Social Welfare Office Research Articles

A Study on the Condition and Regional Differences about the Professionalism, Work-Environment and Burn-out of Social-Welfare Officials

A Study on the Condition and Regional Differences about the Professionalism, Work-Environment and Burn-out of Social-Welfare Officials

Exploring the Nature and Practice of Career Guidance in Secondary Schools in Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe.

The study sought to establish the nature and practice of career guidance in Mashonaland West secondary schools. A descriptive survey was used to collect data during career guidance day sessions in Zvimba, Makonde and Karoi. A cluster sample of 344 participants composed of teachers, pupils, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare officials provided information through questionnaires and interviews. Findings revealed that secondary schools in Mashonaland West province had no time-tabled sessions for career guidance. The ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social welfare in conjunction with the ministry of Education Sport and Culture organized career day sessions annually. Different service providers are gathered at one school and form three and four pupils from different schools converge for the occasion. Lectures, demonstrations and handouts provide information about employers' expectations and the “O”level subject requirements for specific careers. Participating facilitators were mainly from government departments. Students felt that career guidance was done rather late at form three when some of them had already dropped critical subjects like mathematics. Students' career choices had gender biases reflecting traditional beliefs in careers for men and woman. The spectrum of facilitators was narrow for adequate information for them to make informed career choices. Teachers had no literature on different careers hence unable to assist pupils. It is recommended that more participants from the private sector be involved in career guidance. Teachers' receive information on careers through workshops at provincial level. Form one pupils should be included in career guidance. A policy on career guidance is called for to ensure its serious implementation in schools.

Labour market status, requirements and social support—single male clients with problematic alcohol consumption

The study presented in this article investigates relations between two phenomena that are widely considered to be social problems—unemployment and alcohol abuse. The investigated group is that of single male clients receiving social assistance in Sweden. Difficulty in supporting themselves is thus the main reason why these clients have contact with the social welfare office, but to some extent the clients in focus do also have a drinking problem (defined as notes on drinking problems in their case files). Case files on male, single clients in which alcohol-related notes were present are investigated (n=297). The results indicate that social workers are more active in making demands on clients to change their alcohol habits if the clients are able to support themselves through work than if they are not. This implies that resources for the treatment of alcohol and drug abuse may be allocated on the basis of which clients it is possible to remove from the social service system—i.e. who are able to support themselves through work—and not on the basis of which clients are the most needy.

Predictors of Development of Microfinance Beneficiaries in the Rural Villages of Northeastern Mindanao, Philippines

The study determined the predictors of development of microfinance beneficiaries of City Social Welfare and Development Office in Butuan City, Philippines. The predictors were grouped according to the adequacy and effectiveness of the microfinance program components. Results show that on the adequacy of the program components as the predictor of development, the multiple correlation of .7148 suggests a moderate, direct and significant relationship between the triple combinations of capability building, micro-lending and savings mobilization to development of beneficiaries. This implies that no single variable can adequately explain its effect to another variable, it is always a combination. Meanwhile, on the effectiveness of the program components as the predictor, the regression coefficient of .6779 reveals that there is a moderate, direct and significant relationship between information, education and communication (IEC) and development of beneficiaries. As such, it is hereby recommended that implementing agency should focus more on capability building, micro-lending and savings mobilization and information, education and communication. Social funds for the development of these predictors are clearly a complement to, not to substitute for, effective sectorial policies, nor should they try to fulfill all the investment financing needs of all poor communities. Social funds must work in tandem with local government funds, NGOs, communities and other development agents to leverage and out investments that serve the broader national objectives of poverty alleviation.

주거복지에 대한 사회복지업무 종사자의 의식조사 연구

The purpose of this study was to identify perception on housing welfare of social welfare practitioners. Specific research interest was focused on the area of housing welfare services and necessity, problems when execute housing welfare services, and activating strategy of housing welfare. For the research purpose, questionnaires were distributed to 537 people who work in the field of social welfare including social welfare officials in local government authorities and social workers at community welfare centers nationwide by mail and e-mail and 405 questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 program. Respondents thought that the supply of public rental housing was the most important service to promote housing welfare. They also indicated the most serious problem was the lack of budget and housing welfare services and programs. As main reasons of local government's passive attitude toward housing welfare services and programs, respondents mentioned low interest level of housing welfare and lack of housing welfare education. Most of the respondents agreed the necessity of introducing the curricula related to housing welfare and expected to spread interest toward housing welfare in the field of social welfare.

