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Article Index Volume 10 - 12

Volume 21-22

Volume 19-20

Volume 16-18

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 1 Page: 2)

Title: Partnership to Improve the Lives of Children across the Spectrum of Child Welfare Services: A Land Grant University's Opportunity
Author(s): Crystal Collins-Camargo, Chris Flaherty, and Pamela Weeks
Abstract: The use of Title IV-E funding for child welfare has served to create new bonds between state child welfare agencies and schools of social work. Many current university-child welfare partnerships go well beyond early efforts to train new child welfare workers. Land grant universities are charged with improving the welfare of citizens within their respective states through a triadic mission of teaching, service, and research. The expansion of university-child welfare partnerships has created a unique opportunity for maximizing the impact of the land-grant university’s mission in service of the state’s most vulnerable citizens.
Article PDF: 101002.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 1 Page: 10)

Title: Evaluating a social work supervision model in a real-world child welfare setting
Author(s): Carol Smith, Regina Russell, and Martha M. Giddings
Abstract: The Integrative Supervision Model (ISM) was implemented in a public child welfare organization to provide clinical supervision to MSW employees who desired clinical licensure, and to test the effectiveness of the ISM in a real-world practice situation. Data indicates that use of the ISM encouraged a more comprehensive review and clinical approach to child welfare cases on the part of participants, and resulted in a significant increase in their knowledge and skills as defined by the model. The findings were confirmed by LCSW Supervisors. The low response rate of child welfare supervisors will be discussed as well as other organizational and clinical implications.
Article PDF: 101010.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 1 Page: 25)

Title: The Role of Self-efficacy in Mediating Personal and Environmental Factors that Influence Practice with Crime Victims: Implications for Professional Development
Author(s): Fran Davis, Dong Pil Yoon, Kim M. Anderson
Abstract: Assistance to crime victims has emerged as a practice issue that cuts across many social work fields of practice. Based on a mail survey conducted with 1,406 licensed social workers, a conceptual model is presented that explores the relationships among personal factors, environmental factors, professional self-efficacy, and knowledge and skills for working with crime victims. Using structural equation modeling, the following conceptual linkages were supported: those with more personal experiences and more support from their practice setting were more likely to have higher levels of professional self-efficacy, and, therefore, were more likely to have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide services to crime victims. Implications for professional development include roles and responsibilities of administrators and supervisors to provide access to continuing education, in-service training, consultation, and policies that provide both knowledge and skills for working with crime victims and a supportive environment that addresses the potential for compassion fatigue.
Article PDF: 101025.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 1 Page: 37)

Title: Compressed Social Work Education: An Innovative Approach to Continuing Education
Author(s): Charles Zastrow, Mary Weeden
Abstract: Compressed MSW education involves offering courses in a more intensive format, with the length of a course being substantially shorter than the traditional semester-long format. The compressed education format for an MSW program in the Midwest is described, and the results of an evaluative study of this format are summarized. The current students enrolled in this program overwhelmingly favor this format over the traditional semester-long format. The students also see a number of advantages in being a member of a cohort group.
Article PDF: 101037.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 1 Page: 45)

Title: Court Training for Public Child-Welfare Social Workers: An Evaluation of a Training Program
Author(s): Emily J. Bruce, Stanley Lee, Cecilia Martinez, Peter Allen Lee, L. Michael Clark
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of a forensic child-welfare social work training program. We sought to assess whether the professional ability of public child-welfare social workers was improved as a result of their participation in the training program. The program provides public child-welfare social workers with training in courtroom procedures and practices to improve workers’ effectiveness in the juvenile court. The research team found that increased training was the most salient influence on the workers’ perceptions of their improved professional ability.
Article PDF: 101045.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 2 Page: 3)

Title: Editor's Information
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract:
Article PDF: 102003.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 2 Page: 7)

Title: Achieving Desired Outcomes by Privatizing Child Welfare Service Delivery: Lessons Learned through the Kansas Experience
Author(s): Karl Ensign, Jaymee Metzenthin
Abstract: A decade ago, the State of Kansas privatized its child welfare services delivery system in an attempt to achieve desired outcomes. Within a couple of years, all family preservation, foster care, and adoption case management and service delivery was carried out by private agencies. Thus, the reform was comprehensive and implemented relatively quickly. This paper summarizes key reform elements and how these have evolved over the last decade. It also explains the many factors which complicated the reform’s intended objectives —politically, fiscally, and administratively. Along the way, many important lessons have been learned that can help inform other efforts to privatize child welfare services delivery and introduce performance measurement.
Article PDF: 102007.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 2 Page: 16)

