Towards Establishing School Social Work in Malaysia

This paper calls for the introduction of school social work in Malaysia. Many industrialized countries have introduced school social work, partly because teachers are not able to tackle students' personal and social problems. Teachers are burdened with teaching tasks and are not trained to handle social problems. The introduction of school social work in these developed countries was an admission that there was only so much teachers could do in addressing the problems of school children. Even with school counselors, the problems have not decreased. Many parents in Malaysia perceive schools to be incapable of providing sufficient education to excel in the major exams. The existence of many private tuition institutions and private teachers is a testimony to that perception. If society has already deemed these teachers to be incapable of providing quality education, to expect them to look after students' social problems is presumptuous on society's part. The need for school personnel who understand the social ills of the community is urgently needed, and it is the contention of this paper that school social workers are best equipped for that responsibility.     

Recognizing and addressing child neglect in affluent families

This paper explores how social workers intervene with affluent parents when there are child protection concerns about neglect. Based on data gathered from a small‐scale exploratory qualitative study with 30 practitioners from 12 local authorities across England, this study examined three overarching questions: (a) How do social workers identify risk factors for vulnerable children in affluent circumstances? (b) Which factors inhibit or enable social workers' engagement with resistant affluent parents when there are child protection concerns? (c) What kind of skills, knowledge, and experience is necessary for social workers to effectively assert their professional authority with affluent parents when there are concerns about abuse and neglect? The findings revealed that indicators of neglect can be difficult to identify and challenging to respond to when parents are affluent. Results indicate that social workers have to navigate complex power relationships with parents who are able to use their class privileges to resist their interventions. The paper concludes with a discussion of social workers' skills and capacities for engaging highly‐resistant affluent parents in the child protection system.     

An ecological approach to social work with children and families

This paper examines research into the social ecology of parents and children, with particular reference to the effects of social support on family functioning and outcomes for children. The historical failure of social work in the UK to successfully apply the findings from this area of research to mainstream work with children and families is considered in the light of the prevailing child protection discourse. Challenges to this discourse are now beginning to emerge from developments in both research and practice. The implications of these developments for the construction of a new discourse, which recognizes the wider social and political factors that shape the family environment, are discussed. It is argued that there is sufficient research evidence available to demonstrate the potential of community social work strategies, which enhance the social support networks of families, to significantly reduce the incidence of child abuse. A number of successful action-research projects of this nature are considered.     

The experience of sole mothers balancing paid work with care for a child with a disability

There are increasing numbers of families in Australia headed by sole parents, but little is known about the experiences of those who also care for a child with a disability. Additional caring responsibilities have previously been shown to impact on the work participation of parents. This study involved qualitative analyses of interview data conducted with sole mothers with school‐aged children with disability (N = 11). Thematic analysis revealed four themes that enabled and supported participation in the workforce: social support; managing appointments; characteristics of the workplace; and the role of the school. Results suggest the importance of practical help from family and friends in facilitating participation in paid employment. Additionally, the importance of flexible appointment scheduling on the part of service providers was highlighted, as well as the importance of workplace flexibility and supportive workplace cultures. Such factors were important in supporting sole mothers to balance work with care, with important implications for personal and family wellbeing.     

ADHD and its comorbidity: an example of gene–environment interaction and its implications for child and family social work

In many of their cases, child and family social workers, particularly those involved with abuse and neglect, will find themselves also working with children who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The paper reviews current understandings and debates about the nature and causes of ADHD. Although modern evidence suggests the neurobiological basis of the condition and the effectiveness of medication in treating the behaviour, it is also recognized that the quality of the child's caregiving and social environment plays a significant role in the aetiology, maintenance and treatment of ADHD. Recognizing the part that psychosocial elements play in understanding the condition, child and family social workers can be valued members of multidisciplinary teams treating ADHD in which they offer support to parents, helping them to understand and manage their ADHD‐diagnosed child.     

