Current statistics show an alarming number of children entering the South African children’s court system annually. Yet little to no research has been conducted involving children who actually attend children’s court within the South African context, specifically since the promulgation of the new Children’s Act 38 of 2005. Consequently, very little knowledge regarding these children’s experiences and where the court system may be failing them exists. Statutory intervention with children in the middle-childhood phase is based on the premise that such intervention is in the best interest of the child. The process begins with the assignment of a social worker who is tasked with conducting a comprehensive investigation into the child’s life. Once this investigation has been finalised, the child and all relevant parties will attend children’s court where a final decision will be made regarding the child’s future care. The question arises how children experience children’s court procedures and whether there are areas where improvement would be warranted, especially since heavy caseloads often result in postponements which could exacerbate any negative experiences. With a view to gaining insight into middle-childhood children’s experience of children’s court procedures, the researcher conducted a qualitative, applied study using a collective case study design. Two literature studies form the knowledge base of the study, where the first explores the various areas of development in middle childhood and the second the children’s court process, with specific reference to the relevant legislation and polices underlying this process. In-depth interviews with nine children in the middle-childhood phase who had been exposed to children’s court procedures allowed the researcher to gather data from the children’s perspectives, rather than from the perspective of professionals as is the case in the majority of other studies. This empirical study contributed to the knowledge base by providing evidence that children are not by any means adequately prepared for children’s court and do not meaningfully participate in the process. Furthermore, empirical evidence revealed that children in middle childhood often associate negative emotions – notably fear, sadness and anger – with children’s court procedures. From this empirical study, it was concluded that social workers need to take responsibility for ensuring that children are comprehensively prepared for court procedures. Furthermore, steps need to be taken to enhance children’s level of participation throughout the entire process. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmchunu2014 / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

The goal of the study was to explore the perceptions of social workers regarding their role in aftercare and reintegration towards substance-dependent persons. The research was about the quest to unlock the perceptions that social workers, both in the employ of the Gauteng Department of Social Development and SANCA, have about their role in aftercare and reintegration services. Hence, the research approach followed was qualitative. Due to the nature of the study, the researcher used focus group interviews for data collection. An interview schedule, with guiding questions, was prepared in advance. The research also aimed to make comparisons between the Gauteng Department of Social Development and SANCA findings. Consequently, two focus group interviews were conducted for Gauteng Department of Social Development and SANCA, respectively. The findings from the two focus groups conducted were packaged in three sections, namely, findings from Gauteng Department of Social Development, from SANCA Eersterust and the combined data. The key findings from the Gauteng Department of Social Development were that aftercare services were viewed as motivation of clients and providing emotional support. The causes of substance abuse relapse were due to a lack of support, boredom and stigma. There was limited knowledge amongst social workers on how relevant legislation and policies link up with aftercare and reintegration services. There was a lack of manuals or guidelines on how aftercare and reintegration services should be rendered, and lastly, there was a view from social workers that the Department of Social Development should play a leading role on issues of aftercare and reintegration services. The key findings from SANCA were that aftercare and reintegration services were more about a holistic approach. The causes of substance abuse relapse were mainly about triggers and lack of social infrastructure. The stumbling blocks for effective aftercare and reintegration services were part of an external locus of control, shortage of skills development centres and inadequate services in treatment centres. Aftercare and reintegration services should include assessment, support groups for clients and families, skills development programmes and referrals. Lastly, the role of social workers when it came to aftercare and reintegration services included case management and support. The role of the social workers both from the Gauteng Department of Social Development and SANCA according to the participating social workers were as follows: resource management, therapy, empowerment, case management and support. Recommendations were made for effective aftercare and reintegration services and for future research. The recommendations for effective aftercare and reintegration services were: (1) aftercare and reintegration services should include in their programmes sessions and activities on emotional support and motivation; (2) the holistic approach should be adopted when rendering aftercare and reintegration services to substance-dependent persons; (3) the Department of Social Development should take the lead on issues of aftercare and reintegration services and should be supported by NGOs; (4) social workers were best located and more effective as case managers for substance abuse and aftercare and reintegration services in particular; (5) specialisation of social workers in the field of substance abuse was recommended; (6) there was a need for workshops for social workers in the substance abuse field to be trained about relevant policy and legislation in the sector; (7) there was a need for a manual from the Gauteng Department of Social Development and SANCA which should sketch out the process and procedures of rendering aftercare and reintegration services to recovering substance-dependent persons. The recommendations for future research were that this study was based on social workers from the Gauteng Department of Social Development and social workers from SANCA within the jurisdiction of the Tshwane area. It was recommended that a study be conducted in other areas of South Africa to make comparisons of the data. It was established that there were various legislation and policies which deal with issues of aftercare and reintegration services. There was however, a need to determine whether such legislation and policy were in line with the needs of the substance dependent people. Lastly, it was also recommended that there should be more scientific enquiry on issues of aftercare and reintegration services in substance-dependent persons in South Africa. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmchunu2014 / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Thesis advisor: Mary E. Walsh / Non-academic factors significantly impact the achievement of students living in poverty (Ladd, 2012; Rothstein, 2010), with experts arguing for a systemic approach to address the complex factors associated with the growing opportunity gap (Bryk et al., 2010; Walsh & Murphy, 2003). In response, the integrated student support (ISS) model has emerged as one effective school-based method (Moore et al., 2017). Notably, both school social workers (SSWs) and school counselors are uniquely positioned to implement ISS models (Olsen, 2016; Teasley & Richard, 2017). School social work reflects a history of working primarily within the family and mental health domains, utilizing community partnerships to deliver intensive interventions to individual, at-risk students (Kelly et al., 2015a). Meanwhile, school counseling reflects a history of emphasizing the academic and social-emotional domains, utilizing individual, whole-school prevention and early intervention (Galassi & Akos, 2012). There is, however, little research on how these distinct professional histories influence systemic intervention implementation. Sequential explanatory mixed methods analyses examined how SSWs and school counselors implemented one systemic ISS model, City Connects, in high-poverty urban schools. Quantitative analyses examined the developmental domain (academic, mental health, family), intensity level (prevention/early, intensive intervention), and provider (school, community, Coordinator) of service referrals to determine differences depending on profession, while controlling for years of practice with City Connects and number of students served. Qualitative analyses bolstered quantitative findings. Post-hoc quantitative analyses further explored outcomes. Findings revealed no differences between school social workers’ and school counselors’ referrals across developmental domains, intensity levels, and service providers, irrespective of the number of years of practice and number of students served. Both professions believed the City Connects model increased the range of their responsibilities, impact on students, and satisfaction compared to their previous, more traditional roles. SSWs reported spending more time supporting families than school counselors in post-hoc analyses. Codified models of practice, like City Connects, may reduce potential practice differences associated with profession, develop and shift professional dispositions, encourage mindset shifts, and increase perceptions of increased impact and satisfaction. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

