Eligibility Criteria for Cash Assistance for Older and Disabled People in Hungary: A Model for Countries in Passage from a Planned to a Market Economy

Correspondence to Ruth Landau, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel. Summary The political and economic changes presently taking place inthe Central and Eastern European countries are accompanied byprofound social changes for which, in terms of personal well-being,older and disabled people pay the highest price. Having lostthe security of a minimum standard of living, many are exposedto poverty in its broadest sense. The collapse of governmentalarrangements to provide for the minimum needs of this populationled to the establishment of non-governmental voluntary socialagencies. Unfortunately, these are characterized by limitedresources on the one hand, and lack of trained and skilled socialwork staff on the other. Based on the experience of a Hungariannon-governmental social agency, a model for eligibility criteriafor cash assistance under these circumstances, taking vulnerabilityas a key concept, is suggested for the benefit and dignity ofthose most in need.     

The Independent Social Work Agency: A Report on the First Year of an Experiment in Social Casework

Summary The authors present an account of their experiences in organizinga research project to explore aspects of the need and demandfor social work through the use of an independent fee-payingagency. Some of the problems encountered in setting up the projectand the agency are discussed, along with some observations onthe first year's work in the agency.     

The Urban Programme: a report on Some Programme Funded Projects

Summary The paper reports on a questionnaire survey of a sample of projectsfunded by the Urban Programme. Six of the most frequently fundedproject types were surveyed, and questionnaires sent to localauthorities and voluntary agencies running the projects. Four main areas of investigation are reported—the aimsand achievements of projects and the relationship of projectaims to programme aims; the origins and development of projects;the testing of some claims made of the Urban Programme; anda testing of local authority and voluntary agency reactionsto the Urban Programme in general. Most projects were aimed as much at improving access to andinformation about other services, as they were with providinga direct service. Whilst most projects were rated as successful,the notion of what constituted success varied considerably. More than a half of all projects were modified from the originalaims and structure during the course of development and morethan two-thirds would be altered in more than detail were applicationfor urban aid to be made anew. Of the four ‘claims’ about the Urban Programme testedin the survey, two were found to be largely substantiated-thatthe programme has a ‘multiplier’ effect, and thatone of the major areas of benefit of the programme lies in thespin-offs it produces by way of experience gained and lessonslearned. The two others were not substantiated—that programmefunding enables rapid implementation of projects, and that theprogramme provides the only possible source of funding for suchprojects, which would otherwise not be established     

What Makes for Successful Groupwork? A Survey of Agencies in the UK

Summary This paper reports the findings of a survey of Social ServicesDepartments, Probation Services and the major voluntary agenciesin the UK. The survey aimed to shed light on the factors whichpromote successful groups in social work and probation agencies.The survey did not attempt to map the extent of current groupwork.A questionnaire was piloted in a Social Services Departmentin northern England with social work and social care practitionersparticipating in ‘The Groupwork Project’, a trainingand development programme which continues to have as its aimthe establishment of a groupwork service in a mainstream socialservices agency. The survey was designed to be illuminativeand exploratory rather than conclusive. In this paper, the authorsreflect on the research process and on the findings of the survey.These findings point to the complexity of factors consideredsignificant to the success of a group, and to the importanceof contextual factors in establishing and sustaining a groupworkservice.     

Agency Function and Social Work Principles

Summary The concept of agency function is examined in relation to thenature of the social work task. It is often the case that agencyfunction is seen more as a problem for social work and not asone of its characteristics. It is argued in this paper thatthe agency itself is not responsible for the apparently delicatestate of present day social work, but that on the contrary,the failure to appreciate social work's relationship to societyand social processes in part accounts for its uncertain condition.     

Contract Management and Community Care: A Negotiated Process

Correspondence to Jackie Powell, Department of Social Work Studies, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK. Summary Drawing on a wider study of community care arrangements forvisually impaired people in England and Wales, this paper exploresthe implementation of contractual arrangements as part of thedeveloping formalization of partnerships between local authoritysocial services departments and voluntary organizations. Itargues the importance of conceiving contract management as acomplex set of social processes involving a diversity of interestsand inequalities of power, where skills in negotiation are centralto promoting greater participation in community care policyand practice. It concludes with a brief discussion of the relevanceof social work to the implementation of this key area of contemporarycommunity care arrangements.     

The Significance of the Early Stage of Illness as a Focus for Social Work Help

Summary This paper considers the experience of illness as a series ofinterrelated phases, in which the beginning phase which is thetransition from health to illness is shown to have special significance.The common responses to this stage of illness are denial, welcomeor inertia, each of which may give some forewarning of problemsthat may be encountered later in the illness. Traditionallysocial work help has focused onto the acute or convalescentstages, but it is suggested here that the beginning phase ofillness offers a rewarding point for intervention, not onlywhen opening new cases, but also among clients who are alreadyknown and where health problems may interact with other problems.The implications of this are explored both for agency policyas well as an added dimension of diagnostic understanding ofindividual clients no matter what the agency     