Title: Is Social Work Education Relevant to Child Welfare Practice? A Qualitative Analysis from the Adult Learner Perspective
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract: Social work education has become increasing challenged to provide relevant curricula for child welfare
practitioners. This study presents results of a qualitative evaluation of one Title IV-E-funded program for MSW student/workers of a public child welfare agency. Data analysis identified several themes that were used to develop a conceptual model of how social work education may impact worker retention in pubic child welfare with practice implications for the structure and process of IV-E-funded MSW programs.
Article PDF: 102016.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 2 Page: 26)

Title: Gender Inequality and Lack of Sexual and Reproductive Rights of Women in Ghana: Implications for Social Work Education
Author(s): Marie-Antoinette Sossou
Abstract: Decades after the first international conference on women and the United Nations’ conventions for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, inequalities between women and men still exist in Ghana. This phenomenological study made visible Ghanaian women’s experiences of their lack of reproductive
and sexual rights. A purposive sample of 68 female participants -- all with different educational, socio-economic, and occupational backgrounds, and from both rural and urban settings -- took part in six focus group discussions. The participants were asked only two questions, both related to their right to demand safe and protected sex and to practice family planning and birth control without permission from their spouses. Textual analysis, based on an adaptation of Smith, Jarman, & Osborn, (1999) interpretative phenomenological analysis, was used to develop two major themes, namely, “Reproductive Decision- making Is Not Easy for Us,” and “Demanding Safe Sex Is a Thorny Issue.” These themes are illustrated with commentary and direct quotations to depict a general sense of the experience of the phenomenon. Implications for social work education and policy advocacy are discussed.
Article PDF: 102026.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 3 Page: 3)

Title: Editor's Information
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract:
Article PDF: 103003.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 3 Page: 5)

Title: Introductory Note: Privatization and Performance Based Contracting in Child Welfare
Author(s): Crystal Collins-Camargo
Abstract:
Article PDF: 103005.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 3 Page: 7)

Title: The Privatization of Child Welfare Services: Issues and Efforts at the Federal Level
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract: There has been significant interest in privatization in child welfare, as in other sectors, from officials within the federal government and in some states. This article identifies several policy issues raised by privatized child welfare systems within federal child welfare programs, and describes two federal efforts to understand state and local child welfare privatization initiatives. These efforts are intended to provide information to those who may be considering privatization as a path to child welfare systems reform.
Article PDF: 103007.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 3 Page: 14)

Title: Knowledge Development and Transfer on Public/Private Partnerships in Child Welfare Service Provision: Using Multi-Site Research to Expand the Evidence Base
Author(s): Crystal Collins-Camargo, Jennifer Hall, Chris Flaherty, Karl Ensign, Teri Garstka, Brian Yoder, Allison Metz
Abstract: Quality Improvement Centers (QIC) were established by the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote knowledge development and the effective transfer of that knowledge into practice in the child welfare field. An area identified as in need of research and resources is the privatization of services that have traditionally been provided by the public child welfare agency, as some states have begun to move in this direction. This was identified as a topic in critical need of research based on a knowledge-gaps analysis conducted by the QIC PCW. This article describes the purpose and preliminary data collected by the National Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services (QIC PCW) regarding the nature of public/private partnership in this field. It also outlines a multi-site research initiative testing the impact of innovative performance-based contracting and quality assurance systems on organizational and client outcomes in three states.
Article PDF: 103014.p df

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 3 Page: 32

Title: Striving for Excellence: Extending Child Welfare Performance-Based Contracting to Residential, Independent, and Transitional Living Programs in Illinois
Author(s): Kathleen A. Kearney,
Abstract: Performance-based contracting for foster care case management services has been in effect in Illinois since 1997. It is credited with reducing the number of children and youth in out-of-home placement by over 65% in the last decade. Despite the success of this initiative in moving over 34,000 children into permanent homes, Illinois failed to achieve substantial conformity on any of the seven child welfare outcome measures in its 2003 Child and Family Services Review (CFSR). This article discusses the history of performance-based contracting in Illinois; lessons learned from foster-care case management contracting; the challenges in expanding this initiative to residential, independent living, and transitional living programs; the planning and implementation process used; and the proposed evaluation design.
Article PDF: 103032.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 3 Page: 49)

Title: Maintaining Positive Public-Private Partnerships in Child Welfare: The Missouri Project on Performance- Based Contracting for Out-of-Home Care
Author(s): J. Wilson Watt, Rebecca Porter, Lynette M. Renner, Laura M. Parker
Abstract: For many years, the State of Missouri Children’s Division has worked in conjunction with private agency service providers and with the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Social Work to improve the quality of service delivery to children and families in the state. After an introductory, brief review of the recent movement for privatization and the use of performance-based contracting in child welfare service delivery, this article provides a conceptual overview of The Missouri Project on Privatization of Out-of-Home Care for Children, which builds on the past public-private collaborations in Missouri. The article discusses earlier research on the initiation of performance-based contracting and presents the rationale for the current project. This project examines both process needs of public-private partnerships
for successful maintenance, including the renegotiation of performance-based contracts for out-of-home care, and the case-outcome results of the privatized service delivery. The Missouri project’s relationship to the two other projects selected by the University of Kentucky Quality Improvement Center’s project on Performance-Based Contracting and Quality Assurance in Public Child Welfare are delineated.
Article PDF: 103049.pdf

