Whose responsibility? Resilience in families of children with developmental disabilities

Families with children with disabilities are at higher risk of stress, financial disadvantage and breakdown. In recent decades, research and policy have shifted focus from these problems to a strengths-based approach, using concepts such as family resilience. By definition, resilience is the ability to cope in adverse circumstances, suggesting a reliance on the individual. If this is the case, then to what extent does ‘family resilience’ place another burden of responsibility onto families? Whose responsibility is family resilience? This paper begins to answer this question using interviews with parents of children with developmental disabilities based in New South Wales, Australia.     

Does belief in meritocracy increase with inequality? A reconsideration for European countries

Recent research finds that higher inequality reinforces a tendency to see inequality as legitimate, via beliefs about meritocracy. That pattern appears in a cross-sectional analysis—but it is seemingly evident also in a longitudinal analysis: an increase in inequality apparently leads to a stronger perception of a meritocratic process. I reconsider that finding here via an analysis that uses (1) a different set of countries, (2) a different time-period, and (3) different measures of inequality and beliefs about meritocracy. Using data from the European Social Survey on 17 countries from 2008 to 2016, I present results that are in tension with earlier research: an increase in inequality leads people to disagree more strongly with a core meritocratic principle—that is, the idea that large differences in incomes are needed to reward talents and effort.     

European Somali Children Dumped? On families,parents, and children in a transnational context

Transnational familyhood is a challenge to western societies, whose implementation of legislation generally works with the assumption that families are nuclear and situated within a nation state. In the present case study, Somali transnational family organisation is juxtaposed with the western nuclear family model to illustrate the basic differences between the models. The mobility of children in the Somali family system is discussed in relation to child protection in European societies. Cultural variation in family organisation needs to be further discussed in societies that claim to be multicultural. The nature of child protection interventions by social workers will depend on whether society declares universalist or cultural-relativist values as more important.     

Where are the children? Exploring the boundaries between text and context in the study of place and space in four different countries

In this article, we demonstrate how the cultural conceptions of a team of five researchers from different cultural and national backgrounds can be used as a source of knowledge during a collective, self‐reflexive analytical process. While collectively analysing texts describing daily life produced by first‐grade children and their parents in China, Norway, South Africa and the United States, the research team engaged in a collectively negotiated analytical process, which we refer to as an ‘analytic negotiating method’. The strength of this process rests on the ability to examine critically the boundaries between the researcher's contextual conceptions and conceptions derived from the texts. Engaging in this kind of negotiated analytical process contributes to scholarship by working towards a level of self‐reflexivity that makes the link between empirical data and researcher interpretation more transparent and produces a sensitivity to context that allows insights into the conceptions of childhood that operate cross‐culturally.     

Family group conferences: from Maori culture to decision-making model in work with late modern families in Norway†

Models and methods within social work and child protection services are disseminated across cultural and national borders. The family group conference (FGC), with its origins in traditional Maori culture, is one example of this. The application of this model presupposes an ‘extended family’. Based on sociological theory, we highlight and problematise the explicit inattention to relevant cultural differences. The assumed existence of the extended family is implied in the direct translation of the term. The family in late modern society is often described as diversified, elective and shifting. We argue that FGC is relevant to such families. In our conclusion, we point out that despite changes, the family remains associated with traditional family values as solidarity and joint obligations, responsibilities and continuity. FGC vitalise traditional family values and facilitate for modern families performing traditional family practices. From our exploration of discourses and analyses on how FGC may be transformed from supporting Maori traditional culture to become a decision model in a CPS of a society such as Norway, we find there is a compliance with two fundamental factors: the late modern family's negotiating practices and the revitalisation of traditional family values.     

Why do they stay? A study of resilient child protection workers in three European countries

Whilst 50% of child protection workers across much of Europe and the affluent ‘West’ leave after two years, many stay and develop substantial professional careers. This paper discusses research in Italy, Sweden and England examining what factors explain ‘remaining’ for more than three years in this stressful job. Underpinned by a hermeneutic epistemology, qualitative interviews were undertaken and subject to an interpretative thematic analysis. The findings proved to be complex and multi-layered and this paper presents an overview of these. The theoretical framework for the project mainly drew on organisations and resilience, and the initial sections of the paper consider how formulations of resilience as contextual and relational can elucidate professional sustainability. Organisational issues are considered, including the impact of work management, of supervision and of allocation in different national contexts. The paper also focuses on the role of friendships and informal support at work. Threaded through these established themes are more, perhaps surprising, concepts: for example, creativity, power, reflexive spaces and interpersonal relations as explanatory of remaining in child protection work.     

