Drawing on Kinship Care Support for Older People during a Pandemic (COVID-19): Practice Considerations for Social Workers in Ghana

ABSTRACT

Undoubtedly, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought both systemic, practice changes and limitations to social workers’ commitment to the welfare of vulnerable populations such as older people. A golden preventive rule of the COVID-19 pandemic; maintaining physical and social distancing, has limited social workers’ direct practice support for older people who are considered as an at-risk population. Within jurisdictions such as Ghana where kinship care practices are culturally engrained, social workers should promote kinship care support as substitute mechanisms and pathways to safeguard or meet the welfare needs of older people.     

A Study of the Development of Alcohol Use Disorder in Muslim Immigrant Workers in Korea

Abstract

This study examines the process by which Muslim immigrant workers, prohibited by their religion from drinking, develop alcohol use disorder when working in Korea. Participants were seven male immigrant workers who have lived in Korea for 6–10?years and all experienced a change in immigrant status, shifting from registered to unregistered. Utilizing grounded theory devised by Strauss and Corbin, 87 concepts, 24 subcategories, and 10 categories were derived as a result. By converting these categories into a paradigm model, participants moved through stages of “self-monitoring,” “confusion,” “self-despair,” and “daily collapse” as they developed alcohol use disorder, and began to take on an existence as drifters, not settling into life in Korea. Their “learning experiences of drinking to survive turning into experiences of causing social death” is considered a core category. The study’s results suggest that a rehabilitation program for immigrant workers needs to be developed wherein the program not only enables them to reflect on their current existence but also allows them to develop specific coping skills. Future research should be broadened to consider social support mechanisms and viewpoints of other people, including female immigrant workers, and local community members in close contact with Muslim immigrant workers.     

Returning to the nest: Emerging adults living with parents during the COVID-19 pandemic

Changes in the working, study and social lives of emerging adults due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to greater need for external supports. Many who lived independently may have sought that support by returning to live with parents. This study identifies factors associated with returns made between 2019 and 2020. It describes supports needed and obtained, relationships between parents and their resident emerging adults and identifies correlates of poor coping and high psychological distress. Data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were used and showed half of the emerging adults who moved did so due to COVID-19 restrictions. Loss of work and increased need for emotional and financial support were key drivers of moves. Nineteen per cent who returned found spending more time with family difficult and over half did not have their support needs fully met, increasing their odds of poor coping at that time (OR = 2.9, 4.3, respectively) and subsequent psychological distress (OR = 6.0). Families were an important source of support but could not necessarily mitigate all challenges; for some emerging adults, returning to live with parents gave rise to additional difficulties which negatively affected mental health.     

Helping the helpers: Post‐traumatic distress and need for help among Israeli social workers in foster care agencies following armed conflict

This study examined the associations between exposure to armed conflict, perceived support, work experience, needing help, and post‐traumatic distress among Israeli social workers in foster care agencies based on Conservation of Resources theory. The study used a mixed‐methods design. Six months after the end of an armed conflict, 82 social workers responded to a web‐based questionnaire with closed‐ and open‐ended questions. Results showed that exposure to the armed conflict was moderately associated with post‐traumatic stress symptoms and functional impairment. Only the workers' perceived need for personal help (but not help for professional matters) was positively associated with their psychological distress. The qualitative analysis suggests that social workers showed strengths and wanted help mainly to improve their professional skills. Yet they also elaborated on the complexities involved in conducting their professional work, especially home visits, because such visits put their own lives in danger and meant deserting their own families. Practice implications are as follows: Foster care agencies should make greater efforts to provide knowledge and skills, support, supervision, and a “safe haven” for their workers, in the context of armed conflict.     

Social assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: Does faith-based approach matters?

