Putting Programme into Practice: The Introduction of Concurrent Planning into Mainstream Adoption and Fostering Services

Originating in Seattle, USA, in the early 1980s, concurrentplanning aimed to speed the placement of children into permanentfamilies, either birth or substitute, and to reduce overallthe time spent in impermanent care. When the first pilot concurrentplanning project was introduced in the UK in 1998, independentevaluation was a requirement of government funding. The evaluationwas expanded to include two additional projects when the numberof initial referrals failed to meet the projected target. Thispaper looks beyond the successful outcomes of the pilot projects,focusing instead on the local authority context in order toexplore some of the difficulties in setting up such an innovativeprogramme, and to shed light on why concurrent planning appearedslow to take off. Based primarily on interviews conducted withsocial workers at different levels of responsibility, the researchersencountered a steep learning curve for all the professionals.The research findings indicated positive outcomes for the childrenplaced through concurrent planning, but limited understandingof the concept of concurrent planning, uncertainty in the divisionof responsibilities, and failure to take up preparation andtraining opportunities contributed to the initial slow progressin the incorporation of the programme.     

Teaching Note—CASA Volunteerism: Preparing MSW Students for Public Child Welfare Practice

In an effort to reform public child welfare systems across the nation, Title IV-E child welfare training programs were established over 2 decades ago. Participating students typically engage in a customized educational experience as part of their MSW program that prepares them to work in the field of child welfare upon graduation. This article describes an initiative taking place in one MSW program where students are encouraged to serve as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), paired with an individual child or youth in foster care. The purpose is to offer students a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of children in care. Information relating to program design and student perspectives on the experience are presented.     

The Status of Freud's Legacy on Emotional Processing: Contemporary Revisions

ABSTRACT

This article evaluates, in light of current empirical data, several of the assumptions contributed to our field by Freud about how emotions operate. The idea that expression of emotions dissipates these emotions is evaluated. The idea that bottling up emotion results is ill health is reviewed. The idea that pain of trauma and loss needs to be confronted is examined. Additionally, the assumption that traumatic events invariably result in distress is discussed. It is argued that empirical findings reject the Freudian model of emotion as energy that must be discharged. Empirical findings also support the view that revisiting painful emotion can be helpful when the result is to find a new perspective on painful events. Thus, empirical literature rejects Freudian rationale for confronting prior trauma and loss, while offering new perspectives for how to handle distress resulting from trauma and loss.     

Proxy reporting in education surveys: factors influencing accurate reporting in the 2012 Qatar Education Study

Abstract

Proxy reporting is a common practice during survey data collection to increase response rates while reducing fieldwork costs, and agreement between proxies and self-reports is critical to make reliable and valid inferences. This study is the first to unpack what influences proxy accuracy in a non-Western setting using data from the 2012 Qatar Education Study. We find that agreement is a function of a student’s grade in school, grades, a parent’s level of education, and the interaction between immigration status and parent education. These findings suggest in multicultural contexts, agreement may vary based on factors beyond what is typically accounted when examining the components of reporting error as a result of using proxies over self-reports.     

Turning away from the public sector in children's out-of-home care: An English experiment

This paper reports on the evaluation of an English experiment which, for the first time, moved statutory social work support for children and young people in out-of-home care from the public to the private or independent sector. Five social work practices (SWPs), independent or semi-independent of local government, were established and evaluated using a matched control design with integrated process evaluation. Social work teams in the public sector, selected to correspond to key characteristics of the SWP sites, provided control sites.     

Employers' Experiences and Views of Grow Your Own Social Work Programmes: A Qualitative Interview Study

In the light of expressed support for Grow Your Own or employer sponsored schemes for social work training, this article explores why they are not so frequently adopted. It draws on findings from a multi-method study of GYO activities and outcomes in England, in particular interviews with 27 participants from 20 organisations employing social workers and funding GYO activity. These interviews revealed that GYO was seen as a means to recruit and retain new social workers, specifically to recruit workers who were able to start practice immediately and needed minimal support, but also to widen access to the profession and to demonstrate evidence of the employers' wider commitment to its non-qualified staff by providing a career pathway. Not all those interviewed were able to provide firm data as evidence of their belief in the value of GYO schemes. The article concludes that the reasons for the decline in GYO schemes lie in the sizeable investment required to develop and sustain them. It identifies some mismatch between the need for immediate solutions to workforce shortages and the longer-term investment in students and in workforce development staff who are necessary to reap the benefits of such schemes.     

Service User/Survivor Involvement in Mental Health Training and Education: Overcoming the Barriers

This article discusses 10 barriers to the involvement of service users/survivors in learning and teaching about mental health in higher education, suggesting ways of overcoming each. The paper is addressed to mental health trainers and educators, some of whom will be mental health service users/survivors. We have not looked at the involvement of carers/relatives in learning and teaching here. They also clearly have an important role to play and some of what we have written will have relevance to their involvement.     

Differences by Race in Social Work Students’ Social Distancing,Treatment Options,and Perceptions of Causes of Mental Illness

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that racial and cultural differences are related to the degree of social distancing associated with mental illness, beliefs about what causes mental illness, and what treatment options are best; however, there is little information on how this may manifest in social workers’ perceptions of these issues. This cross-sectional survey analyzed the differences in perceptions by race of 835 students enrolled in social work classes in the United States. Results indicated that individuals who self-identify as African American/Black expressed the greatest social distance concerning mental illness. Whites were most likely to endorse the use of medication and were least likely to normalize mental illness. The most frequently endorsed mental health provider varied according to racial/ethnic groups. Our findings show that future research may be needed to further investigate the conceptualization of the role of social work among different groups. The need for self-reflection and keeping biases in check are discussed as implications for social work practice and education. Suggestions for working with diverse clients, including religious diversity, are offered as well.