Setting the next agenda? British and French approaches to the second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy

The paper examines the key new discretionary features of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after the Agenda 2000 reforms. These include the possibilities for reallocating a proportion of farmers’ direct payments and the implementation of the Rural Development Regulation, hailed by the European Commission as the new ‘second pillar’ to the CAP. The paper compares and contrasts the ways in which Britain and France are taking a lead in using these features, according to their distinctive national agricultural agendas and rural priorities, and considers the implications for the future development of European policy.     

Caregiver perceptions of children in their care and motivations for the care work in children's homes in Ghana: Children of God or children of white men?

The perceptions and motivations that workers have in their work and work environment are important determinants of the quality of work they do. For people who work in residential institutions where children who have lost the care of their parents receive care, these perceptions and motivations become a crucial part in determining the quality of services or care the children are given. This study set out to explore the perceptions and motivations of caregivers in the institutional context in Ghana. Adopting a qualitative, phenomenological approach, data were collected from 35 caregivers in two children's homes in Ghana through participant observations, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. It emerged that caregivers perceived the children in their care first as children of God and then as children of white men and were predominantly motivated by their religious convictions to keep doing ‘the work of God’. Other motivations included personal life situations and economic aspects of the job. Implications for the workers and children in this environment are discussed.     

An evaluation paradox in social work? An empirical study of evaluation use in connection with temporary programmes in Swedish social work

This article contributes to the debate on evaluation use by analysing temporary national programmes in Swedish social work. Previous empirical research shows a gloomy picture of evaluation use, thus supporting an evaluation paradox: evaluations are not used for learning and development, but are continually prioritised. The aim of this article is to study, through interviews and document analysis, how evaluations of temporary programmes in social work are designed and used. The results support the paradox and we found that it has two dimensions. First, evaluations are prioritised, but they function as a ritual, characterised by routine and unclear intentions, with limited relevance for professional learning and improvement. The second dimension is about limited use by those commissioning the evaluations, but the evaluators are using data for new purposes and in new contexts. This is, at best, a form of conceptual use, hopefully contributing indirectly to social work practice. The article ends in a discussion on how evaluations could be designed for learning and improvement by focusing on three normative models: utilisation-focused evaluation, responsive evaluation and evidence-based practice approach (EBP).     

Disability,caregiving and interpellation: migrant and non‐migrant families of children with disabilities in urban Australia

The process of interpellation (and its opposite, misinterpellation) is taken as a metaphor for understanding the lived experience of personal difference. This research focuses on two interpellative experiences: disability and migrant status. Parents of children with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities were asked about their engagement with the community; their access to support programs; and their sense of well‐being. Responses were divided between the non‐migrants (who were misinterpellated once) and migrants (who were misinterpellated twice). Were the migrant parents doubly isolated due to migrant status and carer status? What differences were there between migrant and non‐migrant responses to their parental experience? Although migrant parents were more negative about their children’s future, they rated themselves as equally happy and socially connected as non‐migrant parents.     

What's parenthood got to do with it?: men's hours of paid work1

It is commonly reported that fathers in Britain work longer hours than non-fathers. This statistic is frequently used as supporting evidence for the argument that the role of fathers within families remains primarily concerned with financial provisioning. In this paper it is shown, through regression models, that once other factors are taken into account the significance of fatherhood in relation to hours of paid work disappears. This highlights fatherhood as a period in the life course which often coincides with longer working hours but challenges the assumption of a causal relationship.     

La metafora: the power of metaphors and creative resources in working systemically with families and children with autism—a conversation with Carmine Saccu

Metaphors are valuable tools of expression, which give meaning to situations and allow the spontaneous processing of feelings and emotions. As therapists, we can support clients to develop and create their individual metaphor to explain their own meaning of experiences or communicate their perception of problems. Creativity provides us with a rich landscape to explore, expand, and enrich ourselves as therapists and consequently our clients. As systemic therapists, we are responsible for the co-creation of a human process, which has at its core safety in allowing expression, connection, and movement. Through a respectful and curious approach, we can develop pathways to tap organically into our ‘creative selves’ while reaching into our clients' creativity and selves as catalysts for connection and positive change. Creative resources and therapies have been successfully used in psychotherapy to enhance the mental and emotional well-being of children, particularly children with autism who have limited verbal capacity or who are non-verbal. These children also wish to be understood in expressing their thoughts and feelings; however, they use other methods of communication – sometimes obvious, sometimes not. Therefore, it is important that a therapist can access diverse ways to support the child through this process. The creative use of animals in therapy neutralises spaces, eliciting calm, safety, and healing. This is particularly the case when working with this group of children. This paper is derived from my conversation with an elder statesman of the family therapy profession, Professor Carmine Saccu. He is a jovial master storyteller who craftfully communicates via metaphors. Through creative means, play, and humour, he has developed a remarkably unique way of working with children, especially non-verbal children with autism. He uses his canine, co-therapist Mafalda, as a powerful resource and intervention strategy to safely elicit engagement and connection in the therapeutic space.     

