Children and Society Policy Review: Health Policy Affecting Children and Young People

The Health and Social Care Act comes into force in April 2013. It changes the organisation of the health service and accelerates the integration of health and social care. New relationships between primary and secondary healthcare will develop and the culture of clinical and cost effectiveness will expand into social care; work on children in public care is in the vanguard of this change. However, this is not an organisational change designed for children and there are considerable anxieties about how it will impact on the delivery of health care. The issues for children in public care need to stay high on the national agenda and in local fora.     

Evidence-Based Practice: Current Issues and Future Directions

Abstract

Evidence-based practice approaches continue to increase in popularity in health and human service contexts in Australia and internationally. As social workers face pressures to evidence practice and justify outcomes, the limitations in applying an evidence-based practice approach to social work are confronted. The present paper identifies the features of evidence-based practice and notes the potential benefits and limitations of this approach in social work. Debates surrounding the nature of social work interventions, effectiveness and evidence are reviewed. The current context and climate influencing the use of research and other evidence in social work are discussed. The paper also considers the position of qualitative, interpretive and critical reflective approaches in relation to evidence-based practice. Issues for the future of evidence-based practice in social work are identified, including the need for the profession to examine more closely the relationship between critical reflective and evidence-based approaches to practice.     

Advances in the Conceptualization of Personality Disorders: Issues Affecting Social Work Practice and Research

This article provides a review of the research that has informed the proposed changes to the DSM-5 conceptualization of personality psychopathology with a focus on implications for social work practice and research. A paradigm shift to a dimensional model is likely to replace the current categorical model of personality disorders and will have profound implications for the profession. While establishing a diagnostic system that is grounded in empirical knowledge is the primary benefit, this tool will also be more consistent with social work’s orienting theories and values. Social workers should gain knowledge about the proposed changes and actively participate in the review process.     

Solving Current Social Challenges: Engaging Undergraduates in Policy Practice

This article explores an innovation in teaching policy practice at the undergraduate level. It analyzes an experiential learning model that uses current social challenges as a compelling way to generate student learning about policy practice. Over the course of the semester, students examine antecedents, current issues, and potential solutions to a contemporary social issue through a series of assignments that build knowledge and skills and link the topic to larger social policy concerns. Using quantitative and qualitative evidence from seven semesters, the article explores benefits and challenges of this approach to teaching, and derives lessons for social work education.     

精神残疾群体的社会保障需求与供给:现状、问题与发展建议

精神残疾人多生活困难,构成社会最为弱势的群体。本文采用实地研究与文献研究的方法,对精神残疾人的社会保障需求与供给进行专门考察。研究发现,精神残疾群体的主要需求包括治疗、基本生活支持、康复、长期照护与监管以及社会参与。对此,我国政府已通过多项社会保障制度安排予以回应,基本满足了精神残疾人的基本生活与治疗需求,但还存在社区康复服务匮乏、替代性照护服务供给不足、就学、就业难等问题。基于以上发现,本文认为精神残疾人的基本生存权虽得到较好保障,但是对其发展权和参与权依然关注不足。原因在于当前精神残疾人社会保障存在三个不平衡:经济保障与服务保障发展的不平衡,医疗服务与社会服务发展的不平衡,以及卫健、民政、残联不同部门能力与投入的不平衡。针对这些问题,笔者对未来政策的完善提出了参考建议。     

Research with Deaf People: Issues and Conflicts

The field of sign language research is fraught with problems-prejudice, mistrust, misunderstanding, unmet expectations, identity crises and pervasive mythologies, to name but a few. Some of these problems arise from cultural differences between the (usually hearing) researchers and the people they study. Others stem from a lack of appropriate training and sensitivity on the part of the researcher. Those who investigate aspects of deafness itself (medical, educational or psychological) also face these problems since they, too, need to be in contact with members of the deaf community. Researchers in fields other than deafness may find that they share many of the same problems. As a result of extended study of sign language and the deaf community and the experience of working with deaf associates for 15-20 years, both in the United Kingdom and in the USA, we have begun to understand the tensions felt by both deaf and hearing people when they come together in the research enterprise. This paper is an attempt to open a debate on the issues which have been ignored in the search for results and publications. Failure to deal with these points will undermine the validity of supposedly objective results. The issues concern the power relations between the communities and the roles of the research staff in relation to each other and to their respective communities.     

Career Coaching: Practice,Training, Professional,and Ethical Issues

The authors address the practice, training, professional, and ethical issues of career coaching and propose recommendations regarding the professional organization, training, certification, code of ethics, research, and multicultural issues related to the field.     

Young People Transitioning from Out-of-Home Care: A Critical Analysis of Australian and International Policy and Practice

Abstract

Young people transitioning from out-of-home care comprise arguably one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society. They experience multiple disadvantages resulting from their abuse or neglect prior to entering care, their often negative experiences in care, and the lack of support provided to them as they transition from care. Compared to most young people, they face particular difficulties in accessing educational, employment, housing, and other developmental and transitional opportunities. This paper critically analyses the pathways taken by care leavers, and the Australian and international policy and practice responses. We conclude by suggesting some policy and program reforms that are likely to lead to improved outcomes for care leavers.     

Social Work,Marriage, and Ethnicity: Policy and Practice

This article provides a discussion about marriage with regard to social work policy and practice with cultural groups that experience life differently from predominantly White America. Marriage is influenced by culture, tradition, and economic reality supporting or hindering the success of marriages. Often, parenting is influenced by marriage, as roles are shared and meted through the resources provided by marriage. As an introduction, this article explains the unique contribution of each article in the special issue, showing the need for social work to respond more critically, urgently, and in threefold systemic fashion to create change in the lives of historically vulnerable populations in U.S. society.