Community Social Work Research Articles

Social work with the local community in Ukraine and the possibility of using Polish experience

Although community organizing as a method of social work began to develop in Ukraine in the 1990s, but unlike individual and group social work, the attempts to introduce it into the activities of social welfare institutions and non-governmental organizations were unsystematic and not very successful. The aim of the article is to determine the possibilities of Polish experience of community social work implementation in Ukraine, taking into account the ongoing reform of local self-government. The study, the results of which are presented in the article, was designed as a so-called desk research and based on the results of the comparative analysis of Ukrainian and Polish scientific publications, documents, official websites, etc. The historical background of community social work development in Ukraine is outlined, the analysis of Ukrainian legal acts regarding norms and principles on community organizing is conducted. The article provides an overview of Ukrainian concepts and models of community social work. Particular attention is paid to the possibilities of Polish experience’ application, while implementing community organizing into practice of social welfare institutions as well as of NGOs. Possible structural and institutional changes related to the implementation of community organizing in social work practice and its benefits for the revitalization programs were analyzed. Polish experience of establishing a nationwide circle of community social work professionals was described. The author concludes that the challenges and barriers arising before community social work in both countries are quite similar and assumes that it is reasonable to take into account Polish experience, while implementing community organizing in Ukrainian realities.

From Neighboring Behavior to Mental Health in the Community: The Role of Gender and Work-Family Conflict.

This research emphasizes the potential influences of social community environments on low-income employees’ mental health. Using a two-wave panel design, we collect 218 matched data from low-income employees in Harbin City, China. We developed a moderated mediation model to test our hypotheses with the following significant results: (1) neighboring behavior, defined as both giving and receiving various kinds of assistance to and from one’s neighbors, positively influenced mental health; (2) work-family conflict mediated the relationship between neighboring behavior and mental health; (3) gender moderated the influences of neighboring behavior on mental health, such that neighboring behavior had a stronger positive influence on mental health for females than for males; (4) gender moderated the mediating effect of work-family conflict; that is, the positive influences of neighboring behavior were stronger for female employees than for male employees. This research explores the mechanism and boundary conditions of the relationship between neighboring behavior and mental health. In practice, community managers support community social workers by organizing community-building social activities and supportive programs to enhance residents’ neighboring behavior.

An Analysis of Fossil-Fuel Dependence in the United States with Implications for Community Social Work

This article examines fossil-fuel dependence in the United States with emphasis on the areas of transportation and food. It is argued that fossil-fuel dependence will cause significant social and economic problems in the future and that ongoing usage is a major contributor to mounting environmental degradation. Ultimately, the authors argue that our fossil-fuel based economy is unsustainable and that efforts should be taken to reduce usage and dependence. A growing community movement aimed at revitalizing local economies and reducing fossil-fuel usage has recently emerged. Social work can bring critically important values and knowledge to these and similar efforts, especially in regard to community organizing and the participation of marginalized populations.
 Key Words: Fossil Fuels, Energy, Sustainability, Local Economy, Community Organizing, Social Work

The procedural fairness limitations of fitness to practise hearings: a case study into social work

AbstractThe norm in fitness to practise proceedings (FTPP) is that where sanctions might be imposed procedural fairness requires a court-like hearing. This paper questions that paradigm, using empirical research to focus on the FTPP to which social workers must account. Procedural fairness is a multi-faceted legitimising concept used to justify the design of decision-making processes. With FTPPs, the major justification is an ‘instrumentally’ focused model of procedural fairness which prioritises making decisions that look right, a goal which is delivered in the context of social work. But other justifications for procedural fairness are inadequately fulfilled, with in particular a ‘dignitarian’ respect not achieved due to the high levels of non-attendance by registrant social workers. Further, procedural fairness as ‘public accountability’ is undermined due to the relative lack of engagement of FTPPs with the perspective of the social work community. These findings hint that in the context of a poorly organised and resource-poor profession other hybrid forms of FTPP might have a stronger claim to procedural fairness than the court-like model.

Chestnut Lodge: The Transformative Power of Creating Connection

The author describes how her experience as an adolescent in residential treatment at Chestnut Lodge informs and enriches her work in creating connection with the patients she treats as a community social worker.

