This is an exploratory study of the problem of clients' discontinuation in a child guidance clinic. The problem is considered first in terms of its therapeutic and administrative implications for clients and social workers. Reference is made to the professional literature which suggests the multi-causative factors which operate in a client's decision to withdraw from social work services. The problem is also related to social work prinicples and concepts. This is done to demonstrate that, by their continued efforts to understand the meaning of behaviour, to study the client in as much of his total life situation as possible, and to refine and enrich methods of family diagnosis, social workers can sharpen their diagnostic skills and their ability to select effective treatment goals. A brief discussion of the history of child guidance together with a more detailed account of the Provincial Child Guidance Clinic in North Burnaby gives a broad perspective to the problem of discontinuation. The problem is illustrated in five selected cases in which clients withdrew themselves and their children from Clinic services. The case records are examined, highlighting both dynamic patterns within the individual families and also their attitudes towards the child's problems and their Clinic experiences. These areas are thought to be significant factors relating to the parents' decisions to withdraw. Five follow-up interviews are conducted and recorded which indicate the clients' verbal reactions to the Clinic, including their conscious reasons for withdrawal. An assessment is made of the degree of Clinic help which the five families were able to employ. Common patterns are elucidated in the five cases and are designated as "withdrawal indicators". These indicators may, in the future, have prognostic value in determining which cases are likely to withdraw. The indicators are applied to six additional cases (tabulated in Appendix D). The results show that two-thirds of the indicators are present in each of the six cases. A further study is recommended in which the indicators would be applied to a larger number of discontinued cases, thus determining their reliability as predictive tools. The clients' reasons for withdrawal are discussed together with the recommendation that an additional study be done both to validate these reasons and to demonstrate new ones. In light of the findings various recommendations are made which the Clinic social work staff might implement in an attempt to decrease the rate of discontinuation. The withdrawal indicators should be recognized as forms of resistance and should be handled by the workers in early interviews. Increased skills in the areas of family diagnosis and a more discriminating system of recording will help to expedite the workers' recognition of the indicators. Also, greater skill by the workers in recognizing brief service cases, in handling reassignment, in their interpretation of the Clinic and its functions, and in their choice of words, will help to strengthen the clients' motivation to a continued Clinic contact. Recommendations are also made whereby the waiting-period, which emerges as the strongest reason for discontinuation, might be utilized as a therapeutic tool in treatment. Withdrawal must, in nearly all cases, reflect the clients' dissatisfactions with the services of the Clinic. To attain their goals for their clients, the agency, and themselves, the Clinic social workers must strive to understand and decrease the rate of discontinuation. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The first tangible indication of a provincial responsibility for dependent and neglected children in Saskatchewan was recognized by the Children's Protection Act passed in 1908. The objective of this thesis has been to collect and record the available information pertaining to the development and growth of the government department to which the responsibility for dependent and neglected children was assigned. The project has been limited to specific branches of child welfare, services to children in their own homes, services to unmarried parents, ward care, and adoptions. Juvenile delinquency, another function of the government agency, has not been included. The material used in the study included provincial statutes, annual reports (those for the years 1920, 1921, 1922, 1933, and 1934 are missing), and publicized information supplemented by interviews with agency personnel. The study was not intended as a legislative analysis. The aim has been to present the actual practices and standards of service offered by the public agency to the children in need of protection. Planning for the child welfare services in Saskatchewan was patterned in the first place after the organization existing in Ontario. Through the years there have been modifications to accommodate that pattern to the needs of a scattered rural population. Saskatchewan has looked to the longer established agencies for inspiration and the benefit of their experience in the field of child welfare. New programs have been added commensurate with similar advancements in other Canadian provinces. During the past five years the public agency in Saskatchewan has taken more initiative, and now accepts responsibilities for children greater, perhaps, than those assumed in any other Canadian province. These efforts have aroused a new interest in the program and won a place for Saskatchewan as a pioneer in the field of child welfare. The study reflects, as always, the conflict between the awareness of sound child welfare standards and the difficulties of finance and personnel so necessary to put those standards into effect. The prolonged depression of the 1930's, perhaps, did more than any other factor to emphasize the need for social security measures to counteract the vulnerability of the Saskatchewan people to the agricultural economy. The new period in child welfare is characterized particularly by the increasing emphasis upon a casework approach in all fields of welfare. It is hoped that the collection, co-ordination, and recording of the history of the Child Welfare Branch will be of value to the agency involved in future evaluations of the services provided to children in the light of past experience. