An Empowerment Approach in Teaching a Class about Autism for Social Work Students

Social workers are being asked to respond to the rapidly increasing number of individuals and families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, the curricula in schools of social work have limited content on disabilities. This article describes a course which prepares social work students for work with individuals with ASD through an empowerment approach in an ever-changing socio-cultural and political environment. This approach changes the focus of disabilities from a narrow perspective on particular services and rehabilitation to a broader concern with human rights, social inclusion and quality of life. The article describes the development of the course in collaboration with a university disability program, the areas of emphasis for the course (family focused, interdisciplinary, lifespan) and the multiple modes of delivery. The implications of teaching the course as an elective or as integrating it further into the curriculum are discussed.     

Championing the interface between mental health and child protection: evaluation of a service initiative to improve joint working in northern Ireland

The importance of establishing effective inter‐agency working between adult mental health services and child care services in order to safeguard children has been repeatedly identified by research, policy, inquiries and inspection reports. This article reports on the evaluation of an initiative in one health and social care trust in Northern Ireland that aimed to facilitate joint working and so improve service provision and protection for children and families. The Champions Initiative involved identifying a Champion in each multidisciplinary community mental health team and in each family and child care team that would have responsibility for providing information, promoting joint working and identifying any obstacles to better cooperation. The evaluation of this Initiative assessed levels of experience, training, confidence, understanding and awareness in the Champions and their team members at baseline. The Champions and their Team Leaders were then followed up after six months to obtain their qualitative views of the impact of the initiative. The results include comparisons between mental health and child care staff, and crucially, views about whether the initiative has had any impact on working together. This study also generated recommendations for further service development in this complex and important area of practice. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

‘Identifying a Champion in each multidisciplinary community mental health team and in each family and child care team’

Citing Literature

Number of times cited according to CrossRef: 15

• Kerry McVeigh, The Think Family Social Work Assessment: outcomes of a family-focused initiative using The Family Model, Advances in Mental Health, 10.1080/18387357.2020.1825969, (1-15), (2020). Crossref
• Billie Lever Taylor, Liberty Mosse, Nicky Stanley, Experiences of social work intervention among mothers with perinatal mental health needs, Health & Social Care in the Community, 10.1111/hsc.12832, 27 , 6, (1586-1596), (2019). Wiley Online Library
• Lelia Fitzsimons, The role of champions in promoting family focused practice across adult mental health and children's services, Advances in Mental Health, 10.1080/18387357.2019.1661783, (1-10), (2019). Crossref
• Nicky Stanley, Khatidja Chantler, Rachel Robbins, Children and Domestic Homicide, The British Journal of Social Work, 10.1093/bjsw/bcy024, 49 , 1, (59-76), (2018). Crossref
• Sanne Rumping, Leonieke Boendermaker, Doret J. Ruyter, Stimulating interdisciplinary collaboration among youth social workers: A scoping review, Health & Social Care in the Community, 10.1111/hsc.12589, 27 , 2, (293-305), (2018). Wiley Online Library
• Robin Mason, Janice Du Mont, Maeve Paterson, Ilene Hyman, Experiences of child protection workers in collaborating with adult mental health providers: An exploratory study from Ontario, Canada, Children and Youth Services Review, 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.005, 86 , (271-276), (2018). Crossref
• Andani Thakhathi, Champions of Change and Organizational Development: A Return to Schön and Typology for Future Research and Practice, Research in Organizational Change and Development, 10.1108/S0897-301620180000026007, (265-306), (2018). Crossref
• Phillip Tchernegovski, Andrea E. Reupert, Darryl J. Maybery, How do Australian adult mental health clinicians manage the challenges of working with parental mental illness? A phenomenological study, Child & Family Social Work, 10.1111/cfs.12426, 23 , 3, (381-389), (2017). Wiley Online Library
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• Barry Luckock, Jane Barlow, Chris Brown, Developing innovative models of practice at the interface between the NHS and child and family social work where children living at home are at risk of abuse and neglect: a scoping review, Child & Family Social Work, 10.1111/cfs.12228, 22 , S4, (62-69), (2015). Wiley Online Library
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Volume 21 , Issue 3 May/June 2012