Year: 2007 (Vol: 10 No: 3 Page: 58)

Title: Improving Practice and Outcomes through Collaboration and Performance-Based Contracting in Florida's Child Welfare System
Author(s): David DeStefano, Jean K. Elder, John Cooper, Cynthia A. Schuler
Abstract: This article describes the first six months of the Florida QIC-PCW demonstration project between the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) and Kids Central, Inc., a private agency contracting with DCF to provide child welfare services. The goal of this project was to demonstrate how to create a vision of service and performance expectations shared by DCF and the agencies that DCF contract with in a local child welfare network, utilizing performance-based contracting and financial incentives. This shared vision was developed by creating contractual performance-based measures through an inclusive planning and consensus-building process. We anticipate positive outcomes for children and families. Preliminary results indicate that case-management agencies are ready to incorporate performance-based outcomes and to establish front-line practice strategies.
Article PDF: 103058.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 1 Page: 3)

Title: Editor's Information
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract:
Article PDF: 111003.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 1 Page: 6)

Title: Privatization of Child Welfare Services: Lessons Learned from Experienced States
Author(s): Chris Flaherty, Crystal Collins-Camargo, Elizabethe Lee
Abstract: Recent emphasis on improving efficiency, service quality, and innovation in child welfare services has prompted some jurisdictions to explore privatization or expand it to a broader segment of the service array. This extension of public/private partnerships has created new challenges in establishing effective contractual arrangements and in developing optimal mechanisms for oversight and quality assurance. Lessons learned by public agency administrators, private providers, and community stakeholders are reported. Method: Seventy-nine participants from 12 states participated in multiple focus groups. Findings: Numerous shared themes emerged including the evolutionary nature of the public/private partnership, the necessity for high levels of open communication between partners to problem solve, the complexity of defining appropriate and measurable performance standards, and the complexity of establishing contract monitoring and quality assurance systems that strike the correct balance between government accountability and the opportunity within privatized systems to promote creativity and efficiency.
Article PDF: 111006.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 1 Page: 19)

Title: The Path to Partnership: Revisiting the Five Key Elements of University-Community Partnership
Author(s): Susan E. Mason, Heidi Heft LaPorte
Abstract: This article reports on a two-year sequenced evaluation of social work field education for employees of a large, urban, child welfare agency. A third year had been planned but an unforeseen crisis in the city where the study took place caused the third year to be aborted. A child protection center attached to an urban teaching hospital was the field education site for child welfare workers on temporary leave from their full- time jobs at a public child welfare agency. In returning to school for their masters degree in social work the students were required to adapt to the host agency’s organizational culture, which differed substantially from that of the child welfare agency where they were employed. The host-agency staff reported equally difficult tasks related to working with the employee/students. The theoretical perspective of organizational culture helps to explain the varying and often conflicting perspectives of the students and the agency staff. This analysis focuses on four groups directly involved in the education experience: the students, the host agency staff, the supervisors from the public child welfare agency assigned to monitor the students’ progress, and the field education advisors from the schools. The two-year qualitative evaluation, illustrates how a project evaluation can help bring to light areas of conflict and of potential resolutions.
Article PDF: 111019.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 1 Page: 30)

Title: The Path to Partnership: Revisiting the Five Key Elements of University-Community Partnership
Author(s): Eric Gass
Abstract: A new theoretical model of university-community partnerships was unveiled supporting five key dimensions of partnership deemed necessary for a partnership to function. Surveys have been collected and analyzed, and interviews have been conducted, with the goal being a deeper understanding of the partnership process, identification of dimensions that can be incorporated into social work curricula, and creation of a process that can be replicated to benefit the people and communities in which we live and work. Specifically, this article validates the prediction of the five key dimensions of university-community partnership. The relevant literature and content of the previous article will be reviewed, prior to discussion of the method and results of the current study. The results will then be linked to relevant curricular issues, as they relate to the continuing education of social workers.
Article PDF: 111030.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 1 Page: 48)

Title: Promoting Competent Service Delivery through Multidisciplinary Training: New Roles for Undergraduate Social Work Education
Author(s): Gloria Jackson Thompson, Roslyn C. Richardson
Abstract: In addition to preparing students for generalist social work practice, social work programs are also called upon to take a leadership role in the development of relationships with community organizations. This goal is often accomplished through grant activities that create collaborative efforts between social work programs and local and state social service agencies. This article describes a collaborative relationship between an undergraduate social work program and a state agency that focused on the coordination of mandatory training for early intervention providers throughout the state. This unique opportunity demonstrated how collaborating with an undergraduate social work program could be used to serve the broader community by ensuring competent practice and service delivery.
Article PDF: 111048.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 1 Page: 53)

