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This dissertation describes the work carried out by me in the Preservation Services Branch of the National Library of Australia during the period 1983 to early 1984. Conservation activities at the Library are organised in three broad categories, with the following goals: . preparation for exhibitions . ongoing full conservation of the Library collections, in a staged process . methods development and materials investigation. The internship program was devised to allow time to be spent in each of these three areas. The amount of time spent in each area roughly reflected the allocation of conservation staff resources to each section at that time. In the exhibitions program, objects were prepared for display at the National Gallery of Australia. These included watercolours and hand-coloured prints. Under the ongoing conservation program, a wide range of paper objects were treated. Objects from the Library's Special Collections are treated in order of priority determined by Librarian staff. Works treated included newspapers, both bound and unbound, movie posters, and magazines. Work in the third area involved both routine testing method's of conservation materials, involvement in a phase preservation project, and investigations into new methods of preventive conservation.

Worldwide, changes in the family have become more evident. Many of the traditional roles that families used to play are now performed by other institutions, such as schools, churches, a variety of welfare agencies and non-governmental organizations. Families in South Africa are no exception, as many South African families are faced with challenges that have a negative impact on their ability to sustain themselves and their members. The previous Minister of Social Development, Doctor Zola Skweyiya, rightly acknowledged that, in order to address the needs of vulnerable groups in our communities effectively, we need a particular focus on the role of the family, both as a developmental and as a supporting institution. In responding to these challenges, the Department of Social Development developed a new Manual on Family Preservation Services (Department of Social Development, 2008b), with the aim of training social service professionals to deliver family preservation services. In order for the programme envisaged by the developers of the Manual to be implemented efficiently, the Norms and Standards Policy on Developmental Social Welfare Services (Department of Social Development, 2007a:52-57) mandates the roll-out of the training and education by all provinces. Thus all social service professionals are mandated to implement family preservation services as stipulated by the Norms and Standards Policy on Developmental Social Welfare Services (Department of Social Development, 2007a) and the Draft National Family Policy (Department of Social Development, 2008a). In her role as one of the trainers on family preservation services who was also responsible for monitoring and evaluating these services in the provinces, the researcher observed the inadequacy and inconsistency of the concept of family preservation services in reporting among social service professionals despite the training and capacity-building carried out by the Department of Social Development. The researcher therefore investigated, first, whether the formulation of the Manual on Family Preservation Services lacks clarity relating to the theoretical framework and operational definition of key concepts which are supposed to assist social service professionals in rendering effective family preservation services. Second, she interviewed 20 social workers regarding their experiences on the formulation and implementation of the Manual. This is a small sample in terms of representing social workers in the country. In total, 37 social workers were originally interviewed, but, because it transpired that they had never attended any training on the Manual for Family Preservation Services, their data were excluded from the empirical study, even though they are implementing these services. The researcher was therefore interested in analysing the formulation of the Manual on Family Preservation Services and also analysed the experiences of social workers regarding the formulation and implementation of the Manual, with the aim of identifying gaps and improving service delivery to families. The researcher reviewed prior literature on systems theory, which is fundamental in addressing family dynamics, the family life cycle and its stages. She also considered literature on family preservation services on four levels of service delivery, the stages of the policy cycle and the overview of the Draft National Family Policy, as well as the Manual of Family Preservation Services. In this study, the researcher adopted an explanatory design, which is a form of mixed methods research. The overall purpose of an explanatory design is to gather qualitative data that help to explain or build upon initial quantitative results from the first phase of the study. In order to collect quantitative data, the researcher used a checklist for a content analysis of the formulation of the Manual on Family Preservation Services. She then conducted semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data about social workers’ experiences regarding the formulation and implementation of the Manual on Family Preservation Services in eight provinces. The researcher did a pilot test of the semi-structured interview schedule, which helped her to refine two questions that were understood differently by the two social workers who participated in the pilot test. After latent coding, the quantitative data were analysed manually, while the qualitative data were coded according to Creswell’s model for qualitative data analysis. The quantitative empirical results revealed some limitations in the formulation of the Manual on Family Preservation Services. Such limitations include an unclear definition of the concept of family preservation services, the omission of objectives from the Manual, confusion with regard to the theoretical frameworks applied, a lack of clarity on the role of volunteers, the process of providing training and capacity-building to social service professionals, monitoring and evaluation plan. These findings were confirmed by the social workers who were interviewed. They exposed the confusion that exists on the definition of family preservation services, the objectives, the theoretical frameworks, the role of volunteers, high case-loads, which they linked to a shortage of social workers and the fact that resources, training and capacity-building on family preservation services are not prioritized. It was therefore recommended that the issues highlighted above be addressed and be included in a revised Manual, and that relevant material also be provided to social service professionals who need to implement family preservation services. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / tm2015 / Social Work and Criminology / DPhil / Unrestricted

Many South African families are beset by social, psychological and economic challenges placing children at risk. Family preservation services, capitalising on families’ strengths to resolve their problems, are crucial to avoid the removal of children from their homes. Using a qualitative approach, this study reveals the experiences and perceptions of twelve social workers providing family preservation services in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan of Gauteng Province. These social workers articulate their understanding of and experiences with the Children’s Act (Act No. 38) of 2005. They are generally optimistic that family preservation services can offer a helping process with the potential to improve family functioning. Nevertheless, there are stumbling blocks to effective service delivery, such as the kinds of social problems experienced by families, lack of funding, high caseloads, lack of resources and little co-operation from other disciplines and agencies. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for practice, policy and further research. / Social Work / MA (Social Work)

The purpose of the study was to determine how knowledgeable the San Bernardino County Department of Children's Services (DCS) social workers were about Family Preservation Services has been to determine if that intervention works to alleviate out-of-home placements.

Many South African families are beset by social, psychological and economic challenges placing children at risk. Family preservation services, capitalising on families’ strengths to resolve their problems, are crucial to avoid the removal of children from their homes. Using a qualitative approach, this study reveals the experiences and perceptions of twelve social workers providing family preservation services in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan of Gauteng Province. These social workers articulate their understanding of and experiences with the Children’s Act (Act No. 38) of 2005. They are generally optimistic that family preservation services can offer a helping process with the potential to improve family functioning. Nevertheless, there are stumbling blocks to effective service delivery, such as the kinds of social problems experienced by families, lack of funding, high caseloads, lack of resources and little co-operation from other disciplines and agencies. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for practice, policy and further research. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Work)