Partnership between the probation service and voluntary sector organizations

Summary This paper considers the development of inter-agency partnershipsbetween the probation service and voluntary sector organizationsin the early 1990s in England and Wales and reports the resultsof research by the author and their implications for youth justicearrangements outlined in the recent 1998 Crime and DisorderAct. The article outlines the development of probation partnershipsand the impact of changes to probation services, voluntary organizationsand service users which include: a shift towards purchaser-providerand contract-based arrangements; voluntary organizations takingon a role to work with involuntary clients; and the introductionof a discourse on partnerships which marginalizes small, informalvoluntary groups. These findings are then considered in relationto the Crime and Disorder Partnerships for crime preventionwhich form a crucial part of the 1988 Criminal Justice Act.The Crime and Disorder Partnerships have less emphasis on amanagerialist agenda but offer no extra resources and this articlesuggests that they may therefore not result in significant benefitsfor agencies working with young offenders.     

Implementing Community Social Work from a Social Services Department: Some Issues

Summary The proposal in the Barclay Report on the role and tasks ofsocial workers for ‘community social work’ as astrategy for social services departments is assessed The writerargues that the voluntary sector has significant roles and prioritiesoutside the social services, that government priorities forencouraging the voluntary sector emphasise other areas of workand that involving voluntary groups in official initiativesmay be seen as going against the independence of some groups.The motivation of groups and individuals in the voluntary sectorwill be important, but various research and practice shows thatindividuals, informal groups and mutual aid groups may be difficultto involve in a substantial programme. The climate of opinionin the field of volunteering and the social background of clients'neighbours may provoke hostility. Experience of community worksuggests that official initiatives may lead to resistance andconflict rather than involvement, and there may be ethical problemswith compulsion.     

Private Children's Homes

Summary The paper provides survey and intensive research material onthe private children's homes sector. It is shown that this sectoris currently in decline. Private homes are found to be shelteringchildren with long and complex care histories and to adopt adistinctive residential style. Although private homes providevaluable long term continuity, they are less likely to offerthe same range of community services as do residential settingsmanaged by the local authority and voluntary child care agencies.     

Client Responses to Family Conciliation: Achieving Clarity in the Midst of Confusion

Correspondence to Dr. R. Simpson, Family and Community Dispute Research Centre, Claremont Bridge, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU. Summary The present paper deals with one particular issue raised inthe course of a major piece of evaluation research into theeffectiveness of family conciliation in England and Wales. Fromaccounts of clients it became apparent that many of them wereexperiencing some confusion and misunderstanding regarding theprocesses they were undergoing. These confusions are describedand their implications for conciliation and the divorce processin general are discussed. The paper concludes with some suggestionsas to how this confusion may be minimized through the developmentof a broad-based and independent agency offering a comprehensiverange of services for those experiencing difficulties arisingfrom the break-down of an established relationship.     

Working with Parental Substance Misuse: Dilemmas for Practice

Correspondence to Dr Brynna Kroll, Department of Social Work, University of Exeter, Richards Building, St. Luke’s Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK. E-mail: brynna.kroll{at}plymouth.ac.uk Summary The impact of parental substance misuse on child welfare isnow being increasingly recognized. Drug and alcohol problemsfeature in a substantial proportion of families where thereare child-care concerns and raise issues about engagement, confidentiality,assessment and inter-agency practice. This article exploressome of the dilemmas faced by social welfare professionals whowork with substance misusing parents. Based on a qualitativeanalysis of 40 semi-structured interviews with a wide rangeof practitioners from both adult focused and child and familysettings, in both the voluntary and statutory sector, a varietyof emerging themes will be discussed and linked to those fromother studies. The problems of working with denial, the tensionscreated by different agency objectives and protocols and theway in which children can often fall through gaps in serviceswill be highlighted, as will the way in which some professionalshave sought to resolve the dilemmas they encounter. This willthen be used as a basis for beginning to look at constructiveways forward in relation to training, interprofessional andinter-agency communication and service delivery.     

Unasked Questions or Unheard Answers? Policy Development in Child Sexual Abuse

Correspondence to Julie Browne, 5 Belsize Crescent, London NW3 5QY Summary Despite an increase in both publicity on child sexual abuseand initiatives from government and voluntary agencies, it isby no means obvious that the position of the majority of sexuallyabused children has been significantly improved. Most sexuallyabused children still do not disclose the fact that they arebeing abused and it has been argued that new ways of approachingthe problem of child sexual abuse are needed. A study was madeof the policy development work being carried Out by the children'scharities and by survivors' organizations in this area. Individualsurvivors were also questioned as to the type of help they neededwhen children to enable them to end or escape the abuse. Itemerged that, in the main, the charities espouse pathologized/legalisticsolutions to the problem of child sexual abuse. In contrast,survivors' organizations tended to adopt a view of the problemwhich challenges societal attitudes, male sexual socialization,and the labelling of victims as passive and damaged. This articleattempts to find explanations for why these different approacheshave been taken and examines the implications for policy developmentin this area. It concludes that social workers and the children'scharities could benefit considerably from greater collaborationwith both survivors and survivors' organizations.     

