Field Of Social Work Practice Research Articles

Community Service Perspectives on Climate Change and Social Justice in Western Australia

ABSTRACT Social workers increasingly recognise the relationship between social injustice and climate change, which is underpinned by oppressive systems of power such as colonialism, racism, capitalism, and patriarchy. Climate change exacerbates existing structural inequities, with disproportionately negative impacts on marginalised populations. In their work across diverse fields of social work practice, community service organisations (CSOs) have an important frontline role in supporting communities to mitigate and adapt to climate change. In the state of Western Australia (WA), a group of CSO leaders and university researchers commenced a feminist participatory action research (FPAR) program about climate justice and community services. In the first FPAR cycle, they undertook a survey, interviews, and workshops with CSO workers to examine social justice impacts of climate change in WA. CSO workers generally self-reported a low understanding of social justice and climate change. They identified climate impacts across themes of health, economic injustices, discrimination and access, housing and displacement, and gendered injustices. The authors contend that as climate change intensifies, CSOs must embed climate justice in their operations and services so that they might adequately prepare for, and respond to, the social justice impacts of climate change. IMPLICATIONS Increased understanding of workers’ perspectives of the social justice impacts of climate change in Western Australia can identify knowledge gaps in the community service sector. Embedding a climate justice lens can assist CSO operations and programs to prepare for, and respond to, the social justice impacts of climate change.

Promoting financial capability within the field of social work practice among families with children: a systematic review

ABSTRACT Financial difficulties have a severe impact on families and children who grow up in poor families. Social workers can help families address their financial problems through a variety of practice settings, hence simultaneously promoting financial well-being. We investigate how financial capability among families with children has been promoted in social work practice. We generated a systematic review by following the PRISMA standards and applying the concepts of the CAIMeR theory. Two hundred seventy-seven references were identified, of which a total of 14 articles were analysed. We found there was a large understanding about the phenomenon, but the knowledge of contexts was limited, with a lack of evidence-based knowledge. Formal interventions in social work practice emphasise financial education as a key contributor to financial capability. Likewise, the improvement of financial inclusion is underlined. The literature indicates that interventions provide tools for clients to help strengthen economic self-sufficiency and increase financial confidence. However, social work practices often concentrate on money management, ignoring the ways in which clients can increase income and other resources or avoid future risks. Implementation of interventions requires attention. Unique situations in the family should be considered closely, and the implementation should rely more consciously on the psychosocial elements of support.

The “PERSPECS” principles: early action and migrant children with no recourse to public funds

PurposeThis paper aims to make the case for early action approaches with migrant families, introducing a set of principles for practice, mapped against the Professional Capabilities Framework for social work and the Social Work England professional standards.Design/methodology/approachThe paper first explores the context of social work with migrant families, outlining the challenges and gaps in our conceptual understanding of this work. The paper then introduces a conceptual model of work with migrant families which draws on the literature from social work and allied professions, and informed by social work values and ethics.FindingsCurrent social work practice with migrant children has been criticised as defensive, procedural and lacking a coherent conceptual basis, particularly for those who are subject to the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) rule. This field of social work practice would benefit from an evidence-informed model of practice, anchored in human rights approaches and focused on early action. Eight principles, drawn from existing good practice in other social work and social care contexts, are outlined as the basis for a new model of practice in social work with migrant families.Originality/valueThe NRPF rule is a provision in the immigration rules that prevents people who are subject to immigration control from claiming most social security benefits in the UK. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in research about the NRPF rule and its negative impact on children. However, there is currently no evaluated model of social work practice for children and families with NRPF.

Perspectives on Social Justice among Hospice and Palliative Care Social Workers: Voices from the Field

Hospice and palliative care are burgeoning fields of social work practice. Within the social work profession, the pursuit of social justice is a defining ethical value. While some research exists on social justice within palliative and hospice care, no studies have examined its meaning within the context of this highly specialized field. To date, there is an absence of empirical research examining the meaning of social justice within a sample of hospice and palliative social workers. This study attempts to fill this gap. We used qualitative and quantitative survey items to ask hospice and palliative care social workers about the meaning of social justice within their unique practice setting, as well as to identify prominent social injustices and opportunities for action. Using responses from 51 seasoned practitioners, we found that social workers generally defined social justice as equitable access to three core areas—basic needs, high quality care, and education (for both patients, families, and providers)—regardless of a person’s group membership (e.g., race, class, sexual orientation). Participants also made recommendations for improving social justice in clinical practice through advocacy and other initiatives.

