Services for troubled adolescents: exploring user variation

This paper outlines some of the main findings from an exploratory study of a sample of 257 adolescents living in children's homes, foster homes and residential special schools ‘for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties’ (‘EBD’). It focuses on the characteristics of service users, particularly contrasting the looked after and EBD groups. Though there are some similarities, there are also important differences between the populations in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, reasons for separation, legal status, family background and education. An attempt was made systematically to compare groups by creating a subsample of ‘difficult’ adolescents, based on involvement in anti‐social behaviour. Unexpectedly, this revealed that half of the teenagers were not ‘difficult’. Factors associated with being identified as ‘difficult’ were explored.     

Castles in the Air: Welfare Services for Ex-prisoners

Prison aftercare in New Zealand has a history of haphazard planning and fragmented policy implementation, and a recent governmental review of penal policy recognized the inadequate provisions currently made for prisoners' re-establishment in the community. The research reported in this paper has shown that, at a local level, a considerable degree of confusion and ignorance exists among people presumed to have knowledge in the field of prison aftercare. This shortfall of knowledge and lack of cohesion among existing services must be taken into account before effective policy changes aimed at improving prison aftercare can be implemented.     

Confused and Confusing: Services for Mentally Handicapped Children

Fifty-two families with mentally handicapped children under five describe their confusing experiences with a variety of professionals and officials. Such confusion can be explained partly by the reluctance of different agencies and government departments to co-operate with one another and by the dominance of the medical profession in services for the handicapped. But the main cause of the chaotic health and welfare arrangements lies in politicians' indifference, as expressed by their apparent free-for-all, private-market attitudes to the planning of services.     

A Model for Community-Based Mental Health Services for Older Adults:

The mental health needs of older adults have historically been underserved by existing mental health service delivery systems. This paper presents a model for the delivery of comprehensive mental health services to older adults in their own homes, based on sound clinical practice, and incorporating a cross-cultural perspective coupled with a strong social and community support base.     

欧盟一体化框架下北欧社会政策及福利模式的重新定向

欧盟单一市场和单一货币 ,使欧洲从一个分散的经济组合转变为统一的经济实体 ,这个新的经济框架也对欧盟成员国的社会政策和社会保障体系产生各种直接和间接影响。本文分析了欧盟一体化背景下北欧福利模式面临的基本挑战 ;阐释了北欧福利体制与“欧盟社会政策”之间的制度互动和协调 ;讨论了北欧福利模式未来的变革趋势。     

Preventive Services for Adolescents: Exploring the Process of Change

This paper reports on a quasi-experimental study which comparedoutcomes for young people referred to specialist family supportteams with those for others referred to mainstream social workteams. Although there was no evidence that the specialist servicewas more effective in promoting changes in child and familyfunctioning, nevertheless, many young people in both groupsshowed improvement in this respect. This paper explores how,why and in what circumstances these positive changes occurred.The factors which moderated or mediated the effectiveness ofinterventions included both risk and protective factors foremotional and behavioural problems and aspects of the interventionsthemselves. The paper explores the mechanisms whereby thesefactors interacted to help or hinder workers’ effortsto promote change. Child and family attributes and histories,the duration of child and family difficulties, motivation andoptimism all moderated the impact of interventions, making changemore, or less, likely to occur. Aspects of the interventionsthemselves also mediated their effectiveness, such as theirecological approach, the strategies used to change child behaviourand parenting style and the development of a therapeutic alliance.These moderators and mediators of change had a stronger impacton the outcome of interventions than differences in servicetype.     

New Directions for Social Services: Much Ado About Nothing

This article raises the question about whether or not our social services programs are taking new directions or whether there is much ado about nothing. Demographic data and their social implications are presented as background for the discussion. While rhetoric may have changed, the general impression is that we are walking in an Heraclitian stream in which there is both sameness and change.     

Services for the Rural Elderly

This paper examines the interaction between social policy and community characteristics as they relate to the development of formal long-term care services for the rural elderly. A model for the conversion of policy opportunity into actual services for the rural elderly is presented. This model suggests that while social policy in rural areas is a constant, selected community level characteristics contribute to or impede service development.     

Developing Models for Day Services

This paper reports an evaluation of a rural activity project for people with learning difficulties. The project is situated in (but not a regular part of) an agriculture college. Both statutory and voluntary interests are represented in the management of the scheme, which is funded by the All Wales Strategy for the Mentally Handicapped through the local authority. Despite the widespread presence of ideas about normalization and carer participation, key stakeholders in the project appeared to draw on various aspects of three different models in describing, assessing and participating in the work of the scheme: a training for work model, a personal and social growth model, and an education for life model. We explore the question of whether such contrasting views can be tolerated in a single project, and their implications for policy and practice decisions. Each model has its distinctive consequences for project aims, selection, programme planning, staffing requirements, future development objectives and desirable project outcomes. The debate has implications for the way in which policies of normalization are operationalized in and beyond the field of learning difficulties.     

Services for disabled children: integrating the perspective of social workers

The paper addresses questions about the appropriate focus and direction of social work with disabled children, by triangulating parental views with those of social workers. Previous studies concerning services for disabled children have concentrated either on the views of parents or, less often, on those of service providers. This study adds to the picture by linking the two together and allowing service providers to comment on the views of service users. Parents of nine disabled children were inter-viewed following the introduction of a specialist disability team in an inner city borough, following the implementation of the Children Act 1989. The interviews took place over a 9-month period in 1995, and the comments of parents were then shared with social workers both from the borough concerned and from elsewhere. The parents' views reflect confusion about service provision, ignorance of their children's legal (as opposed to moral) rights, a preference for proactive service provision and the need for emotional as well as material support, the last framed variously as counselling, advice and someone to listen. There was little evidence that the Children Act, which could have facilitated improvements in all these areas, had made any discernible difference. Social workers' comments on these findings, with which they identified strongly, revealed a lack of confidence in their own abilities, a lack of clarity in their role and increasing disillusion with the services of their organizations. It is argued that in order to meet parents' expressed needs, service providers require a confident and fundamental shift in emphasis back to the role of social worker as provider as well as enabler.     

