life. Based on a researchproject involving two social services departments, it givesa stepwise account of the process, from approaching social servicesdirectors to actually gaining access to looked after children.It describes the different methods of allowing access employedby the two departments and the advantage and disadvantage attachedto each method from a researcher's perspective. It providesinformation about the timespan involved and the delays experiencedin contacting social services staff. It discusses the issueof adults' involvement in preventing children from participatingin research and the effect this has on the number of childrenresearchers are able to contact.     

Social Networks and Social Service Workers

Correspondence to Peter Sharkey, School of Law, Social Work and Social Policy, Liverpool Polytechnic, 98 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, L3 5UZ. Summary ‘Networks’ is a word often used in the discussionof social work practice and within social services departments.It was a word which was central to the Barclay Report (1982)and important within the more recently published Griffiths Report(1988) on community care. It is a word also known to sociologistsand anthropologists through the development of ‘networkanalysis’. There is, however, a fairly wide gap betweenits use within social work and its use within social science.This article tries to explore this gap and the ways in whichsocial science ideas might have some use and relevance to socialservice workers. It does this by using some illustrative datafrom a study done of the personal networks of thirty elderlypeople who were all clients of a social service district office.     

Answering Back: Parental Perspectives on the Children's Hearings System

Correspondence address: Social Work Research Centre, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland Summary The potential of client evaluation is explored through a casestudy of the parental response to the children's hearings system.In particular, drawing upon a tradition which has sought toidentify the ideologies of different participants, a numberof elements which contribute to individual ideology are specified.It is shown that for many parents the pattern is not of a consistentideology but of a multiplicity of beliefs, invoked as requiredand not necessarily coherent. Previous assertions that parentswill respond only to a system based on principles of justiceare shown to be misplaced.     

Voices From the Front Line: State Social Workers and New Labour

Summary The article explores the condition of state social work in Englandtoday. It is based on interviews with experienced social workersemployed by local authority social services departments acrossthe north of England. These front line state social workersprovide a penetrating insight into the diverse ways in whichtheir work has been transformed and degraded and the mannerin which the needs of clients have been largely ignored. Fromtheir perspective, the election of a Labour government in 1997proved to be a massive disappointment and many social workersreported that it has further undermined state social work practice,workers and clients. The paper seeks to offer an explanationby noting the neo-liberalism of Labour's social policy and thedire consequences which flow from New Labour's fixation withwaged work as the principal solution to social exclusion andpoverty. Above all, it seeks to provide an opportunity for theviews of front-line state social workers to be heard.     

Inter-agency Approaches to Domestic Violence and the Role of Social Services

Correspondence to Gill Hague and Ellen Malos, Domestic Violence Research Group, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, 8 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TN, UK. Summary The development of inter-agency initiatives as a response todomestic violence is currently enjoying widespread popularity,and was the subject of a Home Office Circular in 1995 encouragingthis approach as one of the principal planks of government domesticviolence policy. The Domestic Violence Research Group in theSchool for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol has completeda national study of inter-agency approaches to domestic violence,supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and this paperexplores some of the themes identified in the research and therelevance of multi-agency domestic violence initiatives to socialworkers. Social services departments and voluntary sector socialwork agencies have a key role to play within inter-agency workof this type. The research indicates, however, that, while somesocial workers are active within inter-agency domestic violenceforums, social services could often take a more active rolewith firm commitment from management. It could be suggestedthat social services organizations cannot afford to be absentas the new policy direction offered by inter-agency initiativescontinues to grow in the future, which looks almost certainto happen. Some of the areas explored in the paper are: powerdifferentials between member agencies; the participation (andsometimes the marginalization) of Women's Aid and the refugemovement within multi-agency work; equalities issues; and theinvolvement in inter-agency projects of women and children whohave experienced domestic violence.     

Themes and Continuities in Radical and Traditional Social Work

Summary Traditional and radical social work are amongst the principalcombatants in the paradigm-crisis that is alleged to characterisecontemporary social work. In considering the way in which thesetwo theoretical stances approach one of social work's centralproblems—the relationships between the person and society—itis argued that what is revealed is as much overlap as disagreement.This is in part through the subdued radicalism of a traditionalapproach which struggles to comprehend the effects of societyon clients' lives, and in part because radicalism is incorporatedinto prevailing ways of thinking through having to answer thesame questions as social work orthodoxy. It is because of thisthat Marxist social work is shown to be inevitably compromised,though this is not to deny the important contribution of radicalismin providing more satisfactory answers to crucial social workproblems.     

