Interpersonal justice: the importance of relationships for child and family social workers

There is still much to learn about what it means to be a child and family social worker. Child and family social workers have a job that often entails making difficult decisions regarding vulnerable children and families in collaboration with other professionals, under stressful conditions in an increasing cost-restrictive climate with diminishing resources. The organisational justice framework has primarily been used to ascertain employee’s perceptions of fairness and can be used to explain a variety of organisational behaviours. Here, it was used qualitatively as a framework to structure the research aims of exploring the lived experience of child and family social workers. The results suggest that the relationships’ social workers have with their peers and managers are significant components to how they manage emotions involved with practice.     

Combining key elements in training and research: Developing social work assessment theory and practice in partnership

This paper is based on a joint project between staff from a university department of social work and a local social services department and is jointly written by the four people involved. It reports on the development of a package of training and research over the past 5 years designed to improve standards of assessment in the work of child and family social workers employed by the authority. It analyses the positive reception given to the project both from practising social workers and from management. It contends that this model of combining theory, training, research and practice can and should be used more widely as a basis for supporting and developing professional social work. It discusses the introduction of a theoretical framework which anticipated the new national framework for assessment, but which has been used to critically assess it (as well as other models of assessment), and has involved experienced workers in their evaluation.     

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.     

A qualitative analysis of migrant social workers’ work experiences and perceived prejudice from an empowering acculturative integration approach

An increasing number of migrant social workers are employed in the UK social work sector. This article explores the acculturative integration experiences of a small group of migrant social workers. We critically observe that research on migrant professionals’ trajectories should adopt theories that emphasise people’s empowerment and potential for agency. We use a framework drawing on liberation psychology for analysing the autobiographical narratives of a sample of migrant social workers employed in England. Findings indicate that the participants perceived prejudice on a number of occasions and circumstances. Even though in their narrative of survival they talked about activating several psychosocial resources, they were skeptical about their professional development and dissatisfied at work. The paper discusses the emerging findings while highlighting the framework’s relevance for understanding these experiences from an empowering acculturation perspective and suggesting ways of improving migrant social workers’ acculturative integration by addressing systemic barriers.     

Children at risk: rationales for risk assessments and interventions

In this study, we examine and compare the rationales that social workers and laypersons give for their judgments, assessments and decisions in cases of alleged child abuse and neglect. We have used Toulmin's framework to explore the structure of the arguments/rationales of social workers and laypersons. We analyzed separately basic and complementary level arguments. We used Rosen's work to analyze the content of the backing provided by respondents for their claims.We presented two groups of respondents—52 social workers and 50 laypersons—with a case vignette that was a referral of a child and family made by a family physician. Respondents were asked to read the case, provide their assessment of risk to the child, recommend an intervention, and give written and detailed rationales for their assessment and recommended intervention.The findings indicate that social workers and laypersons differ in the structure and in the content of their rationales. Social workers formulated significantly more complete arguments, both basic and complementary levels of arguments, than laypersons. The content of the backing for the judgments was also significantly different: Social workers used more theory, experience and policy than the laypersons who used more general knowledge and values.In the discussion, we address the training implications of the fact that social workers pay very little attention to rebuttal of arguments, and do not refer to research evidence as a basis for the arguments they make. We recommend that more research focus on arguments and rationales given by professionals in this area.     

Heads in the Cloud: An Example of Practice-Based Information and Communication Technology in Child Welfare

Changes in information and communications technology (ICT) in human services have accelerated rapidly and have elicited academic concern about the impact on practice, changes in approaches to implementation, and a shift to user-led development. This article describes the development of ICT by a nongovernment child welfare agency over the past two decades. It is guided by a social constructionist view of technology in which technology is shaped by social factors, but in turn shapes the “social” implementation as requiring the integration of two distinct technologies: a standardized framework for practice and the computer. Both technologies had to be carefully aligned to workplace culture, but the interests of workers have not been allowed to dominate those of and children and families. The organization of work has had to change. This article explores the agency’s experience drawing on theories of implementation of ICT in human services.     

