Shards of the old looking glass: restoring the significance of identity in promoting positive outcomes for looked‐after children

There is a driving force within current UK child welfare policies which promotes a strengths led approach to both assessment and care planning for children in need. Social policy emphasizes the importance of tangible outcomes such as education achievement, which have been enshrined in statute. However, other developmental outcomes, such as identity, are subordinated. Notwithstanding the relevance of these more concrete indicators, this paper suggests that this focus has left a gap at theoretical, strategic and operational levels relating to more psychosocial aspects of human growth and development, such as identity. This paper seeks to redress that gap by considering identity as both a process and an outcome. Following a review of the literature on identity development, it presents an analysis of semi‐structured interviews with 13 young people and their social workers. The findings show how young people's identity is shaped by their relationships, can be a protective mechanism, and deferred or put on standby. In the concluding discussion the implications for social work practice are highlighted.     

Welfare residualism: a comparative study of the Basic Livelihood Security systems in China and South Korea

Gao Q, Yoo J, Yang S‐M, Zhai F. Welfare residualism: a comparative study of the Basic Livelihood Security systems in China and South Korea Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 113–124 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. In this article, the Basic Livelihood Security (BLS) systems of China and South Korea are compared. The purpose of BLS is to provide a safety net for poor families, particularly the unemployed and the retired who were hard‐hit by recent economic reforms and crises. A common characteristic of the two systems is residual welfare marked by strict eligibility rules and limited coverage. Both systems are subordinate to the primary goal of economic growth and therefore only compensate for the very disadvantaged left behind by market competition. Neither system is particularly effective in achieving its original antipoverty goals. However, South Korea's provision of self‐support programs to supplement cash transfers has helped individuals to move from welfare to work, and thus has implications for China's BLS system. Both countries need to put more emphasis on equity and social justice in their ongoing reforms and expansions of BLS.     

The Causal Power of Discourse

This paper outlines a realist approach to the social ontology of discourse. It seeks to synthesise some elements of the approach to discourse found in the early work of Michel Foucault with a critical realist understanding of the causal power of social structures. It will argue that discursive structures can be causally significant when they are normatively endorsed and enforced by specific groups of people; that it is not discourse as such but these groups—discursive circles—that are causally effective; and that such an account allows us to reconcile the role of discourse with that of the subject.     

On the historical determinants of third sector strength: A qualitative comparative analysis

This study proposes a theoretical explanation for the main causes of the third sector's strength. A Boolean comparative analysis based mainly on the theoretical frameworks of Rokkan and Esping-Andersen indicates that the combination of state-supported urban interests and Protestantism are necessary conditions. This result is very close to Max Weber's explanation of civil society which presupposes the facilitating role of the autonomous state. Thus, the empirical results are reinterpreted within the context of a Weberian explanatory framework. The implications of this endeavor within the historical context of developing countries are further explicated.     

Effectiveness of Social Welfare Programmes in East Asia: A Case Study of Taiwan

Using the 2008 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, this study examined the effectiveness of social welfare programmes in Taiwan. The empirical evidence shows that most types of social welfare spending were limited in 2008. However, the social welfare programmes that were in place substantially reduced income inequality in Taiwan. Using the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) poverty threshold, the results reveal that 14 per cent of the sample's families were poor in terms of market income, but this figure decreased to 7 per cent after government intervention. Income inequality in Taiwan was similar to that of other East Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, but Taiwan spent much less money on social welfare programmes than OECD countries, and therefore Taiwan's reduction of poverty was much lower as well.     

Material hardship and depression among low‐income households in South Korea: Differences by household type

With the recent trend of growing poverty in South Korea, low‐income households, particularly elderly‐ and single‐headed households, are at high risk of experiencing material hardship and depression. However, less is known about the association between material hardship and depression by household type in Korea. Using data (N = 2,913) from the Korean Welfare Panel Study and employing several methodological approaches to address the omitted variables bias, this study examined: (i) the association between material hardship and depression among low‐income households, and (ii) whether the association differed by household type. We found that experiencing material hardship was associated with a higher likelihood of being depressed. In addition, we also found that the association between material hardship and depression differed by household type. The magnitude of the association was most pronounced in single‐ and elderly‐headed households. Policy implications to improve well‐being among low‐income households were discussed.     

Re B‐S: a glass half full? An exploration of the implications of the Re B‐S judgment on practice in the family courts

The family courts in England and Wales are being significantly reformed in line with the coalition government's aim to speed up the process and increase the numbers of children being adopted from care. In September 2013, the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment, Re B‐S (Children) [2013] EWCA Civ 1146, that has wide‐ranging implications for professional practice and decision making in care proceedings. The judgment challenges the policy direction and provides guidance about what is required before courts can make orders separating children from their birth families, particularly in cases of non‐consensual adoption. In this paper, we outline the changes occurring in the family justice system, some key elements of Re B‐S, and examine the challenges for implementing practice consistent with the requirements of Re B‐S. It is argued that the standards set by Re B‐S are unlikely to be fully implemented without much further attention to the complexities posed by the policy and practice context of social work with children and their families involved in care proceedings.     

The experience of gender dysphoria for pre‐pubescent children and their families: a review of the literature

In recent years, the experience of gender dysphoria has gained public prominence through an explosion of sensationalized interest in the popular media. However, childhood gender dysphoria remains poorly understood and both parents and children often find themselves having to educate professionals around them. This not only creates a sense of disconnect between family and professionals, but also means that social workers can often be unaware of the myriad of competing perspectives that seek to explain gender variance. This review of the literature seeks to provide interested social workers with an overview of gender dysphoria, current research in the field and theoretical paradigms, with a view to promoting understanding and better practice with families in this little understood field.     

Is there still such a thing as the ‘European social model'?

This article presents a definition and characterisation of the ‘European social model’ (ESM), admitting the existence of variants and increasing heterogeneity in institutional and social contexts within the EU in the wake of successive enlargements. The constituent parts of the ESM are compared with data observed in the different countries, in search of empirical evidence of the ESM‘s position as a distinctive model of development, characteristic of Western Europe as opposed to the paths taken by other non‐European developed OECD countries.