Search results

Summary
In this scoping review, we examined the available qualitative research exploring the experiences of non-relative foster carers providing out of home care for children. Qualitative articles covering the last twenty-five years were extracted from eight databases, Google Scholar and a hand search of the reference sections of identified journals. Using specified inclusion and exclusion criteria, twenty-two articles were retained for analysis. A relatively high degree of consistency was found amongst the studies from a range of countries. Five major themes were identified: Open communication of a child's needs and behaviours; Full spectrum support; Challenges; Stress; and Rewards. The Challenges theme comprised three sub-themes: Anticipating being a family, Carer bond and loss and Inherent limits of training. The themes reflected by the foster carers encompassed both stresses associated with the challenges of fostering children and personal rewards that encouraged them to begin and maintain their role as carers. The possible implications for practice and further research of the findings are discussed.

Ethical guidelines for social work generally recommend avoiding dual relationships whenever possible.This study explored perspectives from Canadian social workers in remote communities, where this may not be feasible. Dual relationships in these communities were identified as ubiquitous and inevitable. Formal decision models were often overlooked in favour of an ongoing evaluation of the therapeutic relationship, and self-care related to frequent exposure to dual and multiple relationships was identified as a concern. The role of formal education and training and professional guidelines are discussed.

The strengths perspective has not been thoroughly operationalized for use in assessment and treatment with children and their families. Clinicians working from this perspective have relied mostly on resilience theory which can limit a more complete utilization of strengths in the treatment process. This article presents a framework that is organized around domains of functioning of the child. The assessment and utilization of a wide array of strengths drawn from a child's everyday functioning are highlighted as a way to approach clinical work with children and their families. Descriptions of concrete strategies and examples of clinical questions are provided, coupled with a case example that reflects the theme of strengths in action.

This article examines the Indigenous cultural value of non-interference in North America, which is portrayed in the literature as a central influence on interpersonal interactions. The findings suggest that while Indigenous peoples prefer subtle forms of interpersonal influence that maintain respectful and nurturing relationships, non-interference is not, as sometimes portrayed, an overriding value that supplants all other considerations. This article highlights the need for cross-cultural perspectives and practices that challenge one-dimensional cultural presumptions.

Working in a rural community locates the professional in a wider social network as community members often expect more from their professionals; not only as service providers, but also as engaged members of the community. This can result in the rural social worker being highly visible both personally and professionally and it can also lead to overlapping relationships. These higher expectations can place stress on the worker in terms of maintaining accepted professional roles and a sense of professional identity. This qualitative study explores the first-hand experiences of a cross-section of service providers in more than a dozen communities within northwestern Ontario and northern Manitoba, Canada. The responses of the participants provide some insight into how rural practitioners maintain their professional identity when working within the unique demands of the rural and remote context. Recurring themes from the interviews suggest that these professionals craft their own informal decision-making processes to address intersecting roles, community gossip, and personal isolation, even while, in some cases, practicing in their home community. The findings provide greater understanding of the pressures and realities of working in small remote towns and the challenges of responding to the expectations and realities of relationships including the expectation of working with friends and family members of friends or colleagues: issues that have not been adequately studied in the literature to date.

English This study examined whether gender, ethnic group, age, years in Canada, level of education and country where educated influenced the acculturation process for Iraqi immigrants to Canada. For the 153 participants in this study, a continuing strong identification with traditional values was found to exist irrespective of differences in demographic factors. French La présente recherche s'intéresse à l'influence du genre, du groupe ethnique, de l'âge, du nombre d'années au Canada, du niveau de scolarisation et du pays dans lequel la scolarisation a été effectuée sur le processus d'acculturation vécu par les immigrants d'origine irakienne établis au Canada. Chez les 153 participants à l'étude, le maintien d'une forte identification aux valeurs traditionnelles se présente de façon indépendante des différences sociodémographiques. Spanish Se examina si el género, el grupo étnico, la edad, años en Canadá, nivel de educación, y país donde fueron educados influye en la aculturación de inmigrantes iraquíes en Canadá. Se halla que respecto a los 153 participantes en este estudio, la fuerte identificación con valores tradicionales continúa, independientemente de los factores demográficos.

Many practitioners feel a growing despair over the foundations of their knowledge—over what it is they can claim to know—and how they are supposed to use this knowledge to help rather than disempower the people they serve. This paper argues that our accountability to the people we serve will come not from efforts to prove the authority of our knowledge, but from a more reflective and dialogic engagement with our knowledge, and with the people served through it—an engagement that seeks constantly to problematize our knowing, to probe and critique it, to trace its origins and assumptions, and explore its implications, to open it to inquiry and transformation.