Family Social Work Research Articles

Protecting vulnerability. An international comparison of social workers as street-level bureaucrats during the COVID-19 lockdown

Protecting vulnerability. An international comparison of social workers as street-level bureaucrats during the COVID-19 lockdown

“Welfare used to mean darkness – Now it’s beaming with light”: Professionals and parents’ perceptions of a family preservation program in Israel

Few studies have examined the implementation of family preservation and reunification programs. Meeting this gap, a research project examined Israel’s innovative pilot program Families on the Growth Track (FGT). The two-year program was designed to promote the government’s policy of ensuring a permanent and nurturing family for every child by targeting families with difficulties in parental functioning, with children aged 6–18 living in or outside the parental home. The program is informed by existing family preservation models, andits leading paradigm is poverty-aware social work. The present study focused on the perceptions of professionals and participating parents regarding the program. It used semi-structured interviews with four policymakers and eight parents, as well as thirteen professionals. Additional data were collected online from 100 relevant professionals in all welfare departments participating in the pilot. According to the program social workers (PSWs), families suitable for the program were motivated to change and able to benefit from help. The parents were highly satisfied with the availability of the PSW and warm relationship with her, her work on rights take-up, and interservice coordination. They were also satisfied with the flexible budget enabling them to receive tailored wraparound services, combining concrete assistance with psychosocial treatment. Nevertheless, the PSWs experienced their role as more difficult and less rewarding than that of ordinary family social workers, which was given as explanation for their high turnover. Finally, both parents and professionals felt the program’s duration was insufficient. Implications for future research and practice are suggested.

A collaborative process: child participation in interventions provided by Swedish child and family welfare services

ABSTRACT The right of children to express their views on matters concerning them is a core principle of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as defined in Article 12. However, research shows that interventions provided by Swedish child and family welfare services are planned and based on parents’ perspectives even though research suggests that child participation results in welfare service provision that is better matched to the children’s needs. The aim of this study is to explore how child participation is constructed in interventions provided by Swedish child and family welfare services and to study which elements are of importance to this process. The article is based on a qualitative interview study with 14 family social workers and 11 children aged 7–16 with experience of family interventions provided by the child and family welfare services. The results suggest that child participation is a collaborative process in which both the child and the FSW have an active role to play. Participation is constructed through a series of seemingly small, everyday actions in the meeting between the child and the FSW. By actively asking questions and allowing the child to practice participation and influence the process, the FSW can, together with the child, work towards increased child participation in interventions.

Hybrid and Digitally Mediated Practice in Child and Family Social Work: Impacts on More and Less Experienced Practitioners’ Communication, Relationships, Sense-Making and Experiences of Work

Abstract Hybrid working, where social workers frequently work from home and use digital technology to communicate with colleagues and people using services, has become common practice in UK social work. This article presents findings from an ethnographic study of child and family social work practice in three local authorities in England. The study involved interviews and observations of practice with twenty-one social workers, over the course of six to twelve months in each site, and focus groups with young people and families who used child protection services. It used a theoretical frame of socio-materiality to examine social workers’ experiences of work and their digitally mediated interactions, sense-making and relationships with colleagues, supervisors, young people and families. The study found hybrid working and digitally mediated practices had significant impacts on social workers’ interactions, relationships and experiences. These impacts were particularly likely to be negative for less experienced practitioners, while some more experienced practitioners had more autonomy over their work and experienced it as more creative and meaningful. The study raises questions about how less experienced social workers can be supported and helped to develop as practitioners, in working environments where they are more often working alone.

