Task-centred Casework with Marital Problems

Summary The use of task-centred casework with people who have maritalproblems and have taken an overdose is described. The stagesof task-centred work are illustrated and difficulties whichwere encountered are discussed. Task-centred casework is seento be a feasible and helpful method of working with people withmarital problems.     

Research Note: An Attempt to Classify Adolescent Parasuicide Attempters

Correspondence to David Gilliland, Principal Social Worker, The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, 180 Falls Road, Belfast BT12 6BE. Summary This paper examines some of the literature available on thesubject of adolescent suicide attempts. It discusses the extentto which it is possible to identify sub-groupings within groupingsof young people who took overdoses. It suggests on the basisof the study undertaken (and in reference to other studies)that it may be possible to identify sub-groupings. The paperalso discusses in detail a study carried out examining characteristicsof two groups of young people—one who had been admittedto hospital following a single overdose attempt, and a secondgroup who had several admissions to hospital following repeatedoverdose attempts. The implications of these findings are discussedin terms of the possibilities of identifying young people whoare at an increased risk of repeating an overdose attempt, andthe issues for practitioners and service managers are identified.     

Monitoring Interventions with Young Israeli Families

Correspondence to Dr Rami Benbenishty, School of Social Work, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel 91905. Summary This paper describes a study monitoring interventions with familiestreated by a welfare agency in Jerusalem, Israel. The treatmentapproach is eclectic and is based mainly on a view of the familyas a system and on task-centred and problem solving orientationsto family treatment. Sixty families were studied. The clients'median age was about 30 years old and the median number of childrenwas two per family. The clients approached the welfare agencyfor four main reasons: financial difficulties (especially heavydebts), severe health problems and disabilities, marital difficulties,and problems in raising children. The practitioners identifiedin two thirds of the families dangerous situations that neededimmediate attention. A repeated measures design utilizing several outcome measureswas used. According to the workers' assessments, based on theCRS (Epstein et al., 1982), functioning improved and progresstoward goal attainment was observed in most families. The magnitudeof changes in functioning, however, was small. The workers'and clients' assessments of change and of goal attainment weremore positive. There were indications of deterioration at followup. The treatment outcomes are discussed in light of the clientand treatment characteristics. Changes in client selection,length of treatment, and an active follow up strategy are suggested.     

Prison Welfare and Voluntary After Care

Summary Some findings of a survey into the experiences of men releasedfrom prison are reported, where they relate to their use ofprison welfare and after care services. These are discussedin the context of issues such as through-care, rate of take-up,and the factors which may be influential in determining whethera man makes use of after care on release from prison. It isproposed that for more isolated men the probation service shouldadopt a ‘reaching-out’ strategy.     

The Objectives of the Probation Service

Summary Two kinds of objective are identified: an organizational objectiveconcerned with efficiency, and a functional objective concernedwith the effectiveness of the service. Increasing responsibilitiesin respect of social enquiry work, parole, after-care and prisonwelfare have been absorbed remarkably smoothly during the 1960s,and even the inevitable administrative changes have been lessdisruptive than might have been anticipated. Any discussionabout the 'effectiveness' of the probation service highlightsthe need to clarify its purposes and its functions. It is arguedthat, although most officers would accept that their primaryfunction is and has traditionally been that of exercising oversightover the offender on behalf of the court and the community,there are unmistakeable signs that pressure will be broughtto bear on the probation service to adopt a more treatment-orientatedapproach. The switch to such a correctional role is bound todisturb the organizational objectives of the service, and raisequestions about the place of casework theory in the trainingand supervision of probation officers     

The Impact of Character-training Courses Upon Young People: an Empirical Investigation

Summary This article reports an attempt to assess the impact of character-trainingcourses upon young people. Seventy-seven young people from aLancashire-based company were interviewed both before, and aftertheir participation on the courses. From previous studies andliterature produced by the courses, five possible effects werehypothesized: (1) That the courses increase the social competenceof trainees. (2) That following the courses young people putmore into and get more out of life. (3) Trainees subsequentlydevelop new leisure interests. (4) The courses develop leadershipqualities. (5) Following courses young people are more likelyto participate in community service. The interview scheduleswere designed to test these hypotheses. Comparisons betweenreplies received from pre- and post-trainees confirmed onlyone of the hypotheses: following their training the young peopledid develop leisure interests related to the content of thecourses. Otherwise the data collected before and after the coursesdid not follow the predicted patterns. Further analysis of thedata suggested that the courses have an additional and unintendedeffect: namely that they make young people less settled at work     

The Cumbrian Reparation Scheme

Correspondence to David Smith, Lecturer in Social Work, Department of Social Administration, University of Lancaster, Fylde College, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YF Summary This paper discusses an experimental ‘reparation’scheme run by the probation service in Cumbria. A general contextis provided by an analysis of some varieties of mediation andreparation, and the scheme is then placed within its local organizationalcontext, which meant that it drew its work from juvenile liaisonpanels established by the police. The paper argues that thepanels suffered from the lack of a clear commitment to diversionfrom prosecution on the part of the police, and that the reparationscheme was used as part of the probation service's effort toincrease the use of cautions. The practice of reparation andthe experiences victims and offenders had of it are then reviewed.Offenders generally viewed the scheme more positively than victims,but some victims were glad of the opportunity to be involvedin something which might be helpful to young offenders. In conclusion,it is argued that despite the contradictions which were evidentin the practice of reparation in this setting, there may stillbe scope for innovative work by social work agencies in relationto victims of crime.     