CREATING A SPACE FOR INNOVATIVE TEACHING, LEARNING AND SERVICE DELIVERY

The School of Social Work Community Clinic opened its doors in June, 2014 in a donated space in a local parish hall. With very few resources initially the clinic now has its own rented space, serves a caseload of over 200 marginalized community members and has provided field placement experiences for over 75 BSW/MSW, pharmacy, psychology, nutrition, nursing, and occupational therapy students. In this article, we will highlight the steps we took to create and develop the Clinic with a social justice/anti-oppressive foundation, and the practice-teaching approaches we use with our students. We will also describe how we are integrating an interprofessional and community-university partnership culture in our day-to-day work with marginalized populations. This process will be described and discussed in relation to both interprofessional health education and the provision of relevant and meaningful services to clients. The community development techniques we used to develop our clinic and how we have been able to grow and expand will be highlighted. The partners we have established in government, the university, and the community that have contributed to a more sustainable future are also described.

Tres prejuicios en relación al abuso sexual. Deslindes para la práctica victimológica

The benefits of ICTs contribute to the personal, group and collective development of social sciences from the field of victimology.This document makes a brief analysis and concrete presentation of a case in which the Social Sciences professionals make use of ICTs in their field of action, providing an effective and efficient service to the community in the which provide their services and where under a controlled and supervised supervision of the new generations a positive effect is achieved. TICS has many advantages since its members were given access to information in relation to: courses, trainings, congresses, seminars, workshops and all in relation to the update process, online advice was provided by professionals in multiple areas of Social Work, Promoting and generating opportunities for professionals to formally share their knowledge with other colleagues. Information and communication technologies become necessary means and instruments, these in themselves do not solve the problems, but they need the intelligent, rational use of the professional and above all their vocation of service to perform a genuine service and in turn they offer different spaces not only oriented to the service of the community but also to all professionals and as individuals, being those means of discussion and analysis of proposals to solve social problems and at the same time means that allow the Social Work community establish ties of fraternity and mutual support at local, regional, national and international levels.

Reframing social work practice education: practice educators’ perceptions of the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) and the support provided during implementation

ABSTRACTThe research conducted applied an Appreciative Inquiry methodology to explore experiences of social work practice educators just before and following the implementation of the Professional Capabilities Framework to discover more about the impact of the assessment framework on their role in supporting and assessing social work students during their placements. A three-staged approach was applied to discover how practice educators were supported and enabled during a time of transitional change.Findings suggest that the practice educator role has multiple dimensions, although their central positioning within the professional development of social work student’s practice learning is not fully recognised through adequate channels of support and encouragement. A significant finding pertained to the importance of the relationship established between the practice educator and the student as being integral to the assessment process.Solutions considered include developing a more streamlined approach to training and support and development, stronger local partnerships and increased recognition within the social work community.

First and last and always: streetwork as a methodology for radical community social work practice

This conceptual article aims to introduce and explore the practice of social streetwork. Streetwork is located as a historical professional discourse that has contemporary relevance for a rapidly changing and globalised world. As a practice discourse, streetwork occurs across a range of community-based helping professions, including social work, youth work and community work. The social work profession is increasingly becoming clinical and situated within statutory organisations, placing a greater emphasis on outcome-based targets, rather than building relationships. As a result of austerity, traditional youth workers are becoming invisible, often moving into statutory education settings and complex needs welfare agencies. This article will argue that for the broad helping professions to remain relevant, we must engage with vulnerable and complex populations where we find them – at the street level – promoting a direct practice of social justice at a micro-level. Within this discussion, we will define and explore a streetwork approach by examining the methodologies and objectives of streetwork practice. We will argue that by keeping to its origins of using informal and non-formal education as its primary tools, streetwork as an intervention works to combat poverty, social exclusion and discrimination. The article articulates a foundation for practice based on the promotion of low-threshold interventions with complex and hard-to-reach social populations. One of the key themes we will explore is how to locate streetwork practice as a form of social support, accompaniment and tool for promoting social inclusion and social democracy.