In the last decade the Italian authorities have tried to adapt themselves to a united European asylum system, in the European Union, through the adoption of legal reforms, intended to improve the conditions of asylum seekers in Italy. Despite these reforms, asylum seekers and refugee’s living conditions are far from covered. The aim of this study is to explore the different functions of social work in the Italian reception process regarding unaccompanied minors and their implications on the wellbeing of the unaccompanied minors. This study was conducted through several interviews with both social workers, which in some way worked with unaccompanied minors, and the unaccompanied minors themselves. This study shows that social workers emphasize the lack of resources, knowledge and the incompleteness of the asylum laws in Italy. This causes great problems that jeopardize the quality and possibilities of social work. The unaccompanied minors on the other hand emphasized the importance of school and the existence of sports in their life as primary means of integration to the new society. From the social workers accounts it becomes clear that large parts of the Italian migration system needs improvement and that the current laws and regulations are not applied all over Italy due to the lack of economic resources and overall knowledge in the matter, all over the country. Even if there is lot to desire, both workers and minors we have interviewed have expressed that there are many aspects that do work.

This thesis deals with gender differences in social work. Specifically, it focuses on gender differences in social workers in dealing with life situations of clients in social work. At work, there are differences between men and women in everyday life, which is reflected in the work area. There are also mentioned gender prejudices focused on social work. To complement the professional literature I use in this thesis research survey. For that I use qualitative data collection techniques based on semi-structured interview. The sample is divided into social men workers and social women workers from an unnamed city in the South Region. The intention in the sample is to get interviews from both, men and women social workers, from organizations and institutions focusing on different target groups. The aim is to describe the disparity in the attitude of social workers in dealing with life situation in terms of gender aspect.

