Suchergebnisse

[Is there something distinct about the way in which social workers develop, analyse and apply certain knowledge to their day-to-day practice? One critical area of social work knowledge variously referred to as 'social problems', 'social welfare problems' or 'disadvantage' could be usefully subjected to more systematic analysis. Two approa ches to this task are discussed: the first built around the concept of social welfare problems; the second around disadvantage. The framework which uses the concept of disadvantage represents some refinement for this analytical task for social work practice by giving greater prominence to its central purposes, guiding values and basic action modes].

Since 2010 the United Kingdom has witnessed a number of initiatives that shift away from reliance on performance management to improve social work with children and families, towards a renewed interest in practice models. This study reports on the evaluation of a local government programme in England to introduce and embed systemic family practice through the roll out of intensive training to social workers and frontline managers. It was anticipated through the programme that child protection social workers would undertake more direct work with families and build more positive relationships, resulting in a fall in the number of child protection plans and children experiencing repeat periods of care. The evaluation adopted a mixed method approach encompassing an online survey of social workers, interviews with team managers and family members, a case audit and statistical analysis of local level metrics. It found limited employment of systemic family practice or improvement due to the programme. Adopting the 7 S framework, this study examines the barriers to and facilitators of successful change and identifies generic considerations for change programmes in child protection social work.

• Summary: Specialization in social work practice is increasing in many countries at the same time as textbooks argue for generalist practice. Is there any empirical evidence for one or the other of these approaches? This article discusses generalist and specialist practice, theoretically as well as empirically, by presenting a study of a personal social services organization in Sweden. • Findings: The article demonstrates advantages as well as disadvantages of specialization for clients and social workers, and concludes that it is the work with clients within the personal social services which, to a large extent, demands that the social worker is a generalist. An outline structure for an alternative personal social services organization is postulated. • Applications: It is argued that the alternative structure could 1) satisfy the need for generalist and specialist competence respectively, and 2) facilitate harmony between social workers' professional needs and administrative requirements for management and resource allocation.

Findings are reported from an initial evaluation of a new multidimensional assessment tool, the Multi-Problem Screening Inventory (MPSI). The inventory gathers information on 27 different areas of personal and social functioning and is designed for use by human service practitioners in a variety of settings. Basic guidelines for using the instrument are detailed, with emphasis given to the preparation and interpretation of graphic profiles for rapid but comprehensive client assessments. Reliabilities and validities obtained for each of the subscales are then reviewed, along with suggestions for further development and use of the MPSI in clinical trials and research applications.