Family Social Work Research Articles

What families in poverty consider supportive: welfare strategies of parents with young children in relation to (child and family) social work

AbstractIn current European Welfare states, Child and Family Social Work has been assigned a pivotal role in constructing a route out of (child) poverty. The direction, processes and outcomes of these interventions are, however, rarely negotiated with the families involved. Based on a retrospective biographical research with parents of young children who experienced financial difficulties over time, this paper therefore seeks to uncover and understand how parents give meaning to welfare which strategies they accordingly develop and how these perspectives and welfare strategies interact with Child and Family Social Work interventions. We aim to acquire knowledge about how interventions are constructed, interpreted and being used as potentially supportive levers in realizing the well‐being of parents and children in poverty situations and explore how they may influence families' routes out of poverty. Drawing on Lister's analytical framework of agency within the bounds of structural constraints, our research provides insights in the essentially complex, multi‐layered and paradoxical nature of support and suggests that support cannot simply be perceived as synonymous to mobility out of poverty.

Practising for Social Work Practice: Integrating Knowledge and Skills for Social Work with Children and Families

The UK Government has categorically stated in its Knowledge and Skills Statement for Children and Family Social Work what social workers need to know and be able to do when responding to concerns about children. The Hope for Children and Families modular systemic interventions programme provides evidence informed responses for targeting harmful parenting and the associated impairment of children. The training resources, developed by Bentovim et al., apply the ‘common elements approach’ and are aimed at qualified practitioners. However, there also appears to be scope for their use in social work qualifying programmes. This paper will review the development of an undergraduate children and families module using the materials. It discusses how these resources were incorporated into a learning, teaching and assessment strategy which aims to develop and test the interpersonal components of knowledge and skills alongside technical/procedural knowledge. The outcomes indicate that these resources have contributed significantly in closing the gap between study and practice by providing an applied starting point from which learners can critically engage in the complexities of what they need to know and be able to do to be effective practitioners. Further use of these resources across programmes is recommended.

A Journal of Family Social Work conversation with Ray Bardill, PhD, MSSW

Judith Siegel, PhD, LCSW.Ray Bardill, PhD, MSSW.JS—My name is Judy Siegel and I am the current editor-in-chief of the Journal of Family Social Work, and I am so proud today to be able to be intervi...

Using Q methodology to understand how child protection social workers use attachment theory

AbstractChild and family social workers in England are expected to integrate theory and research into their practice. This study investigated how a small sample of social workers from three Local Authorities in Southern England used key ideas from contemporary attachment theory when working with children who may have been abused or neglected. Twenty‐four social workers completed a Q‐sort of 49 items. Four factors emerged from the data, each representing a distinct collective perspective – the use of attachment theory (1) to enable a focus on and better understanding of the child; (2) to enable social workers to take clear decisions and interview purposefully; (3) to emphasize the primacy of relationships and ethical partnership working and (3) as a general framework for understanding and helping parents. These factors are described alongside a discussion of the implications for the use of theory and research in practice.

The price of youth: commodification of young people through malleable risk practices

ABSTRACTRisk has become a dominant part of theory and practice in young people's services over the past 30 years [Kemshall, H. 2008. “Risk, Rights and Justice: Understanding and Responding to Youth Risk.” Youth Justice 8 (1): 21–37; Goldson, G. 2000. “Children in Need’ or ‘Young Offenders’? Hardening ideology, organizational change and new challenges for social work with children in trouble.” Child and Family Social Work 5 (3): 255–265]. Young people are simultaneously described as ‘at-risk’ and risky, ‘permanent suspects’ [Mcara, L., and S. Mcvie. 2005. “The usual suspects? Street-life, young people and the police.” Criminal Justice 5 (1): 5–36] with the potential for committing crime, using drugs, being sexually promiscuous or under-performing in the socio-economic climate [Turnbull, G., and J. Spence. 2011. “What's at risk? The proliferation of risk across child and youth policy in England.” Journal of Youth Studies 14 (8): 939–959]. This paper reports on a UK study of youth practitioners’ perceptions of young people in relation to ‘risk’ and how this affects practice. Findings identify a context where practitioners engage with notions of young people as at-risk or risky, managing tensions between external constructions and the ‘real’ individual on an on-going basis. ‘Risk’ becomes malleable, with young people's risk biographies being amplified or attenuated on the basis of the practitioner's view of needs, resource allocations, contracts, targets, practitioner or organisational fears, risk management processes, and the desire to get the best for the young person. Whilst of short-term benefit, this commodification of young people is counter-productive, magnifying the construction of youth as risky others. The paper calls for new approaches to challenge the continued dominance of the youth risk paradigm in practice, policy and the academic youth studies field.

