The aim of this exploratory study was to examine and compare three traditional models of substance abuse treatment interventions at various rehabilitation treatment centres in South Africa. Three treatment centers were chosen each representing a particular treatment model, namely the Disease/Minnesota Model at Careline Crisis Centre (Hillcrest, Durban), the Therapeutic Community Model at Horizon Halfway House (Cape Town) and the Narconon Model at Narconon Rehab (Johannesburg). Data was obtained by means of two research instruments, namely structured interview schedules and focus group. The study was qualitative entailing critical analysis of data yielded by the research instruments. In the structured interview, the researcher asked the staff members at each centre questions and recorded their answers while the focus group methodology was used with the clients or patients (referred to as "students" in the Narconon Model) at each of the centres. The groups were comprised of three or four members. The study was conducted in two phases where phase one comprised. 13 themes and phase two comprised three themes. Based on the structured interviews with the staff members at the three treatment centres and the data yielded from the focus groups of the clients, strengths, weaknesses, differing conceptualizations of chemical addiction and the foci of intervention to treat the addictions of clients were evaluated with the purpose of integrating the best from each of these models of treatment to propose the development of what the researcher has chosen to call The Empowerment Model. Drawing from the conception of human consciousness in the philosophical tradition of existentialism where human consciousness is viewed as Nothingness, a void that is filled or engaged with Being-inthe- World, Being-with-Others and being-with-Oneself. Failure in the engagement of consciousness leads to a frustrating painful void. Given the existence of addictive chemicals, the human in the course of the history of humankind developed the ingestion of such chemicals to seek to fill the void with pleasurable sense experiences. The Empowerment Model aims to create an awareness of this human weakness and advocates filling or engaging this void with purpose in life comprising most notably Spirituality, Sociability, Vocation and Recreation to grow and evolve to a point of going beyond being human. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

The main aim of this study was to understand the challenges of social workers in meeting the obligations of permanency planning when rendering services at Children's Homes in the Magisterial District of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Permanency planning is guided by policy and prescribed in practice but the challenges have not been studied. The descriptive study was qualitative (focus groups) with elements of a quantitative nature (checklist) that targeted the population. Respondents included participants from 15 children's homes, 5 Child and Family Welfare Societies and 2 State District Offices. The checklist of 25 items was completed by 12 principals of children's homes. Results confirmed that permanency planning was not practiced according to policy even though social workers had a good understanding of what was required of them. Children's homes, although recognized as temporary accommodation for children, were sometimes used as an option for permanency planning. Creative efforts towards permanency planning, despite their challenges of limited resources and institutional barriers were evident. However, programmes and activities towards promoting permanency planning needed in-depth evaluation. If used inappropriately, for example leave of absence and the host programme could increase insecurity, instability and unpredictability rather than promoting permanency planning. Recommendations were for social workers to make a significant difference by addressing their negative perceptions, values, attitudes and .beliefs towards parents, to apply solutions found in this study and to play an advocacy role especially with regard to policy and resources. It became apparent that unless the challenges of the social workers were addressed, they would not be able to meet the objectives of permanency planning, even though it is a statutory requirement. Although social workers hold the primary responsibility and accountability for permanency planning, in practice its implementation and effectiveness depended on the interconnection and co-operation of various systemic influences. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006

The study was designed to understand the experiences and needs of returning refugees to Kigali, Rwanda and the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in their repatriation. The study adopted a qualitative research method where in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 returnees and 4 key informants; 2 from the UNHCR and 2 from the GoR. Many African countries especially in the Great Lakes region have been variously hit by military and ethnic conflicts that are responsible for the refugee plight. While the UNHCR and its partners have tried its level best to deal with refugees' problems in the region, many challenges remain in repatriation and reintegration of Rwandese returnees. This is due to institutional weaknesses, lack of multidisciplinary approaches to solving the returnees' problems, poor governance and failure to monitor the sustainability of development projects and plans that are in line with the returnees/refugees needs. The capacity to design and implement successful refugee policy programmes in Africa is weak from the global to the community level. Even the external assistance for the returnees to Rwanda is failing because of lack of 'in-country' experience needed to understand returnees' needs and to find appropriate durable solutions. African governments must make efforts to operationalise refugee laws and polices and draw on locally conceived ideas for addressing refugees/returnees problems on the continent. In this study the findings in Chapter five indicate that virtually all returnees experienced violence, victimization, psychological distress and extremely traumatic genocide experiences. The returnees' recovery from trauma and loss of their relatives during the genocide, especially among the new caseload returnees, appeared to be complicated by overwhelming blame and guilt associated with the outcome of the Gacacca court investigations and the various unmet needs for social intervention after retuning to Rwanda. Many participants experienced difficulty in coping with life in Rwanda, yet little is known by the GoR about the coping patterns of such returnees. The study highlights possible recommendations for averting the refugee phenomenon and recommends a variety of counselling, financial and other service interventions to meet returnees ' needs. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

