Social Policy Practice Research Articles

Legitimising Social Work Disability Policy Practice: Pain or Praxis?

This paper examines the policy practice of a social worker academic with lived experience of disability. The author illustrates her reflections through an exploration of national consultations that contributed to the development of a National Disability Strategy. Policy is presented as a discursive practice built on an intersubjective framework for interpreting disability experience. Social work's unofficial mantra is that we work from private pain to public issues in pursuit of personal liberation and flourishing in civil, inclusive, and just communities. Using Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of capital, fields of power, and habitus this view of social work, expressed through the politics of presence of people living with disability, is problematised as potentially tokenistic and exploitative. Electing to steer away from any processes that approach the politics of the tragic spectacle (Elliot, 2002), the author concludes that her practice is legitimised through a commitment to mobilise the cultural and knowledge capital built through the habitus of social work policy practice and the symbolic capital of disablement-both of which can be deployed to develop the capacity of colleagues in the disability movement.

"Gadžology" as Activism: What I Would Have Ethnography Do for East European Roma

"Gadžology" as Activism:What I Would Have Ethnography Do for East European Roma Heather Tidrick (bio) Gypsy stereotypes are unnervingly familiar even if you have never traveled to Budapest: They do not want to work; they just have babies so they can live off the social benefits system. Watch your pockets on the tram. Be careful in the Gypsy quarter—be sure not to go there after dark. As my own role as an American in Hungary has shifted over the past decade, though—as an English teacher just out of the University of California in the late 1990s; then an editor of Romani rights reports with the European Roma Rights Centre; and since 2003 a graduate student researcher—I have found it amazing how far-reaching adherence is to the ugly dominant narratives about Roma. This essay has two main goals: first, to recall the significance of the politics of knowledge in the articulation of bio-power (Foucault 1978)—for Roma in Europe, like Jews and many other groups who have experienced stigmatization, the contours of their oppression are profoundly influenced by notions of their cultural alterity, whether these expressions of their apparent distinctiveness appear in journalism, scholarly writing, or NGO promotional materials. I offer a few contemporary examples of such representations in the case of Roma and discuss the consequences of these representations. Second, because scholars play a political role in creating texts, I advocate a methodological stance that foregrounds inherent human dignity and vigilantly guards against the further reproduction of dominant, extremely destructive narratives about stigmatized groups. I discuss how these principles have shaped my own research agenda on the interplay between social policy and institutional practices with Roma. By playfully proposing "Gadžology" [End Page 121] (the study of non-Roma, or gadže, from a Romani point of view) as the counterpoint to "Romology," I attempt to highlight the ways our disciplinary boundaries can define our object of study to the detriment of both theory and ethics—and to challenge us to formulate alternative and liberatory avenues of scholarship as ethnographers. Power, Knowledge, and Romology Many writers too easily traffic in Gypsy stereotypes without the evidence to support their claims. Political scientist Zoltan Barany references the supposed "higher-than-average levels of Gypsy criminality" (2002, 180); journalist Isabel Fonseca claims that Roma have no words for "time," "danger," "warmth," and "quiet" (Fonseca 1996; Hancock 1997); and anthropologist David Scheffel (2005) points to apparent Romani deviance as a key factor in the segregation of Roma from Slovak community life in Svinia (and, implicitly, elsewhere in Eastern Europe). One only has to scratch the surface of these destructive claims to recognize the thin epistemological footing on which many of the authors in the multidisciplinary field of Romani Studies stand. Ian Hancock situates Fonseca's misinformation on the Romani language within the long "Gypsylorist" tradition of falsely claiming lexical paucity to illustrate supposed lack of virtues among Roma (Hancock 1997). Examples illustrating Romani "deviance" in Scheffel's account include such atrocities as a child throwing a pencil across the room in frustration—suggesting deep flaws in his interpretive frame as well as the self-acknowledged limitations in his ethnographic data collection. "Criminality" was the main justification the Third Reich used for their attempted extermination of Roma and Sinti during World War II.1 The link made between a supposed tendency or predisposition toward crime and the bodies and biology of Roma dates back to Cesare Lombroso's nineteenth-century criminological anthropological theory identifying Gypsies as a "race of criminals."2 Barany's uncritical use of the loaded term is not supported with any actual crime statistics. Such knowledge claims about Roma constitute essential features in the landscape of past and present international Romani politics. In this context, I argue, producing a text about Roma (be it written or visual) is a political act. In continuing to recycle such tropes as Gypsy criminality, deviance, and cultural paucity, scholars and journalists often participate [End Page 122] in reinforcing structural inequalities and systematic social exclusion of Roma in the places where they constitute a visible minority.3 Putative knowledge about Roma informs social policy and program development in countless ways...