Social work, social technologies, and sustainable community development

This keynote address was delivered at the Social Work, Education, and Social Development Conference. The conference was held July 3–5, 2018 at the Royal Dublin Society Conference Center in Dublin, Ireland. The address describes husITa intersections with sustainable community development in terms of social work education interventions that use technology mediation. These intersections are portrayed as effective social technologies. Two education programs are presented as illustrations. The programs created learning networks that evolved into organized networks capable of producing local community development. The learning model used a social work education approach that included fieldwork combined with social work community organization practices and distributed education. The model is described as key to an enduring local legacy of sustainable community development curated by humanitarian values, practices, and purpose.

מגשרים מסורתיים של עולי אתיופיה בשירותי הרווחה והמשטרה <br>Inclusion of Traditional Mediators of Immigrants from Ethiopia in the Welfare Services and the Police

תקציר בעברית: בעשור האחרון ,במטרה להתמודד עם האלימות הגוברת במשפחה ובחברה ,יזמה ממשלת ישראל את שילובם של מגשרים מסורתיים (שמגלוץ )'של עולי אתיופיה בישראל ,במרכזי גישור עירונים .מרכזים אלו מנוהלים על ידי אגפי הרווחה בשיתוף ראשי קהילה ומשמר אזרחי ,הג'וינט וגורמים נוספים .הממצאים מראים, כי השמגלוץ 'בישראל איבדו ממעמדם ,אך עדיין הם רלוונטיים כיוון שהליך הגישור באמצעותם הוא מהיר ,קל ,חסכוני ויעיל יותר ממערכת המשפט הישראלית .היתרון המרכזי בעבודתם הוא תרבותי שכן הם דוברים בשפתם של העולים ,מכירים את הקודים התרבותיים שלהם, ומטפלים בשיטות המוכרות להם .השמגלוץ 'ששימשו באתיופיה מגשרים משפטיים ,משמשים בישראל גם כמגשרים בין תרבותיים .יתרונם בארגז הכלים החדש-ישן שלהם שלהם המסייע להם לטפל בתופעות חדשות של קונפליקט הנובעות מההגירה. English Abstract: In the past decade the Israeli government initiated the inclusion of traditional mediators (Shmaglotz) of immigrants from Ethiopia in Israel within the framework of municipal mediation centers, as part of an attempt to cope with the increasing violence in Israeli society. These centers are run by welfare divisions in collaboration with heads of the community and the civil guard, the Joint and other agencies. The study is based on in-depth interviews with Shmaglotz who work in urban mediation centers, and with social workers and policemen who participate in the activation of the Shmaglotz model in the mediation centers. Publications of the Division for Community Policing were also used as a valuable primary source for understanding the community policing concept and for including the Shmaglotz model within its framework. The findings indicate that collaboration between the Shmaglotz and community policemen and social workers is effective in handling problems in the families of immigrants from Ethiopia and serves both the absorbers and the absorbed. For the absorbers, the shared work and the training undergone by professionals helped expose the immigrants' culture and develop awareness of the importance of the Shmaglotz. However, the Shmaglotz model remains unique for the community of immigrants from Ethiopia. For the absorbed, inclusion of the Shmaglotz in the state services enables them to preserve values from their traditional culture, while being exposed to the absorbers' culture.

Dalhousie University School of Social Work Community Clinic: A Space for Innovative Teaching, Learning and Service Delivery

The Dalhousie University Social Work Community Clinic, a unique inter-professional community-university initiative, opened its doors in 2014 and has supported over 400 marginalized community members and provided field placements for over 65 health profession students. The clinic espouses a social justice/ anti-oppressive teaching, learning and service delivery platform.

