While it is generally accepted that basic child welfare services are essential, insufficient attention has yet been granted to the problems of (a) the shortage of professionally qualified social workers in relation to the many types of need, (b) making the best use of professional personnel in relation to specific job content, (c) setting up criteria on priority indications for the different fields of social work, which, in a children's agency alone can be separated into many categories. As an approach to some of these patterns, a study was devised to review the main branches of the Vancouver Children's Aid Society caseload, using an administrative ''time study" made in 1955 as a base. Aiming at a group of cases representative of an average worker's share of responsibility, cases were selected proportionately from five main areas, (a) family cases, (including services to unmarried mothers), (b) foster homes, (c) adoptive applicants, (d) children in care, and (e) children on adoption probation. (1) Visits and interviews carried out in one month (June 1955) on behalf of these clients, are tabulated and compared with those undertaken by the "average worker" in the agency time study, (2) service rendered is qualitatively rated for each ease, and (3) case illustrations are employed as a further aid to evaluation. In a summary assessment, (4) the relation of availability of worker-time to the adequacy of service is examined. Using a threefold rating of service, it is estimated that in the 83 sample cases adequate or fair service was given in 66 cases. The quality of service in 45 cases was judged to be not affected by lack of worker-time, although it was an important cause of limitation of service in the remaining 38. The proportion of total time revealed as spent on visits and interviews, 23 - 28 percent, is similar to that of the few other agencies which have studied this matter, but must be regarded as low if direct service to clients is considered to be the chief responsibility of qualified social workers. Possible methods of increasing time spent on visits and interviews are suggested, and subjects requiring further research are indicated. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study deals with the annual review procedure of the services comprising the Portland Council of Social Agencies. An effective method of appraisal of the community social welfare services is an obvious necessity of a central planning body. Background information was obtained during a six month student placement with the above agency, through discussions with Council staff, and through participation on two review committees. Findings were also based on study of annual reports and minutes of committee meetings of the Council. The thesis begins with a brief history of the federated planning movement in social welfare, and then describes the structure and function of a Council of Social Agencies. Attention is given to the development of the Portland Council, and the role of the review committee is shown in relation to the other functions of that Council. Discussion is made of the initial practice and the development of the review committee. The review committee procedure is discussed in detail. Recruitment of members and their orientation to the review role is considered. The function of the council secretary in preparing for the meeting with the agency is shown. Emphasis is stressed on the participation by the agency in submitting material to be studied. The development of the review report from the meeting of the committee with the agency is described. The techniques of formulating the recommendations and the various problems encountered are presented. The educational influence of the review procedure is explained. Examples of the consideration of agencies to review recommendations are given. The emphasis on the effectiveness of cooperative review by committee and agency concludes the thesis. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study of social welfare measurements in Region I (Vancouver Island) is the fourth in a series of regional assessments. A similar study of Region VI (The Okanagan) is presently being completed. Three previous studies have been done; one in an unorganized area of Northern British Columbia, the second Region III (The Fraser Valley), and the third was a comprehensive study of Metropolitan Vancouver including several of the surrounding districts. Region I of the Department of Social Welfare very closely coincides with census division 5 of British Columbia. This has overcome the discrepancy that often exists between census material boundaries and welfare regional boundaries. Census division 5 actually includes some islands and isolated areas of the north coast of British Columbia lying adjacent to Vancouver Island. These areas are very sparsely populated and are more readily accessible from the mainland than from Vancouver Island, and are therefore not included in Welfare Region I. Basic statistical data was compiled and computed from the Dominion Bureau of Statistics. Extensive use was made of 1961 data with selective reference being made to the 1951 data available. In some instances the census subdivision boundaries were changed within the bench work decade (1951-1961). Therefore some of the changes in social and economic conditions could not be measured. In these instances it was necessary to rely on the 1961 data. The welfare statistics were compiled primarily from the monthly reports of the Provincial Department of Social Welfare for the years 1951 and 1961. However, in Metropolitan Victoria there are numerous private social agencies and one major one serving families and children. This latter was chosen to examine more fully the welfare services offered in this area. This is an initial exploratory study of Vancouver Island as a welfare region. Further studies in detail of the kind initiated in Nanaimo to measure the appropriateness and effectiveness of welfare services should be carried out. These would provide information for comprehensive planning for the welfare needs of the people who live in this region. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Freyman, Anna; Hollick-Kenyon, Grace Agnes; Macdonald, Janet Mary / Graduate

This examination of the Okanagan Region is the fifth in the series of regional analyses relating welfare measurements to comprehensive social data. Throughout the study there are comparisons made with two previous studies - the Fraser Valley (No. 2) and Metropolitan Vancouver (No. 3). The Okanagan Region, in contrast to the Fraser Valley and Vancouver areas, which are undergoing rapid population expansion plus urbanization, presents the picture of a largely rural and relatively stable area. The social data are compiled principally from the national censes of 1951 and 1961; the welfare material was collected from the monthly Field Service Reports of the Department of Social Welfare with some additions specially obtained; and both were analyzed particularly for a basic ten-year period. This information was supplemented by data gathered from several other sources within the Okanagan area. The Okanagan constitutes Welfare Region III as administered by the Department of Social Welfare. The Regional boundaries were given consideration in this study, and it is to be noted that common boundaries are accepted by the national census (Division Vl) and the recent Economic Atlas which has attempted to delineate regions for all of Canada. In conformity with these, it is recommended that the Kamloops district, which is neither geographically nor economically a true part of the Okanagan be excluded from the present Welfare Region III, while the Grand Forks area should be included. In any new standardization appropriate adjustments have been made in the welfare and census statistics. In the present study the social data reveals that the Okanagan is undergoing a comparatively slow rate of population growth but that in recent years, in line with marked trends in British Columbia generally, there has been increasing urbanization. A large segment of the population is elderly, a fact which has major welfare implications. Further study of needs and services appropriate for this group is recommended. Welfare measurements clearly show the trend towards high average caseloads, coupled with an abnormally high monthly mileage rate. A re-examination on a regional basis of the number of personnel, both professional and clerical, the distribution of tasks, and the deployment of time, is recommended. Each region is unique, requiring services adapted to the particular needs of the resident population. In this study it is proposed that a Central Regional Registry, much like the community social service index, be instituted. A record of services rendered as well as the service requests could be maintained by the welfare organizations in the region. Research utilizing material from the registry could make a considerable contribution to the planning of needed services in the Okanagan. (It is to be kept in mind that general physical planning, and also junior college planning, is proceeding on a regional basis in the area.) No doubt, changes in both needs and services have taken place since 1961. The present study has aimed at providing a foundation from which further studies of needs in welfare services and associated socio-economic factors, may be pursued in this characteristic section of the province. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Neufeld, Heinrich; Preddy, Iris Gloria; Soiseth, Leonard Osborne / Graduate