Shifting the focus: outcomes of care for older people

Internationally there is commitment to work towards eradicating the abuse of older people and to develop services that promote their equality, dignity and human rights. The emphasis on service users is gradually increasing and, along with this, the focus within health and social care policy, service provision and professional practice is shifting. In UK health and social care policy the emphasis on service structure and provision is being replaced by a focus on outcomes for service users, including outcomes which patients themselves evaluate. The focus of UK Adult Protection services is also shifting from intervention to prevention through developing greater understanding of the factors which contribute to abuse, changing attitudes towards entrenched poor care, identifying preventative services and safeguarding vulnerable adults. Nursing literature is also beginning to acknowledge the evolution of an outcomes focus. This paper discusses the shifting emphasis in UK health and social care in the safeguarding of vulnerable people and in nursing practice. It offers an overview of literature on outcomes. The paper then describes a research study which sought to identify outcomes of care for older people living in UK care homes. The outcomes framework developed through the research is offered, along with a discussion of the advantages of an outcome-focused approach to care and some of the remaining challenges. A case example is offered to illustrate an outcomes-focused approach. Finally, the paper draws conclusions on how shifting the focus of care delivery from traditional problem-orientated approaches and ritualized practice towards the outcomes of care that individual older people choose and evaluate for themselves offers potential towards eradicating abuse and neglect in formal care settings.

Caregiver Burden and Social Support among Mothers Raising Children with Developmental Disabilities in South Korea

This study examines caregiver burden and social supports perceived by mothers raising children with developmental disabilities in South Korea. Mothers residing in the metropolitan areas of Seoul (n = 181) responded to the mail survey with a 56.6% response rate. Respondents expressed a high level of overall burden, particularly in financial domains. Greater subjective caregiver burden for these mothers was associated with: increased disability‐related costs; maternal factors such as being younger and having higher educational attainment; and less social support. Extra cost related to disabilities was the strongest predictor of increased caregiver burden. Findings indicate that social support can reduce this burden. Implications for the practices of social service agencies and policy are discussed.

Comprehensive handbook of social work and social welfare: v.1: The profession of social work; v.2: Human behavior and the social environment; v.3: Social work practice; v.4: Social policy and policy practice

Comprehensive handbook of social work and social welfare: v.1: The profession of social work; v.2: Human behavior and the social environment; v.3: Social work practice; v.4: Social policy and policy practice

The influence of social policy practices and gender egalitarianism on strategic integration of female HR directors

The integration of the HR director into the strategic planning process is important if the HR function is to play a strategic role. A considerable number of women hold HR director positions with varying strategic integration across countries. This article deals with the impact of societal factors on the strategic integration of female HR directors. It analyses the consequences of social policy practices facilitating women's participation in work for the strategic integration of female HR directors and additional effects resulting from the interplay between these practices and gender-egalitarian attitudes at the societal level. A study of 984 companies with female HR directors in 16 countries shows that while enabling social policy practices are positively associated with strategic integration of female HR directors, related gender-egalitarian attitudes do not have a supporting effect.

International Conference: Contemporary Challenges in Theory and Practice of Social Policy and Social Work

International Conference: Contemporary Challenges in Theory and Practice of Social Policy and Social Work

The Path to Social Justice Goes Through Politics and Economics

ABSTRACT Social work policy practice theory must be reformulated if the profession wants to make a major contribution to social justice goals in our society because in the United States the path to social justice goes through politics and economics. Changes in American social polices the past forty years show how politics and economics can frustrate and impede the realization of social justice. Social work needs to acquire intervention skills that emphasize collective action because the damaging problems distorting our society with growing political inequality and huge income gaps can be addressed most effectively using the activities, processes, and strategies available in electoral politics and economics. Assimilating electoral politics and economics into social work education could successfully integrate the person-in-environment paradigm, providing practitioners with robust new tools to pursue social justice.

Teaching Students to Become Effective in Policy Practice: Integrating Social Capital into Social Work Education and Practice

ABSTRACT Social workers must integrate social capital more fully into social work policy practice. In order to do so, social work educators must recognize the complexities of social capital and must provide opportunities for students to learn about the utility of social capital within policy and practice realms. Since its inception, professional social work has used elements of social capital in interventions at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Educators must recognize this and integrate social capital into the curriculum so that our students can effectively use social capital in policy practice.