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study is concerned with the problem of obtaining maintenance payments from putative fathers for the support of children born out of wedlock. The essential material is derived from a group of cases chosen to compare the methods of maintenance collections which have evolved in practice under the Children of Unmarried Parents Act, namely, affiliation orders, agreements, and lump-sum settlements. Analysis of a group of affiliation-order cases shows that the necessity of court action to prove paternity and make an affiliation order for maintenance is evidence of a maladjustment in the social situation. Agreements are a desirable method for the support of a child over a sixteen-year period, provided it is judged that the putative father is willing to share responsibility for the care of the child over a long-term period. On the other hand, the experience of lump-sum settlements suggests that they have several advantages. When these cases are properly handled, the unmarried father may be relieved of his obligation, particularly if he has legitimate family responsibilities; this solution assures the child a definite sum of money and breaks emotional ties of the kind which may be often upsetting to the girl and prejudicial to the putative father. The question arises as to how children born out of wedlock will be supported if orders, agreements, and settlements are not always satisfactory methods. An invariable situation is that putative fathers tend to have comparatively low incomes so that they provide only small regular payments; also settlements may not be sufficiently large enough to be acceptable to the unmarried mother. Relevant cases show that it is destructive to make an affiliation order or an agreement against a putative father when he is unable to pay because of unemployment or unwillingness; moreover, it is also destructive to make an order or an agreement for an amount beyond his financial and emotional ability to pay. The study suggests, in these cases: Social Allowance for the unmarried mother and the child, or a fund to supplement the mother's earnings and to bridge the periods when the man is unable to pay. Social work must play an important role in adequate treatment of unmarried parent cases. Putative fathers should be treated as individuals who require the skill of case workers in order to solve their conflicts involved in providing maintenance. The study points up the need for more professional personnel who are capable of handling unmarried parent cases,— also a need for a much broader perspective on the whole program. Hopefully this thesis may clarify the newer philosophy that forcing maintenance collections from putative fathers affords little protection to children born out of wedlock. It is through case work and understanding that a putative father will willingly share responsibility with the unmarried mother in the protection and care of the child. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The accompanying thesis, written as part of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Social Work, and entitled "THE SOCIAL WORKER IN THE SCHOOL - An Experimental Study of the Liaison and Service Functions of the Social Worker in a Vancouver Elementary School", is primarily concerned to establish a case for the integration of the Social fork and Education professions through the appointment of School Social Workers. Based, for its practical aspects, on a ten-week experiment in a Vancouver Elementary School, it discusses the child problems encountered and the problems of relationship with other school personnel, with, parents, and with the other professions and community agencies involved. The theoretical aspects include an analysis of educational trends to indicate the extent to which the inclusion of social work principles and techniques are a logical, as well as a socially desirable, next step. It is also pointed out that the school occupies an unrivalled, strategic position for the early detection of emotional disturbances and social maladjustments. The role of the School Social Worker is described in its historical development and some attention given to the training and personal qualifications desirable for the efficient performance of this function. The administrative problem is also discussed, some practical proposals, applicable to the Vancouver situation, being offered. