scholarly journals Building the Social Work Workforce: Saving Lives and Families

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Briar-Lawson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Improved Outcomes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Workforce Needs

This article depicts a journey over the decades to address some of the needs of children and families in the child welfare system. Recounting a few key milestones and challenges in the past 40 years, it is argued that workforce development is one key to improved outcomes for abused and neglected children and their families. Major events and several turning points are chronicled. Emerging workforce needs in aging are also cited as lessons learned from child welfare have implications for building a gero savvy social work workforce. Funding streams involving IV-E and Medicaid are discussed. It is argued that workforce development can be a life and death issue for some of these most vulnerable populations. Thus, the workforce development agenda must be at the forefront of the social work profession for the 21st century. Key funding streams are needed to foster investments in building and sustaining the social work workforce.

scholarly journals Evidence-based practice in social work: Who are the critics?

2020 ◽  
pp. 146801732095513
Author(s):  
Joakim Finne
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Social Sector ◽  
The Social

Summary The aim of this study is to analyse attitudes towards and the utilisation of evidence-based practice among social workers in Norway. The data were collected in 2014–2015 from social workers in four Norwegian counties. The sample consists of 2060 social workers registered as members of the Norwegian Union of Social Educators and Social Workers. Findings The main findings in this study indicate that social workers in child welfare are generally less critical of evidence-based practice than those within social welfare. Higher education and knowledge about evidence-based practice are seen as predictors for less critical attitudes towards the concept. The findings further suggest that social workers who use manuals and standardised procedures are less critical of evidence-based practice. Applications Understanding social workers’ attitudes towards evidence-based practice is important in order to facilitate the best possible practices. This study emphasises the importance of increasing knowledge of evidence-based practice in the social sector, and the need to further investigate how research methods and evidence-based practice concepts are translated into practice.

Universal Credit, lone mothers and poverty: some context and challenges for social work with children and families

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-203
Author(s):  
Malcolm Carey ◽  
Sophie Bell
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Lone Mothers ◽  
Paid Employment ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Benefit System

Universal Credit is a streamlined benefits delivery system initially introduced in the UK in 2008. Conditionality-based welfare policies are increasingly international in scale, and are now widely adopted by neoliberal governments on the basis that paid employment offers the most efficacious route out of poverty for citizen-subjects. Numerous studies suggest otherwise and highlight their negative impact upon the social rights, lived experiences and attempts to alleviate poverty for claimants. This article analyses the effect of the reformed benefit system and wider workfare policies upon lone mothers, including as a consequence of engagement with an ever-more stigmatising benefit system, and associated risks posed by sanctions or precarious low-paid employment. It highlights some of the consequences for social work with children and families of Universal Credit, including ongoing tensions and challenges created for the profession by the punitive policies of the workfare-oriented centaur state.

‘Emotional Abuse’ Referrals to a Scottish Children's Panel Reporter over Five Years

1988 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. G. Furnell ◽  
Philip V. Dutton ◽  
John Harris
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Clinical Features ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Interrater Reliability ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
The Social ◽  
Potential Basis ◽  
Professional Practitioners

Difficulties of definition, investigation and establishment in ‘emotional abuse’ of children have resulted in both a lack of clinical information and uncertainty among professional practitioners about the topic. This paper reports a survey of all suspected cases referred, under Section 32(2)(c) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act (1968), to a Reporter to a Children's Panel over five consecutive years. The source allowed consideration of demographic and clinical features of children and families, professional response and involvement, and outcome. The results suggested that children and families referred for suspected ‘emotional abuse’ had features in common with physically abusing adults and victims, including multiple social disadvantage and risk of alcohol or drug abuse. Many of the children referred were young, and likelihood of referral declined with increasing age. Referring agencies appeared to become more discriminating in parts of legislation used; a variety of agencies were involved with cases. The Reporter's initial decisions were usually supported by the Sheriff” Court. Proposed categories for cases, based on main clinical features, achieved high interrater reliability between two judges and may form a potential basis for classification and prognosis.

scholarly journals Networks of power and counterpower in social work with children and families in England

2021 ◽  
pp. 026101832110347
Author(s):  
Joe Hanley
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Network Society ◽  
Turn Of The Millennium ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Type ◽  
Manuel Castells

This article applies the work of Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells to contemporary children and families’ social work in England. Castells’ work suggests that the intractability of many of the issues facing the profession is the result of the new type of society that emerged around the turn of the millennium: the network society. Within this society, the interests and values of dominant networks are imposed upon those who are selectively excluded. Several challenges for the social work profession stemming from this analysis are posed, including in relation to challenging networks and promoting transparency. However, it is suggested that the most significant contribution Castells’ work has for social work lies in shifting the discussion from an analysis of dominant networks, as has been undertaken elsewhere, towards an understanding of how social workers can, and do, build networks of counterpower capable of effectively challenging dominant networks in the space they occupy.