Affinity Groups: Redefining Brave Spaces

Affinity groups are brave spaces convened by undergraduate social work faculty members for students who do not identify with dominant groups. Affinity groups are offered in response to diverse students' experiences of isolation and microaggressions as well as episodes of religious discrimination and flagrant racist, xenophobic, and homophobic actions. The term brave space is chosen to demonstrate that many spaces are never totally safe for those who experience oppression. The affinity groups offered at a midsized public university include Students of Color, LGBTQIAP+, and Coexist. Benefits of group experiences for students include identity development, within-group diversity, social networks, professional development, and faculty–student relationships. Benefits for the undergraduate social work department include modeling strong social work community and group practice, implementation of the implicit curriculum, and a more welcoming social work program for all students. Challenges include protecting group members from dominant group curiosity and microaggressions and accounting for faculty time and effort.

Clinical introduction into population health management using a peer mentoring strategy

Background/objective: Baccalaureate nursing clinical experiences must prepare graduates to assess and support the health of vulnerable populations within communities. Clinical experiences need to align with theoretical coursework throughout the entire curriculum. This pilot project evaluated an innovative method to introduce second-semester Accelerated Baccalaureate Students (ABS) into a service-learning community experience using a peer-mentoring strategy.Methods: Eleven second-semester and twelve fourth-semester ABS students were paired in learning dyads in a low-income, ethnically diverse urban housing development, along with community health workers and social workers. Second-semester students were peer-mentored by fourth-semester students. Second-semester students performed health screenings, health promotion education, and medication reconciliation guided by fourth-semester students. Learning objectives and changes in knowledge were evaluated before and after the experience in a retrospective pretest/posttest format for all students. Additionally, second-semester students reported their perception of the mentoring experience on self-confidence, satisfaction, and helpfulness.Results: The learning objective rated highest related to the role of social determinants of health in the overall health of the residents (M = 4.38). Paired t-test analysis revealed significant positive increases in levels of knowledge about social determinants of health, role of culture, and importance of the interprofessional team. On a scale of one to five, second-semester students reported increased self-confidence (M = 4.2), satisfaction with the learning experience (M = 4), and help providing health promotion strategies (M = 4.4) due to mentorship by the fourth semester students.Conclusions: Students’ comments reflected an appreciation of the complexity of healthcare issues affecting vulnerable members of the community. Second-semester students reported more confidence and perceived themselves to be more effective due to the mentorship of the fourth semester students when providing education to residents with complex health needs.

Explaining the policy practice of community social workers

Summary Policy change is a core goal of community social workers. This study aims to identify the motivational and facilitating factors associated with community social workers’ engagement in policy practice, defined as policy involvement undertaken in the workplace context. The sample comprised of 106 community social workers employed by local government in Israel and the data were collected between June 2015 and February 2017. Findings The findings showed that community social workers are more likely to engage in policy when they enjoy higher professional status, possess more policy practice resources, have higher psychological involvement in politics, are more involved in political and professional networks, and sense that they enjoy greater organizational support for policy practice. Applications In seeking to enhance the engagement of community social workers in the policy process, social work education should provide future community social workers with policy practice skills and a sense of psychological engagement in politics. It should also encourage their participation in political networks and offer training that affords them opportunities to develop the organizational skills needed to further macro goals in a social service agency setting. In their workplace, community social workers seeking to engage in policy practice need to nurture an organizational culture that supports social workers’ policy involvement. Given that this study is on a single Israeli sample, future research on community social workers in additional work settings and in other countries is required in order to advance knowledge on this crucial, yet understudied, form of professional activity.

The global development of applied community studies: Comparison and evaluation of trends in psychology, sociology, social work and other community sciences.

The Global Community Studies Project is an ambitious analysis of the development in 105 countries of 12 applied social research disciplines, including community-focused psychology, sociology and social work. Results include that these professional fields and indigenous training resources are lacking or weakest in the countries where they are most needed, that a history and culture of political activism supports the growth of local applied community research, but that foreign aid funding tends to displace or inhibit local growth of applied community sciences. It is important to know which countries need the most assistance developing their own applied community studies research and training infrastructure in different sectors and disciplines.

Engaging Community Members in Providing Support for the Dying and the Bereaved: Activities in Social Work Community Practice

In this practice note, the authors describe three main community engagement strategies around empathy in times of suffering: (1) raising public awareness about the value of community support in times of grief with the creation of a neighborhood-based public campaign; (2) providing educational, skill-building workshops to instill confidence and communication skills among lay people in community, business, and medical settings that want to connect with people they know experiencing a personal difficulty; and (3) publishing a lighthearted, illustrated trade book and website/blog to make a difficult topic palatable and engaging to a broad audience. Activities were housed in a fiscally sponsored nonprofit the authors founded in 2014 called Help Each Other Out.