Trots många års larmande av den rådande arbetsmiljön för socialarbetare har inte kommunerna agerat tillräckligt, vilket har lett till svårigheter att rekrytera och få personal att stanna kvar i socialtjänsten. Detta har bidragit till att konsulter inom socialtjänsten har ökat markant de senaste åren. Den här studien handlar om konsulters erfarenheter av sina nya arbetsvillkor då de valt att stanna kvar och arbeta i socialtjänsten inom Individ- och familjeomsorg (IFO). Syftet med studien är att öka kunskapen om vilka positiva och negativa faktorer som konsulter erfar med sina villkor i sitt arbete. Vi har utgått från en kvalitativ design och gjort semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex konsulter. De teoretiska analysverktyg vi använt oss av är rollteori, organisationsteori samt push-and-pull modellen. Dessa analysverktyg ger olika synvinklar på konsulters villkor inom IFO och lyfter fram olika faktorer i deras arbetsvillkor samt förklarar hur det är att stå utanför socialtjänsten som organisation samtidigt som de arbetar i den. I studien har vi kommit fram till att konsulternas förändring ger både positiva och negativa erfarenheter i deras arbetsvillkor som konsulter i IFO. Positiva faktorer som konsulterna erfor i sina arbetsvillkor var: Den ökade lönen, tidsbegränsningen i uppdraget, den minskade tid för antalet obligatoriska möten som genererade i ökad tid till klientarbete. De erfor mer självständighet och personlig utveckling. Det dubbla chefskapet från arbetsplatsen och konsultbolaget kunde upplevas positivt med exempelvis uppskattning och stöd i gränssättning av arbetsmängden från konsultchefen. De negativa faktorerna som konsulterna kunde uppleva i deras arbetsvillkor var ensamarbete och för höga förväntningar på prestation samt att konsulterna fick en mindre påverkningsmöjligheter i organisationen. Vi tolkade även att det kunde bli en större anpassning från konsulten till hur chefen vill att arbetet ska utföras. / Despite many years of alarming environment within the current workplace of social workers the municipalities have still not acted accordingly, which have caused hardship in recruiting as well as keeping people in the social services. This has also lead towards a large growth of consultants within the social services under the last few years. This study is about consultant’s experiences of their new work conditions when they have chosen to stay within the Individual- and family care sector (IFO). The purpose of the study is to further increase the knowledge of which negative and positive aspects consultants experience within their work conditions. We have worked with a qualitative design and made semiconstructed interviews with six different consultants. The theoretical analysis tools we have used during this study is roll theory, organization theory and the push-and-pull model. These analysis tools give different viewpoints of consultant’s conditions within IFO and brings forward the factors in these conditions, as well as describes how it can be to stand on the outside of the social services as an organization but at the same time work in it. We have concluded that these changes have caused both positive and negative experiences in consultants work conditions within the IFO. The positive factors that the consultants described were: Increased pay, limits in the assignment, the reduced time for obligatory meetings which resulted in more time for client based work as well as feeling more of a personal development. Having two employers was described as being positive with examples as appreciation and support in setting limits for a reasonable amount of work from the consulting firm. The negative aspects we found that the consultants could experience was feelings of working alone and expectations on high performance as well as having less influence in the organization overall. We concluded that the consultant was more influenced by their employers in how their work should be performed.   Keyword: consultant, social worker, profession, social service, roll theory, organisation theory, push-and-pull-model.

The diploma thesis is focused on the main activities of the social workers at the hospitals in Prague, the regional hospitals, and one former district hospital. Within the theoretical section of the abstract there are clearly defined fundamental concepts of social work in health care and its historical transformation. The chapters consist of four sections: ethics code, the quality of social work at the hospital, valid legislation, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration within the hospital. The theoretical part focuses on job description, competencies, skills or personality characteristics of the social worker in the hospital. The last section describes social work in the hospitals by different target groups with whom the social workers can come into contact. The empirical part of this diploma thesis is acquired by the semistructured interviews. The main research question tries to find out the role of the social worker at the hospital. The research targets three surveyed areas: The first examines the qualification skills of the social worker at the hospital. The second refers to the job description of the social worker at the hospital's core business activities. The last part of the research is dedicated to interdisciplinary collaboration among hospital staff. The discussion consists of compared...

