Is program structure related to stigma and community acceptance of justice-involved adolescents?

Objective

The aim of the study is to examine the impact of diversion program characteristics on social stigma of delinquent adolescents in Jordan.

Method

A street survey of adults was conducted in Amman, Jordan. Respondents were randomly assigned to read one of four vignettes involving a delinquent adolescent who participated successfully in one of four types of juvenile justice interventions: detention center placement; diversion with counseling; diversion with counseling plus victim apology and restitution; and diversion with counseling plus family-based apology and restitution. Respondents reported their willingness to accept the adolescent as a member of their child's school, as a friend of their child, as a spouse for their child, and as a future employee. Seventy seven percent of adults approached participated (N = 137).

Results

Respondents reported greater willingness to accept the adolescent when he participated in any of the three diversion programs compared to the detention center condition (β = .80, p < .05). However, there were no differences among the diversion program types (i.e., counseling only, counseling plus individual restorative justice, counseling plus tribal restorative justice) in acceptance levels. Regardless of intervention type, the perception that the adolescent had ‘learned his lesson’ was associated with greater acceptance and with heightened expectations of future success.

Conclusion

Intervention characteristics can influence public stigma in the Middle East. For justice involved youths, interventions that increase perceptions that youth have learned their lesson is a crucial ingredient to stigma reduction efforts. Social work interventions with delinquent adolescents and their families need to incorporate stigma management strategies that convey lesson-learning as a key intervention outcome.     

Do ENDAs End Discrimination for Behaviorally Gay Men?

Twenty-two states have implemented state Employment Nondiscrimination Acts (ENDAs) making sexual orientation discrimination illegal, and Congress has repeatedly considered a federal ENDA. However, we know very little about the impact of existing ENDAs and the likely impact of future ENDAs. I describe the implementation of ENDAs and highlight their shortcomings relative to federal employment nondiscrimination law. Despite their shortcomings, I show that state ENDAs decrease wage differentials by roughly 20 % for behaviorally gay men. ENDAs appear to reduce this wage differential by reducing the portion of wage differentials typically associated with discrimination. These results inform a contemporary policy debate over the necessity and impact of expanded protection from discrimination for gay men. (JEL J1, J3, J7)     

Applying Complexity and Emergence in Social Work Education

Complexity theory provides social work educators, researchers, and evaluators with a promising approach for examining the concepts of interconnectedness, non‐linearity and emergence. This paper introduces complexity theory, provides an example in which a large international non‐governmental organization developed the capacity to address the issue of human trafficking, and discusses implications for applying this approach to social work education coursework. Social work applications of complexity range from understanding emerging social movements, to encouraging human rights and resiliency in target populations, to understanding the interdependencies of communities.     

The labour process in agriculture: Changes in maize farming in South Africa during the 1970s

Based on a field study of 61 farms in the Western Transvaal, the paper describes a number of important changes in the labour process that took place on South African maize farms in the 1970's with the adoption of new technology. The causes of these changes and the consequences, chiefly for the level and composition of employment and for control of the labour process, are investigated. Several substantive differences between the labour process in agriculture and in secondary industry are discussed.     

Examining the ‘Conservative Revolution’: Neoliberalism and Social Work Education

Within social work education, there may be a failure to adequately and critically examine neoliberalism and processes of neoliberalization. In this context, those seeking to grasp the meaning of neoliberalism should be attentive to at least six interconnected components: how we might define neoliberalism in relation to the ‘embedded liberalism’ it endeavoured to supplant or displace; the role of the state within neoliberalism; the concept of ‘accumulation by dispossession’ which illuminates how neoliberalism has constantly aimed to redistribute in favour of the rich; the centrality of insecurity and precariousness; the renewed and retrogressive faith in incarceration and, more broadly, what has been termed the ‘new punitiveness’; and how neoliberalism, in practice, is often at variance with the theory and rhetoric. It will be suggested that contemporary interpretations of neoliberalism by, for example, David Harvey and Pierre Bourdieu—along with the insights of Antonio Gramsci—might aid our understanding during a period of, now perhaps, faltering neoliberalization.     

In Memoriam

This article discusses the origin of social work education in Africa as an export of colonial powers. Social work or social work education has not been the product of a progressive social metamorphosis but rather that of foreign methodologies imposed on African societies. Consequently, the essence of social work education lacks relevance in terms of its philosophical, value and ideological base. Thus students who graduate from such a system of education tend to remain, to some extent, unfamiliar with indigenous knowledge systems and lack adequate knowledge in working with the people. The paper further argues that, while the origin of social work education is well known, its future direction, development and focus on the continent remain unknown, at worst haphazard, ad hoc and undirected with serious implications for the mission and vision of the profession. Social work in Africa has been without a platform to foster discourse on its nature, character and direction. Transformation of social work education from being Euro-centric to being Afro-centric has to be spearheaded by an organization that can provide a forum for dialogue, leadership and a contextual framework. The article therefore examines the need for such a forum and briefly discusses past efforts in this direction in an attempt to provide a direction for transformation.     

Social Work Education and the Neo-Liberal Challenge: The US Response to Increasing Global Inequality

During the past several decades, a ‘perfect storm’, resulting from the political–economic changes accompanying globalization, dramatic demographic and cultural transformations in US society and rapid technological advances, has created unprecedented challenges for the social work profession and social work education. These challenges include the widening gap in income and wealth both within the US and between the Global North and South; growing racial and class disparities in health and mental health care, education, employment and housing; a shift within policymaking circles towards fiscal austerity and policies that emphasize market-oriented and individually-focused solutions; and the changing nature of universities, student populations and the educational process itself. Although the formal documents of major social work organizations continue to emphasize social justice themes, the actual practice of social work and the preparation of students for practice, teaching and research have diverged considerably from this rhetorical mission. This is reflected in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, the uncritical adoption of ‘evidence-based practice’ as a cornerstone of social work education and research; the growing stratification of social work faculty; the increased reliance on untested online methods of education; and the emphasis on quantitative ‘outcomes’ as indicators of educational success. At the same time, social work education in the US has been unable to respond effectively to the implications of demographic and cultural diversity, despite the demands of its accrediting body, the Council on Social Work Education. This article will provide an overview of the changing environment of social work and social work education during the past several decades. This will be followed by a discussion of the impact of these changes on social work education and a critique of the response—to date—of social work educators. Finally, it will suggest some potential educational responses to these challenges.     

“Would You Do That in Your Home?” Making Nursing Homes Home-like in Culture Change Implementation

Qualitative interviews with nursing home administrators reveal innovative and cost-conscious ways to physically modify facilities that help institute culture change practices. Telephone interviews were conducted following a national survey of nursing home nursing directors and administrators. In this cross-sectional snapshot of administrator experiences, motivations for making facilities more home-like and less institutional and creative responses to challenges are described. State and corporate support and regulator encouragement are noted that help their reform efforts. Administrators note that small steps to create a more home-like environment can result in a positive impact that minimizes disruption to existing care processes. They describe how they respond to challenges, such as the physical plant and high costs, and note how comparative shopping, cost-conscious physical improvements, and continuous involvement of staff and residents contribute to successful efforts. Their examples illustrate novel ways to humanize long-term care facilities that other nursing homes can emulate.