When the Norwegian child-welfare services get involved: parents making sense of referrals

There is limited research exploring parents' views and understanding of referrals to the child-welfare services (CWS). This study explores parents' understanding of the circumstances leading to a child-welfare referral, and their understanding of the reporter's objectives in making the referral. Qualitative content analysis and frequency analysis was performed on open-ended survey responses from a sample of 683 Norwegian parents in contact with the CWS. The results showed that the majority (60.2%) of the parents perceived the referral to be initiated solely because of parental difficulties and multiple family life stressors. Some of the parents (22.8%) believed the referrals were initiated exclusively because of their children's problems, whereas a few (13.3%) perceived it to be a combination of parental/familial difficulties and children's problems. The findings reveal that close to half of the parents (46.4%) felt the objective of the person making the referral was to help the child, their parents and the family. Some (36.5%) saw it as a routine or mandated action by public or official services, while others (18.7%) reported that they did not know why referrals had been made, or gave no answer to the question. A small group of parents (6%) viewed the referral as an act of harassment. The main implications of these findings are discussed.     

美国大学社会服务的“大学社区参与”模式评析

"大学社区参与"是20世纪90年代以来美国兴起的新型大学社会服务模式。这一模式在大学与社区的合作伙伴关系基础上,以社区需求和社会发展为动力,旨在推进大学教学、科研与服务功能的综合发展,具有学术性、综合性、互惠性、公共性等特征。大学领导层、组织机构、教师参与、组织文化以及大学与社区的权力关系等因素共同决定着"大学社区参与"模式的运行状况。"大学社区参与"模式对我国大学社会服务的现代发展具有借鉴意义。     

Need,well‐being and outcomes: the development of policy‐thinking for children's services 1989–2004

This paper describes how government policy thinking about the well‐being of children and young people developed between the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004. These two Acts are milestone statements about how services to children in England and Wales should be delivered. It is an account informed by the author's own experience as a government adviser on children's social care over much of this period and supporting documentation. It traces the strands of government policy thinking about how to deliver services for children from children in need to the articulation of the five Every Child Matters outcomes. It argues that attempts to achieve coordinated service planning for children and young people played a significant role in the formulation of shared objectives and the articulation of child outcomes. However, it argues that looking at real outcomes exposes how children in the UK do relatively badly compared with other rich nations. It questions whether we can realistically expect our services to deliver significantly improved outcomes given the impact of enduring inequality in our society. This paper is dedicated to the memory of David Lambert CBE, former Assistant Chief Inspector of the Social Services Inspectorate in London, who died suddenly on 7 October 2010. He lent me articles to assist me in writing this paper.     

From Destruction to Reconciliation

SUMMARY

Daniel Johnson discusses how the application of “restorative justice” in his own life and in the life of the victim of his criminal offense contributed to his personal regeneration and healing for his victim. Mr. Johnson challenges criminal justice policy-makers to create conditions where “restorative justice” can be employed in the broadest sense in order to do what contemporary, punitive, retributive criminal justice systems are largely incapable of doing, that is, facilitate lasting offender rehabilitation and healing for crime victims and communities, and to offer opportunities for victim-offender reconciliations.     

Providing Mental Health Services to Older People Living in Rural Communities

Summary

Rural dwelling elders who experience mental health problems often have difficulty finding help since rural communities often lack adequate mental health service providers. This paper reports on the initial phase of a 5-year, interdisciplinary clinical research study that is testing the effectiveness of providing a home delivered, therapeutic psychosocial intervention, aimed at improving the emotional well-being and the quality of life of medically frail elders who live in rural communities. In the early phases of this study, the clinical research team encountered a number of interesting and often unanticipated challenges as it attempted to recruit study participants and provide services to them. In this article, we examine these challenges and share what we have learned so far about providing mental health services to elderly persons living in rural environments.     

The Making of COBRS 2.0

Abstract

Recently introduced advances in microcomputer technology offer opportunities for improving child welfare agencies' access to powerful case assessment and program evaluation tools. This paper discusses the process of fitting a child behavior outcome measurement system to a menu driven microcomputer program. Traditional strategies for measuring outcome effectiveness, managerial priorities and operational constraints are examined in terms of their bearing on the introduction of new microcomputer technology. The developmental process is traced to show how these factors influenced the addition of a number of user options to the basic program to enhance its adaptability to specific agency needs. Initial user feedback indicated general satisfaction with the basic program and the applicability of its output, little or no experimentation, as yet, in adapting the system, and, a minor need to adjust the sequencing of operator activities to better fit the realities of agency work rhythms.     

'The more things change…': Barriers to community services utilisation in Queensland

Community services are central to the lives of many elderly Australians or Australians with disabilities if they are to remain in the community. Over the past two decades, significant advances have been made in policy and associated programs, significantly improving the standards of service delivery. This research reports on the perceptions of service providers in community services for people with disabilities in six communities in Queensland. It illustrates that significant barriers to service utilisation remain, despite reform. It suggests that continuous efforts to promote service access need to be built in at the program level.     

Usability Study of a Distance Continuing Education Website for Human Service Professionals

ABSTRACT

A usability test of a distance continuing education website for human service professionals is discussed. The website's purpose was to help meet the continuing education needs of human service professionals in a largely rural Midwestern state. The purpose of the usability evaluation was to assess the website's ease of use, efficiency, and user satisfaction in a representative sample of human service professionals. Users completed eleven basic search tasks with the site and report their impressions of the information presented. In addition, performance data including success, time on task, and efficiency were gathered. Implications of user satisfaction and performance data highlight the importance of stakeholder's involvement in the early stages of website design.     

北京外国人社区生活调查研究

改革开放以来,中国经济和社会取得了长足发展,来京的外国人逐年增多。调查显示,外国人对所在社区评价总体比较高,但他们的评价也因年龄、性别、来源地、滞留时间等不同而略有差异,他们参与社区活动的意愿与选择也并不相同。居住在北京城市社区的外国人对所在社区的审视为我们展现了一个由外向内的独特评价视角,这对于我们构建和谐社区、提升社区服务有着重要的现实意义。     

投资者保护公益组织与股东诉讼在中国的实践——基于中证投服证券支持诉讼的多案例研究

以2016~2017年间中证中小投资者服务中心(以下简称"中证投服")提起的4例证券支持诉讼为研究对象,本文深入分析了该组织在证券支持诉讼中的作用实现机理及其在中小投资者利益保护方面所产生的直接经济后果和溢出效应。本文发现:中证投服提起的证券支持诉讼在很大程度上改善了虚假陈述案件的赔偿机制,主要体现为赔付主体更加合理化,赔偿金额的计算更加科学,赔付比例有明显提升,赔偿款项的执行力度得以加强;在作用实现机理方面,中证投服作为投资者保护公益组织向中小股东提供了公益服务,同时又具备政府弹性监管的色彩,与我国现行的司法制度形成互补;更为重要的是,中证投服参与证券支持诉讼产生了显著的溢出效应,在唤醒中小股东维权意识的同时,明显提升了民间律师团体的活跃程度,进而从整体上极大地带动了民间股东诉讼的兴起。