More Nuanced Universal Services for New Parents: Avoiding Assumptions of Homogeneity

Abstract

Universal services focus on prevention and providing the support to parents that will help them meet the challenges of parenthood and deal with problems before they become entrenched. Many countries now have good universal services available for new families, and significant advances have been made in recent years to recognize the importance of the early years in the optimal development of the child. This article is based on a qualitative study of transition to parenthood. The study explored the experience of 25 first-time mothers in socioeconomically diverse circumstances in New Zealand. Eleven partners of these women also participated. Mothers were interviewed three times, first in late pregnancy, then 3 and 12?months after giving birth. Partners were interviewed once, mid-way through the baby’s first year. The article focuses on how participants experienced service support. It illustrates some of the diverse needs of new parents, and explains ways in which prevention services might become more responsive to parents’ expressed needs. The authors offer a case for stronger interplay between universal services and informal systems of support, and the development of a new generation of universal services that act as enablers of natural support hubs for new families within their own communities.     

Housing of Seniors in the Czech Republic: Challenges for Social Services

The article focuses on the housing market, the behavior and motivations of senior households to move or to stay in place. Knowing if and why seniors decide to move at retirement is a critical factor for the establishment of social service policies in terms of their structure, location, and provision.

This study uses secondary data based on information about Czech households collected by the Czech Statistical Office (CSO). The data are annually collected via sample surveys of the income and living conditions of households (EU-SILC). The sample covers more than eight thousands of households. Analyzed data cover the period 2007–2012 when the abolishment of rent regulation in the Czech Republic took place. It is hypothesized that an impact like this might increase the willingness to move and reveal the factors which underlie the decisions of particular households.

The results indicated that most Czech households that decided to move during the study period were driven by the increased financial burden of housing. Other factors, including the availability of social services and public utilities within the current location, played only minor roles. It seems that Czech senior households act in a very pragmatic and rational manner when deciding whether to stay in place or move, with the majority of households preferring not to move. Social policies should, therefore, concentrate on providing services for the current locations rather than on the construction of new social housing.     

Social Welfare: Availability and Delivery of Services and Benefits for Children

It is contended that social welfare legislation is principally concerned with the allocation of resources of income, wealth, position and power. Australian legislation providing welfare services and benefits for children is assessed from this perspective. It is argued that the present legislation providing income support payments for young people accords excessive weight to the promotion of economic interests of the community such as the work ethic and fails to address the social and human needs of that population. It is also contended that the structure of the child welfare services legislation is overly concerned to cater to conservative forces in society who favour social control measures designed to protect their values and interests and who resist efforts to provide a network of non-coercive preventive services. Both areas of the law are criticized on the basis that they place excessive reliance on the notion that the family unit is capable of carrying the major responsibility for income support and service provision.     

Befriending Services for Culturally Diverse Older People

Befriending services may address loneliness and social isolation amongst older people. However social diversity is rarely reported in investigations of befriending services. The views of non-users are also rarely explored. In this research, we explored older adults’ experiences of, and attitudes towards, a befriending service, among service users and non-service users, drawing on interviews and focus groups with 76 older adults, 10 volunteer visitors, and 20 service providers. Participants agreed that the befriending service helped alleviate social isolation and loneliness and that supportive services to foster connection are needed. Barriers to engagement included lack of knowledge, appropriateness of services and feeling undeserving. The befriending service was most successful when a match went beyond a transactional ‘professional-client’ relationship to resemble genuine friendship, underpinned by mutual interests and norms of reciprocity and reliability. We also identified five clear ideas about what characterizes an ideal supportive service; supported opportunities for getting out, genuine and reciprocal relationships, reliability, visitor characteristics, and connecting people to their culture. Befriending adds to social networks, and enhances connectedness to the community. Loneliness is alleviated when mutually beneficial and genuinely reciprocal relationships develop. However, group interventions or connections to community groups may be more appropriate for some.     

Mobilizing Community Services for Adolescents in Trouble

Considering the low self-image of many adoles- cents who are experiencing social, educational and emotional problems, it is suggested that we initiate helping efforts from a wellness perspective. Social agencies often create barriers to troubled adolescents through their administrative structure and emphasis on pathology. Through the collaboration of a family service agency and public recreation department, an outreach program is described that makes use of recreational activity as an entry point for a range of social, educational and mental health services. The use of-community agencies and involve- ment of the adolescents and their parents in setting goals are vital parts of this integrative approach.     

Keeping the Faith: The Impact of Human Services Restructuring on Catholic Social Welfare Services

Church related agencies are major providers of community services in Australia (Lyons, 2001:34‐35). While the history of church related welfare service provision is not well known in Australia it is asserted that many have a long tradition of outreach and service provision to marginalised groups regardless of the government social policy of the day (ACSWC, 2000; Mendes, 2003). This paper examines the current environment of human services restructuring and the impact of the shift to contractualism on one church related provider: Catholic social welfare provision in Australia. It explores the significance of the church's social teachings and history on concerns that service innovation, diversity and advocacy are currently under threat. Finally it calls for greater appreciation of the distinctive contribution of church related agencies and what they have to offer in service delivery and as contributors to the social policy discourse.