scholarly journals Practice education

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-88
Author(s):  
Steven Keen ◽  
Jonathan Parker ◽  
Lynne Rutter ◽  
Sarah Williams ◽  
Keith Brown
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Qualification Framework ◽  
Mentoring Support ◽  
Degree Level ◽  
Practice Education

The future of practice education in social work in England is under discussion. An integral part of this relates to those considered qualified and appropriate to assess student social workers and the qualification framework necessary to ensure their supply. A draft Practice Educator Framework for England was published in October 2009. Fifteen partnerships of employers and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were invited to deliver pilot Practice Educator programmes to test out the draft framework. This paper reports the formative and final evaluations from these pilot sites and lays the foundation for considerations of the future development of practice education in England. The evaluation and the pilot were commissioned by Skills for Care and funded by the Social Work Development Partnership. In total, 321 candidates had been or were in the process of being recruited to these pilot sites; whilst 24 candidates withdrew from or deferred their studies. The findings from the evaluation indicated that the vast majority of pilot sites had accredited their programmes academically, many at Master’s degree level. Candidate feedback was predominantly positive; however, about one in eight candidates disagreed that their programme had provided them with sufficient mentoring support. A third of pilot sites have realised they do not have the numbers of stage 2 Practice Educators that qualifying placements may require. Strong partnerships between employers and HEIs and targeted funding will be needed to ensure that future programmes meet workforce development needs.

scholarly journals The Motivations behind Child Welfare Work

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel J Dickman
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Case Managers ◽  
Qualitative Research Study ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Welfare Work ◽  
The Social ◽  
Related Stress

This report seeks to explore the findings of a qualitative research study concerning the motivations behind child welfare work. Child welfare is a major field within the social work profession that demands a great deal of expertise and effort from workers. Professionals employed as case managers within the child welfare field are held accountable for a wide variety of social work roles, often placing these individuals at risk of emotional trauma and high levels of work-related stress. Due to this, workers who remain in the field for extensive periods of time often experience strong sensations of purpose relative to their work. Our study found that child welfare caseworkers were motivated by altruism and a deep desire to improve the lives of their clients.  They were also kept motivated by the successes that came from time to time. While trials seem to be experienced on a regular basis, child welfare caseworkers generally found their work to be a positive presence within the families they serve. Further research is needed to expound upon the findings of this study. 

scholarly journals Storytelling among child welfare social workers: Constructing professional role and resilience through team talk

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 968-986
Author(s):  
Laura L Cook
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Professional Role ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Child Welfare Social Workers ◽  
Public Scrutiny ◽  
Cautionary Tales

Child welfare social work is emotive and demanding work, requiring highly skilled and resilient practitioners. In a context of austerity, increased public scrutiny and accountability, defensive practice has been identified as a feature of professional practice. However, little is known about the processes through which social workers develop resilience or come to adopt a defensive stance in managing the demands of their work. This article focuses on professional storytelling among child welfare social workers. It examines how social workers construct their professional role through team talk and the implications of this for our understanding of professional resilience and defensiveness. Drawing on an in-depth narrative analysis of focus groups with social work teams, eight story types are identified in social workers’ talk about their work: emotional container stories, solidarity stories, professional epiphanies, professional affirmation stories, partnership stories, parables of persistence, tales of courageous practice and cautionary tales. Each story type foregrounds a particular aspect of child welfare practice, containing a moral about social work with vulnerable children and families. The article concludes with the implications of these stories for our understanding of both resilience and the pull towards defensiveness in child welfare social work.

Neoliberalism, austerity and social work with children and families: challenges and critical/radical possibilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Rogowski
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Welfare Provision ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk

In the UK, neoliberalism and associated austerity have dominated social work and welfare provision over the last decade. Consequences include severe financial cuts to social work with children and families, as well as public services generally, and large increases in poverty and inequality. Despite increasing numbers of people in difficulty, the social work and welfare system has become more punitive and presents ongoing threats to social work’s commitment to human rights and social justice. This article examines such developments and includes the views of practitioners. Despite the strength and depth of challenges, it argues that critical/radical possibilities remain for practitioners to work both individually with service users and collectively. Such opportunities need to be taken with a view to working towards a more just and equal society, this being a much-needed antidote to the unequal neoliberal world we currently inhabit.

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