Sustainable social networks for mothers in recovery: the mirror families model

ABSTRACT As a profession, social work is concerned with the person in the social context; yet, interventions typically involve formal service provision while the informal network is rarely a focal point. This well-established approach has implications across all fields of social work practice, but perhaps nowhere more so than in the alcohol and other drug treatment and child welfare sectors, as both support socially isolated individuals and families. This article discusses the Mirror Families™ pilot, an innovation in practice introduced to assist women exiting residential treatment create a supportive and enduring social network for themselves and their children. Initial findings indicate the program was effective.

COVID-19: changing fields of social work practice with children and young people

Drawing on the theoretical work of Wacquant, Bourdieu and Foucault, we interrogate how the COVID-19 pandemic has weaponised child and family social work practices through reinvigorated mechanisms of discipline and surveillance. We explore how social workers are caught in the struggle between enforcement and relational welfare support. We consider how the illusio of social work obscures power dynamics impacting children, young people and families caught in child welfare systems, disproportionately affecting classed and racialised individuals.

متطلبات استخدام العلاج عبر الإنترنت فی مجالات الممارسة المهنیة للخدمة الاجتماعیة Requirements for use online therapy in fields of social work practice

توسع استخدام تکنولوجية المعلومات والاتصالات بشکل کبير ، ترتب عليه آثار قريبة وبعيدة المدى على الممارسة المهنية للخدمة الاجتماعية بمداخلها الثلاثة (العلاجية – الوقائية – التأهيلية ) ، وهدفت الدراسة الحالية إلى تحديد الأساسيات المطلوبة لتطبيق العلاج الإلکتروني في مجالات الممارسة المهنية للخدمة الاجتماعية وهي الأساس ( المعرفي الإداري التنظيمي – المهاري – القيمي- الذاتي – التقني )، بجانب تحديد التحديات التي تواجه تطبيق العلاج الإلکتروني ، وذلک من خلال وجهتي نظر الممارسين والأکاديميين . وتمثلت أهم نتائج الدارسة فيما يلي: لا توجد فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية بين أعضاء هيئة التدريس تعزي إلي مجالات عملهم (مدرسي ، شباب، طبي ،تضامن ) وبين تحديدهم لأساسيات تطبيق العلاج الإلکتروني في الممارسة المهنية لمجالات الخدمة الاجتماعية ، وتوجد فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية بين الأخصائيين الاجتماعيين وأعضاء هيئة التدريس وبين تحديدهم لأساسيات تطبيق العلاج الإلکتروني وبين تحديدهم لمعوقات تطبيق العلاج الإلکتروني في الممارسة المهنية لمجالات الخدمة الاجتماعية. توصية : توصي الباحثة بتنفيذ البرنامج التدريبي المستخلص من نتائج الدراسة الحالية . The use of information and communication technology has expanded greatly, and has implications for both short and long term on the professional practice of social work with its three approaches (Therapy - preventive - rehabilitative), and accordingly the current study aimed to define the foundations required for the application of on line therapy in the areas of professional practice of social work, which is the basis (knowledge Organizational (organizational - skills - value - self - technical) administrative, in addition to identifying the challenges facing the application of electronic therapy, through the viewpoints of practitioners and academics. The results were as follows: There are no statistically significant differences between faculty members attributing to their fields of work (education - youth - medical - solidarity) and their identification of the basics of applying electronic therapy in the professional practice of social work fields, and there are statistically significant differences between social workers and faculty members and their identification of the basics The application of on line therapy and their identification of the obstacles to the application of on line therapy in the professional practice of the fields of social work. The researcher recommends implementing the training program drawn from the results of the current study.

Fields of practice in social work: interim appraisal of a dynamic development

In Germany, social work has long been more than what it was originally intended to be; it is more than an emergency support provided outside the school and family. Its fields of practice have changed over time, and analysis of those historical changes show that social work has become a constituent part of the welfare state’s basic provisions and developed a pool of pro-fessional knowledge, while its practitioners have spread into an ever more specialised array of fields. Social work has normalised into a service which modern societies need for their devel-opment and integration. As the welfare state developed its modern influence, occupations in the social sector have become part of the social infrastructure, even if market mechanisms and competition are gradually exerting greater influence in those fields of practice. However, in times of scarcity and global change, the fields of social work practice also face other chal-lenges.