Psychosocial and relationship-based theories for child and family social work: political philosophy, psychology and welfare practice

Psychosocial perspectives on children’s development are allied to theories that recognize the ‘self’ as essentially a social entity. The quality of relationships that children experience in their social environment have a profound effect on their socio-emotional development, personality formation and social competence. To this extent, psychosocial theories of children’s development and wellbeing can provide child and family social workers with a powerful framework within which to analyse, assess and practise. However, it is also recognized that the character of child welfare practices and policies are influenced by prevailing political climates. A simple dichotomy is described between political philosophies of the right and left; libertarianism and communitarianism; individual freedom and collective action. It is argued that the present swing to libertarian individualism has brought about major changes in the policy and practice of much child and family social work, including a preference for theories that emphasize people’s psychological independence, rationality and personal responsibility. In such a climate, child and family social work becomes more legalistic, orientated towards principles of justice rather than welfare, and towards rights and responsibilities rather than personal relationships and social competence. Psychosocial developmental theories, with their emphasis on the importance of social relationships and the emotional interconnectedness of people in community, fare less well under the rigours of psychological individualism and free-market economics. The paper concludes that if children’s psychosocial development and competence are a product of their social history, practices that psychologically ‘disembed’ people from their relationship environment are unable to consider children’s needs within a coherent, well-grounded theoretical framework. If child and family social work is premised on helping children develop social understanding and emotional wellbeing, theory and practice are best served by taking a psychosocial perspective.     

An Aboriginal community's perceptions and experiences of child neglect in a rural town

Very little is known about how Aboriginal parents experiencing vulnerabilities and communities perceive child neglect, despite Aboriginal families being highly overrepresented in the child protection system. This research investigates the perceptions and experiences of child neglect from Aboriginal parents and human services workers in a rural community. Research methods consisted of community forums and interviews with parents and workers. One community forum developed interview guides and vignettes, and the second discussed and interpreted findings. Between the two forums, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 18 Aboriginal parents and nine Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal workers. Overall Aboriginal parents perceived child neglect in a similar way to Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal workers. Violence and substance abuse were main risk factors for child neglect, and intergenerational trauma, racism and discrimination, and feeling powerless were prevalent in the community. The paper concludes that there are little differences in the way Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal people understand child neglect. Instead it is the difficult circumstances experienced by Aboriginal families that keep parents from actualising their parenting expectations. The implications of these findings when working with Aboriginal families and communities are also discussed.     

Identifying and assessing cases of child neglect: learning from the Irish experience

Although child neglect is arguably the most prevalent form of maltreatment in the western world, studies of social work practice in cases of child neglect are limited. This paper seeks to add to the body of knowledge by describing a small‐scale study completed in the Republic of Ireland of social work assessments in cases of child neglect. The findings are based primarily on an analysis of case files, but reference is also made to practitioners’ and managers’ responses to a postal questionnaire and focus groups. The study findings highlight that social workers interpret the assessment task and process in different ways. Variations in the interpretation of the task appear to be influenced by workload pressures, resources and local systems, with teams focusing either on immediate safeguarding issues or on both safeguarding and the longer‐term welfare of the child. Individual variations amongst workers irrespective of team were more apparent in the way practitioners approached the assessment task. For example, practice varied regarding which professionals and family members were contacted as part of the assessment, the type of communication workers had with children and carers, and the use the social workers made of information on case files. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role of the team in determining the focus of assessments and the subjective factors which impact on the way the individual social worker works with children, families and other professionals.     

注意力缺陷多动障碍儿童康复中行为矫正技术的应用

注意力缺陷多动障碍（Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder）俗称多动症,是学龄期儿童的常见病,患病率为3%至7%,如果按照平均5%的比率来说,每100个孩子中就有5个是ADHD。患多动症的孩子可能会出现手脚乱动,学习成绩跟不上,爱惹事生非,让家长和老师头痛不已。有时家长和老师不明白孩子为何出现这种症状,可能会用不当的方式教育孩子,耽误了儿童的病情。笔者尝试探讨行为矫正技术在多动症儿童社会工作介入,并就行为矫正的介入效果进行评估和反思。     

What is a family? Constructions of family and parenting after a custody transfer from birth parents to foster parents

The subject of stability for children in long‐term foster care is an emerging field within social work with vulnerable children. In Sweden, the adoption of foster children is not a common occurrence. Instead, when a child has been placed in foster care for 3 years, the local social welfare committee will consider whether the custody of the child should be transferred to the foster parents regardless of the circumstances of the birth parents, in order to secure stability and a sense of family belonging. Consequently, custody transfers raise questions such as “who is family?” and “who is a parent?” This qualitative interview study with custodians and young people who have experienced custody transfer highlights that who counts as family and as a parent is ambiguous. This article draws attention to how negotiations about family and parenthood revolve around biological, emotional, and relational dimensions. Furthermore, we show that stability for children in care has to be understood in terms of processes over time and not as the result of a single decision of custody transfer. Consequently, social workers need to take several aspects into account when they assess family belonging and stability for children in foster care.     