Editorial: Prevention in the community and treatment in the clinic – two different methodological approaches to determining the evidence‐base for child mental health interventions

Editorial: Prevention in the community and treatment in the clinic – two different methodological approaches to determining the evidence‐base for child mental health interventions

Through a Different Lens

Abstract Violence in the family does not exist in a vacuum. It is situated in a context of language and values that express society's ambivalence toward this phenomenon. This article begins with a discussion of the theoretical dimensions of this ambivalence focusing on violence as a means of social control and on behavioral-genetic theory as a lens through which to view this issue. It suggests that Traditional American Values underlie the social sanctioning of family violence and offers judicial and social policy decisions that support and result from this ideology. It concludes with implications for social work policy practice.

Ageism: A Review of Research and Policy Implications

The current literature on aging and ageism is summarized in support of a theoretical perspective that includes both the biological and the psychosocial components of these processes. Conceptual and methodological problems are identified in models that rely on a deficit approach to aging. We suggest that the biased responses of others foster older adults' stress‐related emotional and hormonal responses—responses that may effectively reduce their social and cognitive competence. This negative feedback process ultimately acts in a stereotype‐maintaining fashion. Implications are drawn for possible changes in social policy and institutional practices that may reduce or prevent the harmful effects of ageism. Examples are given of existing policies and practices that limit the lives of older adults (in the guise of protection), along with newly instituted policies and practices (including those at an international level) that place the welfare of older adults in the context of life course issues shared by all.

Health on borrowed time? Prioritizing and meeting needs in low-income households

Health care behaviour studies have tended to focus on health beliefs and other influences on decisions to consult professional health services. The practicalities, task scheduling and negotiations required to implement such decisions have received comparatively little attention. Whereas the role of kin and others as advisers in the lay referral network has been explored, their practical role in enabling or constraining the implementation of health care decisions has received scant attention. Research in low-income areas of Merseyside identified the decisions and social arrangements underpinning the use of primary health care services. The coordination and scheduling of tasks and related activities involved is considerable, demanding creativity and negotiation. Respondents’ accounts indicate that kin living in other households are more reliable and frequent sources of substitute care or transport than neighbours who may live in closer proximity. There are striking gender differences in the resources ‘borrowed’ from kin: women are more likely to provide substitute care, whilst men help with transport. These valuable, yet invisible, resources are not employed lightly, however. Their use is carefully measured and ‘saved up’ for emergencies, and on behalf of vulnerable dependants. As health services restructure, concentrating facilities in fewer locations and shifting care increasingly onto the ‘community’, more elaborate negotiations and strategies will be required of women as household managers and coordinators. In responding to local needs, health and social policy and professional practice will need to be flexible to take account of the complex realities of people's daily lives.

Lesbian Parents and Work

SUMMARY Twenty-one lesbian parents, representing 15 families, were interviewed to examine the work-family issues experienced by the women. Seventy percent of the interviewees were satisfied with their employment situations and characterized the relationships between their households and the workplace as positive. Qualitative analysis of the interview data revealed work-related stressors and supports, and strategies for balancing work and family. Themes included instrumental support, interpersonal support, integration of work and family, and creative responses to work-family tensions. Implications for social work policy and direct practice are discussed.

Models of Disability, Work and Welfare in Australia

Abstract In discourse around disability there has been a shift away from a ‘medical model’, which perceives disability as an individual problem to be ‘cured’ or contained, towards a ‘social model’. The latter focuses on the relationship between people with disabilities and their social environment, locating the required interventions within the realm of social policy and institutional practice. Drawing upon a small qualitative study conducted in Melbourne, this article argues that recent plans by the Australian government to introduce mutual obligation requirements for recipients of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) sit in tension with this shift from the medical to the social models of disability. Mutual obligation is based on the assumption that income support recipients need to be taught how to be more ‘self‐reliant’, to ‘participate’ in society more fully and to become ‘active’, rather than ‘passive’, citizens. This language appears to overlap with that used to articulate a social model, which places emphasis on participation in the community and attempts a shift away from reliance on the medical profession. However, examples from interviews conducted with current and former DSP recipients demonstrate that, in practice, mutual obligation is likely to reinforce a medical model of disability, frame DSP recipients as ‘conditional’ citizens and ignore the obligations of the state and society regarding access and inclusiveness for people with disabilities.