Employing White-Collar Ex-Offenders: A Five Year Criminological Follow-up

Summary The study describes a five year criminological follow-up ofa series of white-collar offenders who started work as the resultof the placing efforts of a specialist employment agency (APEX).At the end of five years 22% were reconvicted, but there wereconsiderable differences between sub-categories. Ex-offenderswho stayed at the job arranged for a substantial length of time(i.e. over a year) seemed to do particularly well. Even moreinterestingly, those ex-offenders for whom a considerable placingeffort was required seemed to respond in a dramatic manner toan avoidance of subsequent reconvictions over the five years.Various explanations of these findings as well as the widerimplications are considered.     

Independent Living Schemes: Organization, Resident Characteristics and Outcomes

Correspondence to David Phillips, Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN. Summary This paper presents the findings of a major follow-up studyof independent living schemes (ILSs) for people with mentalhealth problems and people with learning difficulties. The surveywas undertaken in four local authority areas and covered 171schemes accommodating 481 residents. Information was gatheredon the characteristics of the schemes and their occupants, withparticular reference to the suitability of the ILSs in meetingresidents' needs. It was found that mixed-sex ILSs and ILSsrun by voluntary bodies in cooperation with statutory agencieshad higher than average success rates.     

Worker Participation and the Social Service Agency

Summary Is there real sharing of decision-making responsibility withinsocial service agencies? What hope is there for participationby the consumer of services if the agency worker nearest andmost relevant to him has little voice or leverage within theorganization? This paper examines the notion of worker participationwithin the context of the social services department and theprobation service, noting the imperfections of the ‘publicmandate’ behind the authority structure of these organizations.Above all it looks for continuity between the values socialservice agencies publicly represent and the values in theirday-to-day dealings with their own staff and clients. Currenttrade union proposals for worker representation at committeelevel are considered, and Dutch experience in extending theworkers' council from the industrial to the social welfare sphereis presented as one alternative model.     

Informal, Voluntary and Statutory Services: The Complex Relationship

Summary The argument of this paper is that equitable social care caneventuate only with the acceptance of a greater role for publicsector services. In debates about the development of socialcare, politicians in industrial societies who stress the virtuesof family care are either unaware of the costs to families ofproviding that care, or are cynically expecting a major shiftin social provision and social resources, with the result thatthose least able to provide adequately will find greater burdensthrust upon them. Responses to the exclusions experienced bypeople in the 1980s will require greater state interventionbecause families may have the willingness, but not the capacityto provide the high level care required by dependent relativesand because the voluntary sector is too diffuse and diverseto plan, develop and deliver the bulk of the services.     

Controlling for Care: Private and Voluntary Homes Registration and Inspection--A Forgotten Area of Social Work

Summary The size and growth of private and voluntary residential careprovision for the elderly make it, despite past neglect, a subjectof great importance to social workers. Drawing on exploratoryresearch data, the origins and role of registration and inspectionare discussed and some of the shortcomings of the present systemhighlighted. The paper discusses necessary requirements to preventfinancial exploitation of the elderly and makes two modest suggestionsfor improving and maintaining the quality of care-designatedliaison officers and a complaints procedure. In conclusion,however, it is pointed out that quality is not the only issuein the regulation of the private and voluntary sectors, thereare also issues of quantity, type and location. None of theseare being addressed by recent legislation and Code of Practice,but their resolution is important in ensuring that elderly peoplereceive the care they want and need, when and where they wantit.     

The 'New Careers' Experiment in Rehabilitating Offenders: Last Messages from a Fading Star

Correspondence to Brian Caddick, Department of Social Work, University of Bristol, 8 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TN. Summary This paper traces the history, and assesses the impact, of aninnovatory project in which current and ex-offenders were providedwith the opportunity to gain practical social work experienceand training for long-term rehabilitative purposes. Based onearlier American schemes in which members of disadvantaged ordiscriminated against groups received training and support fornon-professional careers in human services agencies, the projectcan claim a measure of success. But the evidence also suggeststhat a demonstrated potential for individual change is not alwaysmatched by agency interests and ideologies. The findings areconsidered in relation to the philosophy and provisions associatedwith the 1991 Criminal Justice Act.     

Values in Social Work: investigations of the practice of family placement

Professor Noel Timms, University of Leicester, School of Social Work, 107 Princess Road East, Leicester LEI 7LA. Summary This study explores values in social work distinguishing valuesat the levels of practice and of rhetoric A small scale projectwas undertaken in family placement work in two local authoritiesand four voluntary agencies. A pattern of activity was foundcommon to both voluntary and statutory workers engaged in familyplacements. Workers in both agencies rendered comparable accountsof a distinctive practice which stressed virtuoso skills inthe collection, appraisal and use of knowledge. The practicedepended on confidence in the ability to make good within theform of work known as family placement, and on the recognitionof what people are owed. The work was undertaken in a socialcontext which acknowledged—in the eyes of the social workers—theobvious (rhetorical) goods of the proper flounshing of children,and respect for rights. Beliefs about certain aspects of thesocial context, particularly in relation to religion, differedbetween the two groups, but such differences could not be seento reverberate in the practice.