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study traces the development of the Protection of Children Acts in British Columbia from the first Act in 1901 to the present day. The original legislation was modelled on the Ontario Protection Act, but various amendments have been added since, which have been influenced by British Columbia conditions. The basic purpose of the Act was to give authority to Children's Aid Societies to commit children as wards of the government; the study traces the increased participation of the provincial government in financing these societies. In order to give a detailed description of the changes that have taken place, Statutes, annual reports of the Children's Aid Society of Vancouver, annual reports of the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Vancouver, annual reports of the Superintendent of Child Welfare and other documents and reports have been studied. Information was also secured from interviews with people connected with the administration of this Act. The development is conveniently divided into periods. The first, (1901-1920), covers the period from administration under the Children's Aid Societies to the appointment of the Superintendent of Neglected Children for the province. The second, (1921-1943), traces the reorganization of the Children's Aid Society of Vancouver and the expansion of services to children by the provincial government. In the present stage, (1943-1949), developments are reviewed in terms of greater expansion of services. Changes in views on child care are revealed by the study. At first, the prevalent doctrine was that orphans and other children in need of protection should be placed in a Home. Later, emphasis was placed on foster-homes instead of institutions. As examples in the thesis show, modern practice recognizes there is a place for institutional care as well as foster-home care for wards end non wards. The importance of understanding the needs of the child and the type of care that is best for a specific child is discussed in some detail. The role of the social worker is emphasized. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This two-study dissertation aimed to develop a comprehensive understanding of mental health need identification, service referral process, availability of services, and type of mental health services in Ontario for children who have experienced maltreatment with a specific focus on childhood sexual abuse (CSA). The first study was descriptive and involved an email questionnaire completed by Directors of Service in each of the 53 Ontario Children’s Aid Societies (CAS). While the primary purpose of study 1 was to inform the sample for study 2, it also provided information about the identification of mental health needs and the referral process to mental health services for children who have experienced maltreatment. Based on the finding that the majority of mental health service referrals are made to community-based psychologists (80%), study 2 was designed to assess the availability, type, and empirical support of treatments provided by Ontario psychologists and psychological associates to children who have experienced CSA. Through the first provincial census of child and adolescent psychology clinicians registered with the College of Psychologists of Ontario, this study addressed the following questions: (1) What are the demographic, work setting, and treatment provision characteristics of these clinicians? (2) Within this population, what is the proportion and distribution of clinicians who provide treatment to children who have experienced CSA?; (3) To what extent do these treatment services map onto empirically-supported treatments (ESTs) for children who have experienced CSA?; and (4) How do clinicians’ demographic, work setting, treatment provision characteristics, and attitudes toward ESTs predict their approach to intervention? Results indicated that clinicians who worked with children who have experienced CSA differed significantly from other clinicians in terms of age, work setting, self-reported theoretical orientation, and clients’ primary presenting problems. Moreover, clinician age, self-reported theoretical orientation, time devoted to clinical training activities, and general attitudes toward ESTs predicted the use of ESTs among clinicians who work with children who have experienced CSA. Limitations and implications for future research are addressed within each study.

Resilience is defined as positive adaptation and functioning following exposure to significant risk or adversity (e.g., maltreatment). It is an important topic of investigation in child welfare due to the number of children with such adverse life experiences. While the definition of positive adaptation varies in the literature, maltreatment researchers often define it in terms of the low frequency of behavioural problems, with the consideration that resilience in a child may be fluid across domains of functioning and/or across time. The current dissertation examined resilience among maltreated school-age children living in out-of-home care through three interrelated studies. The first examined multilevel correlates of behavioural resilience among a sample of 5 to 9 year old children living in out-of-home care. The second used developmental trajectory modeling to examine behavioural functioning across time among a sample of school-age children living in out-of-home care (with a particular focus on trajectories of resilience), and the third used semi-structured interviews to gain the often-neglected perspectives on resilience of child welfare workers. Findings across all three studies revealed several factors within various levels of the ecological model that contribute to resilience, including child internal developmental assets and relationships and social support. Furthermore, findings teased apart the distal impact of child welfare workers and agencies. The current dissertation contributes to the existing literature by informing researchers and professionals working within the child welfare sector about the factors that are important for promoting resilience among vulnerable children in out-of-home care with the aim of improving the well-being of this population.