Peer-Based Education and Use of the SBIRT Model in Unique Settings with Transgender Young Adults

Transgender young adults are at higher risk for alcohol and substance use that could lead to other health and mental health complications. Utilization of the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) model might be effective to identify members of this minority community at risk for alcohol and substance use, provide early interventions for those not meeting diagnostic criteria, and link them to care. A tailored, peer-based approach to universal screening with SBIRT could offer affirming experiences for transgender young adults to openly discuss substance use within unique practice settings such as the house/ball community. In addition to examining health and mental health challenges faced by transgender young adults, implications for the field of social work practice, research, and education are discussed related to utilization of SBIRT with this minority population, along with providing a relevant case scenario.

Traditional and new approaches to childcare and social work with at-risk families in Poland

The implementation of new legislation in the welfare system, and childcare system in Poland, which has been included in social services since 2000, determined a new paradigm connected with replacing the responsibility for a child to family and to professional residential, non-residential, as well as a local social support system. Due to new legal regulations related to organization, task and functions of childcare institutions, e.g., residential intervention centres, children’s homes, foster families – should undertake cooperation between all components of socio-educational environment, which are involved in child development and the process of her/his inclusion. It means that a care institution, more than in the past, should become an integral element of the environment, where the child is growing up and where it is located approaching full socialization of the child taken under its care. New solutions in the childcare system are also amenable to family reintegration including even dysfunctional families in process of care, and underline the role of social childcare institutions in creating better conditions for respecting individual cultural, ethnic and religious needs for maintaining his/her own traditions and habits of child, family and environment. These new paradigms based on humanistic approaches in social work with children and families have found their application not only in the reform of social care system, but also in the concept of education of social workers. The paper will try to analyze some issues related to the childcare system and social work with families at risk in Poland, giving some examples of changes in the field of social work practice with children and families in the prospect of the new concepts and standards in the Polish Welfare System.

Pathways to social work supervision

ABSTRACTSocial work research and literature in the area of supervision tends to focus on the supervision of field education students. Less attention is given to the supervision of social work practitioners and there is almost no information that examines how social workers become supervisors. This exploratory study interviewed 27 practicing social work supervisors across different fields of social work practice in Western Canada. The participants included 15 supervisors with a graduate degree and 12 supervisors with an undergraduate degree. The supervisors completed a brief questionnaire that was followed by a structured interview. Supervisors were asked how they came to be social work supervisors. Thematic analysis of the supervisors’ responses revealed three pathways to supervision: task exposure, supervision by happen chance, and deliberate decision. The responses suggested that additional focus on supervision might be included in undergraduate education and that universities, professional associations, and employers pay more attention to succession planning.

‘At What Cost? the Impact of UK Long-term Care Funding Policies on Social Work Practice with Older People’: A Literature Review

ABSTRACTMoving to a care home is a significant and often costly milestone in many older people’s lives, with considerable implications for an individual’s future autonomy, safety, wellbeing and security. Such provision has considerable financial impact both on the economy and on those required to make significant contributions to their own care. Reductions in community-based support and widespread gaps in the sustainable development of alternative options to residential care pose challenges in relation to decision-making for those older people and their carers who wish to make timely plans for good quality provision. The system and process of transfer to care can also be fragmented, bewildering and involve multiple organisations and assessments, often at a time of crisis. Social Workers are key professionals in providing assessment, advocacy and planning with older people and their carers and the challenging neo-liberal policy context suggests the potential for numerous ethical dilemmas for practitioners.This paper examines themes from recent literature in the field of social work with vulnerable older people, particularly in relation to funding arrangements for residential care, examining how ethical issues in this field of social work practice are. identified and discussed.This paper presents a narrative review of relevant literature since 2010. It examines and synthesises key themes and considers how ethical issues connected to this field of social work practice are articulated.

Uncovering the Double-Edged Sword of Inter-Organisational Networks of Welfare Services: Tackling Wicked Issues in Social Work

This article deals with the tendency within the field of social work practice to create inter-organisational networks for welfare provision. We highlight the opportunities that then arise for social work to tackle social exclusion, and to perform its mediating role between the public sphere of government and the private sphere of individuals and families. We argue that the advantages of inter-organisational networking and collaboration can be realised by overcoming fragmentation of care at the micro level of welfare provision to citizens, but also by using these networks as a forum for debate to challenge dominant conceptualisations of complex social problems across organisational and sectorial boundaries. However, we also point to the danger of a so-called ‘network euphoria’, and discuss some of the risks associated with working together through networks. Therefore, the central argument of the article implies that those involved in these networks need to develop a common framework, or value base, with reference to human rights and principles of social justice.