Title: Reflections on Global Experiential Learning: A Participant’s Perspective
Author(s): JoAnn Tuzeo Jarolmen
Abstract: Having learned and taught global social work issues and examined the different social policies and institutions of various cultures and countries, I was very attracted by an opportunity that arose at NYU and Case Western University. These universities were sponsoring a continuing education trip to the Netherlands to explore firsthand some of the social institutions of that country. Palliative care, euthanasia, substance use, and prostitution were the emphasis of this investigation. The journey was to be one week and included not only classroom lectures but actually observing the institutions and how they functioned firsthand. The group itself was composed of faculty, students, and graduates of various schools of social work. The age range was also varied. Very few of the participants knew each other, and the 30+ sojourners were to meet at Newark airport and commence the adventure.
Article PDF: 111053.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 2 Page: 3)

Title: Editor's Information
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract:
Article PDF: 112003.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 2 Page: 6)

Title: Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Index for Training Need (ITN) Interest Scale with Practicing Rural Social Workers
Author(s): Timothy B. Conley, David Schantz, Sarah Aronson, Sarah Shae
Abstract: All licensed social workers in a geographically large rural state were surveyed by direct mail concerning their addiction-training needs. Of these 382 licensed social workers, 76.9 percent responded to the survey (n = 294). The 20-item Index of Training Need’s interest scale was included in the survey and subject to exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Alpha reliability for the scale is .95. EFA of the scale provides initial evidence of a three-factor structure, but scree plot interpretation and subsequent analysis processes do not support this. The scale effectively quantifies a single general construct of addiction
training need for this population, and its items provide valuable information for social work addictions educators.
Article PDF: 112006.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 2 Page: 13)

Title: A Professional Development Model for Increasing Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Knowledge of the Child Welfare Workforce
Author(s): Bibhuti K. Sar, Dan Wulff, Dana J. Sullivan, Pamela L. Weeks
Abstract: The field of public child welfare is continuously challenged to identify ways to professionalize its workforce to address the problem of the increased incidence and prevalence of substance abuse and mental health issues among the families it serves. Kentucky has addressed this challenge by partnering with its state universities to jointly develop a specific curriculum focused on increasing child welfare workers’ substance abuse and mental health assessment and case management skills. This paper describes this innovative professional development partnership, the resulting curriculum, and the initial impact of the curriculum on the professional development of a group of child welfare workers.
Article PDF: 112013.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 2 Page: 21)

Title: Attachment: Indicators from Caregivers and Toddlers – Implications for Adult Treatment
Author(s): Victoria Fitton, John Mooradian
Abstract: An ethnographic study was conducted to observe indicators of healthy and pleasurable attachment between women caregivers and toddlers in natural environments. Nineteen dyads were observed for an average of 20.3 minutes. Data were collected in three ways: field notes, sketches, and reflexive writing. Six indicators of healthy and pleasurable attachment evolved from the coding process. Another fundamental component emerged from the study. Caregivers contained the environmental space for toddler safety and exploration. This supports the secure base functions of the attachment relationship. The indicators, and use of environmental space, provide categories for consideration in adult treatment and clinical education.
Article PDF: 112021.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 2 Page: 37)

Title: Evaluating the Mentoring Program within Children’s Protective Services
Author(s): Richard Brooks, Rigo Montero, Tanya Netardus
Abstract: Retention of child welfare workers is a problem nationwide. The problem has existed for decades as evidenced by the Children’s Bureau 1960 report “In Search of Staff for Child Welfare,” which reported
“staffing shortages nationwide, and urged aggressive recruitment and retention strategies” (Bernotavicz, 1997). Although many retention programs have been developed over the years to address the problem in Children’s Protective Service agencies, the problem persists. In order to determine if the mentoring program was effective, evaluation of the program was necessary. The purpose of evaluating the mentoring program is to assist in obtaining further information regarding retention of child protective workers. This information will be helpful in determining the need for continuation of a mentoring program within Bexar County and to find out if there is a need to implement the program in stages of service other than Investigations, or throughout the agency statewide. In evaluating the Retention Agent Program, follow-up surveys within the organization were conducted to gather feedback on program efficacy and data on possible barriers to the program.
Article PDF: 112037.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 2 Page: 44)

Title: Establishing a Virtual Learning Environment Using iPods in Social Work Research Norfolk State University
Author(s): Marvin D. Feit, Suk-Hee Kim, Margaret Massey, Med, Courtney Mitchell
Abstract: This project involved the implementation of state-of-the-art iPod technology to enable participating students to download faculty lectures, PowerPoint presentations, and video recordings for access in an undergraduate social work research course at Norfolk State University (NSU). The objectives were to develop business processes along with logistical and technical strategies that would effectively provide for the creation and delivery of course content using iPods in an academic application. The development of learning materials using iPods has important implications for a new generation of continuing education students who need flexibility in keeping their knowledge current.
Article PDF: 112044.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 2 Page: 51)