This research project concerns itself primarily with the social worker and his perceptions of child neglect and abuse. It is based on the premise that a meaningful study of neglect and abuse on a wider scale should be preceded by studies seeking to arrive at a more accurate definition of the problem. A comprehensive review of the literature focused on the stage which identifies the problem and the initial referral of neglect and abuse to a protective unit or agency. This review is found in chapter two and covers the areas of definitions, referral information, agency working relationships, family functioning of neglectful or abusive families, classifications of neglect and abuse, incidence and prevalence of the same, and worker decision making that results in a referral becoming a protective case. After reviewing each of these areas a critique was written. A measuring instrument was developed, drawing from prior studies done by Billingsley and Young, in the form of a questionnaire to test social workers' perception of neglect and abuse. A pretest was given to one hundred and thirty-two social workers in the Child Welfare field throughout the province of British Columbia. Respondents from fourteen offices in the Department of Social Welfare - all in different geographical locations, as well as the Vancouver Children's Aid Society, answered the questionnaire. Thus the data was obtained from a wide cross section of social workers presently working in the field of Child Welfare. The main hypothesis of the study, that there are differences in workers' perception of neglect and abuse was found to be valid. This research project did prove to be fruitful in making a start in obtaining data that gives clues as to how workers in the field do perceive neglect and abuse. It could also act as a stimulus for further research projects using some of the data from the questionnaires that was not included in this study and moving on to new research projects which focus on one aspect of the present study and examine it in more depth. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

ABSTRACT How as a new worker could I have become better prepared by my education for child welfare work? What have other new workers experienced through their education that helped prepare them or hindered them? Lastly what are some creative ideas to better prepare new workers, specifically social workers, for the reality of working in child protection? These questions formed the focus of this study, which includes a literature review on new worker readiness and findings from qualitative interviews with new workers which utilizes an insider perspective towards data analysis. The participants in this research had varying experiences as new workers, however similar themes emerged. New workers struggled with power and experienced feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. New workers had difficulty transferring theoretical knowledge from their education into practice and did not feel prepared for the reality of child welfare work. Participants also described how they internalized conflict and the stress of the job. They suggested ways of coping including supportive supervision and a collaborative team environment. Increasing new workers’ confidence was also seen as key to prepare new workers for a child protection position. This research was conducted through a partnership with my fellow MSW researcher Julie Huynh-Lauesen, who coauthored the literature review and conducted a similar, yet separate research study with child welfare managers. Both studies were then compared and contrasted for discussion and future purposes. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Child protection workers, who are often graduates of schools of social work, are the frontline professionals who are charged with making determinations about the safety of children, and developing interventions to address these safety concerns. Determining the safety of children is an extremely difficult process due to the complexity of the issues that may exist in any one situation, including the impact of social problems, the complexity of human behaviour, and the need to predict future actions and consequences. On top of these challenges, child protection workers are subject to strict reporting and practice requirements imposed by the government and are required to provide a service mandated by legislation and funded by taxpayers. Given such responsibilities and constraints how does a person get prepared to work in the field of child welfare? The purpose of this research was to explore what child welfare managers think prepares new BSW graduates to enter into the field of child welfare. In particular, how well are BSW graduates currently prepared? Is there a need to improve preparedness, and if so, what could be done to achieve this? Literature provided key but contradictory perspectives in the debate around the preparedness of new workers. However, it is recognized that a partnership between education and child welfare could have beneficial effect on preparedness. Using the approaches of Interpretive Social Science and Critical Social Science, this qualitative research study was designed using semi-structured interviews to generate the data. Data was interpreted and analyzed through the techniques of coding and memo-writing from Grounded Theory. A colleague conducted a separate study of new workers which provided an opportunity to compare and contrast managers perspectives with those of new workers leading to a clearer understanding of preparedness. Overall, new workers are deemed to be prepared in terms of having the knowledge base that is needed to start working in child welfare. However, child welfare managers believe more learning opportunities need to be built into school programs that focus on applying theory to practice, child welfare specific knowledge, and understanding the complexity of mandated work. Field placements in child welfare settings, are considered to be valuable in preparing students prior to employment. Child welfare managers believe that an alliance between education and the field could optimize the readiness of new workers so as to ensure quality service for families in our community. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)