Service user participation in diverse child protection contexts: principles for practice

Promoting the participation of children and parents in child protection practice is one of the most complex and sensitive areas of social work practice. Increasingly, child protection legislation and policy in many parts of the world enshrines ideals of service user participation. Yet, with the exception of extensive discussion about family group conferencing, the principles and methods for achieving participatory practices in child protection work remain underdeveloped. We use the term 'child protection' to refer to a broad spectrum of child and family welfare services aimed at prevention of (or intervention to address) child abuse and neglect. This spectrum of services includes intensive family support, family support, domestic violence, statutory child protection and child and family advocacy services. In this paper, we present findings from the first phase of a 3-year study into participatory practice in child protection. In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative analysis of interviews with 28 child protection practitioners across five domains of child protection work. Our analysis reveals three core principles of participatory practice underpinning these practitioners' accounts as well as contextual differences among them. We conclude with a discussion of the educational implications of our findings.     

Black‐White Biracial Children's Social Development from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade: Links with Racial Identification,Gender, and Socioeconomic Status

In this study, we investigated trajectories of Black‐White biracial children's social development during middle childhood, their associations with parents’ racial identification of children, and the moderating effects of child gender and family socioeconomic status (SES). The study utilized data from parent and teacher reports on 293 US Black‐White biracial children enrolled in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS‐K). Growth curve models suggested increasing trajectories of teacher‐reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors between kindergarten and fifth grade. Parents’ racial identification of children predicted child externalizing behavior trajectories such that teachers rated biracially identified children's externalizing behaviors lower relative to those of Black‐ and White‐identified children. Additionally, for White‐identified biracial children, the effect of family SES on internalizing behavior trajectories was especially pronounced. These findings suggest that in the USA, how parents racially identify their Black‐White biracial children early on has important implications for children's problem behaviors throughout the elementary school years.     

Social workers' views on community involvement in child protection work in Italy

Involvement of the community is a topic that is gaining increasing importance in the debate on child protection social work. However, the empirical findings that help to understand the factors which enable social workers to involve community actors successfully are still scarce. The article presents the results of an empirical pilot study carried out on a sample of 24 child protection social workers employed in four public agencies in Italy. The results of the research highlight the complexity of the factors that influence the ability of social workers to involve the community in schemes involving children and their families and the importance of constructing a community‐based approach that directly involves local‐level institutions and policy programmes.     

How does family homelessness impact on children's development? A critical review of the literature

Family homelessness is a key social issue across many European countries and is associated with uncertainty, a lack of safety and increased risks for children which can trigger the involvement of child welfare services. Living in homeless accommodation during the early years of a child's life also has the potential to impact on a child in many ways, for example, academically, physically, emotionally and socially. In the current paper, the authors review existing literature regarding the impact of family homelessness on children's development in order to identify key messages for social work practitioners working with children and families experiencing homelessness, for example, in the field of child protection and welfare. Findings reveal that family homelessness impacts on various aspects of a child's world and ultimately on their development, as a result of reduced social networks, inappropriate space to facilitate play, increased school mobility and school-dropout rates and increased levels of behavioural challenges and mental health concerns. These findings are discussed with relevance to social work practice when working with children and families who experience homelessness and how social work professionals can address the developmental needs of children who experience homelessness. Implications regarding future research and the education and training of social workers are also explored.     

Family conditions, parental acceptance, and social competence and aggression in Chinese children

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations among family ecological factors including parental educational and occupational status, family income and housing conditions, the quality of the marital relationship and social support, parental acceptance and rejection, and social competence in a sample of Chinese children. Four hundred and seventy-six primary school children in Shanghai, P.R. China, and their parents participated in the study. Children were administered a peer assessment measure of social behavior and a measure of their perceptions of parental behavior. Parents completed questionnaires concerning family background, parental acceptance and rejection, perceived social support, and marital conflict and satisfaction. Teachers completed a rating scale concerning children's behaviors in school. Information on children's leadership was collected from the school administrative records. Results indicated that parental educational and occupational status was associated with family psychological conditions which, in turn, were predictive of parental acceptance. Family capital resources were negatively related to parental acceptance. Results also indicated that parental acceptance was associated positively with prosocial-competent behavior in children and negatively with aggressive behavior in children. Parental educational and occupational status was directly associated with children's competent behavior. Finally, it was found that family psychological resources were positively related to competent behavior and negatively related to aggression in children, through the mediation of parental acceptance and rejection. Family capital resources were indirectly and positively associated with child aggression through the mediation of parental acceptance and rejection.     

