The multiethnic placement act: Implications for social work practice

The issue of transracial adoption has been a controversial issue in foster care and adoption placement decisions. In 1994, the 104th Congress passed the Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA), forbidding agencies receiving federal funds from solely considering race, culture, and ethnicity in making foster care and adoption placement decisions. Congress mandated that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) develop policy guidelines for child placement agencies to follow. In April 1995, DHHS issued the guidelines that agencies were to follow. The authors of the paper discuss the MEPA, DHHS's policy guidelines for agencies and the guidelines' legal support, and the implications for social work practice in foster care and adoption placements.     

Determinants of Charitable Donations to Large U.S. Higher Education,Hospital, and Scientific Research NPOs: New Evidence from Panel Data

We provide improved evidence on effects that fund-raising, government support, and program revenue of U.S. higher education, hospital, and scientific research nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have on donations to those NPOs and provide improved estimates of price elasticities of donations to, and donor demand for output of, those NPOs. Applying econometric tests, we find the best-specified model is two-way fixed effects, which controls for organization-specific and time-specific factors. Results suggest that U.S. higher education, hospital, and scientific research NPOs fund-raise to the point where the marginal fund-raising dollar brings in zero dollars of donations, donor demand for output of hospitals and scientific research NPOs is price inelastic and price elastic, respectively, and results are not sensitive to specification of price.     

Moral Development: The Association between Maltreatment and Young Children's Prosocial Behaviors and Moral Transgressions

In this investigation, the moral development of physically abused (N = 28), neglected (N = 26), and nonmaltreated (N = 28) five‐year‐old children from low socioeconomic backgrounds was examined through observational measures of prosocial behaviors, moral transgressions, and emotions associated with moral development. Findings showed that physically abused children engaged in more stealing behaviors, whereas neglected children engaged in significantly more cheating behavior and less rule‐compatible behavior compared to nonmaltreated children. In addition, maltreatment status differences interacted with gender on several of the moral paradigms. Physically abused girls displayed significantly less guilt and fewer donation behaviors than neglected girls. The clinical implications for maltreated children's moral development are discussed, and targeted interventions are suggested.     

An Approach to Childhood Stealing with Evaluation of 45 Cases

Childhood stealing is a distressing problem for families and may have wider community costs since childhood stealers often become adult criminals: This paper describes a therapeutic ‘map’ that emphasises direct engagement of the child, along with his/her family, in regrading the child from ‘stealer’ to ‘honest person’. Analysis of therapy with 45 children revealed a high level of family engagement and initial behaviour change. Furthermore, a follow-up telephone call made 6–12 months after completion of therapy sessions revealed that 81% of the children had not been stealing at all or had substantially reduced rates of stealing.     

Career Certainty and Short-term Changes in Work Values During Adolescence

This study examined how career certainty, grade level, and gender relate to short-term changes in work values (Human-Personal, Non-Work, Power-Control, Money-Security) among junior high and high school students (N = 496). With scores based on multivariate ANOVAs, the high and moderate career certainty groups scored significantly higher than the low certainty group on all work values except Non-Work at time 1 (similar results were found at time 2, 6 months later). Between time 1 and 2, each work value declined slightly but significantly; for both Human-Personal and Power-Control, however, the decline over time was greater for the high certainty group than for the low certainty group. The findings suggest that during adolescence, higher career certainty reflects greater engagement in a vocational identity search and a more active consideration of work values.     

The political influence of unions and corporations on COPE votes in the U.S. senate, 1979–1988

The political influence of unions and corporations is examined by analyzing Senate roll-call votes on COPE-identified legislation for the period 1979–1988. Union PAC contributions and union membership both have significant positive effects on three different types of COPE legislation: Narrow Union, General Labor, and Non-Labor. In addition, corporate PAC contributions to senators’ opponents reduce their pro-union voting behavior on Narrow Union and General Labor bills. There is no evidence that the political influence of unions in the U.S. is declining.     

Attachment theory and clinical social work

Recent additions have rendered attachment theory potentially viable for clinical social work practice. The author examines its formulations and possible use, seeing it as an important alternative to other psychosocial approaches that attempt to explain how early childhood experiences may affect later mental health. The emphasis of this theory on the cognitive makes it congenial to those who favor cognitive approaches to individual therapy, and its emphasis on patterns of attachment makes it of appeal to family therapists.