scholarly journals The procedural fairness limitations of fitness to practise hearings: a case study into social work

Legal Studies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Kirkham ◽  
Jadwiga Leigh ◽  
Kenneth McLaughlin ◽  
Aidan Worsley
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Procedural Fairness ◽  
Relative Lack ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Community ◽  
Resource Poor ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Hybrid Forms

AbstractThe norm in fitness to practise proceedings (FTPP) is that where sanctions might be imposed procedural fairness requires a court-like hearing. This paper questions that paradigm, using empirical research to focus on the FTPP to which social workers must account. Procedural fairness is a multi-faceted legitimising concept used to justify the design of decision-making processes. With FTPPs, the major justification is an ‘instrumentally’ focused model of procedural fairness which prioritises making decisions that look right, a goal which is delivered in the context of social work. But other justifications for procedural fairness are inadequately fulfilled, with in particular a ‘dignitarian’ respect not achieved due to the high levels of non-attendance by registrant social workers. Further, procedural fairness as ‘public accountability’ is undermined due to the relative lack of engagement of FTPPs with the perspective of the social work community. These findings hint that in the context of a poorly organised and resource-poor profession other hybrid forms of FTPP might have a stronger claim to procedural fairness than the court-like model.

‘[W]e Find Families for Children, Not Children for Families’: An Incident in the Long and Unhappy History of Relations between Social Workers and Adoptive Parents

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian Quartly
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Adoptive Parent ◽  
Inclusive Practice ◽  
Australian State ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

Relatively little work on adoption focuses on the role of social workers. This article gives an account of the conflict between social workers and prospective adoptive parents which developed in Australia in the 1970s, taking as a case study the conflicting roles of adoptive parent advocates and professional social workers within the Standing Committee on Adoption in the Australian state of Victoria. Its overarching concern lies with the historical attitudes of the social work profession towards adoption, both domestic and intercountry, as these have changed from an embrace of both adoption and adoptive parents to mutual alienation. It concludes that the inclusive practice of radical social work could only briefly contain contesting client groups.

Asylum Seekers in Israel: Challenges to Social Work

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 2283-2298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orit Nuttman-Shwartz ◽  
Ofer Shinar Levanon
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
The One ◽  
Global Agenda

AbstractThe challenges facing social workers in addressing the migration crisis are myriad and complex. Against this background, the current article presents a case study on the response of Israeli social work to the asylum seekers, which allows us to identify gaps between the social work profession’s global agenda and its implementation. The article examines how recent immigration policies have impacted Israeli social workers’ responses to these challenges. Following a brief description of Israel’s policies for controlling and limiting the entrance of asylum seekers to the country, the article offers insights into social workers’ involvement in some of the main social services that aim to assist asylum seekers in Israel. Insights are also offered into the response of Israeli social workers to the community of asylum seekers, which focuses on individual needs and on urgent needs. Several explanations for these emphases was offers, noting that they may reflect a more general gap between repeated statements about the significance of human rights for the social work profession on the one hand and the professional reality on the other. Finally, several strategies for social work in the community of asylum seekers and in society as a whole are recommended.

Social Workers’ Impact on Policy Through Regulations: A Case Study of the U.S. Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

2021 ◽  
pp. 146801732110103
Author(s):  
Susanny J Beltran ◽  
Vivian J Miller ◽  
Tyrone Hamler
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The Social ◽  
The U.S

Summary Involvement in the political process in the United States is critical for social work professionals, as social policies dictate funding and programming in social work practice. Yet, there is little to no focus given to the regulation writing process in the social work literature in the United States. This article contributes to the scant body of knowledge that addresses the regulatory process from a social work perspective. A brief overview of the regulation writing process is provided, followed by a case study using the regulations for the U.S. Older Americans Act Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to illustrate the process. Findings A total of 85 comments, submitted to the Federal Register docket, were analyzed using content analysis. Findings reveal that comment submissions varied greatly in terms of length, source, and input. Notably, findings indicate low participation from the social work profession. Application The open comment period of the regulation writing process offers a free, but effortful, window of opportunity for social workers to engage in post-legislative advocacy. There is a need to support the involvement of the social work profession in the regulation writing process, through practice and training enhancements.

