Examples of adolescent group homes in alliance with larger institutions.

Use of the group home in combination with the services of larger institutions for disturbed adolescents has many treatment advantages if the home program is tailored to the specific needs of the youngsters served.     

Memo to child care workers on their role in group homes.

The child care worker in a group home meets conditions both similar to and different from those of his counterpart in an institutional setting. Specific qualifications are needed to meet these specific problems.     

The subjective well-being of mental patients in nursing homes.

This article reports a survey of self-reports of well-being by chronic mental patients in nursing homes. Patients reported lower levels of well-being than the general population, but not lower than other socially disadvantaged groups including urban renewal blacks. Nursing home mental patients reported levels of well-being that were generally similar to mental patients in other settings, including day hospital patients, participants in an innovative community care program, and patients receiving traditional hospital and follow-up care. These reports were mostly unrelated to levels of symptomatology or social integration, but were strongly related to patient perceptions of the quality of the environment. Results have important implications concerning the justifications for community care goals like noninstitutional care, reduction of symptomatology, and the fostering of social integration.     

Defining and strengthening child well-being in child protection

Although the goals of safety and permanency for children continue as critically important mandates in child protection, the field has witnessed an increased focus on child well-being in recent years. Whereas safety and permanency have been well operationalized, child well-being appears to be a much more complex and daunting concept to define and measure. Current federal guidelines require child protective agencies to improve outcomes in the area of child well-being, and although federal regulations offer some direction on interpreting this concept, the definition and operationalization remain vague. As leaders in the field have attempted to provide language by which to talk about and measure child well-being, a number of key frameworks have emerged. In this paper, we present a conceptual map that provides a visual overlay of these existing frameworks that can help guide child protection policy-makers, administrators, and practitioners toward a fuller understanding of the complexities of child well-being. While this conversation on child well-being is not new, this paper aims to add to the national discussion and deepen the understanding and conceptualization of child wellbeing within the context of child protection.     

A joy or a hassle: child health care in a multi-ethnic society

SUMMARY. This paper draws on data from a qualitative study carried out of 33 households and 28 health visitors to explore mothers' perspectives on childcare. The sample of mothers reflects the multi-ethnic character of the inner London area they live in. The paper explores the extent to which these women, from a wide range of backgrounds, shared common priorities, concerns and perspectives on childcare and childhood; and examines differences between groups of women and factors associated with patterns of difference. It concludes with the challenge this sample of women presents to social attitudes, policies and practices in the UK     

Job-strain and well-being among Finnish social workers: exploring the differences in occupational well-being between child protection social workers and social workers without duties in child protection

Work-related mental distress and its impact on employees’ working life is a mounting issue among Finnish social workers. This article focuses on identifying the factors associated with child welfare social workers’ occupational well-being. The occupational well-being of Finnish child welfare social workers (N?=?364) and social workers whose duties do not include child protection work (N?=?524) was explored and compared with each other using t-test statistics and logistic regression analysis. The data, collected in 2014/2015, were obtained from an ongoing longitudinal cohort study on work-related well-being among Finnish public sector employees. A multi-dimensional and holistic approach to occupational well-being was used as the outline for the analysis and comparison of the two groups. Child protection social workers reported higher levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress than social workers without child protection duties. Despite these burdens, both groups showed a similar level of general health, compassion satisfaction and overall occupational well-being. Individual and organizational factors associated with high occupational well-being were identified. Supervision was found to be an important supporting element. This study identified multiple determinants related to social workers’ occupational well-being, comprising positive and negative elements with regard to organizational and individual factors.     

Common areas in group homes: arenas for different interests?

In Sweden, more than 5000 people with intellectual disabilities have moved from institutions into new types of integrated housing areas during the last decade. In order to safeguard the residents’ private lives, the role of the private sphere has been exaggerated and, subsequently, the importance of other more collective spheres has been underrated. This article examines the function, the use and the staffs’ ideas of common areas in various kinds of group accommodations in Sweden. The data consist of qualitative interviews with 34 individuals with intellectual disabilities, interviews with members of staff at the group homes and participant observations. The analysis focuses on the ways in which placement, architecture and decoration of the common areas as well as the staffs’ ideas and approaches influence the residents’ everyday lives. Three types of common areas were consequently identified: the restrictive, the familiar and the neutral room.     

Boundaries and family practices: implications for assessing child abuse

Family practices related to hygiene, affection behavior, and privacy were studied using a sample of mental health and child welfare professionals. The professionals were asked to use their own experience to state up to what age it was acceptable for parents and children of the same gender and mixed gender to engage in certain family practices. For virtually all family practices, respondents reported lower appropriate ages for mixed gender pairs. Family practices were acceptable for mothers with their daughters up to older ages than fathers with their sons. Results indicate high variability in the responses regarding appropriate ages, as well as whether the behavior was ever acceptable. The implications of these substantial differences among professionals who often assess these practices as "soft signs" related to abuse are discussed.     

