This study applied Ethnographic Decision Tree Modeling (Gladwin, 1989) to the field of child abuse reporting to investigate the factors that influence decisions to report possible child abuse. Participants were licensed psychologists in the lower mainland of British Columbia. Using ethnographic interviews, participants were asked to discuss a recent case in which they reported possible child abuse and the factors that were influential in their decision making. Based on the data from 34 cases, six factors were identified: (1) Were there any signs of or risk factors for child abuse or neglect? (2) Did the signs or risk factors meet your threshold to report as you understand the law? (3) Was there some other value to report other than a legal one? (4) Were you concerned that reporting would cause harm? (5) Were you able to minimize the harm that would result from reporting? and (6) Did the reasons to report outweigh the reasons to not report? These six factors were presented in a decision tree to illustrate the relationship between factors and decision outcome. This preliminary group model was then tested using the case experiences of a separate yet similar group of registered psychologists in British Columbia. Results found that the preliminary model accurately predicted the reporting outcome of 93% (33 of 36) of the cases in the new sample. Errors in the model were identified, and suggestions were made to improve its predictive ability. The results are evaluated in light of the decision tree produced. Implications for theory building, naturalistic inquiry, clinical practice, policy, and future research are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

”Barnets rätt att bli hörd gäller alla barn. ... Men det räcker inte att endast lyssna på barnet. När barnet har förmåga att bilda sig en egen uppfattning måste barnets åsikter dessutom tillmätas betydelse.” (Barnombudsmannen, 2021). Syftet med studien är att undersöka samt öka kunskapen om vilka förutsättningar barn får för delaktighet. Det har genomförts kvalitativa semi-strukturerade intervjuer med åtta socialsekreterare för att undersöka hur socialsekreterare arbetar med samt tillämpar barns delaktighet i socialtjänstens barnavårdsutredningar. Respondenterna har berättat om sin förståelse av barns delaktighet, hur de arbetar med barnsamtal, hur beslutsunderlag utformas utifrån barns berättelser och om utmaningar med att göra barn delaktiga i utredningar. Materialet har analyserats i en tematisk analys utifrån barndomssociologin och Harts delaktighetsstege. Resultat visar att det krävs ytterligare arbete för att barn ska bli hörda inom socialtjänsten men att det inte är den enskilda socialsekreteraren som bär ansvaret för förändring. Det finns behov av en strukturell och organisatorisk förändring inom det sociala arbetets praktik för att barn inte endast ska ges förutsättningar att höras men också bli hörda inom socialtjänsten. / ”A child’s right to be heard applies to all children. … But it is not enough to just listen to the child. When a child has the ability to form his or her own opinion, the child’s opinions must also be given importance.” (Barnombudsmannen, 2021). The aim of this study is to investigate and increase knowledge about the conditions for children’s participation. Qualitative semi-structured interviews have been conducted with eight social service workers, to investigate how they work with and apply the principle of children’s’ participation in the social services’ child welfare investigations. The respondents have been interviewed about their understanding of children’s participation, how they work with individual conversations with children, how decision basis is designed based on children’s stories and about challenges in involving children in investigations. The material has been analyzed in a thematic analysis based on childhood sociology and Hart’s ladder of children’s participation. Results show that further work is required for children to be heard in the social services, but that it is not the individual social service workers’ who are responsible for a change. There is a need for structural and organizational change in the practice of social work so that children are not only given the conditions to be listened to, but also to be heard in the social services.

No description available.

The implications of extensive organizational turnover and the subsequent challenge of retaining child welfare social workers have been highlighted as problematic in Sweden. For that reason, child welfare social workers experiences of organizational turnover in their work life and subsequent intentions to remain in or leave the job are explored. This dissertation comprises of qualitative semi-structured interviews with eight (8) child welfare social workers working in different municipalities across Sweden. Collegial social support, making a difference in children’s lives, regular supervision, salary and several organizational incentives such as flexitime, wellness allowance implemented by the organization appeared as factors for child welfare social workers’intention to stay. Discernment of irregular supervision, not being able to make a difference; as a result of the crisis nature of the job, lack of time caused by high caseload, access to crucial resources and management prioritizing financial gain rather than children’s needs, physical (e.g., high blood pressure) and emotional health (e.g.,emotional exhaustion), and lack of salary proportional to their task are factors for their intention to leave. Negative impacts on novice practitioners (e.g., lack of proper induction), caseload size impacting investigation processing time frame negatively, diminished quality (e.g., mismatched interventions), and being directly or indirectly coerced to take cases were perceived as implications of extensive organizationalturnover.

The purpose of this study was to measure whether or not a child welfare worker's education has an effect on their client's outcomes. It compares master's degree in social work caseworkers' rates of family reunification and the length of time children on their caseload spend in foster care to those of child welfare workers who do not have an MSW. This study sought to address this gap in the current literature by analyzing available case data from a public child welfare agency in a Southern California county.

No description available.

South African child and youth care programmes have been challenged to transform to address the needs of vulnerable and/or orphaned young people affected and/or infected by HIV/AIDS. The Isibindi programme was designed by the National Association of Child Care Workers to respond to this challenge to provide viable community child and youth care programmes. Supervision of staff plays a critical part in child and youth care programmes. This study explores the model of supervision being implemented in the Isibindi programme, identifies the elements of this model and stipulates which of these need to be strengthened for effective and efficient services. The research findings indicate that the Isibindi model of supervision reflects the practice of child and youth care services being delivered in the programme. Common child and youth care elements were identified as being essential to the efficient delivery of this model of supervision. / Health Studies / (M. Tech. (Child and Youth Care))

Ng Chor-kong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-171). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1: --- "Introduction: The reappraisal of the possibilities and constraints of the ""autonomous mothering""" --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- "Encapsulating subjectivity: Understanding mothering through the ""subjectivistic"" coping strategy" --- p.37 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Reflection of self: Anxiety in coming to terms with lives on welfare --- p.76 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- Problematization of self: Anxiety of interacting with the welfare agency --- p.105 / Chapter Chapter 5: --- Recognition of self: Active subjects passively resisting marginalization --- p.122 / Chapter Chapter 6: --- Conclusion: Subjectification of self through practice --- p.153 / Bibliography --- p.163

The purpose of this study was to understand the levels of competence that master's level social work students have in regard to the issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender foster youth.

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the current practice of and barriers specific to recruiting Native American foster homes in urban areas. The literature review suggested that historical, cultural, and bureaucratic barriers to recruitment existed. The study used a qualitative, exploratory design. The data was obtained from in-depth interviews with 10 individuals whose job it is or has been to recruit Native American foster homes. The participants were employed with either a foster family agency, county child welfare agency, or a supporting organization servicing Los Angeles County and/or the San Francisco Bay Area. The interviews were conducted using a semi- structured interview guide designed by the researchers. The findings suggest that the recruitment of Native American foster families is hampered by: expense/lack of financial support, Resource Family Approval, understated deficiency and need, Native American recruitment not prioritized, bias and judgement, vulnerability and the value of privacy, distrust of government, lack of cultural awareness, absence of connection to the community, and tribal enrollment of caregiver. The research also identified proactive efforts by individuals and agencies to specifically recruit Native American foster homes. The results from this study have implications for social work practice related to the recruitment and retention of Native American foster homes.