Indian Family Exception Doctrine: still losing children despite the Indian Child Welfare Act

Since 1982, the Indian Family Exception Doctrine has been circumventing the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Although not clearly defined, the doctrine has been pivotal in several American Indian child welfare cases in the United States. Over time, the doctrine continues to evolve and self-define. Several phrases have become part of the definition, such as Indian family and culture. This doctrine presents major concerns and implications in the field of child welfare.     

WAYWARD PURITANS IN THE IVORY TOWER:

The problematic in how women experience their work worlds today is eclipsed by glossy images of a mythical liberated woman catapulted to instant glory by an increasingly enlightened division of labour. Women in the professions have been used predominantly to portray this visionary image of our times while reported instances of gender discrimination have been downplayed. This lapse in understanding amounts to a compromise of trust in institutional life. Gender discrimination is now treated as a limited issue determinable by character or chemistry, and amendable in terms of assigning innocence or blame to individuals. Such a construal ignores the processual and emergent nature of social interaction and how organizations themselves contribute to the problem. This paper is an attempt to redefine gender discrimination as a collective level process and to suggest an archetype based on case study evidence.     

Effective Leadership Styles in Family Therapy

Leadership studies in group work have found that leadership style is an important factor in influencing the success of a group. It is vital that family therapists also consider this area and examine their leadership behaviour and its effectiveness in helping the family they see. In this paper a model is presented which links leadership style with the types of families coming for treatment, and to changes in their functioning over time.     

Single-case Design: The Neglected Alternative for the Evaluation of Family Therapy*

Family therapy (as with other treatment forms) needs to demonstrate its efficacy, but a major obstacle to the development and evaluation of therapeutic techniques in family therapy in particular, has been the almost total reliance on what is called classical group comparisons (e.g., treatment versus no-treatment groups). The focus on group comparisons, however, has meant a complete disregard for a methodology that is also highly appropriate; single-case design (or intrasubject replication) where the sample size is N = 1. In recent times, there has been an increasing disenchantment with classical group design for a number of reasons. For example, group comparisons are not always feasible in many clinical settings and tend to lack relevance for the practitioner's daily functioning. This paper elaborates these kinds of reasons and outlines the major advantages of using single-case design. There is little doubt that single-case methodology is becoming increasingly popular as an important research tool that can no longer be disregarded. Its specific applicability to evaluative research in family therapy is particularly appealing.     

The Status of Women in Australian Family Therapy*

This article examines the participation of female family therapists as leaders in Australian family therapy. The involvement of women in publications, education and status positions is presented and shows that women are significantly under-represented in these areas. A brief examination is then made of factors within the profession itself that mitigate against the advancement of women and their inclusion in the upper echelon.     

Leadership in Social Work Education and the Social Change Model of Leadership

Leadership is a topic of international debate in both social work education and practice. Questions remain, however, regarding what specific models of leadership should be emphasized and how leadership content should be infused within the social work curriculum. This paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the infusion of leadership within social work education. Specifically, this paper shares the design and development of a graduate-level social work course in program evaluation that infused education around the social change model of leadership (SCM) and then explores qualitatively how 39 graduate students interpreted and applied this model of leadership through an experiential community-based evaluation project. Findings of this study suggest that students utilized the values identified in the SCM in a range of ways to understand and interpret their leadership experience both in their collaborative groups and in their partnerships with community-based organizations. Community organizations also reported benefiting from the experience in partnership with the students. Implications are discussed in relation to the potential value and impact of this model for social work education.     

American Indians’ Response to Physical Pain: Functional Limitations and Help-Seeking Behaviors

Seventy-five American Indians, ages 25 to 84, representing 14 tribal nations, participated in this study. The historical, cultural, and behavioral responses to physical pain were examined. Data were collected over a 7-month period with a survey instrument that included the Universal Pain Scale, activities of daily living, causes of pain, cultural beliefs, and self-help-seeking behaviors. Also, recommendations for Western biomedical health care professionals are offered to improve services for the American Indian population. Findings demonstrate that culture plays a crucial role in wellness and significantly affects help-seeking behaviors, treatment regimens, responses to pain, and pain management.     

NCWWI Tribal Traineeship Programs: Promoting Diversity in the Child Welfare Workforce

Twelve universities and one American Indian (AI) tribal college were selected for the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute’s 5-year stipend traineeship program. These tribal traineeships were designed to provide social work child welfare education for tribal and nontribal students. Twenty-two AI students and 58 nontribal students completed a bachelor or master’s of social work degree. The students’ field placements were in tribal agencies or public agencies that served a segment of the AI population. These programs were enhanced through the use of valuable relationships (i.e., partnerships, mentorships, allies), and cultural competence was a key aspect of the students’ education. The students’ education was enriched with a specific child welfare curriculum, cultural teachings, tribal traineeship collaborations, and tribal community events.