Social services and social support: blended programs for families at risk of child maltreatment

Social support, increasingly put forth as a fundamental in helping multiproblem families to avoid placement, is a complex construct not easy to define and far more difficult to carry out conceptually and practically. This article describes four family support programs that illustrate certain common denominators for implementation.     

Deviant social positions in small groups: The relation between role and individual

This paper studies a deviant social position within a small group of Italian Fishermen. The role of “court-jester” emerges and, as the title suggests, the relation between this role and the inherent properties of the deviant are explored. It is argued that the emergence of roles among deviant social positions is dependent upon the personal attributes of the deviant and the characteristics of his relations to other members of the group.     

An Obstacle Race: A Case Study of a Child's Schooling in Australia and England

This account of the struggle by a 'disabled' child to experience a normal education, to lead a normal life, is the basis for a critique of science and the professions, for her struggle has been against those specialists who shape our ideologies, the high priests of the religion of science. Her story reveals the deep-seated prejudices of our society, prejudices which derive from the increasing domination, since the sixteenth century, of a mechanistic, phallogocentric scientism which, in the name of reason, denies individuality, creativity, spirituality, variability, defining and thus condemning those suffering physical or perceptual disabilities beyond the pale. They are deemed 'unnatural', 'negative', 'abnormal' through recourse to a narrow, mechanistic and artificial view of nature. A disabled child sets out on the race through life weighed down by ruthless handicappers but in her triumph shows how ignorant the medical model is of humanity and how restrictive our schools are of creativity. Her success questions our most deeply-rooted assumptions.     

Toward a standard of care for child ADHD: implications for marriage and family therapists

In this article, we briefly review the etiology of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and describe the most current scientifically supported theory about the nature of this disorder. Based on the research literature, several organizations have established standards of care for its diagnosis and treatment, which involves a multimodal strategy for treatment at the biological, individual, family, school, and community levels. Assessment and treatment guidelines are provided for Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs), and specific areas of competency are proposed for MFTs who are working with children who have ADHD.     

"We just happen to live here": two social workers share their stories about Oregon's Death with Dignity Law

This article is written more like a conversation with the reader rather than a strictly academic piece. The purpose is to share from a more personal perspective the unique circumstances and challenges faced by two social workers in Oregon as they grappled with the Death with Dignity Law. The law has been in effect for six years and a May 2004 decision from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court allowed the law to remain a legal end-of-life option. Each writer has a unique voice on the process of social work involvement in practice, research, and policy since the law was originally passed in 1994.