Children who disclose physical abuse. A retrospective cross-sectional study of Swedish social workers’ assessments of risk, need, and decisions on service

ABSTRACT One of the challenges facing child welfare services (CWS) in Sweden is offering equal services to all children in need of protection and support. International research has suggested that unequal access to CWS exists but in Sweden the research evidence is weaker. This retrospective cross-sectional study of child welfare investigations focuses on the extent to which differences exist in social workers’ assessment of risk, need and decisions on services for children suspected of exposure to physical violence by a parent, which cannot be explained by the individual child’s documented risk exposure. A random sample of reports during the period 2018 – 2020 was drawn from seven CWS offices. Frequencies for background characteristics were obtained and comparisons between groups were performed using Chi2 and t-test. We carry out statistical analyses of the relationship between child and family characteristics and social workers’ determination of risk, need, and decision on services. We also investigate the relationship between documented risk factors and social workers’ determination of risk, need, and decision on services. Our study did not find any clear evidence of unequal provision of services based on child or family characteristics. Results indicate that cumulative risk and marital status appear to be the main determining factors for assessments of risk, need and decision on services. However, after adjusting for several background factors, the main explanatory variables underlying decisions on services are accumulated risk and economic stress. Although we must interpret these findings with caution, these results are in line with previous studies.

Improving the accuracy of social work judgements: A proof‐of‐concept study of a training programme

AbstractChild and family social workers routinely make professional judgements involving significant legal and moral questions (e.g. whether a child has been abused) and more ‘everyday’ issues (e.g. will the child be re‐referred again if we close the case now?) Yet the world is capricious, and we rarely know with certainty what is going to happen in future or the likely impact of our different choices. Given the consequences of their judgements and decisions, it is imperative that social workers are provided with the best possible support. This paper reports a proof‐of‐concept study of a set of interventions to improve the judgemental accuracy of social workers: (i) a survey to identify respondents with above‐average existing abilities, (ii) training sessions on cognitive debiasing and (iii) structured group working and (iv) three methods for aggregating individual judgements. Findings indicate that it is possible to measure the accuracy of social work judgements in relation to case‐study materials and retrospective questions, while the feedback about the training was largely positive. Any future studies should aim to recruit a more diverse set of respondents, test judgemental accuracy in relation to prospective judgements and explore what types of questions would be most helpful for real‐world decision‐making.

Family Medicine Team Perspectives on Screening for Health-Related Social Needs.

Social drivers of health (SDH) strongly influence health outcomes and disparities. Although systemic level change is vital to address the disparities driven by SDH, it is also crucial that health care organizations develop the ability to care for patients in a manner that accounts for social factors and their influence on patient health. Although primary care is a natural fit for health-related social needs (HRSN) screening and intervention, significant barriers can impede primary care's effectiveness in this area. We conducted 3 focus groups with family medicine clinicians, clinical staff, and social care workers in an academic medical center using a semistructured discussion guide to explore current practices, perceived benefits, barriers, and potential opportunities and approaches for integrating routine HRSN screening in primary care. 3 primary themes emerged from the focus groups. They included 1) the barriers to routine screening in primary care, including time, workload, emotional burden, patient factors, and team members' fear of inadequacy of resources or their own ability; 2) the importance and benefit of HRSN screening, including the opportunity to improve patient care through increased care team awareness of the patient's context, interventions to address HRSN, and improved relationships between the care team and the patient; and 3) recommendations for implementing routine screening in primary care, including opportunities to optimize workflow and technology, the importance of an electronic medical record (EMR)-integrated resource database, and the centrality of teamwork. Family medicine health care teams embrace the importance of HRSN screening and the potential for positive impact. However, there are vital barriers and considerations to address for HRSN screening to be effectively integrated into primary care visits.

Family assistants in the meetings space of social workers. A few reflections on the margin of Pierre Bourdieu's field concept

Of all the representatives of social services, social workers are the people with whom family assistants most often come into contact and cooperate. It is between them that the greatest number of interactions takes place. The Act on Family Support and the Foster Care System of 9 June 2011 does not clearly define the areas of cooperation between assistants and social workers. To date, no standards have been developed that would make it possible to define unambiguously the place of family assistance in the social welfare system. Already at the draft stage of the aforementioned law, the lack of clearly defined areas of activity of family assistants was pointed out as a weakness, which was associated with the overlapping of duties of family assistants and social workers. Phenomenographic research I conducted among family assistants shows that they experience difficulties in their relationships with social workers. The results of the analyzes inspired me to rethink the ways of experiencing being a family assistant in a relationship with a social worker. This article takes the form of a re-visit, allowing to reconstruct the thinking and experiences of the family assistants in the new register – this time in the light of Pierre Bourdieu’s field concept.