The attitudes and beliefs of the child protection workforce and why they matter to children who live with violence

In Australia, like other developed countries, there has been an increase in reports to child protection services about children experiencing domestic violence. While there is research on the importance of the skills and knowledge of the child protection workforce for this growing problem, little is available about practitioner attitudes and beliefs. This paper presents findings on research undertaken in New South Wales, which is the most populated state in Australia. The research considered the attitudes and beliefs of the statutory child protection workforce about domestic violence. It relied on a large-scale survey of 1041 child protection practitioners. In order to compare the attitudes and beliefs of child protection workforce with those of the general community, the survey replicated questions from the Australian National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Surveys. Overall, the attitudes and beliefs of the workforce more closely reflected contemporary theory and evidence about domestic violence than those of the community. The research also examined variations in the attitudes and beliefs of the child protection workforce according to practitioner characteristics, finding variations by gender. The implications for the fields of child protection and social work are discussed.     

Working and caring for a disabled adopted child during a pandemic

Integrating work and family demands can be challenging for families caring for a child with one or more disabilities. The pandemic and its changes to work, schooling and service delivery potentially added to these challenges. This exploratory mixed methods study sought to understand how the pandemic affected adoptive parents' work–life fit and service use. A total of 200 participants responded to survey questions about parenting an adopted child with a disability prior to, and after, the onset of Covid-19. More than half of the parents (59.2%) reported that it was somewhat to very difficult to integrate both work and family demands. Parents with greater access to workplace flexibility and supportive supervisors had significantly less difficulties combining work and family. Families who reported more problems with accessing mental health services, special education and respite care reported significantly more challenges with work–family fit. Parents reported increased stress due to the pandemic changes, but many also shared positive changes such as more time for family. Online services were experienced as effective for some children and reduced time spent driving to appointments. Recommendations for workplace and social service practice and policy supporting adoptive parents of children with disabilities are discussed.     

The feminizing of neglect

This paper is concerned with understandings of neglect in child care social work. It is a theoretical discussion in which the social construction of neglect is examined through an analysis of the relationship between 'care' and neglect. In particular, I explore the gendered nature of 'care' and the possible feminizing of its correlate, neglect. I consider the links between gender, race and caring, and how these interact in 'achieving' femininity, and go on to look at the relationship between ideas of care and the 'natural' mother. This, in turn, is linked to a discussion of social work responses to neglect. I argue the need for feminist analyses of neglect as a significant area of abuse – analyses that can parallel the important insights that have been offered in relation to other areas of child abuse, and can contribute to the development of effective social work intervention strategies.     

After Safety,What is the Goal of Child Welfare Services: Permanency,Family Continuity or Social Benefit?

Child welfare services have multiple goals, including child protection, family continuity, and achievement of legal permanency so children can end their involvement with child welfare services and have a lifetime family. These goals are not all achievable to the same extent in all cases. American child welfare policy has, in the last few years, become more definitive about the priority of child protection above family preservation. Now, situations which involve safety risks that are too great do not require any efforts at reunifying children to their biological homes. Less clear in American child welfare policy and practice is the value to be placed on other factors – particularly when a child cannot return home and will need an alternative adoptive family. Practitioners often emphasize family continuity – that is, the opportunity to maintain contact with the biological parent and extended family members – as a key decision making consideration. Yet, family continuity does not necessarily predict a successful transition to adulthood that is healthy for children or provides social benefits to the community. This paper explores the rationale for expanding child welfare decision making criteria by adding longer-term outcomes and the likelihood that children will eventually generate social benefits.     

Battling parenting: The consequences of secure care interventions on parents

Secure care in Sweden is the most intrusive child welfare intervention, and children and their family members have restricted contact. For each child in secure care, there are at least twice as many affected family members and parents who must manage the consequences of this institutionalization. Clearly, it is just as important to understand how secure care affects parents as it is to understand how secure care affects children. To address this issue, we conducted in-depth interviews with 11 parents to eight children who had been placed in secure care during their childhood, focusing on the institutional and societal structures that affected these parents and their parenting. With a narrative approach, stories alluding to a metaphor of war are identified. These stories reveal how all parents (but especially single mothers) are affected by their diverse socio-economic positions and the rigid frames of family life presumed by child welfare interventions. In these narratives, parenting emerges as a social practice rather than a skill. Above all, the stories demonstrate a great deal of vulnerability and sensitivity of parenting. The findings raise critical questions about the meaning and overarching consequences of institutional interventions in a family life.