Wahrnehmung von Vorsorgeuntersuchungen und Arztbesuchen bei Menschen mit Schizophrenie und Menschen ohne psychische Erkrankung mit vergleichbarem Sozialstatus

To examine whether the utilisation of preventive medical checkups and contacts to doctors differs between people with schizophrenia and a comparison group of comparable social status in Germany. 120 patients, each 40 from a hospital, an out-patient clinic and a residential home, were interviewed as well as 118 attendants of a social welfare office as a comparison group. Cancer screenings were realised less frequently than in the general population both among the patients and the controls. Contacts with doctors of somatic disciplines were more frequent among patients than among controls and the general population. The health behaviour of patients with schizophrenia was not significantly different from a comparison group with similar social status.

Investing in a Formal Relationship

From the point of view of ecological and attachment theory, professional and non-professional support persons can be an important link between young persons placed in Swedish residential treatment centres (RTC), their families, and staff at the centre. Through interviews with 23 support persons, the aim of the study is to explore characteristics of the relationship between support persons and the young person, and the support persons’ experiences of obstacles to and opportunities for treatment involvement at the facility. The findings show that most support persons describe an emotional relationship with the young person, while a few describe an instrumental one. Most support persons report limited opportunities for treatment involvement, mostly due to facility staff’s non-encouraging attitude, whereas a small group report positive involvement strategies from both staff and social welfare agencies. It is noteworthy that those reporting positive involvement opportunities already have access to the facility because of their professional relation to the residents (e.g. as social welfare officer in charge of the resident’s placement). The importance of staff encouragement of relations between support persons and residents during the RTC placement is discussed.

Eight years after - a follow-up study of mothers and children at psychosocial risk who received early treatment: does early intervention leave its mark?

One-hundred forty-five mothers at psychosocial risk who, with their babies, had been given treatment at a parent-baby clinic during a 2-year period starting in 1999, treatment designed to strengthen the mother-child relationship, were followed up 8 years later. Both the mothers who had agreed to take part in the treatment programme (n = 73) and those who had declined (n = 72) were searched for in the records of the Social Welfare office to determine if the treated mothers had been focused on to a lesser degree in the following 8 years than those who had declined treatment, a hypothesis that was initially put forward. The behaviour of the children whose mothers had undergone treatment (n = 46) was studied. The initial hypothesis had to be rejected; support and intervention from the social authorities had been equally common in both groups. However, the children of treated mothers had fewer externalizing behaviour than children of untreated mothers at psychosocial risk.

A Case of Paralytic Poliomyelitis Associated with Poliovirus Vaccine Strains in Hokkaido, Japan

Hokkaido Institute of Public Health, Sapporo 060-0819; 1School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu 069-8501; 2Sorachi Public Health and Social Welfare Office, Iwamizawa 068-8558; 3Kamikawa Public Health and Social Welfare Office, Asahikawa 079-8610; 4Iburi Public Health and Social Welfare Office, Muroran 051-8555; 5Department of Health and Welfare, Hokkaido Government, Sapporo 060-8588; and 6Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan

Social expenditures and public administration: are local social assistance costs in Sweden a matter of organisation?

Minas R. Social expenditures and public administration: are local social assistance costs in Sweden a matter of organisation? Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 215–224 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare.This study examines the connection between organisational factors and local social assistance expenditures in Swedish municipalities. The organisation of social assistance units, particularly those for the intake of social assistance inquirers, and the possible implications for local social assistance costs are highlighted. The study is based on interview data from medium‐sized Swedish municipalities combined with register data covering the years from 1997 to 2001. The results show that socioeconomic factors have an overall dominant effect, but also that organisational factors co‐vary with local social assistance expenditures. The results show a cost‐reducing effect for special intake units: firstly, when these units are analysed together with other forms of specialisation and secondly, when staff resources are taken into account. Thus, specialised intake organisation by itself does not play a cost‐reducing role, but does so in combination with certain other factors that characterise the internal organisation of the social welfare office.

Microfinancing Program of City Social Welfare and Development Office: Integrated Development of Beneficiaries in Butuan City

The study determined the impact of microfinancing program of the City Social Welfare and Development Office of Butuan City, Philippines on the beneficiaries’ social, economic, political, and spiritual development. The data were collected from randomly sampled beneficiaries and purposively sampled CSWD employees using a researcher-made questionnaire. As reported, the CSWD microfinancing program improved the beneficiaries’ social, economic, political and spiritual development after availing of the microfinance program. As such, it is recommended that the financial assistance should be increased and that the mode of payment should be modified to maximize gain and sustain the beneficiaries’ project. Key words – Micro-financing program, beneficiaries impact, spiritual development

A Study on the Effect of Job Stress and Social Support on Organizational Outcomes in Social Welfare Officials

A Study on the Effect of Job Stress and Social Support on Organizational Outcomes in Social Welfare Officials

HIV-Infected African Parents Living in Stockholm, Sweden: Disclosure and Planning for Their Children's Future

In Sweden, most HIV-infected parents are of African origin. The present study explored the frequency of HIV-infected African parents' disclosure of their status to their children and custody planning for their children's future to identify support needs among these families. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 47 parents (41 families). The study population included first-generation immigrants, with a total of 87 children less than 18 years of age. Only women had disclosed their HIV status, and only to eight of 59 children older than six. Half of the parents had talked to someone about future custody arrangements. These parents had more contact with a social worker at the social welfare office and with a medical social worker at the HIV clinic. Most parents (30) wanted their children to be cared for by a relative in Sweden or by their HIV-negative partner. Neither disclosure nor custody planning was associated with clinical status or antiretroviral treatment. This study highlights the low HIV-disclosure rate to children of HIV-infected African immigrant parents and the importance of support from social workers.