Migrant community resource persons as bricoleurs of family support

AbstractFamilies from migrant backgrounds are found to generally underutilize mainstream child and family support services and recourse more to their social networks and community‐based actors for support. This article explores the role of migrant community resource persons (CRPs). Drawing on the novel concept of welfare bricolage, the study sought to unravel CRPs' take on family support and their position in the family support landscape beyond the dominant framing as instrumental intermediaries. Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were conducted with 27 CRPs in Flanders, Belgium, to which thematic analysis was applied. This thematic analysis was guided by key principles of welfare bricolage. The findings add to the existing knowledge that CRPs creatively and flexibly shape community‐based family support outside and independent of the predefined, mainstream pathways. CRPs seek to strengthen families and their communities by purposefully assembling and deploying a wide range of resources from various support systems. The findings expand the notion of family support, what it is and who provides it, and thus provide an impetus to reconsider child and family social work in superdiverse settings. This article therefore informs government authorities and formal and informal actors working to support family welfare.

Changing Trends in Child Welfare Inequalities in Northern Ireland

Abstract Longitudinal research in England and Wales has identified increasing inequality in child welfare interventions, particularly with respect to children in the poorest areas coming into care. Although previous cross-sectional research has shown associations between area level deprivation and child welfare interventions to be weakest in Northern Ireland (NI), it remains unknown if this reflects wider trends over time. This study uses longitudinal administrative data to investigate the relationship between area level deprivation and the (1) referral, (2) investigation, (3) registration and (4) looked after stages of children’s contact with child and family social work from 2010 to 2017 (stages 1–3) and 2020 (stage 4). Both relative and absolute measures of inequality (Ratio of Inequality, Slope Index of Inequality and Relative Index of Inequality) were calculated to examine trends. The results highlight a clear and increasing social gradient in child welfare interventions in NI over time, particularly at the higher levels of intervention and those involving children aged 0–4 years. Routine analysis of children’s social care caseloads by deprivation is highlighted as a means of focusing attention on poverty and material inequality, prompting practitioners, managers and policy makers to consider the drivers of such inequality and how this might be addressed.

A moderated mediation model of the relationship between adolescent screentime, online privacy cognitions and exposure to online substance marketing

AbstractAdolescent exposure to substance‐related marketing is associated with subsequent substance initiation and progression. The extent to which adolescents are exposed to such content may be associated with adolescent cognitions about digital privacy and media‐specific parenting behaviours. The present study assesses whether the relationship between screentime and online marketing risk is mediated by adolescent digital privacy‐related cognitions and moderated by media‐specific parenting behaviours. Parents and their 10–14‐year‐old adolescents (n = 960) completed an online survey on media parenting techniques and adolescent media use and attitudes. Associations between screentime, Adolescent Cognitions about Online Privacy (ACOP; comprising privacy‐related attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control), TECH parenting (Talk, Educate, Co‐Use, House Rules) and adolescent online marketing exposure were explored via a moderated mediation model. A significant total effect between screentime and online marketing exposure was identified, including an indirect path via ACOP. TECH parenting significantly strengthened ACOP's mediation of the relationship between screentime and online marketing risk. This study indicates that adolescent privacy‐related cognitions may be an important mechanism for future studies related to adolescent online risk behaviour. Implications for child and family social work are discussed.

