Tracing the contours of postmodern social work

Summary Postmodern ideas and the ferment of debate generated by themcontinue to influence and challenge social work policy and practice.Recent discourses within the social science literature haverarely acknowledged earlier contributions concerning the developmentof social work in the context of the debate between modernistand postmodernist epistemology. This paper examines some ofthe links between earlier and more contemporary ideas, and inso doing highlights their complementary nature and the potentialcontributions they offer to the shape and texture of socialwork in the future as it seeks to define itself in a postmodernworld. Examining these debates in this way enables them to beperceived as helpful resources for social workers to draw upon,rather than choices from which to exclude. It is therefore possibleto begin to map the contours of changing practice as it evolveswhilst understanding something of its origins, traditions andconnections. This paper concludes by recommending a broaderintellectual panorama and less allegiance to opposing theoreticalpositions by social work policy makers and practitioners whofeel constrained to choose between either postmodernist or modernistepistemology.     

The Quality Dimension. Evaluating Quality of Service and Quality of Life in Human Services

Correspondence to Stephen P. Osborne, Public Sector Management Research Centre, Aston Business School, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET. Summary This paper addresses the issues, for those involved in planningand managing human services, of evaluating the quality of suchservices as part of the service provision process. It beginsby examining the nature of quality itself and moves on to lookat the links between quality of life and quality of servicein human services. It then assesses existing models of evaluationwhich might be applied and highlights their strengths and limitations. The paper argues that many of the models have their roots inareas outside of direct service provision and consequently arenot appropriate for implementation in this context. It concludesby reviewing some principles to guide the evaluation of servicequality by service managers, and suggests how these might beapplied in practice to the evaluation of the quality of humanservices.     

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.     

Understanding Adolescent Female Prostitution: A Literature Review

Correspondence to Dr Jill Jesson. Aston Business School, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B47 7ET. Summary Sexual behaviour and sexuality are currently topical issuesof concern for child care social workers. Social workers arespending more and of more of their time with children who comeinto care because of sexual abuse, or who have an involvementin the ‘rent’ scene or Prostitution. In additionmany teenage young women come into care because of social orparental concern over their lsquo;promiscuous’ behaviour.The review of research on adolescent prostitution offers severalexplanations for involvement in prostitution. which vary accordingto the discipline of the author. Explanations vary from pathologicaland personal psychology factors to the wider social aspectsof the family and local environment. This literature reviewwas used as a basis for research which examined the incidenceof female prostitution for a social services department. Thisis a relatively new field of interest and consequently thereis very little British research published on the issue of adolescentprostitution, or on under age (16) prostitution. There is nopublished research on girls in care and prostitution. We needto know much more about the reality of young people's livesbefore social workers can offer a meaningful response.     

The Impact of the First Term of the New Labour Government on Social Work in Britain: The Interface between Education Policy and Social Work

Summary This paper considers how far the New Labour educational policyrepresents a clear shift in focus from the policies of the Conservativeadministrations of the 1980s and 1990s. As in other areas ofsocial policy, the paper concludes that current government policyowes as much—if not more—to ‘New Right’ideology than to that of the ‘Old Left’. With anew emphasis on social inclusion, the paper considers the contributionof, and implications for, contemporary developments in educationpolicy and practice for child and family social work in general,and education social work in particular.     

1998 Human Rights Act: Social Work's New Benchmark

Summary The 1998 Human Rights Act makes the European Convention on HumanRights directly enforceable by the United Kingdom's courts andtribunals. This represents a major constitutional change andwill allow statute law and common law to be assessed, or reassessed,according to the rights laid down in the Convention. This hasmany implications for social work policy makers, managers andpractitioners. It will require the Convention rights to be atthe heart of social work practice. The ability of service usersto challenge decisions by social services departments will nolonger be dependent upon the traditional approach to judicialreview. Compliance with the Convention will now feature in legalchallenges. It is essential that the practice of social workembraces the principles outlined in the Convention. In manyrespects, they are rights that practitioners and others recognizeas being basic expectations of service users, and making themdirectly enforceable can only be for the good. However, we shouldnot underestimate the effect that the legislation will have.This article outlines the legal effects of the 1998 Human RightsAct and illustrates them by reference to examples from socialwork practice.     