Are children safer with kin? A comparison of maltreatment risk in out-of-home care

Safety, or the absence of maltreatment, is the primary mandate of the child protection services (CPS) system, both for children living at home and those living away from home. Yet, few research studies have examined maltreatment in out-of-home care due to the low incidence rate and data limitations. This study used statewide administrative data to estimate the association between placement type and experiencing a maltreatment investigation or substantiation in out-of-home care. Over 6% of informal TANF-funded kinship placements experienced an investigation alleging maltreatment by an out-of-home caregiver, compared with just over 3% for formal kinship care and non-relative foster care. However, the monthly risk of maltreatment was lowest in informal kinship care because these placements tended to endure longer before maltreatment occurred. Substantiated maltreatment during an out-of-home placement was rare across all placement types. For both investigated and substantiated maltreatment, risk was highest in the first 3 months.     

What makes it so hard to look and to listen? Exploring the use of the Cognitive and Affective Supervisory Approach with children’s social work managers

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on the findings of an ESRC-funded Knowledge Exchange project designed to explore the contribution of an innovative approach to supervision to social work practitioners’ assessment and decision-making practices. The Cognitive and Affective Supervisory Approach (CASA) is informed by cognitive interviewing techniques originally designed to elicit best evidence from witnesses and victims of crime. Adapted here for use in childcare social work supervision contexts, this model is designed to enhance the quantity and quality of information available for decision-making. Facilitating the reporting of both ‘event information’ and ‘emotion information’, it allows a more detailed picture to emerge of events, as recalled by the individual involved, and the meaning they give to them. Practice supervisors from Children’s Services in two local authorities undertook to introduce the CASA into supervision sessions and were supported in this through the provision of regular reflective group discussions. The project findings highlight the challenges for practitioners of ‘detailed looking’ and for supervisors of ‘active listening’. The paper concludes by acknowledging that the CASA’s successful contribution to decision-making is contingent on both the motivation and confidence of supervisors to develop their skills and an organisational commitment to, and resourcing of, reflective supervisory practices and spaces.     

Back to the future? From pragmatic approaches in the social sciences to the development of the patchwork theory

The debate on the function of the social sciences in complex societies, and more generally of the role of knowledge, leads necessarily to a discussion on pragmatism. The gap between theoretical approaches and empirical research still exists and has even widened, in part as a result of the use and abuse of social science knowledge in politics and by the media. However, the academic system is equally to blame for this. Mutual ignorance and scholastic fights are barriers against openness, creative and imaginary thinking. The structures and the practices of the academic system reinforce this trend. Pragmatism aims at overcoming these cleavages by looking at commonalities between different approaches rather than by disputing their validity. It aims at a comprehensive understanding of the process of knowledge production and at the productive use of results. Defining itself in this tradition, the patchwork theory goes beyond the traditional pragmatic approaches: it catches part of the reality of social phenomena from a certain perspective that allows for an overview without having the full picture. Methodologicall, the approach guided by patchwork theory emphasizes the relevance of stakeholders’ knowledge and citizen science, and calls for public participation and democratic access to the production and use of knowledge in a discursive manner.     

What Prompts Policy Change? Comparative Analyses of Efforts to Create Age-Friendly Cities in 14 Cities in Indonesia

Four years after an age-friendly city (AFC) assessment across Indonesia, this article presents a comparative analysis of policy changes that have taken place across different AFC dimensions and factors associated with more and less change. Nine of fourteen cities initiated changes, ranging from public declarations, regulations, and creation or expansion of services. Our findings suggest that the AFC assessment can offer a means to engage policy makers, which in turn may facilitate city-level change, particularly for larger cities with more substantive budgets and more consolidated rather than dispersed leadership; however, no single factor represented a sufficient or necessary condition for change.