Pages 157-172     

Maternal Education and Investments in Children's Health

Maternal education differences in children's academic skills have been strongly linked to parental investment behaviors. This study extended this line of research to investigate whether these same maternal education patterns in parenting are observed among a set of parenting behaviors that are linked to young children's health. Drawing on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (n = 5,000) and longitudinal models incorporating random effects, the authors found that higher levels of maternal education were associated with more advantageous health investment behaviors at each phase of early development (9 months, 2 years, 4 years, 5 years). Moreover, these disparities were typically largest at the developmental stage when it was potentially most sensitive for children's long‐term health and development. These findings provide further evidence of a developmental gradient associated with mothers' education and new insight into the salience of mothers' education for the short‐ and long‐term health and well‐being of their children.     

Comparing Social Work Students’ Perceptions of Risk Using Online Discussion Fora: Lessons Learned from a European Pilot Project

Comparisons of international child welfare systems have identified two basic orientations to practice; a ‘child protection’ orientation and a ‘child welfare’ orientation, which are founded upon fundamentally different values and assumptions regarding the family, the origins of childcare problems, and the proper role of the state in relation to the family. This paper describes a project which sought to compare how undergraduate social work students from three European Universities perceive risk in referrals about the welfare of children and to explore the impact of different cultural, ideological and educational contexts on the way in which risk is constructed by students. Students from Northern Ireland, Germany and Poland examined three vignettes via 10 online discussion fora each of which provided a narrative summary of their discussion. The paper presents some findings from the analysis of the qualitative data emerging from the student discussions and draws out the lessons learned in terms of how the project was designed and implemented using online discussion fora.     

From the Mouths of Mothers: Can Drama Facilitate Reflective Learning for Social Workers?

This article explores and evaluates a cross-disciplinary small-scale project using applied theatre in social work education. The aim was to provide an ‘Affective Encounter’ where students could practice empathic engagement, understanding of the needs of children who have been sexually abused and their protective parents/carers and engage in the complexities of working with family members who may be resistant. The workshop took place five times over a period of three years and was attended by children and families social workers on a one year post-qualifying graduate diploma course. While the use of verbatim theatre does not offer a guarantee of factual truth, it provided the students with some performed moments of personal testimony which was taken word-for-word from mothers whose children had been sexually abused. This allowed the social workers to hear the marginalised narratives of the protective mothers and to practice without a negative impact on the service user. The evaluation identified from self-report the development of emotional and practical skills and knowledge of available resources. This paper focuses on the emotional skills reported and two emerging themes are discussed: learning for humane practice, and the use of this pedagogical approach to encourage affective reflection.     

Counterfeit Smuggling: Rethinking Paradigms of Diaspora Investment and Trade Facilitation

In this paper we explore the phenomenon of Chinese counterfeits smuggled into Mexico, the world's fourth largest counterfeit market, particularly highlighting the role played by Chinese transnational crime in the production and financing of these illegal exports and the role of the Korean diaspora in the distribution of Chinese counterfeits within Mexico. Based on this case study and the extant literature, we suggest propositions concerning diaspora criminal enterprises and diaspora participants in informal markets that amend current theory concerning two streams of literature — diaspora homeland investment and trade facilitation by diasporas.     

Reporting Systems for Sustainability: What Are They Measuring?

The dominance of the neoliberal discourse in the sustainability debate has tended to privilege the economy over environment and social dimensions with implications for what is measured by sustainability monitoring systems. Moreover, systems to measure sustainability, including those influenced by neoliberal discourse, lack robust definitions and fail to address the interrelationship between social, economic and environmental contexts. If sustainability indicators are to help understand the interrelated forces driving change, by providing indications of sustainability, then the indicators should be derived from an epistemologically consistent conceptual framework which encapsulates clearly defined phenomena. The paper discusses whether sustainability indicators in the Australian context are derived from an epistemologically consistent framework. It is argued that the validity of current sustainability reporting systems is contestable.