Integrating practice into Russian social work education: Institutional logics and curriculum regulation

Coming at the cusp of 20 years of social work training in Russia, this article analyses why education in universities is still so disconnected from the field of social work practice. Our attention focuses on institutional dynamics that shape the national regulation of social work education, limited practice content in curricula and the mixed impact of international co-operation. The research highlights that achieving broad agreement on the need for practice skills, service user prioritization and a strong values base must be the key focus when developing training in contexts where social work is relatively new.

Social work practice in contemporary Egypt

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsHamido Aboalftooh MegaheadPrevious academic work address: Department of Fields of Social Work Practice, Faculty of Social Work, Helwan University, Ain Helwan, PO Box 11790, Cairo, Egypt

Critical incident stress management: A review of the literature with implications for social work

This article describes the debates in the research literature surrounding the provision of critical incident stress management (CISM) and outlines the implications for social work. The literature reviewed suggests that critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) as an intervention needs to be offered as part of a comprehensive programme of critical incident stress management that is integrated and sensitive to the organizational context. Strengths-based principles need to underpin an integrated critical incident stress management policy that is sensitive to differences in individual responses, organizational contexts and diverse fields of social work practice. Adaptations of Mitchell’s original model of critical incident stress management which aim at mitigating the potential negative impact of critical incidents encountered in the workplace whilst enhancing personal resilience are discussed with reference to recent critiques of this model.

Resistance and Reconstruction: Older Women Talk about Childhood Sexual Abuse

Research which explores the experiences of women, who have experienced childhood sexual abuse is, in the main, focused on young and middle aged women. The perspectives of older women is often absent or hidden in the literature. This study explores the experiences of 16 Australian women aged 57 years and older who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. It aims to privilege their views and highlight their particular contexts in order to redress professional assumptions regarding the notions of recovery. Additionally, in discussing their experiences, the women contribute to insights regarding the patterns of inequality which are produced as a result of dominant discourses that promote ageist and sexist prescriptions in the construction of the self. These insights demonstrate how the women have resisted a range of oppressive patterns in their everyday lives. The study follows a feminist research framework and aims to contribute to the fields of social work practice and critical feminist gerontology.

Written out of History: Invisible Women in Intellectual Disability Social Work1

The field of intellectual disability is an important field of social work practice in both Britain and Australia. Yet this is also a multidisciplinary field in which the role of social workers, particularly women, in contributing to the lives of people with intellectual disability and their families has largely gone unnoticed. Focusing on England and Victoria, Australia in particular, this paper uses oral history interviews with long-standing social workers and documentary evidence including government reports and newspaper coverage to explore the similarity in the roles of social workers in intellectual disability. It covers the period between the beginning of social work in this field, which in the case of Britain was 1929 and in Victoria 1952, until the end of the 1990s. Work with families is identified as being central in both countries, as well as mediating relationship between institutions and services, families, and the community, and service development and advocacy. The paper concludes by asking questions about the disappearance of identified social work positions in this field and how their previous roles are fulfilled.

Applying health determinants and dimensions in social work practice

Dimensions and determinants related to physical health, mental health and well-being can be used as tools in social work practice. These frameworks are useful for assessment, planning and intervention activities in complex client situations, alerting social workers to consider diverse features and processes that influence well-being in people's lives. They can be applied in social work with individuals, families, groups, and communities. In our view health and well-being need to be viewed holistically, broadly and in each unique situation, changing over time over the life course. Literature based on key word searches of concepts we use in our teaching and research and that has informed our conceptualisation of dimensions and determinants in physical health, mental health and well-being, is reviewed. A case illustration is presented to illustrate how the dimensions and determinants are used to inform practice and compare and apply alternative frameworks. Finally, the implications of these and other frameworks for social work, not only in health care settings, but also in other fields of social work practice, are discussed.

Student Victimization by Peers: Comparison Between Bedouin and Non-Bedouin Arab Students in Israel

ABSTRACT School violence is a social phenomenon that has been a great source of concern for the educational system and for parents. The results of the current study are part of a comprehensive study conducted among a nationally representative sample of students in Israel (Benbenishty, 2003). This study examines the issue of peer victimization among Arab students as measured by self-report questionnaires. The sample of the current study consists of 10,441 students from 192 schools (6,329 non-Bedouin Arab students from 114 schools and 4,112 Bedouin students from 78 schools). We found that non-Bedouin Arab students reported slightly more verbal-social victimization than did Bedouin students. In contrast to these results, Bedouin students reported significantly higher levels of moderate physical victimization and severe physical victimization. Furthermore, the statistical interaction between gender, grade level, and national/cultural group, as well as reported victimization was examined. Several possible interpretations of the results will be presented. Additionally, the implications for the field of social work practice and policy will be discussed as well as recommendations for future research.