This paper aimed to examine the role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in the distribution of social assistance (SA) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The paper adopts a qualitative case-study approach to explore the best practices in the distribution of SA by five (5) organizations including FBOs, governmental organizations (GOs), Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), political groups, and private voluntary groups. In this study, 14 beneficiaries of SA were selected by stratified proportionate random sampling method, and five (5) key personnel were selected purposively based on their experiences in the management of SA distribution. The study found that “no-move, no touch” approach followed by FBOs is more likely to establish human rights and social justice and reduce the transmission of diseases. In contrast to the modern idea, which undermines the faith-based charity, the study proved that faith-based charity is gaining attraction as an effective approach combating global pandemic. The findings of this paper will be useful for policymakers, voluntary service workers, GO, and NGO workers to ensure the distribution of SA in a more productive and disciplined way during and after an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Limits to professional practice in decentralized systems

The decentralization of welfare systems and the introduction of “community social work” may confront social workers with tasks they were not trained for and limit their ability to function professionally. The experience of other countries may be relevant to the debate about localism in Britain. In Israel, the publicly directed local community centres have shifted their focus from leisure to welfare services. Trained social workers were employed to initiate and implement personal, group and other local services using local resources and charging fees for services. They reported having difficulties in defining local needs and wants, and in finding congruent solutions for these needs. They also found it difficult to negotiate with community politicians and work with them. This paper describes the Israeli system of community service centres and indicates some obstacles concerning the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of social workers functioning in an independent, decentralized practice. It also raises some selected issues for future social policy and service administration.     

WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL COSTS OF GAMBLING?: THE CASE OF THE QUEENSLAND MACHINE GAMING INDUSTRY

Gambling has frequently been blamed for contributing to a range of social and economic problems for players and their families. The introduction of gaming machines (more commonly referred to as “poker machines” or “pokies”) to clubs and hotels in Queensland in 1992 attracted such criticism. This paper presents data from a survey conducted in Brisbane in May 1994, funded by the Department of Family Services and Aboriginal and Islander Affairs, which seeks to assess the characteristics of gaming machine players and to evaluate the extent to which players and their families seem disproportionately likely to experience social and economic difficulties. The survey led to a number of noteworthy findings, many of which challenge conventional stereotypes concerning the characteristics of players and the consequences of their playing. Firstly, men, the young and those in employment are disproportionately likely to be players. Secondly, playing is spread evenly across different occupations and levels of educational achievement. Thirdly, most players appear not to play very often or spend very large amounts of money. Fourthly, while there is evidence that money is being diverted from necessities to machine gaming, there is virtually no evidence of an association between machine playing and economic hardship.     

The Social Composition of China's Private Entrepreneurs: Class and Cohort Differences*

On the basis of survey data on Chinese private enterprises over the years, we try to respond to the classic subject of “the social composition of private entrepreneurs (siyingqiyezhu 私营企业主).” In nearly forty years of development, the overall composition of private entrepreneurs has undergone major changes. The group contains a growing proportion of people who have a market background and higher education and are non-political CPCs. On further classifying the occupational mobility of private entrepreneurs into categories such as “xiahai 下海” (jump into business), “gaizhi 改制” (restructuring), “kuajie 跨界” (crossover), “tiaoban 跳板” (springboard) and “caogen 草 根” (grassroots), we find there are significant differences in the occupational mobility of entrepreneurs in large, medium, and small enterprises in terms of what they did before they founded their businesses. In particular, entrepreneurs in large enterprises are more likely to have “jumped into business” from inside the government system or after restructuring, while most small and medium entrepreneurs develop outside the system. Multiple regression and coefficient clustering analysis shows that education level and political status have varying effects on the occupational mobility of entrepreneurs in terms of class and cohort.     