Professional social work and the defence of children’s and their families’ rights in a period of austerity: A case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-65
Author(s):  
Jane Tunstill ◽  
Carolyne Willow
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Family Support ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Professional Values ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
The Social ◽  
Professional Child

This article explores the implications of austerity for professional child and family social workers. Their ability to offer and provide a range of child and family support services was threatened by proposed clauses in the 2016/17 Children and Social Work Bill, now Act, which would have exempted local authorities from meeting key existing statutory duties. Having established a policy context for progressive social work, the article records the Bill’s passage through Parliament, and details the successful Together for Children campaign against the clauses, in which the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the Association of Professors of Social Work participated. The authors conclude by identifying some of the ways in which social workers can apply their progressive and professional values and knowledge to defend the social care rights of children and families.Keywords: children; social work; legislation; children’s rights; campaigning; austerity

The Mother-Based Intervention: Policy, Social Work, and the Absence of Fathers in the Social Services in Israel

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadav Perez-Vaisvidovsky ◽  
Reli Mizrahi ◽  
Ayana Halpern
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
The Social ◽  
Intervention Policy

Abstract The increasing scholarly interest in the absence of fathers from family-focused interventions by the social services tends to focus on the role of fathers, mothers, and social workers in this absence. The role of policymakers, however, has been neglected. This article examines the case study of policymakers in the Israeli social services to fill in this gap and examine the role of policy and policymakers in fathers’ absence. The findings reveal that policy is based on the ‘mother-based intervention’ assumption—the services are built around the assumption that interventions include only mothers, and therefore make engaging fathers an exception.

scholarly journals Participation in Botswana: A Case Study of Botswana National Association of Social Workers (BoNASW)

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Kgomotso Jongman
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
National Association ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Shared Information ◽  
Professional Body ◽  
Ordinary Member ◽  
Work Events

Professional participation in Botswana has been lagging behind since the conception of the social workers association in the past 20 years. Participation in the professional body of social workers have been has a headache for the leaders of the national association. The numbers of social workers attending social work events such as the social workers day, leadership forum and the annual general meetings have been going down over the past 10 years since the official launching of the national association. This unfortunately is not only peculiar to social work, but it seems it worse among social workers. This has left those who are in leadership of the profession with many questions. The most important Questions that have been asked have been; what’s wrong with the social work profession where the participation in the professional bodies has been below par? Is it the problem of social workers only in Botswana or there is apathy all over? This paper has combined the shared information, experience from the author as the president of the association for 6 years, being the advisor for 4 year and now just an ordinary member but holds a position of International Federation of Social workers Human Rights commissioner in Africa. The paper also tries to look at the literature on participation in general.

Infusing Aging Skills into the Social Work Practice Community: A New Look at Strategies for Continuing Professional Education

2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Miyake Geron ◽  
Christina Andrews ◽  
Kathy Kuhn
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Community ◽  
Practice Skills

As social work advances into the 21st century, dramatic increases in the aging of the U.S. population, shifting policy imperatives, and the emergence of new technologies have transformed the professional landscape in which social workers operate. To survive in today's world, social workers must be able to learn new skills and adapt to change. This article reviews the challenges facing the profession in transferring practice skills to social workers and describes the strategies of the Institute for Geriatric Social Work (IGSW) that address them. Well-designed training should provide a learning experience that is affordable, accessible and grounded in skill-based competencies. The challenge facing IGSW—and the broader social work community—is how to promote continuing education that maximizes these ends.

scholarly journals The social work voice: How could unions strengthen practice?

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Ross
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Social Injustice ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Community ◽  
Action Network ◽  
Do So

Social workers have many different demands placed upon them daily. From a necessity to consistently engage in professional development and reflection through to the requirement to challenge social injustice and strive for social change, much is made of our ethical respon- sibilities and practice standards. This is as it should be due to the complex and demanding nature of our work. Yet far less is said about how social workers can effectively meet these strong commitments and who can support us to do so. The question of who ‘advocates for the advocates’ remains side-lined in the continuing development of our profession. This article examines unionism and how it may provide the support and advocacy needed to progress some of the long-standing issues faced by the social work community, as well as some of the key obstacles to this. In addition, an overview of the Social Workers Action Network (SWAN) within the Public Service Association (PSA) is provided to examine how these conceptual dilemmas are being dealt with in practice. 

From converts to cooperation: Protestant internationalism, US missionaries and Indian Christians and ‘Professional’ social work between Boston and Bombay (c. 1920–1950)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Michael Phillipp Brunner
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
North America ◽  
Social Gospel ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Historical Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Concerns ◽  
High Phase

Abstract The 1920s and 30s were a high phase of liberal missionary internationalism driven especially by American-led visions of the Social Gospel. As the missionary consensus shifted from proselytization to social concerns, the indigenization of missions and the role of the ‘younger churches’ outside of Europe and North America was brought into focus. This article shows how Protestant internationalism pursued a ‘Christian Sociology’ in dialogue with the field’s academic and professional form. Through the case study of settlement sociology and social work schemes by the American Marathi Mission (AMM) in Bombay, the article highlights the intricacies of applying internationalist visions in the field and asks how they were contested and shaped by local conditions and processes. Challenging a simplistic ‘secularization’ narrative, the article then argues that it was the liberal, anti-imperialist drive of the missionary discourse that eventually facilitated an American ‘professional imperialism’ in the development of secular social work in India. Adding local dynamics to the analysis of an internationalist discourse benefits the understanding of both Protestant internationalism and the genesis of Indian social work and shows the value of an integrated global micro-historical approach.

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