How child welfare workers view their work with racial and ethnic minority families: The United States in contrast to England and Norway

This study builds on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 93 child welfare workers employed in public child welfare agencies in the United States, Norway and England, and examines their perceptions of working with racial and ethnic minority families in contrast to White service users. Almost all workers reported on differences. In the United States, workers regarded cultural pluralism as a given and considered it an inherent feature of their work, regardless of the racial and/or ethnic background of the family. Further, they identified poverty, racism, and lack of feelings of entitlement as dimensions to practicing with minority families. A few mentioned language as an issue. The views of workers in the U.S. stand in stark contrast to the perceptions of workers in both England and Norway. They thought that communication challenges constituted a major problem, and that minority clients' lack of language proficiency and knowledge about society and social systems made it difficult for workers to understand families' meaning and intent (Kri? & Skivenes, 2009; 2010b). We discuss how caseworkers' perceptions may influence their decisions and affect minority disproportionality in the child protection system and analyze what factors may account for the cross-country differences we found. We also relate our findings to the broader question of citizenship and social rights in American society.     

The role of child care social work in supporting families with children in need and providing protective services—past,present and future

This article examines the way in which child care social work with deprived families has changed and developed since the inception of Children's Departments in 1948. It is argued that between 1948 and 1970 child care social workers enjoyed a fair measure of social support. A variety of reasons are considered for explaining this—specialization, smallness of size, privacy and a consensus about the needs of children. From the early 1970s it is argued that broader societal changes, including a shift away from social solidarity towards individualism, organizational changes and the advent of child abuse as a public concern, resulted in con?icting demands on child care social workers and a subsequent loss of credibility and con?dence. The 1990s have seen a return to emphasis on family support policies which has been further accelerated in the new millennium by New Labour's stated commitment to eliminating child poverty and creating better life opportunities for all children. The implications of these new developments for child care social workers engaged in meeting the needs of children living in highly disadvantaged families are considered. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social profile,maternal depression and welfare concerns in clients of health visitors and social workers: a comparative study

Research into the practice of health visitors and child care social workers with depressed mothers is limited. This is surprising in view of the known relationship between motherhood and depression, and the association also between child care problems and maternal depression. The study described below is the first which seeks to compare health visitor and child care social work clients/service users in relation to the issue of maternal depression. In particular, it seeks to compare the extent to which maternal depression is a feature of the work of social workers and health visitors, the relationship between maternal depression and the social composition of different client groups, the relationship between maternal depression and welfare concerns—particularly child abuse—and the extent to which such concerns lead to referral from health visitors to social workers. The research shows: (1) interesting similarities between the depressed health visitor clients and social work clients as a whole; (2) the importance of low income and absence of support in the ‘progression’ from health visitor to social work clients status; and (3) an alarming emerging gap in services provided for severely disadvantaged families with child and family care problems.     

Supervision and mentoring in child and family social work: The role of the first-line manager in the implementation of the post-qualifying framework

This article examines how the support needs of candidates undertaking CCETSW's Post-qualifying awards may impact on traditional supervision as provided to child and family social workers. Based on pilot research which underpinned the University of Leicester's 'Post Graduate Certificate in Supervision and Mentorship (Child Care) by Distance Learning', this article describes how a small sample of social workers, first-line managers, staff development officers and senior managers, view the functions of supervision in their agencies, and what they think about the involvement of line managers in the process of mentoring and assessing staff working towards further qualifications. It is suggested that there may be difficulties associated with line managers acting as mentors, such as conflict of interest, lack of objectivity and inadequate preparation and training, but that such difficulties should not obscure the potential benefits. A key benefit involves line managers having an opportunity to refocus on the developmental and supportive aspects of supervision that may have been eroded over recent years in favour of a narrower, more managerial approach. The article concludes that, although the implementation of the PQ framework presents many challenges in relation to the role of the first-line manager, it has the potential to create work-place cultures of a more developmental and professional nature, which ultimately works to the advantage of those who use social work services.     

Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone and the Problems of Demobilisation,Rehabilitation and Reintegration into Society: Some Lessons for Social Workers in War‐torn Societies

Between March 1991 and February 2002 Sierra Leone was engulfed in a bloody and protracted civil war in which tens of thousands of people were killed, many more injured, over half of the population displaced and millions of pounds worth of property destroyed. Much of the violence unleashed, particularly on the civilian population, was the work of child soldiers. The phenomenon of child soldiers raises many issues of children's well‐being, although this phenomenon is not unique to Africa.