Supporting Family Members to View the Body after a Violent or Sudden Death: A Role for Social Work

Supporting family members to view the body of their relative after a traumatic death is a critical role for social workers in hospital and morgue settings; however, this role has had little attention in the literature. In-depth interviews with 48 bereaved family members explored their experiences of helpful and unhelpful aspects of support when viewing the body of their deceased relative. A central theme of “support as a relational interaction” was identified. Aspects of the connection and communication valued by participants within this relational interaction included: “permissions and possibilities,” “information and preparation,” “presenting with care,” “time and timing,” and “tuning to family.” These results are considered with grief practice and theory, to suggest the need for social workers to actively engage with working in the interface between the deceased body and the grieving family. This includes advocating a private location for time with the body and using interpersonal skills to provide paced and dosed information for preparation to view that is consistent with the capacities and needs of the individual and family.     

What do children think about their social worker? A Q‐method study of children's services

Understanding how children experience social work interventions is an important part of gauging whether what is provided is genuinely helpful. In this paper, we describe the findings from a research project using Q‐method, aimed at understanding what children involved with statutory services think about their social workers and how they experience the time they spend together. Using a pre‐existing practice framework, we explored skills including empathy, collaboration, and purposefulness from the point of view of children and young people. The participants in our study (n = 22) were insightful observers of social work practice, able to describe not only how they experienced time spent with their workers but also inferring differences in motivation and approach. In addition, workers who were described in similar terms by different young people were nevertheless experienced differently. This suggests not an archetypal “good social worker”—instead, there are skills that are good for specific children at specific times within the context of specific relationships.     

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.     

Professional and Functional Alternative Social Workers: A Case Study of Malaysia

The objective of this study was to compare “professional” (PW) and “functional alternative” (FA) social workers. The findings suggested that there were no significant differences between PWs and FAs in intervention, evaluation methods, work ethics, and values. The PWs, in clients' eyes, were better at delivering services, while FAs' services were more satisfactory to the clients. While PWs were supposed to be “professional,” FAs were more “professional” than PWs in their performance despite their lack of recognition as “professional social workers”. These critical findings should encourage academics and practitioners for further discussion on conceptual implications of both practices and expand future research.     

Child protection social workers in Italy and the Covid-19 challenges: Redefining services to support children and their families

During the Covid-19 pandemic, social workers played an essential role in helping people understand what was happening and cope with new unforeseen difficulties, even carrying out new tasks and activities. Social workers were asked to redefine their work methods to maintain aid relationships with families. This reorganization was complex and challenging for child protection services. The paper will discuss the results of a qualitative research project aimed to describe the Italian child protection social workers' functions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Three online focus groups were conducted with child protection social workers. These focus groups helped researchers explore the new organization of social workers' work in child protection services, which was aimed at maintaining their role and performing the new tasks they need to carry out to support families and children. Three main areas of discussion emerged from the qualitative analysis: (1) postponed and maintained activities; (2) remote work advantages and challenges; and (3) new professional learning.     

A phenomenological case study on immigrant workers' gambling addiction in Korea

This study explores the experiences that have led some of Korea's immigrant workers into gambling addiction and examines possible social welfare services that could support treatment. Immigrant workers' gambling experience as aliens in Korea was analyzed through the methodology of a phenomenological case study. The participants, who voluntarily consented to the study, were five immigrant workers addicted to gambling. Data were collected through one‐on‐one, in‐depth interviews over 6 months, starting in July 2018. The essential themes that emerged in the interviews were “changing strategies for survival,” “forgetting oneself without any sense of responsibility or shame,” “gambling as routine daily life,” “obsession with making a fortune in one go,” and “no home to return to.” Based on its results, this study makes suggestions for the prevention of gambling addiction in immigrant workers. Further, future research needs to be broadened to analyze nationwide cases of immigrant workers with more diverse demographic backgrounds.     

Utilizing Social Support to Conserve the Fighting Strength: Important Considerations for Military Social Workers

This article is a continuation of a conference panel dialogue that focused on providing individualized, culturally responsible treatment of secondary traumatic stress (STS) for military social workers. Key aspects of the roles and responsibilities, professional and ethical challenges of military social workers and social work officers serve as focal points for understanding the importance of social support. This article discusses ways social support might help to moderate the impact of STS. The “buddy system” describes a culturally unique protective factor, which is a well‐known and effective type of social support utilized throughout the military. This article provides valuable information on how the “buddy system” can serve as a blueprint for managing STS experienced by military social workers. The article concludes with research, policy, and practice implications.     