Gendering Guilt among Dependent Family Members' Caregivers.

This study analyzes guilt among family caregivers of dependent patients, from a gender perspective. A qualitative design was used, conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups. Using purposive sampling, we selected 73 family caregivers and 23 health professionals (family medicine, community nursing, and social work) from the Primary Care District of Seville. The content of the information collected was analyzed in terms of the following categories: a) guilt for abandoning family and friends; b) guilt for the relationship with the dependent person; and c) guilt for placing the relative in a nursing home. To validate the findings, data sources, methodological techniques, and researchers' disciplines were all triangulated. Results indicated that women report more guilt than men for abandoning family and friends, and because of their relationship with the dependent person. However, with respect to nursing home placement, no difference was observed as a function of gender. The high incidence of caregiver guilt needs to be addressed by health professionals to avoid the emergence of other mental health issues.

A Journal of Family Social Work conversation with Monica McGoldrick, LCSW

ABSTRACTMonica McGoldrick and Judith Siegel converse about Monica’s decision to become a social worker, her interest in families, key people who influenced her along the way, and the inspiration for her work on ethnicity in family therapy.

Emotional Experiences and Regulation in the Workplace: The Effects of Culture

The present research aimed to investigate the experienced emotions and emotional regulation in the workplace particularly in child and family social work practice in a Malaysian context. The interrelationship between emotion and emotional regulation and cultural context were explored. The overall research strategy was ethnographic. The researchers used a mixture of methods including individual interviews, participant observation, and a questionnaire. The research was conducted in three locations in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Petaling and Kota Kinabalu. Participants consisted of child protectors and rehabilitation officers from the Malaysia Welfare Department and medical social workers in hospitals. This paper presents an analysis of individual interviews in the three locations. A total of twenty-five interviews were conducted (12 male, 13 female; age range 29-51). Data were analysed using thematic analysis . The research findings show that societal and professional cultures have influenced how child social workers regulate their experienced emotion when dealing with clients.

Knowledge About the Waterpipe (Hookah), a Qualitative Assessment Among Community Workers in a Major Urban Center in Canada.

Waterpipe (WP) use has surged in popularity since the introduction of flavoured shisha. It is now an increasingly popular form of smoking among youth in North America. Health professionals/educators knowledge about the WP may well be inadequate. This study, using qualitative methods, sought to explore the knowledge and attitude of leaders in the community toward the WP. Family physicians, pharmacists, tobacco counsellors, social workers and educators were invited to participate in a one-one interview using open-ended questions. A total of 27 interviews were conducted. Individuals from Eastern Mediterranean backgrounds raised doubt about the overemphasised cultural significance of the WP and perceived this as a marketing strategy by industry. Most felt that WP smokers believed the WP to be less harmful than cigarettes and that the use of flavoured tobacco was motivating people to smoke. Participants believed that education should be directed at the general public and healthcare professionals, suggesting school programs and the use of social media to inform young smokers. Most thought that the current practices regarding packaging and second hand smoke exposure are confusing. They identified the lack of knowledge, poor enforcement procedures, "so called cultural aspects" and the economic impact of banning the WP on small businesses as barriers to change. Despite the awareness of an increase in WP use, our participants recognized that little has been done to curb this problem. Our findings emphasize the need for further education and better legislation to regulate WP use and availability.

Learning from Others: An autoethnographic exploration of children and families social work, poverty and the capability approach

In this article an autoethnographic approach is used to explore the author’s work with families living in poverty who are involved in the child protection and family court systems. The psychological and social impacts of poverty and structural inequalities on families are highlighted through case studies, as is the influence of wider policy and political contexts on social work practice with children and families. The capability approach developed by Amartya Sen is outlined and its relevance to social work practice discussed. The article concludes that the capability approach, particularly when complemented by the work of Nancy Fraser, offers possibilities for the development of critical social work practice with families living in poverty within a human rights and social justice framework.