Title: Voices from the Past--Examining Some Unintended Consequences of Searching for Cultural Antecedents: The Mungiki Gang in Kenya
Author(s): Mary Ndande
Abstract: African nations were preceded by cultures that were hundreds of years old that were absorbed by the nation states that emerged from the colonial period in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Much of Africa, to varying extents, has adopted the characteristics of nation states found in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Common institutions such as education and government, a national language and currency, social welfare support programs, and a national identity have developed. However, tensions often remain between the nation state and the pre-existing cultures, and those tensions may present considerable challenges for professionals such as social workers, teachers, and police that provide human services. Kenya’s history is like that of much of Africa. It has an ancient past of thousands of years, and it is still largely agricultural but with rapid movements of rural populations to urban areas. The Mungiki, initially emerged as a cultural group whose ideals were supported by some members of the Kenyan parliament who complained about the adulteration of Kikuyu culture, and wanted Kikuyu youth to shun Western ways and instead learn the original Kikuyu values (Kikechi, 2007).
Article PDF: 112051.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 3 Page: 3)

Title: Social Work Challenges for the 21st Century
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract:
Article PDF: 113003.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 3 Page: 8)

Title: Building Social Capital and Creating Innovation in Organizations
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract:
Article PDF: 113008.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 3 Page: 17)

Title: Social Capital: Implications for Human Service Organizations and Child Welfare
Author(s): Salvador Montana
Abstract: This is an exploratory study of the concept of social capital using a public human- service organization providing child welfare services as the basis for the study. Americans’ perceptions of public human service organizations remain largely negative. Public child welfare organizations epitomize these negative perceptions. Some have suggested that social learning theory and organizational learning perspectives can guide efforts aimed at improving the performance of public agencies. This study builds on these perspectives by examining organizational life through the conceptual lens of social capital. Findings from this study suggest an operationalization of social capital is possible using more definitive conceptualizations and definitions of the concept. Implications for social work/child welfare knowledge and practice, human service organizations, organizational leaders, and social work education are drawn.
Article PDF: 113017.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 3 Page: 30)

Title: Organizational Excellence and Employee Retention in Social Work
Author(s): Dong Pil Yoon, Michael Kelly
Abstract: Turnover is an important cost, performance, and morale challenge for any organization. Any turnover must be balanced against a number of factors. To understand and control the level of turnover it is important to have a working theory of variables that may account for turnover. One might suspect that pay, working conditions, education, gender, job satisfaction, and general organizational morale might all contribute. To see if these variables do account for turnover and to provide some insight into how organizational leadership is involved in understanding and controlling turnover, the authors turn to data from a standard organizational assessment and data recently gathered from a moderately sized human service organization in a Midwestern state. The tool used to assess organizational members’ attitudes on these variables is the Survey of Organizational Excellence. Some conditions -- such as low wages, poor facilities, and skimpy benefits -- will make people dissatisfied and prone to leave. These are the hygiene conditions. Other conditions -- such as challenging work, recognition, ability to pursue quality -- are factors that speak to the quality of leadership and opportunity to participate in the organization. They motivate people to work and to stay at the organization. When both conditions are met people stay, work hard, and build strong organizations. Organizations can utilize survey methods to assess factors that lead to employee retention or, conversely, high turnover.
Article PDF: 113030.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 3 Page: 36)

Title: Influence of Workplace Features on Child Welfare Service Quality
Author(s): Monica Faulkner, Elisa Vinson Borah
Abstract: An ethnographic study was conducted to observe indicators of healthy and pleasurable attachment.A substantial body of research exists documenting the impact of workplace features on the retention of child welfare workers. However, little evidence exists examining how those same workplace features affect services provided to children and families within the child welfare system. In this study, we examine the effects of multiple workplace characteristics on service quality perceptions. We use data from the Survey of Organizational Excellence, a biennial survey of all state agencies in Texas. We examine data from Texas Child Protective Services employees. Multiple regression was used to examine the impact of workplace features on service quality perceptions based on employee rank. Results suggest negative workplace environments lead to lower service quality perceptions. Employees most likely to be working directly with clients report low job satisfaction. Overall, employee perception of service quality is influenced by positive work accommodations and a positive organizational climate. Implications for professional development and training that incorporate these findings are discussed.
Article PDF: 113036.pd f

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 3 Page: 50)