A study on the influence of psychosocial factors on 30 schizophrenic patients was undertaken. The patient population was selected on the basis of : (a) being resident in the Pietermaritzburg area. (b) having one or more admissions to the psychiatric hospital (Fort Napier ) . (c) having a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The social questionnaire was completed after home visits were made to the patient and his family. The initial hypotheses: (a) poor psychosocial factors result in readmission to the hospital; (b) adequate facilities would result in the readmission rate of the mentally ill decreasing; (c) patients who lived in high EE homes have a higher relapse rate than those returning to low EE homes; have been confirmed in the study. The study has shown that the psychosocial aspects of schizophrenia must receive attention, together with medical treatment if relapse is to be prevented. The success of rehabilitation rests largely on finding the optimal balance for each patient. Better co-ordination of referrals should increase the number of people who establish outpatient contacts and more important, increase the number of visits each person makes. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1985.

The study aimed to explore, describe and interpret the challenges of the parents who care for diabetic children. The study aimed to attempt to highlight relevant issues that may assist the diabetic team in developing guidelines in managing diabetic children. The data were collected by engaging in face to face in depth interviews with parents of diabetic children who attended the outpatient clinic at a hospital in Durban. The interviews were guided by an interview guide, which allowed the researcher to cover all relevant areas of interest in a logical and uniformed way. The sample consisted of 16 participants, which was racially mixed. The findings of the study revealed that parents who have diabetic children experience many challenges while some are able to incorporate it into their daily lives others continue to experience problems despite the team involvement and education. Diabetes is a life long disease that requires continued management which includes ongoing education, family support, finances and support from the diabetes team. The study also revealed that caring for a diabetic child is expensive and many families struggle to meet their dietary needs due to financial constraints. The finding further revealed that diabetic children are often affected by the diagnosis and many withdraw from family, friends and social activities. Healthy siblings sometimes do not understand the child’s diabetes. In some instances, the parents’ relationships are affected as couples do not have couple time and the family’s lives are altered and most schools have minimal knowledge of diabetes. Based on these findings, recommendations regarding the required information and assistance to be given to the diabetic patients and family members were formulated. Schools have a role to play and the larger communities require diabetes awareness. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

A Phenomenological Study into Infertility and the Assisted Technologies: USA and Jamaica Compared Infertility affects approximately 10-15% of all couples. This study explores the livedexperience of infertility and assisted reproductive technologies in Jamaica and the United States based on a phenomenological qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with 15 couples experiencing infertility in Jamaica and 15 couples in the United States. As with many small scale studies that explore issues of an extremely sensitive nature, the participants were recruited from the community through a combination of convenience and snowball sampling. The biopsychosocial model and postmodernism constituted the conceptual frameworks that guided this study. The factors contributing to infertility; the biopsychosocial consequences of infertility and medical treatment of infertility are described. Fertility, infertility and the assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are examined from ethical, legal, religious, and feminist perspectives. Empirical research derived from in-depth personal narratives of participants are used to explore the ways infertility impacts life's goals, self-esteem, faith, marriage, social relationships, and religious and cultural experiences. The results of the study yielded a list of thirteen themes that show the similarities and differences between Jamaica and the United States in relation to the topic under investigation. The study concludes with recommendations for public policies to address infertility as a public health concern and for social work with individuals, couples and extended families affected by the experience of infertility. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