Risk, Advanced Liberalism and Child Welfare: The Need to Rediscover Uncertainty and Ambiguity

Correspondence to Professor Nigel Parton, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH. Summary The purpose of this paper is to analyse and reflect upon thecurrent state of child welfare policy and practice and how thishas changed over recent times. In the process it aims to makea contribution to the current debates on ‘the refocusingof children's services’. A central part of the argumentis that new strategies have emerged which do not have as theircentral focus either meeting the needs of children or respondingto child abuse, but the assessment and management of risk. Inselecting such a focus, such developments are in danger of overlookinga central characteristic of policy and practice in terms ofthe pervasiveness of uncertainty and ambiguity. Not only dothese characteristics need to be reorganized, but they needto be built on in order to take our thinking and practices forward.     

The Managers of Social Work: The Experiences and Identifications of Third Tier Social Services Managers and the Implications for Future Practice

John Lawler, University of Bradford Management Centre, Emm Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD9 4JL Summary The article draws on the results of a research project whichexplored management in social services departments from theperspective of third tier managers within those organizations.The article outlines some of the major current debates withinsocial services management and discusses the experiences andidentifications of those managers who were part of the study.The results indicate a fragmentation at this level of management—afragmentation of experience, attitudes and management approaches.The implications of this and other findings are considered asthey affect the areas of: research development; policy development;social work management; social work practice; and social workeducation.     

Stress and Organizational Culture

Summary The relationship between social work and stress is a complexone which remains relatively under-explored. This paper examinesissues arising from a comparative study of stress in three localauthority social services departments. The main focus is on the human resource management issues underpinningthe experience of social work staff. In particular, the roleof organizational culture is explored and the notion of a ‘cultureof stress’ is introduced. This is a key aspect of thetheoretical account presented. It offers an explanation of theidentified differences amongst the three authorities studiedin terms of the subjective experience of common stressors. The paper concludes with a discussion of the major implicationsfor social work agencies in which such an organizational culturehas developed.     

Private Children's Homes

Summary The paper provides survey and intensive research material onthe private children's homes sector. It is shown that this sectoris currently in decline. Private homes are found to be shelteringchildren with long and complex care histories and to adopt adistinctive residential style. Although private homes providevaluable long term continuity, they are less likely to offerthe same range of community services as do residential settingsmanaged by the local authority and voluntary child care agencies.     

Contract Management and Community Care: A Negotiated Process

Correspondence to Jackie Powell, Department of Social Work Studies, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK. Summary Drawing on a wider study of community care arrangements forvisually impaired people in England and Wales, this paper exploresthe implementation of contractual arrangements as part of thedeveloping formalization of partnerships between local authoritysocial services departments and voluntary organizations. Itargues the importance of conceiving contract management as acomplex set of social processes involving a diversity of interestsand inequalities of power, where skills in negotiation are centralto promoting greater participation in community care policyand practice. It concludes with a brief discussion of the relevanceof social work to the implementation of this key area of contemporarycommunity care arrangements.     

Homosexuality and heterosexism: views from academics in the helping professions

Summary This study describes and analyses attitudes towards homosexualityamong faculty in departments of three helping professions: socialwork, psychology and education. The sample consists of 235 facultymembers in the five main universities in Israel. Out of 849questionnaires that were sent to all faculty members of therelevant departments of social work, psychology and education,103 were completed and returned from social work, 56 from psychologyand 76 from education, representing a 27.7 per cent total responserate. The instrument used was the Index of Homophobia (IHP)(Hudson and Ricketts, 1980) in addition to professional backgroundand demographic information. Findings show that, overall, membersof academic departments of the helping professions present 'low-gradehomophobic' attitudes (Hudson and Ricketts, 1980). Statisticallysignificant differences surfaced among the three departments,with faculty members in schools of education emerging as mosthomophobic, followed by social work and psychology. Severalexplanations are put forward in an attempt to account for suchdifferences, including the theoretical framework of marginality,the variables traditionally associated with homophobia, andprofessional training.     

The Place of Fostering in Social Work

Summary To foster children is no longer regarded as the main objectiveof the child care services. However, fostering is once againa matter of social work and public debate. The paper explainsthat more types of children are now being assessed as requiringfostering at a time when social service departments are findingit difficult to expand their number of foster homes. This greaterdemand for foster homes coincides with recent researches whichhelp to clarify the nature of fostering. Accordingly, a distinctioncan be made between 'exclusive' and 'inclusive' fosterings.It is considered that a conflict exists between popularity ofexclusive fostering and research findings which stress the valueof inclusive fostering. Research is also identifying the contributionwhich social workers can make in the fostering field. But thedesired inputs of training, low caseloads and staff stabilitypose problems for social work management. Finally, the researchfindings discussed in the paper are used to argue that the forthcomingChildren Bill is not only based on false assumptions about thebehaviour of natural parents but will also promote exclusiverather than inclusive fosterings. A plea is made that childwelfare policy be seen in a larger context of social reform     

