The British Journal of Social Work

Pinkerton, John; Campbell, Jim

doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr203pmid: N/A

Ciarrochi, Joseph; Randle, Melanie; Miller, Leonie; Dolnicar, Sara

doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr052pmid: N/A

High-quality foster placements can help a foster-child to thrive and can counter some of the risk factors normally associated with being a foster-child. Unfortunately, demand for foster-carers has been outstripping supply. The present study sought to identify the characteristics of people who have high potential to become a foster-carer. A large, representative sample from the general population (544 male; 544 female; Mage = 40.8; SD = 13) completed an anonymous survey that included comprehensive measurement of demographics, personal resources (e.g. social support), personal characteristics (e.g. hope) and foster-care interest, intentions and information seeking. Analyses revealed that people who sought information about and expressed interest/intention towards foster-caring where those who had high social support from friends and were high in perspective-taking empathy, trait hope and positive problem-solving orientation. We discuss the implications of these findings for foster-care marketing and recruitment campaigns and foster-care agency practices.

Berridge, David

doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr038pmid: N/A

This article reflects on the relationship between child welfare research and policy development in England, particularly the evaluation of pilot initiatives. The illustration selected concerns the education of looked after children (‘children in care’) and the evaluation of a pilot initiative concerning the Virtual School Head—a senior council employee responsible for overseeing the education of all local looked after children. Child welfare research in England takes insufficient account of the wider theoretical literature on the policy process, which shows that the relationship between research findings and policy development is often problematic. There is an implicit view that child welfare policy is based on research evidence and this assumption holds important implications for the social sciences and for social scientists.

Crath, Rory

doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr040pmid: N/A

In an essay in Critical Social Work, Robert Fairbanks suggests that space perspectives need to be accounted for in social work practice if the profession is to procure a more nuanced understanding of the production of social relationships. Yet, Fairbanks s analysis fails to account for the problematic of a spatialised politics of belonging for racialised subjects, and for the connections between racialising practices and (neo)liberal governance on localized social-spatial relations. This paper addresses these shortcoming by accomplishing three objectives: (1) To introduce a renewed vector of space thesis by borrowing from post-colonial writings; (2) To enliven that frame by critically reading visual images produced within the context of social service agencies in Toronto. I examine how these images attempt to reorient codes of difference and belonging in relationship to the representational and material contexts in which they were produced; and (3) To provoke a Social Work response to its own animation of these theoretical precepts. I argue that client produced representations reposition a practice sight-line away from a positioning of client subjectivity as redeemable only in it s neo-liberal guise or as surplus in its democratic value, towards one that allows for an inter-subjective unfolding of identity, place and belonging.

Okoli, Rosemary C.B.; Cree, Viviene E.

doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr055pmid: N/A

There is a widespread consensus internationally, demonstrated in the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and subsequent policy documents, that children should be protected from work that is hazardous and harmful. This paper, based on doctoral research conducted with street-vending children and young people in Nigeria, argues that this approach fails to address the complex reality of children's lives in developing countries. Findings from interviews with itinerant child vendors and participant observation in markets in Enugu, Nigeria, demonstrate that vending is an essential part of children's everyday lives, organised alongside, not separate from, other areas of family life. The paper concludes that it is not helpful to impose developed-world ideas on children's lives in such a different context; the focus of attention should, it is proposed, be on finding out what children and young people think and how they might be better supported and protected within their working environments.

Beddoe, Liz; Harington, Phil

doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr035pmid: N/A

Newly graduating social workers enter a world in which they rarely encounter an expectation that they will engage in scholarly activities. When scholarly skills fall into disuse, there remains little room for reflexive considerations. This article draws on experience of academics and practitioners who participated in an innovative mentoring programme, Growing Research in Practice (GRIP), which explored the challenge of raising the research capability and confidence of groups of social workers in Auckland, New Zealand. The authors link the insights gained in this project to a developing conceptualisation of civic social work, where scholarly inquiry is a practice imperative. Qualitative data were collected via individual and group interviews, from recorded discussions, evaluations and debriefing activities, and from our own field notes. The findings indicate considerable enthusiasm for practitioner research, despite the many challenges faced, but suggest that building professional confidence requires several strategies. The collaborative process trialled in this project appears to have potential.