M.A. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This study compared the effectiveness of a multi-family treatment program on court-mandated families and voluntary families. The participants (n=109) included 36 voluntary families and 38 mandated families. Demographically, the families in each group were similar in age and education level but were somewhat dissimilar in their ethnicity and presenting issues. Participants completed a pre and posttest questionnaire, the Family Assessment Measurement III, which revealed that both groups improved on overall family functioning and had high attendance and graduation rates. The implications of these findings for practitioners are presented. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2007. / April 16, 2007. / Court-ordered Therapy, Multifamily Therapeutic Groups, Court-mandated Therapy, Psycho-educational Groups, Multifamily Groups / Includes bibliographical references. / Ann K. Mullis, Professor Directing Dissertation; Nicholas F. Mazza, Outside Committee Member; Mary W. Hicks, Committee Member; Ronald L. Mullis, Committee Member.

This dissertation aimed to examine the consequence of health-induced poverty and two policy responses to address this issue among older adults in the United States and China. Specifically, Paper I investigates whether public transfers crowded out private transfers among rural and urban Chinese older families and if this dynamic would change when health care expenses were high. Paper II examines the effect of New Rural Cooperative Medical Insurance, a national health insurance program for rural residents in China, on changing the incidence of health-induced poverty among middle-aged and older beneficiaries. Paper III tests the effects of closing the Medicare Part D donut hole (coverage gap) through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on changing prescription drug cost-induced poverty. Overall, the findings obtained from these three papers provide empirical evidence that health-induced poverty is prevalent among older adults in both China and the United States and the current public transfers and health policies are either ineffective or insufficient to reduce health-induced poverty as intended.

Submitted to the FACULTY OF ARTS in fulfillment of the requirements for MASTERS DEGREE IN SOCIAL WORK In the Department of Social Work, University of Zululand, 1999. / The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of political violence on the lives of children in Mandini. The motivation for the study came from the number of people who came to the social worker's office reporting children who were having problems after being exposed to violence. The researcher used the exploratory research design. The sample consisted of thirty five (35) children who were affected by political violence in Mandini between 1994 - 1996. The population consisted of children between nine (9) years and eighteen (18) years. The sample which "consisted of children was taken from schools, case files in the welfare office, Psychologist's office and in their homes. The interviews were conducted between August 1998 and September 1998. The interview schedule was used. The study was limited to the impact of political violence on the lives of children. Future studies could focus on the prevention of violence. There is a need for social workers to use the developmental approach to be able to deal with violence. The study found that violence had an impact on the lives of children in Mandini. The study found that violence was caused by politics and it affected the children in that they witnessed the fighting and killings. The study found that the children were personally affected by violence in that they were injured and their relatives were injured and some were killed. The study showed that the children lost their homes during violence. It came to light that children experienced problems during violence in 1994 - 1996. The children suffered long-term disabling effects of violence. The study showed that the children need help to cope with the after effects of violence.

The goal of this project was to test the applicability of the General Systems Theory to the traditionally held concept of generic social work If an applicability existed, a direct survey of the field would be feasible. This could lead to the development of a general or a core conceptualization of social work practice. General Systems Theory was extended to include the properties of the open organismic human group system. There were twenty-one categories at this level of abstraction. Internal consistency of the General Systems Theory model was tested and related to social work treatment concepts. To do this, 427 concepts which describe social work actions were isolated from traditional social work literature and its three methods of practice. The reliability of classifying these action concepts into the twenty-one General Systems Theory categories was tested. All of the action concepts could be classified into the General Systems Theory categories. None of the action concepts was classified into the twenty-second, residual category. Non-parametric statistical tests were used to measure reliability. Reliability was found to be low. The low reliability was inversely related to training and was not related to other factors tested. Grouping the action concepts in a number of different ways did not significantly change the low reliability. The social work action concepts were found to be vague, not discrete, and of uncertain levels of abstraction. Specific, concrete definition of any given action concept was found to be difficult. Within the limits of this study, it was suggested that actual social work practice would have to be reconceptualized in more accurate terms before General Systems Theory and social work practice could be reconciled.

The practicum consists of a study of methods of identifying and working with natural caregivers, based on previous descriptions in the literature of natural caregivers and their networks, presented in handbook format, and addressed to social service delivery people. Most of the natural helping literature describes natural helpers and natural helping networks, Little is available about the worker - helper relationship itself, about how to find natural helpers, and about how to develop and maintain relationships with them. It is this relationship between the worker and the natural helper that we studied and about which we have written.