The Intersection of Cross-Border Migration and the Reconciliation of Work and Family: Chinese-Speaking Immigrant Women in Australia

The Intersection of Cross-Border Migration and the Reconciliation of Work and Family: Chinese-Speaking Immigrant Women in Australia

Can Social Workers Estimate the Likelihood of Future Actions and Events? A Forecasting Accuracy Study

Abstract Social workers routinely make decisions and formulate care plans in the course of their work with children and families. These decisions and care plans are based at least in part on the professional judgement of the worker. An important component of judgemental quality is the extent to which explicit or implicit forecasts about the likelihood of different future actions and events are made with accuracy. In this article, we report an analysis of 21,193 forecasts made by 581 child and family social workers in England about the likelihood of different future actions and events following referrals to children’s services. We found that the more likely social workers said an action or event was to happen (as the forecast likelihood increased towards 100 per cent), the more often it occurred. However, we also found that social workers tend to over-estimate the likelihood of almost all specified future actions and events. Social workers were most accurate when forecasting something to be very unlikely, and less accurate when they forecast something to be likely or very likely. We consider these findings in relation to false positive and negative errors in child protection, and the theory of judgemental rationalism.

Behavior Intervention Response Team: Piloting an Effective Means to Manage Patient- and Family-Disruptive Behaviors.

This article describes the development and implementation of a behavior intervention response team (BIRT). Pilot data indicate the successful implementation of BIRT interventions with patients and families and the positive staff response to these interventions. Patient- and family-disruptive behaviors are increasing in hospitals. Those behaviors arise from stress, financial burdens, and the mental weight of the patient's medical condition on the family. These distressed patients and their families tax an already overwhelmed staff, exacerbating the caregivers' exhaustion, depersonalization, and frustration. We recognized the need to proactively address these disruptions at our children's hospital with an interdisciplinary response. Disciplines engaged in the BIRT development included risk management, behavioral health, child life, service excellence, patient and family services, social work, and chaplaincy. Following multiple brainstorming sessions, we created a comprehensive, clear intervention strategy to engage with a disruptive patient or family. The BIRT was developed to work with both the family and their medical team to intervene at the first signs of potential disruption. With the BIRT, we were able to reduce disruptive behaviors and limit the subsequent removal of problematic individuals from the facility. Of the families who worked with the BIRT, 75.8% required no postintervention follow-up. The development of a BIRT can help head off disruptive behaviors and improve family-medical team relationships to support the highest quality and safest healthcare.

Poverty metaphors: An autoethnography in three parts

This autoethnography seeks to open up for re-interpretation and debate three topics that feature within social work practice, research, and education: firstly the value and use of metaphor in understanding practice, secondly approaches to social work reflective writing, and thirdly the issue of poverty and its significance and impact in child and family social work. Metaphors can be valuable in framing understanding of issues within social work practice and advocating for change. Three metaphors have been particularly used in understanding the relationship between social work practice and poverty: The Invisibility of Poverty, The Elephant in the Room, and The Wallpaper of Practice. The three Parts of this autoethnography each adopt a different approach to autoethnographic writing and addresses and unsettles one of these metaphors. The first part adopts a narrative-reflective-analytical approach conventional to reflective writing in social work. The second and third parts adopt poetic and post-humanist approaches, respectively. It is proposed that adopting autoethnography as a methodology challenges the uncritical application of metaphor to situated practice and thereby prevents interpretive foreclosure. ‘Writing against’ objectified social work knowledge may assist in opening up practice to more challenging critical reflection and re-interpretation. Juxtaposing these three parts demonstrates the potential of non-conventional autoethnographic approaches to provide opportunities for deeper reflection on the experiences of doing social work within the context of poverty than conventional approaches to reflective writing. Furthermore, they indicate a need to reconsider how well these metaphors reflect social work practice experience with poverty.

Forming a new and unexpected relationship through digital technologies: Lessons for child and family social work

This article is not a research paper in the conventional sense. Instead, it is a reflexive account of the building of a relationship which would not have happened without the existence of digital technologies and might not have happened but for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was through reading a digitised resource (an online PhD thesis) in the first UK ‘lockdown’ that Bob, now a semi-retired academic in the field of adult and organisational learning, began to reappraise his upbringing in a children’s home in Scotland. Meanwhile, it was in getting to know Bob (through emails and Zoom meetings) and by accessing Bob’s retrospectively digitised case record that Viv, the author of the PhD thesis and now a semi-retired social work academic, was stimulated to revisit her early research from a fresh perspective. We argue that our real-life example, serendipitous and unique as it undoubtedly is, demonstrates the democratising potential of the digital transformation that is currently being played out in child and family social work. Furthermore, it seems likely that digital technologies will continue to bring new and unexpected opportunities for forming such relationships in the future.

