Theorizing Sexuality, Sexual Abuse and Residential Children's Homes: Adding Gender to the Equation

This article is primarily concerned with emphasizing the importanceof gender in relation to understanding and responding to sexualityand sexual abuse/exploitation issues within residential children’shomes. Initially, past research and inquiry reports are analysedand evaluated, not only in relation to their overall conclusionsand recommendations, but also with regard to their consideration,misrepresentation or omission of gender issues. A theoreticalframework is then drawn up which takes into account historicaldebates and contestations around notions of gender. This illustrateshow gender is frequently conflated or merged with understandingsabout sex and sexuality. This theoretical conceptualizationis then extended to consider the effects of the social constructionof childhood and childhood sexuality, and how sex, gender andsexuality may commonly be represented and understood withinorganizational, public-sphere contexts. Important findings froma recent indepth qualitative research project focused on sexualityissues in children’s homes are then presented thematicallyand through narrative excerpts. These findings are also locatedwithin and made comprehensible in relation to the theoreticalframework previously constructed. The conclusion examines theimplications of the findings presented and their theorization,and briefly evaluates the usefulness of recent policy initiativesintended to improve the care and development of ‘lookedafter’ children.     

Does Business Process Reengineering Diminish the Quality of Work Life?

This paper examines the development of BusinessProcess Reengineering (BPR). Misconceptionsand misapplications of the BPR Concept arediscussed using higher education as an example. The authors stress that empowerment andautonomy are the true cornerstones ofeffectiveness in genuine reengineering efforts. Several examples of BPR's correct applicationsare then illustrated.     

Clinical supervision in child protection for community nurses

Community nurses have been recognized as having a key role in the protection and care of children, particularly in relation to the identification and detection of child abuse. In order to fulfill this role in a competent manner, they need to have access to appropriate supervision. The aim of this paper is to explore community nurses' and health care managers' understanding and experience of clinical supervision in child protection. The findings presented here were collected as part of a larger study commissioned by the Greater Glasgow Primary Health Care National Health Service (NHS) Trust. Ninety‐nine nurses and nursing managers were interviewed, either individually or in groups, about their professional involvement in child protection issues and support for their involvement in child protection work, as well as their current knowledge and perceived training needs. The interview data was subjected to a thematic analysis. A lack of consensus was found among nurses and managers in Glasgow as to what constitutes clinical supervision and a good deal of variation in nurses' experiences of clinical supervision in the field of child protection. The historical difficulties with regard to supervision were attributed to several aspects of nursing culture. However, both nurses and managers emphasized the need for formal, regular, systematic supervision for all nurses regardless of their specific role with regard to child protection. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Addressing disproportionality through undoing racism, leadership development, and community engagement

In 2005 the Texas 79th legislature passed Senate Bill 6, which included mandates to address disproportionality. This article will describe how the Texas Department of Family Protective Services in collaboration with Casey Family Programs' Texas State Strategy systems improvement initiative is addressing disproportionality statewide through promising practices and innovations in undoing racism trainings, values-based leadership development, and community engagement strategies.     

Some findings on Britain's black working class, 1900–1914

The identification of members of a visible minority in early twentieth century Britain not only shows something of their participation in working class life but also that black people were not solely resident in towns and cities. As Britain was highly urbanized, the presence of such migrants in rural areas suggests that the number of black people in Britain was higher than has been assumed.     

Assessment methods in social work education: A review of the literature

Student assessment is an important component of social work education, and consumes considerable effort on behalf of both students and staff members. Social work educators in higher education face the challenge of constructing assessment methods, which encourage the development of reflective and critical learning, as well as enabling students to demonstrate acquisition of required knowledge and/or skills. While there is now a substantial literature on field education, the assessment of classroom-based units has warranted less attention. This paper examines the range of assessment methods reported in the social work education literature, the evidence which supports the use of these methods and issues associated with the identified assessment methods.     

Parenting,family functioning and lifestyle in a new culture: the case of African migrants in Melbourne,Victoria, Australia

This study documented the parenting styles among African migrants now living in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and assessed how intergenerational issues related to parenting in a new culture impact on family functioning and the modification of lifestyles. A total of 10 focus group discussions (five with parents and five with 13–17‐year‐old children; N = 85 participants) of 1.5–2 hours duration were conducted with Sudanese, Somali and Ethiopian migrant families. The analysis identified three discrete themes: (i) parenting‐related issues; (ii) family functioning and family relations; and (iii) lifestyle changes and health. African migrant parents were restrictive in their parenting; controlled children's behaviours and social development through strict boundary‐setting and close monitoring of interests, activities, and friends; and adopted a hierarchical approach to decision‐making while discouraging autonomy among their offspring. Programmes seeking to improve the health and welfare of African migrants in their host countries need to accommodate the cultural and social dimensions that shape their lives. Such programmes may need to be so broad as to apply an acculturation lens to planning, and to assist young people, parents and families in addressing intergenerational issues related to raising children and growing up in a different social and cultural milieu.     

Performance-based contracting and the moderating influence of caseworker role overload on service provision in child welfare

Although performance-based contracts have become increasingly popular in child welfare, administrators are developing these contracts with little empirically guided information about how internal work conditions may influence the services families receive. This study examines how child welfare caseworker role overload moderates associations between child welfare agencies' use of performance-based contracting and services provided to families. Analyses using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being suggest that when caseworkers experience high role overload, use of performance-based contracts may decrease caregivers' likelihood of receiving necessary social and behavioral health services. These findings and their implications are discussed.