Title: Teamwork as a Remedy to Prevent Turnover Amongst U.S. Public Child Welfare Workers
Author(s): Jinman Kyonne
Abstract: The high turnover rates among caseworkers have emerged in the past decade as one of the most serious issues within U.S. public child welfare agencies. Studies have found that high burnout rates, low job satisfaction, difficult organizational climates, and educational background are the major reasons for turnover. One area that has not been well explored is teamwork. This study develops a construct of “teamwork” to study its relationship to turnover. Logistical regression analysis was conducted on an anonymous random sample of the responses of 319 public child welfare caseworkers to an organizationwide survey conducted in one U.S. Midwestern state in 2005. Findings indicate that the workers’ positive perception of teamwork decreases their stated intentions to leave, whereas the workers’ burnout increases their stated intentions to leave. Based on the findings, implications for social work practice, social agency policy, and directions for future research are discussed.
Article PDF: 113050.pdf

Year: 2008 (Vol: 11 No: 3 Page: 61)

Title: Book Review: Child Welfare and Best Practices
Author(s): Laura Parker
Abstract:
Article PDF: 113061.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 1 Page: 3)

Title: Broad Perspectives in Continuing Social Work Education
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract:
Article PDF: 121003.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 1 Page: 4)

Title: Using Global and International Community Practice Case Studies to Enhance Critical Thinking about Domestic Community Participation, Social Power, and Global Connections in United States Professional Social Work Education
Author(s): Larry M. Gant, Julia Paley
Abstract:In an effort to connect local domestic issues in a Midwest post-industrial city to global issues of economy and politics, the authors developed a variation of a “think globally, think locally, act locally” paradigm. This article discusses the infusion of global content into two professional social work education courses that comprised core content for an urban Community Based Initiative (CBI) in a large Midwestern public university located forty miles from the urban area. “Conceptual infusion” includes critical thinking about power relations, multiple meanings of participation, and the importance of global political and economic trends. “Structural infusion” includes application of theory to community practice. The impact of curriculum change was assessed by pre- and post-course questionnaires completed by course participants. The researchers used a grounded theory approach for qualitative data coding, analysis, and interpretation of 26 pre- and post-course questionnaires. Findings show improved understanding of global connections, power analysis, and participation in United States, Latin America, and Africa. The article concludes with implications for continuing social work education and macro community practice.
Article PDF: 121004.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 1 Page: 18)

Title: Gender, Race, Job Satisfaction and the Social Services
Author(s): Nalini Negi
Abstract: Social service work provides very low antecedents to job satisfaction mainly due to the high stress, relatively low financial reward, and often heavy work load. This study contributes to the sparse research on job satisfaction among social service employees. The study of job satisfaction is particularly relevant in these times due to rapid demographic shifts as well as often deep budget cuts in the social services. These dynamics have frequently led to social service employees shouldering the burden of higher demand with fewer resources. An understanding of job satisfaction is then essential to equip and to retain social service workers for these ongoing challenges. This study compares the satisfaction of women and men in social service employment. The understanding of gender relationship to job satisfaction is crucial as the majority of social service providers are female. Race is equally important in the study of job satisfaction due to the strong emphasis social service work places on multicultural understanding and inclusion. The results of this study reveal significant differences in the levels of job satisfaction for female and male employees, as well as those of different ethnic/racial minority backgrounds.
Article PDF: 121018pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 1 Page: 27)

Title: Evaluating Two Agency-Based Training Programs from the Perspective of the Participants: What Worked for Whom?
Author(s): Helen Crohnm, Roni Berger
Abstract:A cross-sectional survey was used to evaluate two agency-based training programs. Program-specific questionnaires were administered to 85 clinical staff of diverse personal and professional backgrounds to study the degree to which these educational endeavors achieved their goals from the perspectives of the participants. These programs were offered by a large urban mental health and social service agency. Findings indicated a moderate to high perceived efficacy. Three unexpected findings are reported here: (1) participants valued collegial contact and the opportunity to discuss their work most highly; (2) participants valued gaining cutting edge knowledge less highly; and (3) participants of color perceived that the training programs helped them feel more valued by the agency, boosted their morale, and contributed to their retention at the agency significantly more so than the white study participants. Implications for social work professional development will be discussed.
Article PDF: 121027.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 1 Page: 38)

Title: Caring for the Genetics Services Needs of Children and Families: Exploring the Information Needs of Healthcare Providers
Author(s): Mary S. Tijerina, Katherine Selber, Virginia Rondero Hernandez
Abstract:A web-based survey explored perceptions of medical and allied health practitioners (n=86) about the statewide genetics services delivery system and types of knowledge needed to care for persons affected by suspected or diagnosed genetic conditions. Respondents viewed the system as fragmented, with service availability concentrated in urban areas. Cost of genetics services and practitioners’ lack of knowledge about available services were identified as barriers to referral. Practitioners were perceived as knowledgeable about risk assessment, e.g., recognizing need for genetics services, but less knowledgeable about the clinical application of genetics information and identifying psychosocial problems requiring referral. Implications are discussed for strengthening the genetics system and for enhancing the genetics education of allied health professionals.
Article PDF: 121038.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 1 Page: 51)