Looking After Children: assessing outcomes in child care. The experience of implementation

A Department of Health initiative has supported the implementation of Looking After Children in over 90 per cent of local authorities in England. The process has required major organisational change and new values and attitudes towards children looked after away from home. Difficulties arise where management and monitoring systems are not available to support these wider changes and to assess the quality of practice. Nevertheless clear benefits to using the system can be identified. Pilot projects in Sweden, Canada and Australia provide an opportunity to compare experiences internationally; strong parallels are evident in some of the current issues facing child welfare.     

Having a say in health: involving young people with a chronic illness or physical disability in local health services development

Increasing attention is being paid to involving users in local NHS service development, and to involving young people as users in their own right. However, we know little about the views and experiences of young participants, especially those with a chronic illness or physical disability, which could inform more effective approaches to their involvement. The paper reports on research investigating the views of young patients and staff who have taken part in NHS service development projects, and suggests a range of issues for consideration when involving young patients in future. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

AIDS: health education in schools:The role of the community child health services

SUMMARY. Health education is seen as the only effective method of combating the spread of AIDS, until an adequate immunisation procedure is discovered. The use of both information and education within schools is discussed, particularly emphasising the need for schools and the community child health services to work closely together. The article represents the views of the authors and is not an official document     

Reducing child poverty by promoting child well-being: Identifying best practices in a time of great need

Child poverty in the United States persists despite a range of social services designed to reduce poverty rates and improve the economic self-sufficiency of families. The economic downturns resulting in job losses and the housing crisis have converged to create a new group of families who were managing to remain out of poverty prior to the recession but are now slipping into poverty, putting additional strain on services. In light of these pressing issues, this article synthesizes the literature examining child poverty to take a long-range view of the relationship between economic strain, system involvement, and impacts on children and the systems attempting to serve these children. The effectiveness of various policy and program efforts aimed at reducing child poverty rates and/or ameliorating the negative effects of living in poverty is reviewed. The article concludes by suggesting a major shift in focus from reducing child poverty as a singular goal to a comprehensive approach to promoting child and family well-being.     

Hierarchy or co-operation: labour-management relations in church institutions

Aspects of industrial relations and internal co-ordination have been a major topic of empirical research in the German business enterprise sector. In contrast, there are practically no empirical investigations into labour-management relations in third sector institutions. The largest share of this sector in Germany is represented by the two Christian churches with presently about 900,000 employees. According to the notion of church officials, labour-management relations in these institutions are characterised by a specific normative concept which emphasises a trustful co-operation of all employees in the mission of the church. The major concern of our research project focused on the question whether the specific conditions of employment within church institutions favour more hierarchical or more co-operative forms of co-ordination and how employees and employee representatives perceive the ideal of the community of service (Dienstgemeinschaftsgedanke). The results of our research lead to the conclusion that church labour-management relations are characterised by a remarkable contrast between the participative or co-operative notion of the ideal of the community of service and present forms of hierarchical co-ordination inside church institutions.This article gives a selected overview of Beyer and Nutzinger (1991). The research was supported by the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung (Düsseldorf) and the University of Kassel.     

Poverty and child health: an annotation

SUMMARY. There is a long established link between poverty and child health, both in the United Kingdom and in other countries. In this review of the literature, the author explores the nature of this link. The paper discusses the historical background and briefly reviews the evidence from the developing countries and the controversy surrounding the definition of poverty before examining the association between child health and poverty in the United Kingdom. The author concludes with some suggestions for future research and some thoughts on the implications for doctors working with children     

School-based early intervention and child well-being in the Chicago Longitudinal Study

Chicago Child-Parent Centers provide comprehensive education and family support services to young, low-income children. Using data from 1,539 children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, preschool participation was associated with significantly higher levels of school readiness, achievement, and educational attainment, and with lower rates of child maltreatment, juvenile delinquency, special education placement, and grade retention. Every dollar invested in the preschool program returned 7.14 dollars to society at large. School-age intervention also provided economic returns that exceeded costs. Findings provided strong evidence that large-scale, public, early interventions can enhance children's well-being. The authors recommend greater investments in programs with elements similar to the Child-Parent Centers.     

Fathering an ADHD child: an examination of paternal well-being and social support

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of having a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on the social and emotional well-being of fathers. While mothers have been carefully scrutinized in ADHD-related literature, fathers have been largely excluded from research designs developed to explore the effects of raising a child with ADHD. Prior research has been primarily based on small, clinically referred and homogenous samples, often without comparisons or controls. This research utilizes a nationally representative sample from the 2001 U.S. National Health Interview Survey to determine differences between fathers of children with ADHD and control fathers and to analyze how the ADHD status of the child, problematic behavior, use of medication, and paternal social support influences fathers’ sense of well-being. This research is also designed to determine whether there are child and family contexts in which the effect of ADHD status on paternal well-being is moderated. Contrary to previous findings about the emotional and social burden associated with raising an ADHD child, few differences between fathers were found.