Foster and Residential Care Practices Compared

Correspondence to Dr Matthew Colton, Department of Social and Administrative Studies, Barnett House, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2ER Summary This paper reports what is, remarkably, the first systematic,in-depth, comparative study of foster and residential care practices.The overall research objectives were: (1) to delineate and comparecare practice in special foster homes (i.e., homes accommodatingchildren traditionally considered too old or disturbed for fosterplacement) and Children's Homes for older children in localauthority care; and (2) if possible, ascertain whether the responsesmanifested by children in such settings can be related to thecare practices they experience. The approach adopted was essentially sociological. A lengthyperiod of field-work in two local authorities featured the useof a range of research instruments and included the collectionof data on the following: the management of recurrent–mainlydaily–social events; children's community contacts; theprovision of physical amenities; the controls and sanctionsused by caretakers vis-à-vis children; the roles of caretakersand their behaviour and attitudes towards children; and thecharacteristics of children, their behaviour towards caretakers,perceptions of their social environments and progress duringplacement. Quantitative methods were used in data analysis becausethey provide a useful guide to the import of observed differencesbetween foster homes and Children's Homes. Care practice in the foster homes was, overall, significantlymore child-oriented than in the Children's Homes. Moreover,the responses of residential children appeared to fall shortof offering justification for the ways that the lives of suchchildren seemed to differ from those of foster children.     

The Enduring Relevance of Case Management

Correspondence to Peter Ryan, School of Health, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Middlesex University, Archway, 7, Highgate Hill, London N19 5NF Summary This article summarizes the main results and policy implicationsof a Department of Health funded mental health case managementresearch and development project. The project implemented casemanagement services in four different sites, and worked withclients who were severely disabled with long-term mental illness.Higher levels of engagement (95 per cent) were achieved by case-managedas compared to control clients. They were also linked to a widerrange of community services. However, costs of the experimentalservices were higher, and client outcome variable. In two sites,case-managed clients achieved significant improvements in psycho-socialadjustment, whereas on the third site, there were no differencesin outcome between the control andexperimental clients. The article concludes that case management continues to be amode of service delivery which can achieve real benefits forclients in terms of preventing them from falling through thenet, and in linking them in responsive ways to community services.However, the increased costs can make it an unattractive optionfor purchasers, and ways need to be found to retain the establishedbenefits, whilst reducing the costs to service purchasers.     

Organizational Research and Social Work: Issues in Application Illustrated from the Case of Organic and Mechanistic Systems of Management

Summary An increasing number of social workers are concerning themselveswith the organizational context of social work and with theapplication of organizational research material to their sphere.This article focuses upon a particular industrial study andcritically examines the recommendations by three writers, ofthe introduction in social services departments of an organizationalform identified in the study. As well as suggesting some implicationsof the study for social work, the discussion illustrates thekinds of issues and complexities which can arise in the applicationof such material     

Towards Accountability in Social Work: A Case Review System for Social Workers

Summary After discussing the huge undifferentiated tasks facing socialworkers in the social services departments, it is suggestedthat one of the most urgent research needs is the developmentof systematic record and review systems to provide basic informationabout social worker activities and their effects on differentclient groups. The development of a social worker oriented computerizedCase Review System in close collaboraation with a group of fieldworkersin an area office is described. The system enables social workersto evaluate and plan their work for individual clients; it canassist the process of supervision; as a management tool it cancontribute towards the planning of fieldwork services; as aninformation system it gives an on-going account of the size,nature and scope of social work activities with different clientgroups. So far the impact of the system has been to raise questionsabout practices and to encourage a climate favourable to change.     

Decision making by senior social workers at point of first referral

Summary In the United Kingdom there has been difficulty in implementingthe family support provisions contained in the 1989 ChildrenAct, largely because of continued emphasis on child protectionactivity by local authorities. There is an observable internationaltendency for child-care referrals to receive investigative response,resulting in families being traumatized and children's needsleft unmet. There has been a lack of research into how child-carereferrals are initially categorized by senior social workers.This paper reports on research undertaken in two Health andSocial Services Trusts within Northern Ireland to ascertainif it might be possible to treat more initial referrals as 'child-careproblem enquiries' as opposed to 'child protection investigations'.Results demonstrate that, while such potential may exist, apreoccupation with the management of risk could lead to thedevelopment of child-care problems receiving quasi-child protectionresponses. Consequently, changes in initial decision makingmay not have the full intended effects in terms of the organizationalrelease of resources for family support or a lessening of thetraumatic impact upon families.