Sexual offences are one of the most serious threats to South Africa's democracy. We hear again and again cries like: "Hang them!", "Prisons are a waste of taxpayers money", "We need to get more tough on criminals", and many others. On the other hand, the Correctional Services Department is mandated by parliament, by courts and by the public to render rehabilitation services to sexual offenders in their care. These outcries and mandates call for responsible and accountable service delivery to sexual offenders by social workers. This research investigated the responsiveness of sexual offenders to a therapeutic group work program. It entailed the development, implementation and evaluation of a sexual offender programme. Adapting specific modules of existing programmes, a cognitive-behavioural sexual offender programme for sentenced Juveniles was developed. The process of data collection was a comprehensive, intensive process. Data was obtained from a sample of eighteen adolescent sexual offenders that was divided into nine experimental group and nine control group. Using the group work method, the programme was implemented to the experimental group. The programme was evaluated in terms of its content, methods of implementation and outcome. The use of triangulated methodology of data collection and analysis enabled the researcher-practitioner to validate information derived from different sources. The outcome of this study revealed that the juvenile sex offenders responded positively to the cognitive-behavioural programme. This study is based on the premise that by working with the perpetrators of sexual crimes, you are protecting hundreds of lives from further harm. The positive improvement was in their self-concepts, attitude towards women, and cognitions. The programme is viewed as one module of the broader rehabilitation initiatives in the area of sentenced sexual offenders. The need for correctional services, communities and other stakeholders to join efforts in offender rehabilitation was emphasised. The provision of a supportive environment from which rehabilitation to take place was identified as one of positive influences of change. Based on the outcome of the evaluation, recommendations were made with regard to further adaptation of the programme, future programme development and implementation components, and the need for staff training in this field. Recommendations for further research are detailed. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2004.

While imprisonment developed as a more humanitarian alternative to the brutal forms of punishments which prevailed throughout history, it became increasingly evident that it had dysfunctional consequences in respect of the ability of prisoners to achieve a socially acceptable adjustment after their release from incarceration. As a result, the practice of releasing prisoners conditionally, before their sentences had expired, gradually developed. The historical roots of this practice, which became known as 'parole' - from the French concept of 'parole d'honneur', meaning word of honour - lie mainly in the practice of releasing prisoners on ticket-of-leave, developed by Maconochie at the Norfolk Island penal colony, and in the more refined conditional release system introduced into Ireland by Crofton. From the English-speaking world, the concept of parole soon spread to other countries in the Western World, and gradually became an important penological technique. Although provision was made for the conditional release of prisoners in the South African Prisons and Reformatories Act of 1911, the formal and systematic application of parole only really started coming into its own in the early 1950's. With the increasing emphasis on rehabilitation in the Prison Service, came the appointment of growing numbers of social workers and psychologists in prisons. This, in turn led to the development of a more structured and formal parole system. Yet, considerable discontent grew, especially among the judiciary, in respect of the application of parole. It was the large-scale release of short-term prisoners on so-called 'parole ' virtually immediately after their admission to prison, which incensed particularly the magistrates. An attitude survey regarding parole among judges, magistrates, the categories of prison personnel mainly responsible for the treatment of prisoners, and NICRO social workers revealed considerable disenchantment with the way in which parole was applied. What was particularly significant was that a large number of magistrates regarded parole as representing interference with the judicial decision. Furthermore, it emerged that the majority of persons from all categories of respondents felt that parole supervision was inadequate. A study of the nature and extent of parole supervision as conducted by the National Institute for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of Offenders (NICRO), as the only specialised private prison aftercare agency, revealed that such supervision is not of a sufficiently high standard. However, it emerged from a survey of the role of NICRO in the pre-release preparation of parolees that the organisation's involvement in such preparation was only marginal. This, it is felt, together with other factors over which NICRO had little or no control, play an important part in the inadequacy of parole supervision generally. In order to gain a comparative perspective, the Canadian parole system was also studied. It emerged that, while the complex federal-provincial relations render the Canadian parole system somewhat cumbersome, it is generally a sophisticated system, various aspects of which are worthy of emulation. This is particularly true of the variety of flexible conditional release procedures, and of the clearly structured and well administered parole system generally. However, the most valuable lesson that can be gleaned from the Canadian parole practice probably lies in the involvement of a variety of private citizens in the parole decision-making process. A number of recommendations are made in respect of the possible improvement of the South African parole system. These concern the promulgation of a parole act and parole regulations, the establishment of a national parole board, selection of prisoners for conditional release, adequate pre-release preparation of prospective parolees, release of prisoners on parole, supervision of parolees, parole conditions, suspension and revocation of parole, professional staff, liaison between all those involved in the parole system, the immediate release of short-term prisoners, and mandatory supervision. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1982.