Art Therapy as an Intervention for Children: A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications from 1990 to 2020

This bibliometric study analyzed characteristics of publications related to art therapy for children from 1990 to 2020, based on the datasets taken from Web of Science (WoS) core collections. The results indicate that the USA, Israel, Germany, UK, Australia, and Canada were six leading countries in this field of research interest. The Top 5 most influential journals were identified by the number of publications, TLCS, TGCS and by their impact factor. Five leading journals in the art therapy studies include Arts in Psychotherapy, American Journal of Art Therapy, Child & Family Social Work, Frontiers in Psychology, and Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde. Core themes from the 87 articles focus on surrounding socialization and attachment relationship, art therapy for the well-being of children with learning disabilities, alternative intervention for art therapy, and parent-child art therapy. This bibliometric study portrayed the development of art therapy for children by means of visualization techniques. The potential issues emerging from the data will contribute to future studies in this field. Multiple methods of art therapy are applied for all children’s well-being; as such, children’s art therapy in schools can be seen as the potential trend for researchers and teachers.

Yhteistyöverkostot vuorovaikutuksen vaihtoalueina perhesosiaalityön ja lastensuojelun sosiaalityön palvelutarpeen arvioinnissa

Trading zones as a social network in the field of social work with children and families This article focuses on social networks in child and family social work. Networks were analysed from the point of view of a trading zone and theory of network management. Data was collected from social welfare case file documents of 265 children and their families. Networks were examined in the documents based on the social worker’s assessment of the needs of children and families. The results show the links between face-to-face communication and verbal and written communication. The multi-agency networks are broad and multifaceted, consisting of actors in and outside social and health organisations. In short, the results indicate the importance of knowing the network structures in social welfare and using this information at the client level and in the leadership and management of social welfare organisations.

Measuring the ratio of true‐positive to false‐positive judgements made by child and family social workers in England: A case vignette study

AbstractSocial workers routinely make judgements and decisions as part of their everyday practice. The nature and quality of these can have a significant and long‐lasting impact on the children and families concerned. In this paper, we present an analysis of more than 20 000 judgements (n = 21 193) made by social workers (n = 586) in relation to case vignettes, based on a series of anonymized referrals (n = 12) to social services in England. We do so to ascertain how accurately the social workers were able to predict subsequent actions, events and outcomes, and to calculate the ratio of true positives to false positives at various decision thresholds. We find that the social workers' predictions were more accurate than chance in relation to all but one of the referrals, albeit at the cost of a high rate of false positive errors. We consider these findings in relation to what appears to be a general lowering of the threshold for child protection interventions in England in recent years and in relation to who suffers the injustice of false positive errors in child and family social work.

HURTing: An Analysis of Service User and Carer Referrals to a UK Social Work Regulator

Abstract In the context of increasing regulation of social workers internationally, this study examines allegations made to a UK social work regulator, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC), by service users and carers. A retrospective review of 134 records relating to such allegations during the ten-year period 2006–2015 was undertaken, representing just over one-third (36.4 per cent) of all allegations received. Allegations were made primarily about family and child-care social workers (91.0 per cent) and reflected the four inter-linking categories of concerns about the honesty of social workers, reports that service users/carers were treated unequally, allegations that social workers failed to demonstrate respect in their interactions with service users/carers, and concerns about technical aspects of social workers’ practice. The nature of these allegations forms the acronym HURT that describes both the experiences of service users/carers and the stressful context in which social workers practice. This article concludes that addressing the stress and HURT of both parties is important and makes suggestions regarding how the findings can strengthen the role of the regulator, influence social work practice and empower service users and carers.