In this paper, I briefly analyse the reasons for and the nature of the conflict, in particular the social forces which impelled children to join social movements challenging for state hegemony. I focus on how peripheral capitalism has impacted on the Sierra Leonean family and how the ensuing political and economic crises have left Sierra Leonean children with little security, forcing them to turn to family surrogates (social movements) for protection. I examine the processes of demobilisation, rehabilitation and reintegration of former child combatants and some of the problems and challenges to social work and social workers working with traumatised children from war ravaged communities in African nations. I suggest that Tonnies' dichotomy between ‘Gemeinschaft’ and ‘Gesellschaft’ offers a useful framework for social work education in this context.     

Attitudes to child care reform in Romania: Findings from a survey of Romanian social workers

This paper presents the findings of a survey of Romanian social workers' attitudes towards two key aspects of child and family social work in their country: namely, the development of foster care, and the regulation of inter-country adoption. Major changes to the law on these matters were introduced in Romania in 1997, and the paper links the research findings with discussion of the progress, and difficulties, of putting the new legislation into practice. The research was undertaken in spring 1999, by means of a self-completion questionnaire for social workers and workers in related occupations. Comparisons between the attitudes of the two groups, and analysis of differences within the social work group, generate insights into the ways in which the new approaches to child and family welfare are taking hold in Romania. The research highlights the wide range of opinions and beliefs within the social services workforce in Romania, and draws attention to the complex interaction of professional education, workplace culture, and government policy in shaping those attitudes. The conclusion offers some thoughts on ways forward for child care policy, practice, research, and training in Romania.     

Social Workers’ Preparation for Child Protection: Revisiting the Question of Specialisation

Abstract

Child welfare work is a key field of practice for social work graduates and for graduates of a growing range of disciplines. In the present paper, the authors drew on a survey of 208 child welfare workers and interviews with 28 senior personnel in child and family welfare agencies to analyse perceptions of the educational preparation of social workers and other human science graduates for this field of practice. The findings indicated that child welfare workers and employers are ambivalent about the value of social work and other generic social science and human services programmes as preparation for tertiary or statutory child protection practice, which involves investigation, assessment, and intervention in child abuse and neglect. The authors argue that the social work profession must better balance generic and specialist aspects to prepare graduates for practice in specialist fields of high social work involvement, particularly in tertiary child protection work.     

Assessment of Children in Need in a Post-Soviet Context: Reflections of Child Protective Workers in Estonia

Child protective worker perspectives and principles are known to affect practitioner–-client interaction. However, there is little research on the principles underpinning workers’ assessment activities in transitioning post-Soviet societies where child protection is a relatively new field. This article presents the findings of a small-scale, qualitative study that explored the perspectives and principles that Estonian child protective workers utilize to inform their assessments. The respondents (N = 20) provided examples of real-life cases that reflected their assessment perspectives. The results indicated that too often workers’ assessments demonstrate an over-reliance on an authoritarian, deficit-based approach that does not sufficiently include family or child perspectives. Such an approach may suggest the lingering influence of philosophies that informed family policy during the Soviet occupation. Workers with advanced training in social work and strength-based practices were more likely to focus on family strengths, build collaborative relationships with parents and children, and report successful outcomes in their cases. This study underscores the potential influence of previous Soviet occupation on child welfare practices in Estonia and also the need for further training of the nation’s child protective workers.     

Beyond the rhetoric: A 'working' version of child protection practice

This paper discusses a study of child protection practice in an Irish health board. By its use of a qualitative research paradigm, it seeks to fill an identified gap in the existing knowledge base by illustrating what social workers in child protection really 'do'. The normative framework employed by practitioners, through which they endorse or invalidate 'abuse' referrals, and adjudicate on their seriousness, is illustrated. The gulf between the official discourse portrayed in procedural guidance and the day-to-day reality of child protection practice becomes clear, and the way in which this creates space for, on the one hand, the application of moral reasoning, and, on the other, professional ambivalence, is analysed.     

Supporting and Encouraging Father Involvement in Families of Children Who Have a Disability

Although researchers have studied families of children with disabilities for many decades, most of this work has been focused on the mothers. Very little information is available to help social workers and other family professionals understand the importance and benefits of father involvement. Such involvement can be deterred if fathers feel overwhelmed by the transitions the child and family will inevitably face. By identifying the developmental and historical stage of the father, mother, couple, and child, social workers can help the family prepare for impending transitions. Such preparation can avoid likely distress and provide the family with sufficient information and support to change a potential crisis into a positive, affirming turning point. To assist social workers in planning appropriate interventions, a list of potential resources is also provided.     