Roets, Griet; Roose, Rudi; Claes, Lien; Vandekinderen, Caroline; Van Hove, Geert; Vanderplasschen, Wouter

doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr037pmid: N/A

In workfare-as-welfare regimes, welfare states attempt to increase efforts to employ economically inactive individuals, such as people with chronic ‘mental health problems’, through a wide range of activation strategies. In this article, we draw upon insights obtained from a recent research project in Belgium, in which social workers are charged with managing labour market training programmes. In the project, we explored the experiences of people with ‘mental health problems’ to identify ways in which supportive tenets for people in search of employment can be constructed. We aim to transfer the Belgian experience to the British context in an analysis of the various notions and interpretations of citizenship in social practices. In the analysis, we differentiate between notions and experiences of normative and relational citizenship. In conclusion, we argue that a relational approach to citizenship enables social workers in Belgium to make use of their discretionary space to (re)negotiate the finality of employment trajectories in a flexible way. From an international perspective, we conclude that social workers are in a critical position to influence the workfare-as-welfare agenda of social policy makers.

Padyab, Mojgan; Chelak, Hassan Mousavi; Nygren, Lennart; Ghazinour, Mehdi

doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr053pmid: N/A

Client violence towards social workers is common and its impact on their practice, physical and psychological health is well documented. The majority of research in this field has emerged from the UK and USA, and is limited in developing countries such as Iran. Thus, the aim was to determine the one-year prevalence of client violence in Iran and its association with the mental health status of social workers. A national survey of 390 social workers from the Centres for Socially Injured People affiliated to the Social Affairs Department of the State Welfare Organisation, Iran, was conducted. The results showed that 67 per cent of Iranian social workers had experienced violence with a considerably higher magnitude of psychological violence than physical violence. Psychological violence was associated with poorer health characterised by physical symptoms, anxiety and sleep disorders, and social dysfunction.

Kvarnström, Susanne; Willumsen, Elisabeth; Andersson-Gäre, Boel; Hedberg, Berith

doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr049pmid: N/A

This paper reports on empirical research exploring and describing the variations in service users' conceptions of service user participation (SUP), specifically in interprofessional practice. The social work practices in which front line workers were using interprofessional teamwork were explored at three Swedish welfare institutions. Service users included individuals with chronic pain disorders, obesity conditions or in need of short-term placement in elder care facilities. The qualitative study design was informed by a phenomenographical approach and conducted as semi-structured individual interviews with twenty-two service users. The main findings suggest five qualitative variations of service user's conceptions of SUP: (i) information transmission; (ii) choices and decisions among resources; (iii) comfortable relationship and communication; (iv) interaction for increased understanding; and (v) conditions for service user participation. The findings highlight the importance for the interprofessional team of social workers and other professionals to recognise the various ways of experiencing SUP by service users. The findings thereby support the possibilities to understand and to take into consideration the individual service user's conceptions of SUP in interprofessional practice.

Arksey, Hilary; Baxter, Kate

doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr039pmid: N/A

In the last two decades, advanced welfare states have introduced ‘cash-for-care’ schemes whereby eligible individuals receive money or vouchers to purchase care rather than receive in-kind help at home. Evidence suggests that such schemes give recipients greater choice and control. In England, direct payments, individual budgets and personal budgets are different types of cash-for-care. This article reports new empirical research which takes a longitudinal perspective about the use of direct payments. Study participants were interviewed three times between 2007 and 2009. The findings are organised into six themes: journeys in and out of direct payments; on-going contact with social services; changing service user circumstances; self-development and learning through time; impact of direct payments on families; and changing relationships. The findings show that direct payments recipients need support in understanding the long-term issues that might arise, as well as on-going monitoring and advice from knowledgeable practitioners as their situations, needs and capabilities change through time. On the basis of the evidence, suggestions are made to help boost take-up rates and subsequent levels of satisfaction. The findings have implications for the future roll-out of personal budgets, since direct payments are likely to be a common form of deployment.