The focus of this study was to develop an indigenous, relevant model of school social work for future practice in South Africa. This was accomplished by surveying policies governing school social work services, researching the nature and severity of problems experienced in schools, examining the scope of current school social work in addressing these problems/needs and finally producing a model on which future school social work practice could be based. The research methodology was chosen on the basis of progressing beyond the acquisition of knowledge, to application of this knowledge to the practice of school social work. The developmental research design as discussed by Thomas (1985a:488; 1985b:50) was viewed as serving the purposes of the study. In accord with this design, the study was divided into several phases - the analysis, development and evaluation phases. Two further phases are outlined by Thomas (1985a), viz. the diffusion and adoption phases, which would follow once the developed social technology has been further field tested and the results disseminated for adoption. During the analysis phase, current policies and school social work services in the various departments of education were examined. Problems in different schools in these department were also surveyed to gauge the effectiveness of services in dealing with these problems. Results revealed that current school social work practice and policies do not meet the needs of schools. During the development phase, a changed emphasis in service provision was advocated through the adoption of service methods to complement a casework focus. In this regard, community school, school change and social interaction functions were advocated. An ecological model, derived from ecological and systems theories, was recommended as offering scope for a changed emphasis to ensure that services were comprehensive and relevant. This emphasis focused on achieving a goodness of fit between the individual and the environment by intervening at different systemic levels, depending on where deficits or dysfunction existed. Thereby, intervention could be directed at micro, mezzo, exo or macro systemic levels. In a feasibility study, conducted during the analysis phase of the study, this model was found to be appropriate and practical for future use. If school social workers practise an ecological model, then their services would be cost effective since both a preventive and therapeutic bias would be accommodated. Children would also be assured of support services that prevent problems, that facilitate the role of the educator in comprehensive education and that intervene timeously in respect of problems and needs. Recommendations in respect of accommodating a changed focus of intervention included changes in policies to promote the use of the ecological model, the education and training of social workers in acquiring knowledge and skills congruent with the use of an ecological paradigm, training of educationists to include knowledge of the service to facilitate teamwork and referral, preliminary tasks to be undertaken prior to service provision, a unitary education department to serve all children equally irrespective of colour or creed, and research to be undertaken with education personnel as a joint endeavour to encourage the establishment of the service. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1993.

The aim of this research project was to explore the experiences of black and white women managers who are employed in private and public social work settings. The major stressors and challenges which women managers experienced in the workplace and in the home were explored. The ways in which women coped with the pressures were identified. Supports and obstacles which affected women's career paths were reflected in the study. The literature study revealed that social work is a traditionally female occupation run by women for predominantly women clients. The profession has a caring ethos and a commitment to equal treatment. Social work managers are promoted from the ranks and it is significant that they are principally white and male (Burden and Gottlieb, 1986,p.5). Studies in Canada, Britain and in America reveal the effects of gender stereotyping. Firstly that the concept of management is defined in terms of male characteristics. Secondly that in seeking promotion women are subject to discrimination. Thirdly that a different set of barriers exist when they advance into management. The literature as it exists reflects a white female perspective and there is a failure to address the discrete experiences which black women face. The literature has been built up largely in western countries and as such reflects the beliefs which prevail in the host countries. This empirical study used a feminist qualitative methodology to generate new information about women as managers in social work settings. The design is a descriptive one which seeks to understand a universe about which there is limited information. A sample of sixty women managers in the cities of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg were interviewed using a semi structured interview schedule. Women managers from different racial groups, agencies and tiers of management were represented in the sample. The empirical study demonstrated that one of the maIn pressures was the manager's own expectations. Women managers exhibited the "superwoman syndrome" in attempting to perform perfectly the multiple and conflicting roles of manager, wife, mother and friend. The findings also demonstrated that the main sources of support which included family members, community involvement and workplace colleagues, were also the main sources of pressure for the managers. Few of the managers had formal management qualifications and management training has only recently been placed on the social work agenda. Women managers were found to manage differently to men- but they were no less effective. These managers invested time in building up good collaborative relationships with staff and through these relationships the goals of the organisation were accomplished. The style which the managers described resembled closely the transformational style of management and it is one which is well suited to managing in the current turbulent environment. There were few black women in management positions and they appeared to be recruited mainly to middle management positions. They were highly visible, on the periphery, suffered performance pressure and had few supports. The researcher had made recommendations for the recruitment of more black managers to permeate all levels of management. Another recommendation was for increased training and other development programmes. The creation of mentoring, sponsorship and networks to assist managers in their career development is presented as another necessary requirement. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1994.