Being neither Pollyanna nor Henny Penny: Responding to McDonald and Jones

Abstract

This paper provides an account of the earliest contributions to family theory and practice by social workers, beginning in the late nineteenth century. The paper argues that the first widespread practice of ‘family work’ by the helping professions was carried out by social workers, primarily women, despite this being rarely acknowledged in the family therapy literature. An analysis of gender and its place in the development of professional status and the ownership of ideas is provided.

Summary

This paper has traced the place of the family in social work theory and practice since the beginnings of the profession, with a particular focus on theoretical developments in social work in the United States. A number of points have been argued. Firstly, there is significant historical evidence that social workers, most of them women, pioneered family work many decades before the term ‘family therapy’ was invented. This directly challenges the claim made by a number of family therapy historians that work with families was pioneered by psychiatrists in the 1950s and 1960s. It is argued here that this discrepancy is largely a result of differences in professional power and gender status.

Secondly, it is argued that the impact of psychoanalytic theory on social work was profound, not only in terms of how it might have distracted the profession from further developing its early family systems focus, but also in how its multidisciplinary practice tended to place social workers, again mostly women, in somewhat limited and prescribed positions.

In addition, it is argued that social work's emphasis on the family and family intervention has waxed and waned due to these concepts not appearing to fit neatly into divisions between fields of practice, such as casework, group work and Community development. While social work struggled with finding a place for the further development of family social work theory, the rapidly growing domain of family therapy quickly colonised this field of practice, giving little credit to the ground already laid by social workers.     

The concept of Children in Need: The answer or the problem for family support?

This paper attempts to describe and assess the impact of the 1989 Children Act on the family support aspects of statutory child care social work. Having outlined some of the ideological challenges to family support work, it goes on to trace the main themes in the relevant professional and research literature. The family support clauses of the 1989 Children Act are outlined followed by a brief account of the dominant concerns which preceded their implementation. The findings of a recently completed study of the implementation of the Children in Need clauses of the Act, are described and brief conclusions drawn about the way in which the more negative outcomes might have been minimised, by counter-balancing the requirement for social workers to prioritise access to services, by a more robust dissemination of research findings about family support.     

Family Unity Meetings: Decision Making and Placement Outcomes

ABSTRACT

The sample consisted of all families (747) who were invited to receive a Family Unity Meeting from a Public Child Welfare Agency in a large urban county. Data was derived from the review of agency case files. The design was a retrospective case review with an embedded prospective study. This study describes factors that distinguish between CPS clients who accept an invitation to participate in a Family Unity Meeting (FUM) and those clients who decline to participate. The meeting process is described, and logistic regression is used to identify variables that predicted successful outcomes FUM meetings.

Families with reunification as a goal were the most likely cases to agree to participate followed by Voluntary and Permanency Planning cases. Cases with severe neglect were the least likely group to participate in a meeting process. Approximately nine people attended an average meeting. Maternal relatives were more likely to attend than paternal relatives.

Empirical evidence was found to support the notion that FUM expands the notion of family. Only 38% of children were placed with a parent after a meeting, but 82% of children were placed with a family member. Children were not placed with either the parent or family if the social worker had placement as a goal before the meeting. Cases with permanency plans were also less likely to be placed with the family. Social workers were more likely to agree with a placement with relatives if they had a concern about parental drug abuse. Having a maternal aunt in attendance at the meeting was predictive of having a child placed with the family.

Social workers and families stated concerns prior to the meeting diverged. Families were more concerned with economic and financial issues than were the social workers. Social workers were more concerned with child protective service issues (type of abuse, placement issues, etc.) and the behavior of the parent (substance abuse, mental health, etc.) than was the family. Paying attention to family issues such as finances may be a necessary precursor to families focusing on more complex matters like substance abuse or parenting practices.

Placement outcomes were consistent with worker's goals stated before the meeting. If a social worker said they wanted to place a child with the family before the meeting, that placement was most likely the outcome of the meeting. Social workers may be guiding the decisions of the family. If this interpretation is correct then it raises questions about who makes decisions at the meeting. An alternative conclusion is that the social workers are good diagnosticians who know prior to the meeting if placement is necessary, and know what decisions the family will make.