Child and family social workers’ experiences of working with parents with intellectual disabilities

Purpose – While an increasing number of adults with an intellectual disability are having children, research suggests that they face an increased risk of having their children removed. The purpose of this paper is to explore child and family social workers’ experiences of working with parents with intellectual disability, in order to further our understanding of this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Seven social workers were interviewed. Each had experience of working on safeguarding cases where a parent had a diagnosis of intellectual disability. Data were analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Findings – Five super-ordinate themes were identified. These were: “feeling torn,” “experiencing a power imbalance,” “hopelessness,” having “pride” in their work’ and experiencing “barriers.” Research limitations/implications – The results are discussed in the context of the increased risk that parents with an intellectual disability face of having their children removed. Several areas for future research are identified. Practical implications – The study highlights several areas for development regarding services for parents with intellectual disability. Originality/value – The study describes some of the difficulties experienced by social workers in this area of their work, from their own perspective. It also strengthens existing ideas about improving services for parents with intellectual disability.

Implementing psychosocial methods to reinforce womenʼs legal rights awareness training in Jordan

There are often large gaps between providing information on legal rights and the actual use of that information in women's daily lives. Clinical psychologists from the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development - Legal Aid devised joint psychosocial legal awareness training sessions to empower women through culturally sensitive assertiveness skills training, so they could make better practical use of legal rights information. Training of trainers sessions were held with Family Guidance Awareness Center lawyers and social workers, who conducted an anecdotal study with women from the community of Zarqa, Jordan to verify two different methods. The first method involved conducting both legal awareness and a psychosocial session on the same day. The second method, utilised modules, both legal and psychosocial, spread over the course of two days. Quotes from participants strongly suggest that women are able to make better use of legal information if provided with a supportive, skills based psychosocial session as an adjunct, it also suggested that it is likely that longer information and longer psychosocial training sessions (method 2) result in the best outcomes, so long as there is a sufficient break between sessions to overcome fatigue. However, before more widespread implementation of these methods, we recommend more longitudinal research, specifically focused on testing for unintended negative consequences, seeing how well changes can be generalised to fit into women's everyday lives, and how well they last over time. © 2015 War Trauma Foundation, Diemen, The Netherlands Language: en

Needs for professional caregivers in Bulgarian health care

Background Major demographic problem in Bulgaria is the population ageing, accompanied with growing of chronic diseases and disabilities. It is known that persons in need receive care mostly by family members and social workers who do not have enough medical knowledge and encounter serious difficulties in the process of caregiving. The large scale of emigration leads to shortage of health professionals. Focusing on these problems, the Vocational Training Centre (VTC) …

A mixed-methods examination of family planning and social work: implications for research, education, and the role of personal beliefs

A mixed-methods examination of family planning and social work: implications for research, education, and the role of personal beliefs

Marital quality and religiousness of couples parenting children with autism

Abstract A number of research projects have shown that both religiousness and quality of the marital relationship are important resources that can be used by parents rearing children diagnosed with autism. Our article brings up the link between religiousness of parents who have children with autism and the quality of their marriage. Fifty-three married couples (106 persons) living in Poland and bringing up children diagnosed as having autism were surveyed. Results obtained indicate that there is a relationship between parents’ religiousness (personal religiousness) and their marriage quality. These results can help family therapists, social workers and priests supporting couples parenting children with autism.

The Role of Practitioner Research in Developing Cultures of Learning in Children and Families Social Work

Over the past decade, higher education policy in the United Kingdom has increasingly focused on the impact of academic research with research councils putting out specific calls for knowledge exchange (KE) opportunities. This KE project involved a Scottish university working with practitioners from two Local Authority Children and Families Social Work departments. The aim, in line with the recent UK Government-sponsored review of child protection, was to contribute to effecting a shift from a compliance to a learning culture. This article discusses whether and to what extent academic support for small-scale practitioner research projects delivered as part of a larger KE project can contribute to the development of learning cultures in statutory social work settings. We conclude that while it is difficult to demonstrate this in any absolute sense, the practitioners who took part gained greatly from doing so and have gone on to share their new knowledge and skills with others in their agencies. The relationships between practitioners and academics were central for creating space for critical discourse and KE. The learning from this KE project could usefully inform other knowledge brokerage projects going forward.

