Suchergebnisse

The field of child welfare is distinguished by the multiplicity and variety of programs it encompasses. These develop at very different rates and are offered under many widely differing auspices, both public and private. Co-operation and communication are both feasible and desirable, but too close a co-operation has disadvantages. Attempts have been made to distinguish public and private functions. These have been attended by some success and also by some unresolved questions. The basic philosophy of the field has never been clarified, and trends toward both family-centered work and child-centered work are observable. The problem is com plicated by the too frequent assumption that children's "rights" and parents' "rights" are of the same nature and that one must choose between them. The question has implications for society, for the training of practitioners, and for practice itself. A major need in the field is the clarification at law of the rights and responsibilities of parents, children, and agencies.

The field of child welfare is distinguished by the multiplicity & variety of programs it encompasses. These develop at very diff rates & are offered under many widely differing auspices, both public & private. Co-operation & COMM are both feasible & desirable, but too close a co-operation has disadvantages. Attempts have been made to distinguish public & private functions. These have been attended by some success & also by some unresolved questions. The basic philosophy of the field has never been clarified, & trends toward both fam-centered & child-centered work are observable. The problem is complicated by the too frequent assumption that children's & parents' 'rights' are of the same nature & that one must choose between them. The question has implications for society, for the training of practitioners, & for practice itself. A major need in the field is the clarification at law of the rights & responsibilities of parents, children, & agencies. AA.

The political theory implicit in social casework theory can be defined, for purposes of this discussion, as the theory of the relationship between man and society on which professional social casework is consciously predicated, or that theory of the relationship which is logically implied by social casework practice. This theory is not often consciously articulated and we must look for it, therefore, in those presuppositions underlying casework theory which are frequently accepted uncritically, if not wholly unconsciously. This practice obviously cannot be carried on without basic (although perhaps not entirely conscious) presuppositions about what man is like and consequently about what society can or ought to do for him.The presuppositions underlying social casework theory, although important in any context, have acquired a new significance to the extent that social casework has increasingly become a government function. During the past twenty years literally millions of people in the United States have been brought into a new relationship with officials of their local, state, and national governments—namely, the relationship of client and social caseworker.