Title: Changing in Frontline Family Worker's Burnout and Job satisfaction: Evaluating the Missouri Family Development Credential Program
Author(s): Deborah B. Smith
Abstract: Frontline family workers have stressful jobs. The Missouri Family Development Credential (MO FDC) program teaches frontline workers how to create partnerships with families they assist. This may relieve some of the burden of the job by assigning responsibilities to both worker and family members. To evaluate the program we use a quasi-experimental research design to gather data from program participants and from a comparison group of other social service workers for a total sample size of 229. Evaluation results indicate positive impacts for workers. At the bivariate level, we find significant differences in the amount and direction of change documented between pre- and post-training data collection with MO FDC participants’ scores of global self-esteem, mastery, and professional self-esteem increasing and the comparison group’s scores decreasing. The MO FDC participants also report a decrease in feelings of burnout while the comparison group feels more burnt out. At the multivariate level, after controlling for demographic and work environment characteristics, FDC participants are significantly more likely to report being less burnt out at Wave 2 than at Wave1, and FDC participants are also significantly more likely to report bigger increases in their feelings of mastery than the comparison group.
Article PDF: 121051.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 1 Page: 61)

Title: Veterans Return to Civilian Life: A Review of Factors Associated with a Resilient Outcome and How Social Workers Can Prepare to Help
Author(s): Alexa Smith-Obsborne
Abstract: Public concern over the treatment of returning injured service members from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom has escalated as deployment periods have lengthened, recuperation periods have shortened, and reports of inadequate case management and services have proliferated. Even before military operations began in Iraq, the Veterans Administration had noted a surge in the number of disability claims for PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder). Significant delays in processing disability claims and accessing timely treatment for veterans have also been identified as problems. These trends suggest the need for rapid mobilization of updated social work staff development in all areas pertaining to services for veterans and their families.

Article PDF: 121061.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 2 Page: 3)

Title: Commissioning Letter
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract:
Article PDF: 122003.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 2 Page: 4)

Title: Special Issue Editor's Comments
Author(s): Katherine Selber
Abstract:
Article PDF: 122004.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 2 Page: 6)

Title: An Afternoon In Juárez
Author(s): David Danelo
Abstract:David Danelo is an author of two books, one dealing with his combat experiences as a Marine in Iraq and his most recent recounting a series of travels along the entire Mexico-United States border from Brownsville and Matamoros to San Diego and Tijuana. A graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy David brings his combat experiences in the Middle East to seek to untangle the causes of the cartel wars on the border and what might be answers to these problems.

Article PDF: 122006.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 2 Page: 12)

Title: Mexico: Past, Present, and Future
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract:In the beginning throes of vast economic decline and with a new presidency, the United States faces enormous decisions. None is greater than the response to events underway in Mexico, and yet the events do not have the deserved attention in either country. This is one article in a Special Edition of our journal examining aspects of issues between the United States and Mexico. The article covers well-known but often forgotten historical occurrences in Mexico, looks at Mexico’s efforts to pattern itself as an economy like the United States, and concludes with an enumeration of some of the great challenges that loom for Mexico and the United States.
Article PDF: 122012.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 2 Page: 36)

Title: Building Social Capital Between the U.S. and Mexico: Then and Now
Author(s): Michael Lauderdale, Michael Kelly, Noel Landuyt
Abstract:Following a review of historical factors connected to today’s crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border, this paper examines the author’s experiences in the late 1970s and 1980s in Mexico as a university professor, a health and human services program developer, and researcher, yielding a qualitative perspective. The challenges of the seventies and eighties are briefly contrasted to recent developments.
Article PDF: 122036.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 2 Page: 45)

Title: Mexico's Drug Wars: Implication and Perspectives from California and California's San Joaquin Valley
Author(s): Salvador Montana and H. Stephen Cooper
Abstract:This essay discusses Mexico’s drug war along the California-Mexico border occurring in the Tijuana, Mexico, border region. The authors also discuss Mexican drug trafficking into the United States from the San Diego-Tijuana border region and moving north to the San Joaquin Valley of California, one the most prosperous agricultural regions in the country. The authors examine the intersection of Mexican drug wars along the border, drug trafficking to the north, immigration from Mexico, and the San Joaquin Valley’s agricultural economy and its relationship to socioeconomic conditions in the area. The human cost of the drug trade on residents of the San Joaquin Valley is also presented. The authors suggest that the San Joaquin Valley, one of the most economically depressed regions in the U.S. despite its successful agribusiness, may be more vulnerable to the influences of Mexican drug trade than other areas of the country, and also to current U.S. immigration policy meant to secure the U.S-Mexico border.
Article PDF: 122045.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 2 Page: 57)