The working environment in social services has long been talked about. Recently, the working environment of child case workers has been in particular focus on the basis that it is difficult to retain and recruit new staff for this profession. Previous research shows that the work environment affects the child case worker's well-being and job satisfaction. Previous research also shows that the work environment can affect confidence in one's own ability to handle different parts of the professional role. This study aims to investigate whether there is any relationship between psychosocial work environment, work-related self-efficacy and social self-efficacy. The study has been conducted through a quantitative research method using a web-based survey. The survey was emailed to 144 municipalities, out of which 28 municipalities and 116 child case workers chose to participate in the study. In the survey, several scales have been used to measure work-related self-efficacy, social self-efficacy and the psychosocial work environment. The study has 116 participants, of which women made up a majority of the sample (n=108). The result shows that the degree of social self-efficacy has a connection with the psychosocial work environment. Degree of work-related self-efficacy has a positive relationship with work experience. One of the conclusions drawn from the study is that years in the profession have a correlation with the degree of work-related self-efficacy. This means that the more years child case workers have in their professional role, the higher the degree of work-related self-efficacy they estimate. Keywords: Self-efficacy, social worker, work environment, child welfare and social worker within child welfare. / Arbetsmiljön inom socialtjänsten har länge varit omtalad. På senare tid har barnhandläggares arbetsmiljö varit i särskilt fokus utifrån att det är svårt att bibehålla och rekrytera ny personal till yrkesrollen. Tidigare forskning visar att arbetsmiljön påverkar barnhandläggarens mående samt trivsel på arbetsplatsen. Tidigare forskning visar även att arbetsmiljön kan påverka tilltron till den egna förmågan att hantera olika delar av yrkesrollen. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka om det finns något samband mellan arbetsmiljö, arbetsrelaterad och social self-efficacy. Studien har genomförts med en kvantitativ forskningsmetod med hjälp av en webbaserad enkät. Enkäten mailades ut till 144 kommuner varav 28 kommuner och 116 barnhandläggare valde att delta i studien. I enkäten har flertal skalor använts för att mäta arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy, social self-efficacy och den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. Studien har 116 deltagare, varav kvinnor utgjorde en majoritet av urvalet (n=108). Resultatet visar att grad av social self-efficacy har ett samband med den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. Grad av arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy har ett positivt samband med arbetslivserfarenhet. En av slutsatserna som dras av studien är att år inom yrket har en korrelation med grad av arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy. Detta innebär att desto fler år barnhandläggare har i yrkesrollen desto högre grad av arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy skattar de. Nyckelord: Self-efficacy, barnavårdsutredningar, socialtjänsten, arbetsmiljö samt socialsekreterare.

The aim of this study is to highlight and gain an increased understanding of the stigma that can occur while growing up without a correct diagnosis. Furthermore, the study aims to increase understanding of the importance and need for knowledge about autism among social workers who work in school and care environment. Even though society´s view of people with disability has changed for the better in recent times, previous research shows that there is a stigma around people diagnoses with autism. Research also shows that it is not the diagnosis itself that is stigmatizing but the characteristics that are related to it, which can mean that undiagnosed could experience the same stigma. Research further shows that there is a need to educate social workers about the experiences and difficulties that people with autism goes through in life. The empirical data that was used in this study is based on autobiographies written by people diagnosed with autism later in life. In addition to the autobiographies, an interview was conducted with an experienced social worker to deepen the analysis. Qualitative methods are used in the form of manifest qualitative content analysis and a semi structured interview that was transcribed and analyzed together with the autobiographies. To understand the empirical data two theories were used in the analysis process, symbolic interactionism and Goffman’s stigma. The result of this study shows that both authors' upbringing was marked by a difference that was due to deviations in social interaction, exclusion in several social contexts and a development of mental illness. It is also something that is confirmed by the social worker's experiences. Another conclusion from the social worker's experiences is that knowledge is needed to be able to identify individuals with autism and prevent the feeling of stigma and exclusion.

This paper aims to describe the social workers relationship / contact to the foster parents' own children in a foster home. The aim is also to understand a social workers perspective on foster parents' own children in the foster home. We wanted to find out how social workers relationship/contact to the foster parents own children looks like, which has shown to differ between municipality to municipality. The study has shown that the perspective on the own children in the family, differs from municipality to municipality and that the own children’s meaning for the foster home as a social contribution, has a varied meaning amongst social workers. Based on several theories and concepts we have analyzed our result we got from the interviews, we found out that social workers looks at and works differently with foster parents own children. We found out that social workers perspective on foster parent’s own children is, that they are a very important resource and they participate in the fostering of the foster child. It also became clear in our result that a paradox appears in social workers work when although they don’t have any regulated documents on how to work with the foster parent’s own children, they still experience that they are restricted in their work by the organization they work under.