Family Impact Analysis and Social Work: It’s Time to Reconsider our Policy Analysis Strategy

FIA is an assessment strategy based on the family impact lens. The family impact lens examines the impact of policy on family well-being, ways that families could be supported to fulfill functions that achieve the goals of public policy, and makes an effort to determine whether families should be included in the administration of policy benefits or goals (Bogenschneider et al. 2012b). Assessment of policies is based off five principles with subcomponent questions to guide analysis: family responsibility, family stability, family relationships, family diversity, and family engagement (Bogenschneider et al. 2012a). Multiple arguments can be made towards the need for FIA and this information will be woven into the context of this editorial. However, I would like to highlight two primary reasons. First, there is a strong need and a growing trend of evidence-based policymaking (Huston 2008). Second, economic issues often take center stage in making policy but little or no attention may be paid to the actual impact of policies on families. Policymakers are quick to consult with economic researchers for intended or unintended consequences, but perhaps, social work researchers and practitioners should be consulted with to the same degree to determine how families might be impacted by changes in policy (Bogenschneider et al. 2012a).

Meeting children's needs within a family focussed agenda: The case of support care

This article is concerned with the experiences and perspectives of eleven children engaged with a family support service in England and Wales, UK. Support care is a short break provision for children, designed to ease family tensions and prevent long-term separation. Children and young people are most affected by families' involvement with the service as they have to spend regular periods away from their parents and home. The article is based on findings from a qualitative case study of support care. Eighty-two qualitative interviews and 22h of participant observation were undertaken with children and young people, parents, support carers and social workers. Children's experiences of support care are examined within the article and this includes consideration of initial engagement with the service, the delivery of care and the relationships established with carers over the course of the intervention. Some practice tensions are highlighted in efforts to support children as well as maintain emphasis on family-focussed objectives. It is argued that the service specific issues raised have wider relevance for family support and social work policy and practice.

Developing innovative models of practice at the interface between the NHS and child and family social work where children living at home are at risk of abuse and neglect: a scoping review

AbstractThe case has been made for introducing a rights‐based, public health approach to child protection in England. A continuum of prevention is proposed, with multi‐agency responses calibrated more carefully to the level of risk identified by children, parents and practitioners. The aim was to allocate inter‐professional authority and resources in such a way as to ensure the safeguarding response is proportionate to the nature and level of concerns expressed and reliable in achieving good outcoSmes for children and parents alike. Recent research findings confirm the need for new models of service alignment and inter‐professional responsibility at the interface of ‘primary’ and ‘specialist’ health‐care services and ‘children's social care’, where significant safeguarding concerns are raised. This paper reports the findings of a scoping study, designed to establish the extent to which innovative practice methodologies have been implemented and evaluated in England to date. While the evidence to support the effectiveness of specific practice methodologies and contrasting logics of service design and implementation is shown to be very limited still, achieving reliability and legitimacy in the safeguarding relationships established at the service interface seems to depend on the integrity of the dialogue facilitated in each case.

A comparison of youth resilience across seven South African sites

AbstractThe resilience of children and youth is an increasingly important area of research. Young people growing up in distressed communities, characterized by poverty, crime and family troubles, are particularly vulnerable. Resilience can assist these young people in navigating through these challenges towards independent living, particularly as they transition out of adolescence and into young adulthood. Children in South Africa are almost universally vulnerable, but children growing up in residential care facilities and children from poverty‐stricken communities are particularly in need of resilience. This quantitative study of 575 South African children compared their resilience in terms of individual, family and community protective factors across seven sites, including child and youth care centres, schools in poor communities and schools in middle‐class suburban communities. Contrary to expectations, the study found that children in one of the children's homes and one of the poor communities had the highest levels of resilience. Moreover, all but one of the sites scored very high on at least one of the resilience variables, suggesting unique profiles of resilience across the sites. Practice implications for child and family social work are discussed.