Can community task groups learn from the principles of group therapy?

ABSTRACTAn important part of a community social worker’s job is leading task groups, whose members strive to create new welfare services or improve existing ones for their communities. Yet, a review of community task group literature shows that issues associated with group therapy, including group development, social roles, facilitation tools, etc., are barely addressed. The current theoretical article is aimed at demonstrating the need for community social workers to be aware of these group dynamics and their potential impact on the task groups they facilitate, and to equip themselves with the skills needed to enable the group to achieve its primary goal for the community. Furthermore, it considers the factors inhibiting the adoption and implementation of this approach. In addition, based on the theoretical discussion, the article offers, for the first time, practical suggestions for the adaptation of specific aspects of group therapy to the field of community social work.

Community-based interventions for prevention of Type 2 diabetes in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Type 2 diabetes is an increasing burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Knowledge of effective prevention programs in LMICs is thus important. The aim of this review was to establish an overview of studies evaluating the effectiveness of community-based interventions for prevention of Type 2 diabetes in LMICs. A literature review with searches in the databases using MEDLINE in Ovid (Ovid MEDLINE® In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE(R) Daily, Ovid MEDLINE and Version (R); Embase; PsycINFO; Global Health; and Google Scholar) between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2015 was conducted. Only 10 studies that met our selection criteria were included; 3 were randomized controlled trials, 2 non-randomized controlled trials and 5 were pre-and post-intervention studies. About 9 of 10 studies reported significant reduction in both the glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels as a result of the intervention. A majority of the studies included multicomponent interventions such as education and behavioral encompassing both individual and group work, and included health education, nutrition education, nutrition counseling, exercise and promoting physical activity, psychosocial approaches and lifestyle modification. The interventions were delivered by community health workers, volunteers, social workers, community nutritionists and community nurses. Comparisons between studies, however, was not possible due to substantial heterogeneity in study design. This review contributes to the current literature on community-based interventions for prevention of Type 2 diabetes in LMICs, acknowledging the community-based approach can be effective in prevention and control of Type 2 diabetes. Due to the heterogeneity across study designs, outcomes and in terms of variation and duration of interventions, only limited conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of interventions. More evidence from randomized controlled trials on culturally tailored, community-based interventions is needed to compare findings and test implementation in practice.

Supporting parental caregivers of children living with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses: A Delphi study.

The impact of a child s life-limiting or life-threatening illness is significant on parents who experience a great deal of emotional, physical, and spiritual upheaval. Hope has been identified as an important inner resource for parental caregivers. Specifically, parental hope has been described as having four subproceses including Accepting Reality, Establishing Control, Restructuring Hope, and Purposive Positive Thinking. The purpose of this Delphi study was to gather expert opinions from parents and formal care providers about the four subproceses essential to parental hope, to increase understanding of parental caregivers current support needs. As Phase one of a three-phase study, the findings provided direction in the development of a theory-based hope intervention. A Delphi study consisting of three rounds of survey questions and controlled feedback to experts was employed. Experts suggested strategies for each subprocess and ranked them in order of highest to lowest according to feasibility and effectiveness. Sixty-eight experts consisting of parental caregivers of children diagnosed with life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses and those who care for them (community members, nurses, social workers, and physicians) were recruited to participate. Through three rounds of survey questions, response rates ranged from 92-97%. A consensus revealed eight major themes that support parental hope: Organize Basic Needs; Connect with Others; Prioritize Self-care; Obtain Meaningful Information; Take Things Day by Day; Advocate for Parental Participation; Manifest Positivity; and Celebrate Milestones. This study identified a wide variety of psychosocial needs for parental caregivers. Results also offered direction for a theory-based hope intervention while highlighting the need for additional research in this area. These results will provide the foundation for a booklet parents can work through in their journey of caring for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening illness.