Revisiting children 'home on trial' in the context of current concerns about the costs and effectiveness of the looked-after children system: findings from an exploratory study

Statute and practice relating to s.31 part IV of The Children Act 1989 allow children subject to care orders to be placed at home with their parent(s). It is not uncommon for the courts to accept a plan for children to return home at the final hearing of care proceedings at which full care orders are granted. In such instances, children retain looked‐after status but, in terms of their day‐to‐day care, are looked after by parent(s). Whilst there are a small number of studies conducted in the 1990s relating to children ‘home on trial’, there is a much more limited recent literature. It is important to revisit this population of children, given current concerns about the burgeoning costs of child care proceedings and the looked‐after children system (LAC). This paper reports on a small‐scale exploratory study in one north‐west local authority area. Consisting of a file study and interviews with parents and professionals, the study examines the factors that contributed to initial removal of children to public care, the impact of the LAC system for children ‘home on trial’, stability of placements at home, as well as issues to do with the discharge of care orders. Particular attention is drawn to lone father headed households, a social group over‐represented in our sample. The study aims to inform further multi‐location studies.     

A Preliminary Investigation of Factors Associated With Job Loss Grief

This study investigated relationships among factors hypothesized as related to job loss grief. A summary grief score correlated positively with time since job loss and number of dependents, and negatively with length of notice. Perceived reemployment prospects and income loss related positively to some grief index subscales, as did the condition of living on one's own. Job duration correlated negatively with some grief responses. Implications for counseling and avenues for future research are discussed.     

The family system,temporary or permanent auxiliary ego: The differential fate of self-objects

This paper addresses the integration of developmental theory and family system theory. It is based on the assumption that the combination and integration of these two sets of theory gives the social work clinician the richest possible base for diagnostic assessment and intervention. Two points of intersection of these theories, birth and mate selection, are utilized to highlight the natural linkages between the theories and to demonstrate the combined power to more fully inform clinical practice.The human being like any other organism can be understood only in relation to its ecological niche, to which it is fitted by evolution and with which it is in balance or is striving for balance at every point of its life.     

The German Administrative Record Census – An object identification problem

Summary: The next German census will be an Administrative Record Census. Data from several administrative registers about persons will be merged. Object identification has to be applied, since no unique identification number exists in the registers. We present a two–step procedure. We briefly discuss questions like correctness and completeness of the Administrative Record Census. Then we focus on the object identification problem, that can be perceived as a special classification problem. Pairs of records are to be classified as matched or not matched. To achieve computational efficiency a preselection technique of pairs is applied. Our approach is illustrated with a database containing a large set of consumer addresses.*This work was partially supported by the Berlin–Brandenburg Graduate School in Distributed Information Systems (DFG grant no. GRK 316). The authors thank Michael Fürnrohr for previewing the paper. We would like to thank also for the helpful comments of an anonymous reviewer.     

Indigenous research methodology – weaving a research interface

ABSTRACT

Indigenous research Knowledges and methodologies have existed over millennia, however it is only recently that Indigenous scholars have been able to challenge institutional Western hegemony to reclaim sovereignty in the research space. Despite the high volume of quantitative research describing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, there has been limited evaluation of the value added through incorporation of Indigenous Knowledges and methodologies. ‘Research at the interface’ has been discussed as an Indigenous research methodology for researchers to contextualise and inform their research practices, between Indigenous and Western systems of knowledge. In this article we address the significance of ‘research at the interface’ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research, as an exciting opportunity for innovation to ensure strength, self-determination and resilience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities engaged in research. We also introduce weaving a methodology for ‘research at the interface’ as a process for conceptualising Indigenous and quantitative research methodologies at the interface.     

Kulturwandel im Geldgeschäft? Potenziale einer ethischen Selbsterneuerung im Banken- und Finanzwesen

Following the financial crisis in 2008 a debate about the social benefit of the financial industry, which operates without considering its real-economic consequences, was initiated. The financial industry responded by offering strategies of cultural change (“Kulturwandel”) which foster a more socially responsible financial practice. At the same time the expansion of “ethical” banks aims to establish a banking business avoiding negative externalities of the banking sector. Following the conceptual assumptions of the sociology of critique we study the collectively shared interpretation of a “good” and legitimate financial practice beyond publicly communicated standards of practice. Against this backdrop we evaluate the potentials of normative self-regulation in banking and finance. Our results show that cultural or ethical change is only partly feasible if it exclusively focuses the motives, values and personalities of the individual subjects but neglects the structural as well as institutional conditions of a “good” financial practice.     

The moral hazard of conditionality: Restoring the integrity of social security law

This article examines the extent to which the Australian and UK social security systems meet their legal obligations to provide basic relief to citizens in need. Conditionality and “mutual obligation” are at the core of both the UK and Australian social security systems and are based on the concept of moral hazard, the goal being to ensure that claimants do not consider living on benefits to be preferable to engaging in paid work. Yet, we argue that the element of “mutuality” is missing in both systems; welfare claimants are subject to myriad conditions and obligations, whilst the state operates free of any legal responsibility to provide even basic relief to those in need, to prevent or alleviate extreme poverty and destitution. We outline the extent to which Australian and UK social security laws require governments to relieve destitution, examining both domestic and human rights law. We conclude that legal protections are weak and that both systems fail to meet the basic conditions of humanity toward their citizens. On this basis, we argue that such failings demonstrate a lack of integrity which undermines the standing of both the UK and Australia to invoke a claim of moral hazard to defend claimant conditionality.     

Children of prisoners: exploring the impact of families' reappraisal of the role and status of the imprisoned parent on children's coping strategies

Qualitative data from a larger study on the impact of parental imprisonment in four countries found that children of prisoners face fundamentally similar psychological and social challenges. The ways that children cope, however, are influenced by the interpretative frame adopted by the adults around them, and by how issues of parental imprisonment are talked about in their families. This article argues that families have to reappraise their view of the imprisoned parent and then decide on their policy for how to deal with this publicly. Their approach may be based on openness and honesty or may emphasise privacy and secrecy, or a combination of these. Children are likely to be influenced by their parents'/carers' views, although these may cause conflict for them. Where parents/carers retain a positive view of the imprisoned parent, children are likely to benefit; where parents/carers feel issues of shame and stigma acutely, this is likely to be transmitted to their children. This is important for social workers and practitioners involved in supporting prisoners' families and for parenting programmes.     

The use and non‐use of assistive technologies from the world of information and communication technology by visually impaired young people: a walk on the tightrope of peer inclusion

In affluent societies how people use technology is symbolic of various values and identities. This article investigates the symbolic values and use of assistive technologies from the world of information and communication technology (ICT) in the daily lives of 11 visually impaired young Norwegians. The article draws on a qualitative interview study and employs an interactionist approach. While the use of ICT is found to symbolise competence, belonging and independence, the use of ICT assistive technologies is found to symbolise restriction, difference and dependency. Thus, ICT and ICT assistive technologies have inherently contradictory sets of associations. To fit in as ordinary young people the visually impaired participants reject ICT assistive technologies whenever possible. The partially sighted participants who are somehow capable of participating in online interactions with their peers without ICT assistive technologies reject them. The blind participants, however, do not have the option of participating online without ICT assistive technologies and, consequently, they accept ICT assistive technologies.