The sexual lives of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people with disabilities: Psychological perspectives

People with disabilities (PWD) who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) represent a population that has received little attention in the areas of social policy, sexuality studies, and psychological research and practice. Existing research, especially from psychological perspectives, has focused mostly on sexual identity and internal psychological dimensions rather than on actual physical experiences and sexual expression. Awareness of the unique needs and concerns of these individuals is crucial for optimizing their physical and mental well-being, especially for those who provide mental health services for those who identify as LGB PWD. This article presents these issues from a multicultural perspective, viewing this population as a double minority with some experiences similar to those of other minority groups. Further, it provides a practical view of barriers to sexual expression for LGB PWD along with strategies for overcoming them and describes suggestions for further work in advocacy, social policy, and research.

The social health care policy implementation gap: moving beyond the legacies of 'new' public management

How do social health care policies fare within economically rational structures? This paper, based on a study of two Scottish maternity units, identifies and explains a number of gaps in social health care policy implementation and practice. One finding suggests that devolved budgets result in a certain amount of operational fragmentation, increased attention to cost consciousness, low staffing levels and ultimately a noticeably decreased concern for social health care policy implementation. What can be done to ensure that health and welfare services are democratized? This paper proposes that moving beyond new public management involves an alternative model which would encompass a broadened form of economic regulation. Such a model would ensure that health and welfare outcomes are comprehensively accounted for in financial terms. There are strong indications that subjective service user indicators of health and welfare are just as important as objective professional assessments. Another indication is that whereas technological determinism sparks off rising costs, service user self-determination and self-management, which situates medical expertise at the periphery rather than the centre, could save public money. Thus, the need to widen the economic base serves both the objectives of the treasury and the needs of the public.

Introduction: Rethinking social policy through devolution

This paper argues both that devolution is central to our understanding of developments in social policy in the contemporary UK and that social policy is a key means through which we can develop a critical understanding of the process of devolution itself. Much of the devolved powers available to the governments in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff centre on social policy innovation and practice. Devolution was widely welcomed as opening up the potential for the development of radically different social policies. However, the discussion of devolution has been largely dominated by an approach that focuses on institutional and/or organizational differences marginalizing, in the process, the wider social relations of welfare around which social policy is organized. In bringing the study of devolution into the heartland of social policy analysis, it is argued that we can begin to develop a more critically informed appreciation of social policy across the entire devolved UK. Through critical social policy analysis we can both evaluate and explain the complex interrelations between devolved governance and the continuing reproduction of inequalities and social divisions throughout the UK.

Ten best practices, eight social rights: creating social justice for children and families standards and benchmarks for Social Justice Community Action Plans (SJCAPs)

This article uses a number of the outcomes of the United Nations Decade for the Elimination of Poverty (1997-2006) to make the case for the development of Social Justice Community Action Plans by national and subnational public authorities. SJCAPs would encompass the promotion of equality and equity, the reduction of poverty, the reduction of non-economic inequalities, the eradication of discrimination in all its forms and the enjoyment of all fundamental human rights and freedoms by all citizens. The article provides 10 practices or benchmarks with which to guide and/or evaluate such planning processes and the content of plans that may be developed. The article sets out the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights draft guidelines on what constitutes poverty and the eight core social rights which governments should be obligated to ensure are enjoyed by all citizens. The article is intended to contribute constructively to the growing internationalisation of social policy analysis and practice in the UK. Together with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child this has the potential to make a base of social justice for the fifth of children in the UK who have been and are being raised in poverty. Government child poverty targets for 2005 have not been met. The UK’s track record on child poverty and the implications of child poverty remains poor and is inconsistent with the rhetoric of equality of opportunity promoted by New Labour.

‘Virtue’, ‘Citizen Character’ and ‘Social Environment’: Social Theory and Agency in Social Policy since 1830

This article takes a fresh look at the intellectual context of the poor law in Britain and Ireland from the 1830s to the 1930s, and is focused on the different conceptions over time of the ‘service user’ as agent (drawing on Le Grand) in relation to a fundamental contrast between social theory which is ‘non-idealist’ and ‘idealist’ (drawing on Harris). It first examines the ideas of liberal tories, rather than Benthamites, in remodelling the poor law in England and introducing it to Ireland in the 1830s. Second, it explicitly draws a contrast between idealist and non-idealist social thought, relating it to the idealist nature of both the majority and minority reports on the poor law of 1909 and to the non-idealist thought of Spencer and the earlier discussion. The subsequent dominance of idealist thought in social policy theory and practice is then reviewed, considering Titmuss on agency, the ‘rediscovery’ of informal care in the 1970s as evidence of a shift to the non-idealist perspective that people can act as rational agents for their own well-being, and the resurgent influence of idealist thought on ‘New Labour’. The article concludes that links identified between ideas of agency and types of social theory since the 1830s enhance our understanding of debates today.