Stress and Opportunity in the Role of the Prison Welfare Officer

Summary The role of social workers within the penal system has beenthe subject of much discussion and heart-searching by probationofficers and others since the probation service took on responsibilityfor rilling prison welfare posts in 1966. Many officers havebeen reluctant to undertake secondment as Prison Welfare Officersbecause of the difficulties of applying their social work trainingand experience in a penal setting and their fears of absorptioninto a punishment-oriented culture. This article explores thenature of the stresses involved in the practice of social workin this setting, and argues the case for the positive contributionthat social workers can make, at present often ignored in discussingthe stress and conflict inherent in the situation. Stress, itis argued, may be a necessary function of effective work inthis context, and the attempt to reduce it by giving the PWOa more detailed role definition and a clearer position withinthe prison hierarchy is premature. The role is best definedas it emerges from the experience of good practitioners withinthe setting, a concept which has implications for the choiceof probation officers for this type of work and for their approach.They should be able to see and utilize the opportunities foreffective social work, and incorporate available research ina flexible and imaginative methodology     

Marginalized Children as Social Actors for Social Justice in South Asia

Correspondence to: Claire O'Kane, C/o Save the Children Norway, GPO Box 3394, Jawalakhel, Kathmandu, Nepal. Summary This contribution highlights the role that marginalized girlsand boys are themselves playing in varied contexts in SouthAsia to challenge inequalities and discrimination to ensurethat the rights of all children are realized. Notions of rightsare inextricably linked to the concept of social justice whichis concerned with equality, needs and entitlements. Whilst highlightingthe role of children and young people as social actors and activecitizens, this paper also explores broader contextual and discourseissues concerning social work practice, social justice and childrights in South Asia. Case examples and ethnographic materialfrom South Asia are shared. Furthermore, the changing natureand roles of social workers and development workers when enablingchildren's own protagonism are reflected upon, and lessons drawnfor social and community work practice and policy developmentin different parts of the world.     

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.     

Children's Welfare, Surrogacy and Social Work

Correspondence to Eric Blyth, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of Hudders-field, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH Summary Although surrogacy appears to have been practised throughouthistory across a diverse range of cultural groups it has onlyrecently emerged as a significant social problem, posing legal,ethical, social and psychological dilemmas. Developments inmedical technology, legislative change and shifts in professionalpractices have combined to make surrogacy potentially a moreacceptable form of family creation for more infertile and involuntarychildless people. Hitherto social work involvement in surrogacy has been marginal.However a more explicit focus on the welfare of the child, togetherwith the likely increase in prevalence in surrogacy, imply amore central role in future for social work. The commitmentof the Government and the newly-created Human Fertilizationand Embryology Authority to keeping surrogacy under review isexpected to result in further policy developments. In the meantimethis paper begins the process of identifying those areas ofsurrogacy practice in which social work intervention could beeffectively and appropriately focused and considers the implicationsof these for both social work agencies and practitioners.     

Strategies for the Management of Stigma through Social Work

Summary Stigma management should be part of social work practice, inaddition to attempts to combat stigma by social policy initiatives.The objectives of stigma management are to reduce awarenessand length of dependence on social services, to demonstrateclients' contribution to society, and to reduce social and spatialdistance between clients and others. Strategies are identified,which include the selection of various combinations of targetsfor intervention from three aspects of stigma (the attribute,the stereotype and the relationship between them) and from thepossibilities of work with the audience, both public and professionaland the stigmatised person, or both. Factors to evaluate inassessment; methods of intervention, including help in passing,group identification, social exchanges, public reviews, theuse of agents, benefactor relationships and elevation ceremonies;and reducing stigma at the end of social work intervention areconsidered.     

Theory and Practice in Long Term Social Work: a Case-Study of Practice with Social Services Department Clients

Summary This study is based on empirical research into the practiceof 14 social services department social workers with 42 of theirlong term clients. The findings suggest that, contrary to expectation,this type of social work practice is not characterised by aproblem solving approach, but rather by a concern for the containmentof problems and the maintenance of stability. This leads toa restricted form of social work practice which is not linkedto any particular method of intervention. Reasons for this theory-practicehiatus are suggested along with a discussion of the issues surroundingtraining for long term social work of this kind in the future.     

A National Survey of the Investigation of Child Sexual Abuse

Correspondence to Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 5XH, UK Summary The article reports a national survey of social services andpolice arrangements for investigating child sexual abuse (CSA).It is now officially accepted as good practice for police andsocial workers to jointly investigate such allegations. To evaluateinvestigative practice, the survey aimed to (i) document existingarrangements for police/social services investigation and managementof CSA cases; (ii) identify the main organizational models informingsuch work, and (iii) explore the perceptions of police and socialservices managers of the key policy and practice issues posedby such work. The criteria for judging the benefits of jointwork were: reduction in the number of occasions children wereinterviewed, clarification of the role of professionals involved,increased coordination of service delivery, and establishmentof group support for difficult decisions. While there were signsthat some benefit was being achieved, there were also indicationsof the endurance of problems long associated with multiagencywork.     