The Enduring Relevance of Case Management

Correspondence to Peter Ryan, School of Health, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Middlesex University, Archway, 7, Highgate Hill, London N19 5NF Summary This article summarizes the main results and policy implicationsof a Department of Health funded mental health case managementresearch and development project. The project implemented casemanagement services in four different sites, and worked withclients who were severely disabled with long-term mental illness.Higher levels of engagement (95 per cent) were achieved by case-managedas compared to control clients. They were also linked to a widerrange of community services. However, costs of the experimentalservices were higher, and client outcome variable. In two sites,case-managed clients achieved significant improvements in psycho-socialadjustment, whereas on the third site, there were no differencesin outcome between the control andexperimental clients. The article concludes that case management continues to be amode of service delivery which can achieve real benefits forclients in terms of preventing them from falling through thenet, and in linking them in responsive ways to community services.However, the increased costs can make it an unattractive optionfor purchasers, and ways need to be found to retain the establishedbenefits, whilst reducing the costs to service purchasers.     

Building Care Management Competence in Services for People with Learning Disabilities

Correspondence to Paul Cambridge, Tizard Centre, The University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7LZ, UK. Summary This paper examines care management arrangements in servicesfor people with learning disabilities. Its perspective is informedby research on the long-term outcomes and costs of care in thecommunity for people with learning disabilities (Cambridge etal., 1994) and by earlier experimental approaches to care managementin Britain. Building on arguments developed by the author ina position paper in 1992 (Cambridge, 1992), the focus here shiftsto the performance of mainstream care management in servicesfor people with learning disabilities, with an identificationand review of critical dimensions for reviewing competence.Lessons from earlier experimental and demonstration approachesare used to inform the analysis and to construct pointers forcommissioners or providers who are looking to assess the effectivenessof care management arrangements in learning disability withintheir own service systems.     

Strengthening Professional and Paraprofessional Contributions to Social Service and Social Development

Correspondence to Prof. E. Allan Brawley, Professor of Social Work, The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Sociology, 414 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16803, USA. Summary Based on a long-term research project that has generated dataon paraprofessional social service personnel in fourteen developedand developing countries, this paper presents some findingsthat, if acted upon, could strengthen the contribution of bothprofessionals and paraprofessionals to social service and socialdevelopment goals. The type of frontline workers who are generallyregarded as paraprofessionals have always been important participantsin social service activities throughout the world. This continuesto be the case in the countries studied. This article identifiesconditions under which the service activities of professionalsand paraprofessionals can be more productive and where theirjoint contribution to human well-being can be enhanced.     

Research note. An evaluation of motivational interviewing as a method of intervention with clients in a probation setting

Summary There have been increasing calls on the probation service todemonstrate effectiveness with the recent Evidence Based Practiceguide (Home Office, 1998) explicitly citing evaluative researchas a means of achieving this. This article describes the quantitativepart of a research project undertaken within Middlesex ProbationService to evaluate the introduction of motivational interviewingas a technique to aid probation officers in their assessmentand supervision of offenders who misuse alcohol and drugs. Resultssuggest that, irrespective of stratification, all offendersindicated an improvement in their questionnaire scores duringtheir contact with the probation service. However, there weremore statistically significant improvements in the attitudinalscales amongst offenders whose officers were trained in thetechnique compared to officers who were not trained in motivationalinterviewing.     

A Changing Service: The Case for Separating 'Care' and 'Control' in Probation Practice

Summary Change has heightened contradictions inherent in the probationservice's functions. The effects of this on officers' behaviourare described and a new conceptualization of the relationshipbetween care and control is offered. It is argued that modelsof possible future developments for the service must addressthe impact of work function and work context on practice, andan example of an alternative approach to the future is provided.     

Outcome Measurement and Service Evaluation--A Note on Research Design

Correspondence to Martin Dempster, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK. E-mail: m.dempster{at}qub.ac.uk Summary The purpose of this research note is to demonstrate how an individualizedquality of life instrument could be adapted to provide a moreaccurate estimate of the impact of a social service on a person'squality of life. An increase in quality of life between thestart and end of a service is often taken as an indication thatthe service impacted positively on quality of life. The modificationsto the quality of life instrument suggested in this paper showthat this assumption is not always accurate and should be questioneddirectly.     

