Long-Term Care Gets Personal

A pilot outreach program was designed to reduce social isolation and meet the social service needs of elderly living in the community. In order to meet the social service needs of 72 socially isolated older persons, peer counselors used a problem solving casework approach focused on enhancing self-help skills. Community development efforts and networking techniques were implemented to encourage participants to expand their social interaction networks and develop peer support systems. An evaluation of the pilot program suggests that it was successful in decreasing social isolation and in meeting the social service of those who were served.     

Differential Use of Informal and Formal Helping Networks Among Rural Elderly Black and White Floridians

Until recently, relatively little data has been available concerning either the minority elderly or the rural elderly. This paper presents data which examines differences between black and white rural elderly respondents with regard to their social situation as well as their use of both informal and formal support systems. The findings based on 112 interviews, suggest that there are important differences between the two groups, with implications for service delivery.     

Self-Neglect and Neglect of Vulnerable Older Adults: Reexamination of Etiology

Using assessment and investigation data from the reported APS cases in Texas, this study examines the types of elder self-neglect and neglect, including medical neglect. It then examines the association between self-neglect and neglect and individual economic resources as well as health care and social service programs for the poor. The findings show that elder self-neglect/neglect is, in large part, attributable to frail older adults' and their families' lack of resources to pay for essential goods and services and the inadequate healthcare and other formal support programs for the older adults and their caregivers. This inadequate public policy coverage, rather than individual and intrafamily risk factors per se, needs to be considered as a significant cause of elder self-neglect/neglect.     

The Utilization of Social Services by the Mexican-American Elderly

One of the knowledge gaps in empirical research on utilization of service is that little attention has been given to testing causal models of use among the various ethnic elderly groups. The purpose of this study is to analyze the pattern of determinants of social service use among the Mexican-American elderly. A causal model of social service use was tested using a subsample of data obtained from a national needs assessment interview of 1,805 randomly selected noninstitutionalized elderly Hispanics. The findings, indicate that knowledge of social services, need for social services, perceived health status and income have direct effects on the use of social services. The major findings are discussed in relationship to past empirical research.     

Irish women and street politics, 1956–1973: ‘This could be contagious’ by Keenan-Thomson,T.

Group work is viewed as a substantive tool for meeting many of the needs of persons served in our health and welfare system. Group work has a proud history of service in traditional group service agencies and there is evidence indicating that schools of social work must continue to train future generations of practitioners to serve ever-broadening populations of children, families, and the elderly with regard to social interactional needs created in our society through depersonalization and isolation. The use of groups to serve school populations, the physically and educationally handicapped, and high-risk elderly Americans is detailed. Educational directions for schools of social work are discussed.     

Old and Poor

The number of elderly residing in Florida has made it one of the "bellwether" states reflecting the future circumstances and needs of the older population (Naisbitt, 1982). This survey examines low income older men and women whose economic and social circumstances brought them to community based meal programs. A total sample of 1,083 was surveyed at day-time meal programs for the elderly poor residing in three south Florida communities. The findings of this study demonstrate that the poor elderly self report poor quality of life, high levels of isolation, unhappiness, and despair.     

Importance Counts: The Role of Relative Importance of Service Elements in Client Satisfaction Measures

ABSTRACT

It is not uncommon for social work service providers, researchers, and evaluators to develop measures to obtain client satisfaction data relevant to their particular service settings. These measures are often constructed through a set of (usually Likert-type) satisfaction rating response items for each of the service elements relevant to their settings. Scores from these multiple items are then either summed or averaged to produce global satisfaction scores. By summing or averaging satisfaction scores across all items, one implicitly assumes that all survey items that represent various service elements carry equal weight. This assumption of equal weight is somewhat counterintuitive because individual clients may perceive certain survey items or service elements to be more important, or carry more weight, than others. Analyzing data from interviews with 112 clients of an elderly case management service agency in a large city in the Midwest region of the United States, this study examined this equal weight assumption in an elderly case management service setting. Results indicated that not all service elements were considered equally important, which called into question the common practice of summing or averaging satisfaction scores of various service elements to represent global client satisfaction.     

