EAP Service Use in a Managed Behavioral Health Care Organization: From the Employee Perspective

Contemporary employee assistance program (EAP) services are typically provided in broad-brush programs delivered by large external vendors in a network model. Yet research has not kept pace with EAP evolution, including in terms of how EAP clients themselves view services. We surveyed a random sample of EAP service users from a national provider (361 respondents). About one-third of respondents reported getting help for workplace issues. Most learned about the EAP through employer communications such as the company website. The large majority reported that the EAP helped them "a lot" or "some," suggesting they valued this benefit.     

International Collaboration in Translating Career Theory to Practice

This article describes an effort to apply a theoretical perspective developed in one country (the United States) to cope with increasing demand for career services and limited funding in another country (the United Kingdom) faced with similar increasing demands for cost‐effective service delivery. The authors hope that the experience gained in the transnational application of theory to practice they present can be replicated in other countries using other theoretical perspectives. This article describes the process used in one transnational career theory adaptation project and discusses implications for transnational adaptations of career theory across countries.     

Advocacy and surveillance: primary schools teachers’ relationships with asylum-seeking mothers in Ireland

The article analyses the findings of a small-scale qualitative study in Ireland that examines interactions between asylum-seeking mothers and primary school teachers, and highlights the significance of teachers’ understandings of asylum in shaping home-school communications. Mothers and children in this study were living in Direct Provision, collective accommodation for asylum seekers in Ireland. The research identifies a number of concerns including: poor communication between the school and mothers, only English being used as a medium of communication with the mothers, and mothers being directly and indirectly excluded from Parent Associations. Interactions of teachers with asylum-seeker mothers demonstrated a lack of recognition that their situation is different from other migrants/newcomers and is particularly challenging because of the because of living in Direct Provision and under the threat of deportation. The research shows that primary schools are drawn into ambiguous relationships with asylum-seeking mothers in their attempts at advocacy and surveillance, as they are expected to facilitate integration, while at the same time dealing with the uncertainty facing asylum-seeking parents and children.     

The social care needs of unaccompanied minors: the Irish experience

This article examines forms of care which can be used by social workers to best respond to unaccompanied minors (UAMs) given their complex needs and particular vulnerability combined with their agency and resilience. The vulnerabilities and agency/resilience of UAMs are examined in the context of multiple borders (cultural, political and physical) being negotiated by these young people. While it focuses on Ireland as an example of a country where care provision for UAMs has improved considerably in recent years, it draws on both the Irish and international literatures. This article critically analyses the shift from hostel to foster care provision for UAMs in Ireland and explores benefits and difficulties associated with using foster care, while also discussing the use of alternative forms of care, such as residential care. We argue that social workers must always give consideration to a range of care options, to the needs of the individual child and to both their vulnerability and their resilience/agency. This is especially true given the diversity within the population of UAMs. Given the increasing numbers of refugees entering Europe and the mix of provision for UAMs across the continent, the Irish situation may represent a useful site for examination of their care.     

Responding to the 2015 CMS Proposed Rule Changes for LTC Facilities: A Call to Redouble Efforts to Prepare Students and Practitioners for Nursing Homes

In July of 2015, the Federal Register published for public comment proposed rule changes for nursing homes certified to receive Medicare and/or Medicaid. If the final rules are similar to the proposed rules, they will represent the largest change in federal rules governing nursing homes since the Nursing Home Reform Act which was part of OBRA 1987. The proposed changes have the potential to enhance the quality of care and quality of life of nursing home residents. Many of the proposed changes would directly affect the practice of social work and would likely expand the role for nursing home social workers. This article discusses the role that members of the National Nursing Home Social Work Network (NNHSW Network) played in developing and submitting a response to CMS. The article provides the context for the publication of the proposed rules, describes the process used by the NNHSW Network to develop and build support for comments on these rules, and also includes the actual comments submitted to CMS. Social work education programs and continuing education programs throughout the country will continue to have an important role to play in helping to prepare social work students and practitioners for a career in long-term care.     

Social capital and older people in farming communities

This study draws on data from interviews with older people aged 65 to 85 (n = 65) to assess the extent to which the concept of social capital can be used to inform our understanding of social networks in farming families. Findings indicate that key indicators of social capital such as trust, reciprocity and co-operation strongly influence and determine social relations. Interestingly, though contrary to much of the literature on social capital, a strong community spirit can exist where associational activities are extremely limited. Older people in this community have few opportunities for social interaction, yet this did not affect their perception of being part of a close knit community. Significantly this work challenges the assumption that older people are simply recipients of social capital and demonstrates that they are also important producers of social capital. The article contends that the relevance of this concept to older people in these rural communities has not been fully explored and is poorly understood.     

A Descriptive Study of Home Modifications for People with Dementia and Barriers to Implementation

This study describes home environmental features, safety issues, and health-related modifications in a community dwelling sample of 82 elderly people with dementia. Main barriers to the accessibility of the homes were steps both inside and outside the home. The majority of the caregivers had made home modifications that pertained mainly to physical limitations. Home modifications to support cognitive deficits were made to a lesser extent. The main barrier to the implementation of home modifications to accommodate the care recipient's memory loss was skepticism about their usefulness. Regarding the removal of physical barriers, financial constraints were most frequently mentioned.     

Development of the Stay Safe programme

The development and implementation of the Stay Safe programme is described in this paper. The programme, which was developed in the Republic of Ireland, is a culturally sensitive developmentally staged child abuse prevention. It is a multisystemic programme insofar as it includes modules for teachers, parents and children. It also involves liaison with local child protection and child health professionals as an integral part of implementation. Multimedia‐based instruction is employed to facilitate multimodal leaning. The broad curriculum covers bullying and child abuse as two related forms of victimization. Disclosure training, assertiveness training and coercion management training are included in the curriculum, which also focuses on enhancing self‐esteem and the promotion of peer support. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.