Title: Texas-Mexico Borderlands: The Slide Toward Chaos
Author(s): Dudley Althaus
Abstract:The well-known journalist and current chief of the Houston Chronicle’s Mexico City Bureau recounts his years and experiences writing about the historically rich and culturally complex communities in the Borderlands. He notes how the early presence of cocaine began in the lower Valley and ends with the hopelessness most graphic in Juarez.
Article PDF: 122057.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 3 Page: 3)

Title: Reverberations from the Great Border
Author(s): Kelly, Landuyt, Lauderdale, Selber, and Swanson
Abstract:
Article PDF: 123003.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 3 Page: 6)

Title: Working in the Borderland: Implications for Social Work Education
Author(s): Peralta, Anderson and Roditti
Abstract: The U.S.-Mexico border area has a higher rate of poverty, a higher percentage of high school dropouts, and a greater disparity in health care than other areas of this country. A large portion of the border population lives in colonias, which are unincorporated communities that typically have substandard housing, no roads, no police or fire protection, nor other elements of basic infrastructure such as water, sewer, and electric services. Most of the people living in these colonias are Mexican-American. The effective delivery of services to this population is often limited by a language barrier and a lack of culturally sensitive services. These problems are explored along with their implications for social work education.
Article PDF: 123006.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 3 Page: 17)

Title: Best Practices for Working with Pregnant Latina Adolescents along the Texas-Mexico Border
Author(s): Pittman, Feldman, Ramírez and Arredondo
Abstract:The Latina/o population, the fastest growing minority group in the U.S. (Pew Hispanic Center, 2008), encounters problems similar to those of other ethnic groups in utilizing health care; however, they are largely misunderstood and underserved mostly because Anglo models that incorporate the importance of individuality and independence do not resonate with the Latina/o culture. This paper presents a best-practices framework for working with pregnant Latina adolescents that includes salient Latina/o cultural values of familismo, personalismo, simpatía, and respeto. While it is recognized that Latina/os are a diverse group, generalizations based on our target pregnant adolescent population of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Texas-Mexico border area are applicable to working with most Latina/os.
Article PDF: 123017.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 3 Page: 29)

Title: Moving Around to Get By and Try to Get Ahead: Immigration Experiences in New Settlement Communities of the Midwest
Author(s): Valdivia and Dannerbeck Janku
Abstract: In recent decades, towns across the United States have experienced an increase in culturally distinct newcomers, primarily from Latin America. A key characteristic of these newcomers is a tendency to move around until they find a place to settle. A recent study in Missouri found that, along with racial profiling, mobility had a significant negative impact on income earnings, especially for foreign-born female immigrants. Why do people move around so much, and why do mobility, being foreign born and a woman, have such a negative impact on earnings? This study addresses these questions through case studies of Latina immigrants in three new settlement communities in the Midwest. This study examines their moves, the reasons for moves, the processes by which they settle or move on, and how income is affected by mobility, origins, and gender. Understanding the perspective of the newcomers will help human service providers better meet their needs.
Article PDF: 123029.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 3 Page: 42)

Title: Journey to the Drop House
Author(s): Westbrook
Abstract:While slowly it dawns on the public, law enforcement and human services professionals that Mexican immigration is exploding with serious and complex consequences, less is understood about the lives of those that risk crossing illegally. Drawn from a variety of case examples this article provides an all too typical illustration of that passage, and it details the reasons and some of the characteristics of the growing numbers of “drop houses” that appear in towns now miles beyond the immediate Mexican border.
Article PDF: 123042.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 3 Page: 48)

Title: Tuberculosis and Stigma: Two Case Studies in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Author(s): Moya and Lusk
Abstract: This paper elucidates the difficulties and challenges associated with securing a definitive tuberculosis diagnosis, managing the disease, adhering to treatment, and enduring social stigma by an in-depth review of two cases of persons with tuberculosis, participants of the TB Photovoice Project in the U.S.-Mexico Border context.
Article PDF: 123048.pdf

Year: 2009 (Vol: 12 No: 3 Page: 59)

Title: Globalization: Unanticipated Consequences
Author(s): Lauderdale
Abstract:Globalization in several forms has been a dominant theme at times in the world since Cyrus the Great of Persia, and later, the Romans, both empires which pushed far from home to distant lands. In more recent times -- since 1648-- globalization was driven by the colonial powers of Europe. Late in the 20^th century globalization was generated by international capitalism as well as technological advances and the search for cheaper resources, including labor. This phase of globalization is likely ending as cheap oil and other resources critical for industrialized societies become dearer, and with the United States spread thin with foreign responsibilities and mounting debts. Yet the impact of globalization continues to play out with unforeseen events. Some of those that first affected the American Southwest and Mexican Border are examined. These events will force new directions upon the United States. The directions chosen are not clear but the direction that is chosen will have a substantial impact on the nation and its neighbors. We end with a consideration of strategic and tactical alternatives to deal with the Mexican collapse, and the resulting high levels of refugees, and the growing violence in Mexico and on the border that are being projected into the United States.
Article PDF: 123059.pdf