Adoption Advice: A New Service

Summary In the summer of 1975, Barnardo's Yorkshire divisional officelaunched an adoption advice service for anyone with any problemsrelating to adoption. At that time there was no service of thiskind in operation and people with adoption problems had no focalpoint to which to refer for help and advice. The following articledescribes the thinking on which this project is based and describesthe type of problems with which the counsellor had to cope andthe necessary information and social work skills which wereneeded to assist the people using the advice service. This discussioncovers the period from the inception of the Adoption AdviceService to 31 December 1975.     

Compulsory Persuasion: A Problem for Correctional Social Work

Summary Social work risks being misused as a technique for controllingundesirable behaviour, regardless of clients' expectations orchoices. This approach to social work involves certain underlyingassumptions about human nature which raise considerable ethicaland practical difficulties. Recent trends in the probation andafter care service are considered, together with some researchstudies of the effectiveness of social work in reducing offendingbehaviour. From these it is argued that social work servicesfor offenders are more likely to be effective when the emphasisis on helping with perceived problems and difficulties ratherthan on crime prevention.     

The Impact of New Labour Health Policy on Social Services: A New Deal for Service Users' Health?

Summary The health policies of the Labour Government of 1997–2001included an increased emphasis on social services departments'(SSDs) contribution to promoting health. Three dimensions ofthis policy shift are discussed: first, the drive towards organisationalfusion between elements of the NHS and SSDs; second, the newmechanisms for conjoint funding of health and social services;and, finally, the new policy focus on tackling health inequalitiesby combating social inequalities on a national and localitybasis. In each case, the touchstone of our analysis is the consequencesfor the health and well-being of SSD service users as membersof socially disadvantaged groups. We conclude that New Labourhas taken some steps, particularly reducing child poverty, whichwill have long lasting health and social benefits for actualand potential service users. However, inadequate funding ofSSDs undermines their effectiveness as a partner in integratedhealth and social care. As signalled by service user initiatives,SSDs potential for promoting more equal chances of health andwell-being in ill-health will also not be realised without substantialchanges to current SSD policy and practice.     

Problems and Concerns of Welfare Paraprofessionals Working with Refugees

Summary In the present study of job motivation and the special problemsand concerns of 70 German community service workers it was foundthat they saw in their work an opportunity to apply their ownspecial talents, but that they were experiencing increasingdisillusionment and a sense of being manipulated and used bytheir clients. The participants found the opportunity to discussthese issues very helpful and such topics should not be neglectedin initial or in-service education.     

Language and Practice: Minority Language Provision within the Guardian ad litem Service

Correspondence to Richard Pugh, North East Wales Institute of Higher Education, Plas Coch, Mold, Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AW, Wales. Summary This article contends that language should be seen as an importantelement of social difference and not simply subsumed under ‘race’.While it acknowledges the complex role of language as perhapsthe most significant means by which power is exercised, theprimary focus is upon understanding language as an importantaspect of differentiation that social service agencies needto consider. The results of a survey into Welsh language provisionwithin the guardian ad litem service in Wales are describedand used to develop a discussion on language policies, linguisticawareness, and anti-discriminatory practice more generally.The article contextualizes the Welsh results within the UK andoffers suggestions as to how services might be improved. Finally,it restates the broader relevance of the study of language asa necessary element in the analysis of discrimination.     

Children in Need and their Families: Outcomes of Referral to Social Services

Jane Gibbons. Social Work Development Unit. University of East Anglia. Norwich NR4 7TJ. Summary The Children Act provides a clear remit to local authoritiesfor the provision of services to children in need and theirfamilies. Increased service provision needs to be supportedby evaluation of effectiveness. The paper describes an attemptto develop instruments for this purpose. In a sample of 122families containing children under 14 who were referred to socialservices departments, indicators of family needs, services receivedand their outcomes were used to examine whether services werematched to needs; and whether they had any effect on familyproblems in the short term.     

The Impact of In-service Training within Social Services

Summary In-service training within social service agencies is recognizedas a key means through which staff are provided with the necessaryknowledge and skills to improve overall agency performance andachieve the objectives of social policy. Furthermore, reportsof training expenditure within social services departments inthe UK suggest increasing amounts of monies are invested insuch activity in order to meet the changing demands placed onsocial care and greater expectations for higher standards inservice delivery. Yet to what extent is the faith placed inmuch of this training by social service agencies actually justified?In short, how much do we know about the actual impact of in-servicetraining within social service organizations in terms of itachieving the aims set by policy makers? This article attemptsto answer this question in order to assist in the developmentof a far more empirically based framework for understandingtraining processes within social service agencies. A reviewof the literature for studies published between 1974 and 1997detailing an evaluation of in-service training programmes withinsocial service agencies identified only 20 such studies. Problemsassociated with both the evaluative criteria utilized and theresearch methodologies employed in these studies meant thatin many instances conclusions regarding the actual impact oftraining could only be tentatively judged. As a result, an analysisof these studies found that although training may have an impacton trainees in terms of satisfaction or knowledge gain, resultsregarding impact on behaviour are far more inconclusive. Inaddition it is not at all certain that such training will necessarilyresult in changes in performance back in the workplace. Thefindings from the review suggest far more research is requiredof sufficient rigour to underpin our knowledge in this importantarea.