Choice and control in social care: Experiences of older self-funders in England

This paper considers the experiences of older self-funders in England in the context of policies promoting choice and control. Self-funders are people who are not state-funded; they pay for social care from their own resources. Choice and control have been operationalized through personal budgets, based on the assumption that managing resources enhances ability to access appropriate care and support. This paper uses data from 40 qualitative interviews with self-funders and their relatives, and 19 with professionals. It explores the impact of the financial and social capital that self-funders are assumed to have and asks how older self-funders experience choice and control. The study found that older self-funders drew on personal experiences, family, and friends for information; were reluctant to spend their wealth on care due to competing priorities; and felt they had more control over the timing of decisions than people who were state-funded. Personal wealth appears to be perceived differently to funds “gifted” to people through cash for care schemes.     

The effect of newspaper feature articles on referrals to a child guidance clinic 1

This study investigates the key factors influencing turnover intentions of social workers, adopting a comparative approach within the two patterns. Based on planned behaviors theory, the personal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived competences of social workers were measured to predict organizational and occupational turnover intention, with controlling variables being demographic factors, work-related factors, and professional perception. It was found that social workers from Guangzhou (as “autonomous-embedded” patterns) expressed stronger intention to leave their current organizations than did their counterparts in Beijing (as “dependent-embedded” patterns), and their attitudes played a salient role in the prediction of organizational or occupational turnover intention. However, personal attitude was not a determinant of either organizational or occupational turnover intention in Beijing. This research sheds light on the importance of subjective norms in dependent-embedded patterns, points out the dominant role of personal belief in autonomous-embedded patterns, and highlights the key role of job satisfaction in the turnover process.     

共生与世界主义：帕克人类生态学视阈下的美国社会

美国是一个多族群的移民国家,族群关系研究是帕克“人类生态学”的主题。在社会形态继替的自然过程中,帕克看到旧大陆停滞在竞争、冲突的初级阶段,因而将适应、同化寄希望于发生在美国生境的高潮阶段。然而,同化的终极理想总是遥不可及,共生的混杂状态才是既定的社会事实。吊诡的是,帕克对此并不感到不可忍受,因其独特的生命历程,帕克始终对少数族裔抱持一种同情,这成就了一种“世界主义”的社会想象。令人感到遗憾的是,仅仅围绕自然经济组织起来的生态秩序,缺少培育共识的熟悉土壤。从五湖四海来到新大陆的移民,源自不同的种族世系,他们习惯于生活在经济上彼此依存、情感上相互隔离的共生关系之中。假如中国城市中的移民没有成为患有“流浪癖”的“陌生人”,可能是因为他们心中都有个“家”,才让他们身处异乡流动而不流浪。     

“Sense” and sensitivity: Informal apprenticeship among youth care workers in a residential treatment center for children

This article reports findings from a 13‐month ethnographic study of knowledge use and expertise among 78 workers in a U.S. residential treatment center for children. It investigates the question of how youth care workers developed expertise in an organization that did not require graduate professional education and provided little didactic training. It demonstrates how processes of informal apprenticeship allowed some workers to develop locally recognized expertise through working alongside more experienced peers. It analyzes the puzzling initial finding that workers simultaneously attributed expertise to innate “common sense” and reported that they developed this form of expertise through informal on‐the‐job apprenticeship. Taking a cultural perspective on learning, this article conceptualizes youth‐serving organizations as communities of practice in which informal apprenticeship contributes to the development of locally valued forms of expertise and addresses the question of why youth care workers appeared to differ in their ability to make use of opportunities for such learning. It explores implications of these findings for workforce development in youth residential treatment and for social work education in general, suggesting simple methods for maximizing opportunities for situated learning.