社会福利机构中社会工作介入老人发展性需求探究——以上海市第一社会福利院为例

本文在调查上海市第一社会福利院老人需求状况基础上,发现了老人各项发展性需求,机构中的社会工作部在老人各项发展性需求上,做出针对性的工作。调查结果发现,社会工作介入老人发展性需求有一定的成效,上海市第一社会福利院老人的需求获得较好的满足,最后提出机构社会工作在老人需求满足方面的若干建议。     

社会福利机构中社会工作介入老人发展性需求探究——以上海市第一社会福利院为例

本文在调查上海市第一社会福利院老人需求状况基础上,发现了老人各项发展性需求,机构中的社会工作部在老人各项发展性需求上,做出针对性的工作。调查结果发现,社会工作介入老人发展性需求有一定的成效,上海市第一社会福利院老人的需求获得较好的满足,最后提出机构社会工作在老人需求满足方面的若干建议。     

The Probable Impact of Proposed Legislative and Budgetary Changes on the Lives of the Elderly and Their Families

The decade of the 1980s is characterized by economic uncertainty and political ambiguity regarding the direction of American public policy for the elderly. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) review demographic trends that particularly affect older adults; (2) summarize theReagan Administration's proposed cutbacks in programs and policies for the elderly; and (3) address the effects of these cuts on older individuals as well as on family systems across generations. It is our contention that the proposed budget cuts will seriously reduce a number of federal programs which have been developed to meet the needs of older adults. The impact of these cuts will be felt by all of the elderly and to a considerable extent, their families. However, the effects will be most severe for people who have poverty or near-poverty incomes, single women, and the "frail" elderly. The discussion suggests that these proposed budget cuts seem to reflect a lack of appreciation and recognition of both needs of the older individuals and those of their families. In addition, suggestions for program and policy directions, as well as further research are addressed.     

Social Service Outreach Programs Using Elderly Korean Immigrants' Church Ties

ABSTRACT

This study examined how Protestant Korean-American churches and their pastors can serve as ties between Korean seniors and agencies that offer social services. Working in partnership with the North Central Texas Area Agency on Aging (NCTAAA) and 2-1-1 services at United Way, the researcher asked 53 Korean pastors in two counties in North Central Texas to participate in the study. Each was asked about his willingness to host an outreach program. Thirty telephone surveys and 11 face-to-face interviews inquired about current services and pastor willingness to serve as gatekeepers for seniors. Translation and transportation were the top social service needs. All pastors in the study agreed that their churches should be a vehicle to provide social service information to seniors. Indeed, five churches accommodated program outreach offered by the NCTAAA and 2-1-1 services. The host churches tended to have highly structured, regularly scheduled programs (e.g., ethnic senior schools) already in place. A total of 405 Korean seniors participated in the outreach events, and 28 seniors were assisted in benefit counseling by telephone. Altogether, the results suggest that social service agencies can use the church ties of Korean seniors for program outreach.     

Utilizing a Required Documentation Course to Improve the Recording Skills of Undergraduate Social Work Students

ABSTRACT

Baccalaureate social workers respond to documentation and record-keeping demands of regulatory organizations that oversee or fund social service agencies. Learning to accurately document client needs, progress, and service delivery outcomes is important in ensuring that clients are receiving effective services. Despite the importance of documentation skills, many undergraduate social work programs do not provide sufficient curriculum content on client record keeping. The authors report the results of a study that examined changes in baccalaureate social work students’ perceptions of their documentation skills after completing a required documentation course. The sample size included 101 students at pretest and 97 students completing the post-test. Statistically significant findings show students perceived an increase in knowledge in three areas of documentation: 1) formats, 2) content, and 3) writing skills. The authors discuss implications for social work education and practice.     

Current Inmate Expected Post-Release Needs and Perceived Barriers to Future Voluntary After-Care Program Attendance

When attendance in after-care programs that may help ex-offenders successfully reenter society is not a mandated condition of prison release, getting individuals to voluntarily attend these programs is challenging. In order to help social service agencies better encourage ex-offenders to participate in these programs, it is important to understand ex-offenders’ anticipated needs (thereby increasing possible motivation for attendance) and perceived barriers to program attendance prior to their actual release. Consequently, 256 individuals incarcerated in a county prison in northeastern Pennsylvania were surveyed to address these issues. Findings suggest that women, Hispanics, and parents of children under age 18 anticipate the greatest number of needs upon their future prison release. The most commonly anticipated post-release needs were obtaining food, clothing, education, and child care, although there are group differences. Regarding anticipated programing issues, all inmates foresee transportation barriers to post-release program attendance, and bus passes were the most preferred form of assistance. Scheduling and child care issues were also anticipated programing obstacles and were most pronounced for parents of young children, who report the greatest amount of anticipated needs but also the most barriers to voluntary post-release program attendance. Other group variations and programing implications for voluntary after care are discussed.     