Health Professionals’ Attitudes Towards Using a Web 2.0 Portal for Child and Adolescent Diabetes Care: Qualitative Study

Background The Internet, created and maintained in part by third-party apomediation, has become a dynamic resource for living with a chronic disease. Modern management of type 1 diabetes requires continuous support and problem-based learning, but few pediatric clinics offer Web 2.0 resources to patients as part of routine diabetes care.Objectives To explore pediatric practitioners’ attitudes towards the introduction of a local Web portal for providing young type 1 diabetes patients with interactive pedagogic devices, social networking tools, and locally produced self-care and treatment information. Opportunities and barriers related to the introduction of such systems into clinical practice were sought.Methods Twenty clinicians (seven doctors, nine nurses, two dieticians, and two social welfare officers) from two pediatric diabetes teams participated in the user-centered design of a local Web 2.0 portal. After completion of the design, individual semi-structured interviews were performed and data were analyzed using phenomenological methods.Results The practitioners reported a range of positive attitudes towards the introduction of a local Web 2.0 portal to their clinical practice. Most interviewees were satisfied with how the portal turned out, and a sense of community emerged during the design process and development of the portal’s contents. A complementary role was suggested for the portal within the context of health practice culture, where patients and their parents would be able to learn about the disease before, between, and after scheduled contacts with their health care team. Although some professionals expected that email communication with patients and online patient information would save time during routine care, others emphasized the importance of also maintaining face-to-face communication. Online peer-to-peer communication was regarded as a valuable function; however, most clinicians did not expect that the portal would be used extensively for social networking amongst their patients. There were no major differences in attitudes between different professions or clinics, but some differences appeared in relation to work tasks.Conclusions Experienced clinical practitioners working in diabetes teams exhibited positive attitudes towards a Web 2.0 portal tailored for young patients with type 1 diabetes and their parents. The portal included provision of third-party information, as well as practical and social means of support. The practitioners’ early and active participation provides a possible explanation for these positive attitudes. The findings encourage close collaboration with all user groups when implementing Web 2.0 systems for the care of young patients with chronic diseases, particularly type 1 diabetes. The study also highlights the need for efforts to educate clinical practitioners in the use of Web publishing, social networking, and other Web 2.0 resources. Investigations of attitudes towards implementing similar systems in the care of adults with chronic diseases are warranted.

Relational Evaluation of Organizational Development Activities

This article outlines a relational approach to evaluating organizational development activities. The paper analyzes organizational development activities as complicated, situated and “technically” mediated interactions between different actors. According to the relational evaluation the outcomes of development interventions are not reducible to any individual factor, but they are rather collectively produced by the different human and non-human elements. The approach is illustrated by a case where the processes and outcomes of development activities in 12 social welfare offices are followed and evaluated and where evaluation is harnessed to facilitate the development activities.

Assistance of Child Patients with Application for Medical Grant for Glasses Treatment

Purpose: In Japan the medical grant-aid program was introduced in April 2006, for child patients under 9 years old who need glasses for treatment. Since then, we have tried to fully explain the new program to child patients and their parents. We also have given a hand with its procedure, such as completion of the application form and check of documents attached to it, as well as we started for child patients and their parents in the previous medical grant-aid program in 2003. To grasp the actual conditions of the medical grant the applicants receive, a questionnaire survey was carried out.Subjects and Methods: Subjects were 274 applicants for medical grant: 55 in the previous program and 219 in the new program. The 55 applicants applied at 10 months to 8 years old (mean age: 4.2±2.1 years) during the period of 2003 to March 2006. The 219 applicants applied at 1 to 8 years old (mean age: 5.5±1.8 years) during the period of October 2006 to March 2007. The questionnaire was about the amount of medical grant each of the applicants received, time period taken for receiving the grant, and services offered at Social Welfare Offices in the previous program or in the new program.Results: Of 274 questionnaire sheets, 118 (43.1%) were returned: 17 (31.0%) of 55 on the previous program and 101 (46.1%) of 219 on the new program. The application method is explained to applicants after new program. However, there are almost no parents who know in advance. Of the 17 applicants, 13 successfully received their grants, but 6 failed to. Of the 101 applicants, 98 received their grants, but 3 failed to. Both in the programs, the applicants received about 70% of the amount of medical grant they demanded. It took 4.5 months to receive the grant in the previous program, but only 2 weeks to one month in the new program. Although there were many difficulties to get grant under previous program, there became more successful and easier under new program.Conclusion: The medical grant-aid program is not yet well known to child patients who need glasses for treatment and have requirements for application. The medical staffs should actively try to make the program known to the child patients and to help them to apply for the medical grant.

