Direct What? The Untapped Potential of Direct Payments to Mental Health Service Users

This article describes research carried out for the Central Research Unit of the Scottish Executive about Direct Payments to mental health service users including people with dementia. Previous research had found that Direct Payments were not often, if at all, offered to mental health service users. Using focus groups, interviews and a telephone survey, Scottish Health Feedback explored the extent of implementation of Direct Payments across Scotland, and the views of mental health service users, carers and professionals about the idea of Direct Payments, the potential obstacles, and the support that would be needed. Awareness of Direct Payments was low, even among professionals. Many were hearing about this option for the first time through this research and a common reaction to the research questions was 'Direct what?' The study found that in order to make Direct Payments work for mental health service users, what was needed was 'person-centred' assessment, access to proper support, advice and training, and Direct Payment schemes that were flexible to allow for different arrangements and for transitions.     

Residential respite care: the caregiver's last resort

Understanding the beliefs that caregivers of people with dementia have in regard to the use of residential respite may inform strategies to address low service utilisation. In this article, the application of theory in qualitative research with 36 caregivers provides insight into why most delay service use. Although some believe that service use may increase caregiving longevity, others position service use in conflict with normative values, and may hold beliefs that negative outcomes will result from utilisation. To address caregivers' beliefs to support service use, improvements are required to service promotion, as well as to models of care.     

If Men Do More Housework,Do Their Wives Have More Babies?

We analyze data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey waves 1–6, to investigate whether the housework and childcare contributions of coupled Australian men with one child affect the likelihood that their wives will have a second child. We find no evidence that the way housework or childcare is shared has an effect, nor that the amount of men’s contribution to housework or childcare has an effect. In addition, the effect of men’s housework and childcare time on fertility does not appear to be mediated through its effect on their wives’ housework and childcare.     

Responding to child maltreatment: Comparison between the USA and China

A recent study estimated that over one‐fourth of Chinese children have suffered maltreatment (Fang et al., 2015 ). However, the current child welfare policy in China is limited to orphans, abandoned children, and children with disabilities. Also, there is very little comparative research in China on Chinese and other countries’ child welfare systems. The purpose of this study was to analyze applicable US and Chinese child welfare policies, identify gaps in Chinese policy regarding child maltreatment, and make recommendations for a policy agenda for improving child welfare in China based on cultural values and existing policy structures. Results show that China has considerable capacity to make improvements in child protective services, foster care, and adoption policies. Based on the results of this study, several implications are provided to develop China's child maltreatment policy to increase children's outcomes of well‐being, safety, and permanency. Key Practitioner Message: ? To understand the background and system of current Chinese child maltreatment policy; ? To review US child maltreatment policy and its implementation to identify gaps in the Chinese child maltreatment system; ? To provide policy suggestions to develop Chinese child maltreatment policy and provide recommendations for social work education and practice in China.     

Volunteerism and social capital in policy implementation: evidence from the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

We assess the link between a program's volunteer support and state social capital in the case of the joint implementation of the federal Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman Program by state and federal authorities. This program, which is designed to prevent elder abuse and ensure quality care in long-term facilities, is implemented at the state and local levels and relies heavily on volunteer staff. First, we find that volunteerism is vital to the efficacy of the program's monitoring and investigative functions. Second, we find that volunteerism in this program is tied to broader level conditions of a state's social capital. Last, we discuss the implications of our findings for volunteer-based programs devolved to the states.     

Estimating Distributions with Increasing Failure Rate in an Imperfect Repair Model

A failed system is repaired minimally if after failure, it is restored to the working condition of an identical system of the same age. We extend the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator(MLE) of a systems lifetime distribution function to test units that are known to have an increasing failure rate. Such items comprise a significant portion of working components in industry. The order-restricted MLE is shown to be consistent. Similar results hold for the Brown-Proschan imperfect repair model, which dictates that a failed component is repaired perfectly with some unknown probability, and is otherwise repaired minimally. The estimators derived are motivated and illustrated by failure data in the nuclear industry. Failure times for groups of emergency diesel generators and motor-driven pumps are analyzed using the order-restricted methods. The order-restricted estimators are consistent and show distinct differences from the ordinary MLEs. Simulation results suggest significant improvement in reliability estimation is available in many cases when component failure data exhibit the IFR property.     

Treatment of adult sexual offenders: a therapeutic cognitive-behavioural model of intervention

Recent research indicates that, of the various forms of treatment available to sexual offenders, cognitive-behavioural methods are likely to have the greatest impact in reducing rates of sexual re-offending. Cognitive-behavioural treatment typically targets attitudes that support sexual offending, anger management, victim empathy, deviant sexual arousal, and relapse prevention. More recently, treatment has targeted cognitive processes more generally, management of other emotional states in addition to anger, intimacy deficits, and risk self-management (Marshall, Anderson, & Fernandez, 1999; Yates, Goguen, Nicholaichuk, Williams, & Long, 2000). This article describes the components of cognitive-behavioural treatment with sexual offenders, including recent developments, assessment, treatment methods, and the importance of therapist characteristics on the therapeutic process and on treatment outcome.