China's ‘Socializing Social Welfare’ policy: a study on service quality in society-run homes for the aged in Beijing

This study aims to examine service quality in the emergent society-run homes (SRH) in Beijing from the perspective of residents in the context of ‘Socializing Social Welfare’ policy reform. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were combined to provide a comprehensive approach. A novel instrument for measuring service quality was developed and validated. Nine dimensions and three domains of service quality were identified and explored. The measuring instrument reveals that service quality in the SRH is barely satisfactory. With the findings of this study and the corresponding recommendations, it is hoped that the quality of institutional care service for the elderly can be improved, the social capital of the SRH can be promoted, and an integrated system of diversified care services can be formed and serve the needs of the increasing population of aged people.     

Services Provided by Elderly Volunteers

As the number of elderly persons increases, the social service needs of older Americans will grow too. To provide a variety of services, many social service agencies across the nation are helping the elderly organize to help themselves. This paper represents the second of a series of research reports derived from a federally funded research project to investigate the types of services that trained elderly volunteers provide to other elderly persons in the community. This paper presents a multivariate analysis of elderly volunteers who go beyond providing socializing and reassuring services and provide instrumental services. The independant variables are developed to capture the level of the physical and mental strengths of elderly volunteers. Theses strengths are psychological functioning, perceived health, psychological adjustment, and social resources. In addition, program-participation factors, such as the duration of participation in the volunteer project and the number of persons served, as well as variables related to demographic and educational backgrounds, are included in the analysis as controls. The major findings from this study are the following: (1) Among the independant variables, perceived health is a statistically significant predictor of a volunteer's becoming a provider of instrumental services; (2) The volunteer's level of education and the number of elderly persons served are also statistically significant predictors. One the whole, however, elderly volunteers perfer socialization and reasurance over instrumental services when they try to help other elderly persons.     

Elderly Consumers and Social Care Policy

The development of social care policy for elderly Australians is proceeding with little regard for the preferences and perspectives as expressed by the elderly themselves. The likely consequence is a continuation of policies based largely on other people's assumptions about what elderly people actually need and the extension of service categories into which many elderly people do not easily fit. Discussions with 71 elderly consumers during 1983 in Queensland established that they have input to make into policy and service delivery issues such as the provision of information on services, the determination of needs, the extension of choices between alternative services and choice of appropriate service providers. Social care policy should not continue to develop around singular and untested assumptions concerning what elderly people need and prefer.     

From Interviewers to Friendly Visitors: Bridging Research and Practice to Meet the Needs of Low-Income Latino Seniors

This article describes a community-based participatory research (CBPR) effort conducted in a low-income, predominantly Latino community, which bridged traditionally-separate domains of practice and research by engaging neighborhood residents in a collaborative capacity-enhancement process for meeting the needs of vulnerable elderly residents. What began as a simple needs assessment to facilitate program development became a mechanism for engaging neighborhood residents in a collaborative social capital development process. The article describes the origins of this community-based effort, its consumer-led transformation from traditional needs assessment to service provision, resulting benefits and challenges, and implications for meeting the needs of vulnerable populations.     

Reciprocity and Affection

This paper provides a view of the creation of social services to meet the needs of the elderly since the turn of the century. The framework herein reveals that the development of the social worker's role in dealing with the elderly remains historically consistent. Differentiations within the profession since 1900 have not affected services to the elderly as they have other client groups. Furthermore, social policies designed to provide services to the elderly have not met their needs.     

From interviewers to friendly visitors: bridging research and practice to meet the needs of low-income Latino seniors

This article describes a community-based participatory research (CBPR) effort conducted in a low-income, predominantly Latino community, which bridged traditionally-separate domains of practice and research by engaging neighborhood residents in a collaborative capacity-enhancement process for meeting the needs of vulnerable elderly residents. What began as a simple needs assessment to facilitate program development became a mechanism for engaging neighborhood residents in a collaborative social capital development process. The article describes the origins of this community-based effort, its consumer-led transformation from traditional needs assessment to service provision, resulting benefits and challenges, and implications for meeting the needs of vulnerable populations.     

PERCEPTION OF SENIOR CENTERS BY THE BLACK ELDERLY

This study explored the impact of the neighborhood senior center on the black elderly by determining their perception of senior centers. Three groups of black elderly were interviewed: attenders of a neighborhood senior center (n = 46), non-attenders in the same community (n = 33), and non-attenders in a comparable community without a neighborhood senior center (n = 27). A 29-item interview schedule was conducted that determined awareness of senior center activities and services. Significant differences were found among the three groups with the attenders and non-attenders in the same community having the highest level of awareness of senior center activities and services. Age, sex and marital status were not found to influence perception of senior centers. The findings suggest that the neighborhood senior center needs to be further examined as a model for serving minority elderly.