LAGOS AND THE INVENTION OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN NIGERIA, 1920–60

This paper seeks to trace the origins of offences by youths as a distinct social concern in Lagos and examines the categorization of a group, the ‘juvenile delinquent’, by colonial administrators and welfare officers. While organized pickpocketing and prostitution by young people emerged as an issue in Nigerian newspapers in the 1920s, it was largely ignored by local administrators until the appointment, in 1941, of the first Social Welfare Officer. This led to the implementation of new administrative and judiciary machinery which combined two processes: it legislated ‘juvenile delinquency’ into existence as a clearly identifiable social problem; and criminalized a large portion of urban youth, especially female hawkers. The combination of these processes constitutes what can be called the invention of juvenile delinquency in Nigeria.

Between professional ethics and bureaucratic rationality: the challenging ethical position of social workers who are faced with implementing a workfare policyMellom profesjonsetikk og byråkratisk rasjonalitet: Sosialarbeideres utfordrende etiske posisjon ved iverksetting av arbeidslinjen

This article is based upon an empirical, qualitative study of social workers implementing the workfare policy in five municipal social welfare offices in Oslo, the capital of Norway. The concern of the study has been to investigate the conditions for the social workers’ practice in this bureaucratic context where clients who apply for social and economic assistance will primarily be motivated to choose work rather than social insurance. Particular tasks and roles for social workers are defined in employment contracts and in job descriptions, but professional judgement and professional discretion are influenced by the individual appropriation of professional values and practices and how these are amalgamated to the individual's personal experiences in the practice of social work. The social worker can exercise authority in a very concrete and clear manner when implementing workfare. The law allows for considerable discretion, but internal rules and policies within municipalities can have a great impact upon the social worker and affect his/her practice. This implies that the normative and ethical values of the profession become imperative. The article focuses on the municipal social welfare offices as gate-keeping institutions and on the ethical position of the social workers in that context.

Master's degree programme: Visual impairment. Interdisciplinary perspectives and professional cooperation

In August 2004, Sweden launched a Master's Degree Programme in Visual Impairment at the Stockholm Institute of Education (at present the only University in Sweden providing courses in this field). The programme should meet the standard of professional skills required by staff working in /re/habilitation of visually impaired of all ages. The programme addresses educationists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, ophthalmic nurses, optometrists, qualified social welfare officers and psychologists. The main focus is to provide specialized knowledge of visual impairment supplementing basic, professional qualification already acquired.The programme promotes interdisciplinary teamwork and a holistic view of the individual with visual impairment. Students should be able to develop, to manage, to conduct and to support adequate service for individuals of all ages with varying degrees of visual impairment (blindness and low vision). The programme is distributed over five semesters (2 and a half year of part-time studies and distance education). This article describes the comprehensive programme.

The Relationship of Job Type to Burnout in Social Workers at Social Welfare Offices

This study sought to determine the relationship of job type differences to burnout level, the details of job characteristics for each job type, and the association between burnout and job factors in 189 social workers at all social welfare offices in a prefecture in Japan. Among the three job types, 32.9% of social workers involved with public assistance, 29.0% of social workers involved with public assistance, the elderly, the disabled and single mothers, and 15.2% of social workers involved with the elderly, the disabled and single mothers were scored in the "high burnout" category (p<.05). Job type differed significantly with respect to the job characteristics of percentage of time spent on home visits per typical working day, job satisfaction, aversion to the job, and social support. The job type of public assistance work had a higher percentage of time spent on home visits per typical working day, aversion to the job, lower job satisfaction, and less social support than the job type involving no public assistance work. Multiple regression analyses showed the associations between job factors and burnout for each job type. Aversion to the job had a primary positive association with burnout for all social worker job types. Social support had a negative association with burnout in social workers whose clients included public assistance cases. The number of years in social work had a negative association with burnout, while percentage of time spent doing interviews per typical working day had a positive association with burnout in social workers who were involved with public assistance, the elderly, the disabled and single mothers. These results suggest that the job type of public assistance work may carry a higher risk of burnout than job types involving no public assistance work. To ameliorate this risk, it was thought to be important to improve aversion to the job as well as having a social support network for public assistance social workers.