Global Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Public Organization Review -     

The price of a loaf of bread: some conceptions of family support*

This paper reports on a case study of one local authority, and illustrates the different definitions of the term ‘family support’ employed by the different agencies within the authority. It provides a framework to analyse the contribution of the agencies according to the assumptions they make about methods and efficacy of intervention and access to and termination of intervention. It contrasts the findings from this framework with a needs based model of ‘family support’. Social work and health services tend to operate within a narrow, historically determined range, focusing most heavily on emotional support and behavioural change; whereas users and some of the other agencies are more likely to raise matters such as income maintenance, child care, leisure and education. The findings of the case study are discussed in relation to resources for families, key issues for the implementation of family support identified during the introduction of the Children Act, 1989, and the relevance of Social Services Inspectorate inspections to these issues. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adolescent Protective Factors Promoting Resilience in Young Adults at Risk for Depression

In a longitudinal, community-based study, adolescent protective factors for those at risk for depression were identified that were associated with resilient outcomes in young adulthood. For those with childhood risk factors for major depression, significant protective factors included family cohesion, positive self appraisals, and good interpersonal relations. Findings may help inform the development of prevention and treatment programs for adolescents vulnerable to depression. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Youth Allowances: Incentive & Reform

Australia's income support arrangements have come under increasing scrutiny lately reflecting a growing concern about high levels of youth unemployment and about low levels of full-time education participation. This paper aims to explore the relationship between education participation and financial incentives and to assess as a possible direction for future reform, the concept of a single and universal youth allowance. The paper begins by outlining the major forms of income support available to young people and illustrates some of the complexities in the youth income support structure. The evidence on the importance of financial factors conflicts, particularly between economists and non-economists. This is in part explained by the different conceptual frameworks used. Other possible reasons are canvassed as to why studies have so far not thrown much light on the role of financial factors in the education participation decision. The paper also outlines specific directions of distortion contained in current payment relativities. Several difficulties with the proposal for a single youth allowance as a means of increasing education participation are discussed and alternatives briefly outlined. The concluding section of the paper summarises the issues relevant to the future debate on youth income support and identifies areas for further research.     

Young People who have Sexually Abused: What do they (and their parents) want from Professionals?

This article presents the findings of a small scale qualitative study of user perspectives in the adolescent sexual aggression field. Twenty four service users who had received intervention from nine different specialist providers completed a structured questionnaire about their experiences of professional involvement. Both young people who had sexually abused and parents identified the kinds of professional intervention which they found useful, as well as practices that they experienced as unhelpful. Young people and their families alike were found to value supportive interventions which gave them an opportunity to gain insight into the nature of sexual abuse as well to address their own feelings about their problems.     

Preparing Parents for Adoption: An Agency Experience

To prepare for the complexities of family formation, 78 prospective adoptive parents participated in Pre-Adopt, a psychosocial educational orientation program offered by one private nonprofit agency. The five-session curriculum included an overview of adoption policies and procedures, discussion of the child placement process, exploration of couples' adoption concerns and expectations about child characteristics, information about adoption laws and birth-parent/child searches, and examination of anticipatory fantasies about birth parents. Program evaluation yielded statistically significant and clinically meaningful findings about changes in emotional readiness to adopt, parenting knowledge, and satisfaction with group participation, adoption policies and agency practices. Practice implications are considered.     

Adolescent Violence towards Parents: Maintaining Family Connections When The Going Gets Tough

This paper explores some of the dilemmas, difficulties and decisions faced by mothers whose adolescent sons or daughters act in violent and abusive ways and refuse any counselling. A group intervention program, designed to assist these mothers in more fully understanding and addressing their adolescent's behaviour, was evaluated using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Self‐report questionnaire data indicated that following the group intervention the mothers reported less violence in their homes, and significantly less personal anxiety and fatigue. However, these women continued to experience high levels of depression, and the reasons for this are discussed. These findings are integrated with information from post‐intervention, in‐depth interviews which indicated that participants valued the group experience because they realised that they were not alone, their problems were understood, and they developed a wider range of strategies to deal with their children's violent behaviour.