Social Work, Sectarianism and Anti-sectarian Practice in Northern Ireland

Correspondence to Dr Jim Campbell, Department of Social Work, The Queen's University of Belfast, 7 Lennoxvale, Belfast BT9 5BY, Northern Ireland. Jim Campbell lectures in the Department of Social Work, The Queen's University of Belfast. His doctoral thesis was on the concept of violence in social and political thought. His current research interests include social policy in Northern Ireland and mental health social work Summary This paper addresses a subject relatively unknown to the Britishand international social work audience—that of trainingfor anti-sectarian practice. In doing so, it points to someof the complex, even dangerous issues raised by such trainingfor social work students and practitioners in Northern Ireland.The paper comments upon the limited but significant ways inwhich social work educators and practitioners have tried tochallenge sectarian discrimination in Northern Ireland, andproposes methods in train ing and research which might facilitatea better understanding of these processes.     

An Unacceptable Role for Social Work: Implementing Immigration Policy

Correspondence to Dr Beth Humphries, Department of Applied Social Science, Lancaster University, Cartmel College, Lancaster, LA1 4YL. E-mail: b.humphries{at}lancaster.ac.uk Summary Social work has always had a role in policing the boundariesof welfare, and under New Labour there has been a decisive shiftto an increasingly narrow and negative practice. This articletakes social work’s involvement in internal immigrationcontrols as an example of the profession’s complicityin implementing social policies that are degrading and inhuman.It argues that social work has adopted a reactionary and uncriticalview of policy, and asks whether there might be a more progressivefuture for the profession.     

The Changing Nature and Context of Social Work Research

Summary Social work research is constantly diversifying and expandingand this article explores its changing nature; including changesto epistemology and practice; and the critical influence ofthe wider economic, political, theoretical and practice changesoccurring to social work itself. The author discusses a numberof issues facing social work research: the enduring conflictsof ways of knowing, doing and valuing social work research;the role of practitioners as researchers; and the challengeto empower service users as self-determining researchers.     

Social Work and the Medical Profession--Arguments Against Unconditional Collaboration

Summary The history and major texts of medical social work emphasizethe need for collaboration with the medical profession. Howeverthere is a less visible history of conflict between medicineand social work. It is proposed that a critique of medicine’scontribution to health provides the foundation for a statementof principles for a social model of health for social work practice.Collaboration with medicine should be negotiated on the basisof such principles, rather than unconditional.     

Toward Generic Social Work Practice--a Review and Some Innovations

Summary This essay reviews the development of the generic concept andoffers three models and several concepts that are seen as relevantto the progress of generic theory for social work practice.A major gap in professional social work has been identified.The generic approach is seen as having exciting potential foreducating and training multi-skilled social workers, but a greatdeal of head and heart work is necessary before the idea ofgeneric social work can become a practical and viable reality     

Beyond Social Constructionism: Critical Realism and Social Work

Summary Theories within the social and psychological sciences continueto shape social work practice. However, recent debates withinthese sciences on the shortcomings of ‘social constructionism’,and the attempt to overcome them through a critical realistposition, have so far failed to capture social work's attention.This paper provides a critical overview of these theoreticaldebates, highlighting the shortcomings of social constructionismfor social work. The critical realist challenge to social constructionism,as articulated by the British philosopher Roy Bhaskar, is consideredand its relevance to social work formulated in terms of a returnto ‘depth’ in practice.     

Open Records: The Client's Right to Partnership

Summary Many Social Services Departments have opened their files totheir clients or intend to do so. This reflects the incomingtide of concern about citizens' rights and client participation,but what effect might the opening of records have on the practiceof social work? The paper summarizes the findings of a small scale study inwhich a team of social workers opened their case recording toa selected number of clients. The workers’ and clients‘views of this process are described, along with the implicationsfor practice. The study suggests that a focus on shared recordingcan begin to alter the kind of work done by the social worker,helping to promote a partnership between the worker and theclient. Finally, the paper argues that a policy of client access enforcedonly as a right is prone to sabotage or a fall into disuse.A seven point training programme is outlined in order to helpsocial workers use Open Records as an opportunity to promotea partnership in their work with clients.