scholarly journals Challenges and their overcoming when implementing the restructuring of children's care homes in Lithuania

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 03002
Author(s):  
Vida Gudzinskiene ◽  
Rita Raudeliunaite
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Good Practices ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Institutional Cooperation ◽  
Training Courses ◽  
Research Type

The aim of the study is to reveal challenges and the ways to overcome them in the context of the restructuring of childcare, based on the experience of social workers who work in children's care homes, which participate in the restructuring. Qualitative research type was chosen for the study. The method of a semi-structured interview with social workers who work in care institutions, that take part in the deinstitutionalisation process. The challenges arising to social workers in the context of the restructuring, which came to light during the study, are related to the resistance and anxiety of social workers regarding their future, the lack of information on the restructuring, the lack of engagement of social workers in the restructuring processes, the lack of the dissemination of good practices, the need to improve professional qualifications and the possibility to choose training courses of qualification improvement which correspond to their needs. The unpreparedness of the community for the restructuring, as well as the finding of foster parents and adoptive parents for children or the reunification with their family and the anxiety of the children about their future were also identified. In order to overcome the challenges arising during the restructuring it is necessary: to have a restructuring plan which is clear and understandable to all, the preparation of the employees for changes, the increase of dissemination of information in the communityand society, the rallying of the community, inter-institutional cooperation and the preparation of parents/ adoptive parents/foster parents.

scholarly journals The causes of stress at work amongst social workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 03004
Author(s):  
Rita Raudeliunaite ◽  
Giedre Volff
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Psychological Violence ◽  
External Causes ◽  
Stress At Work ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Research Type ◽  
Conditions Of Employment

Social workers work in an ever-changing social, political and cultural environment, they are exposed to contacts with persons of different social backgrounds, people experiencing behavioural and various social problems. In complicated, ever-continuing, multidimensional situations, there arises the risk of stress. In order to manage stress at work, it is important to identify the causes of stress. The objective of this study is to reveal the causes of stress experienced by social workers at work basing on the experience of social workers. Qualitative research type was chosen for the study. The method of a semi-structured interview with social workers, who work in different institutions providing social services, was used. The study revealed both external and internal causes posing stress to social workers at work. The external causes of stress are associated with working conditions, for example, the absence of stability and clarity at work. Social workers often remain alone to resolve problems; they can have a heavy workload. There is the lack of cooperation between institutions, such as the police and other institutions when they inform about the problematic behaviour of their client. Stress is caused by the absence of change and excessively high requirements for an employee. Social workers experience negative behaviour of service receivers, for example, threat of physical violence, psychological violence, and pressure from clients in order to receive something. Relationships with management can also cause stress. There is the lack of incentive, the lack of benevolence, an employee is noticed only when he needs “to be taught a lesson”; the conditions of employment are not satisfactory – an employee is offered only a fixed-term contract, low pay. The internal causes of stress are related to excessively high requirements for social workers, the pursuit of perfection when resolving the problems of service receivers, the fear of failure and an inflated sense of responsibility.

scholarly journals THE QUALIFICATION IMPROVEMENT OF SOCIAL WORKERS WORKING IN CHILDREN‘S CARE HOMES IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR RESTRUCTURING

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 324
Author(s):  
Vida Gudzinskienė ◽  
Rita Raudeliūnaitė
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Independent Life

The article analyses the qualification improvement of social workers, who work in children‘s care homes, in the context of their restructuring. A qualitative-empirical study has been conducted by using the method of a semi-structured interview. The study data were processed by using the method of content analysis. The results of the empirical study are based on the experience of 14 social workers, who work in care institutions, which participate in the restructuring, which consists of the changeover from institutional care to the services that are provided to children, who have become destitute of parental care, in a family and community. Internal (an aspiration for a continuous qualification improvement and the desire to share professional experience) and external (changes related to the restructuring, ever higher requirements for social workers, the encouragement and support of the administration of institutions to improve their qualification) stimuli to improve qualification have been highlighted. The most relevant topics of qualification improvement for social workers are the development of personal and social skills in children, the preparation of them for an independent life, the solution of behavioural and psychological problems in children and the preparedness of social workers themselves for the restructuring and the need for supervisions. The topics, which  meet their needs, are: the development of social skills, the communication with children and the preparation of them for a family. According to the informants, there is a lack of trainings oriented towards the solution of practical problems which arise while organizing the restructuring. The following problems related to the improvement of qualification were highlighted: the mismatch between the teaching topics and the content, during the trainings for social worker, who work in children‘s care homes, the problems of other social groups, but not of children are analysed. During trainings, there is a lack of the detailed examination of the solution of practical problems. The social workers lack trainings related to the preparation for the restructuring.

scholarly journals Assessing and assisting prospective adoptive parents: Social workers’ communicative strategies in adoption assessment interviews

2021 ◽  
pp. 147332502198942
Author(s):  
Madeleine Wirzén ◽  
Asta Čekaitė
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Complex Task ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Institutional Goals ◽  
Communicative Strategies ◽  
Specific Assessment ◽  
And Function

The assessment of prospective adoptive parents is a complex task for professional social workers. In this study, we examine the structure and function of professional social workers’ follow-up questions in assessment talk with adoption applicants. The analysis shows that adoption assessment through interviews involved a delicate and complex task that was accomplished by using a particular genre of institutional talk. This both invited the applicants’ extended and ‘open-ended’ responses and steered these responses and their development towards the institutionally relevant topics. Detailed interaction analysis demonstrates that social workers used a broad range of question types to steer and guide applicants’ responses, organising talk about specific assessment topics. On the basis of initial open-ended topic initiations and applicants’ responses, the social workers steered topic development by using follow-up moves such as polar questions and clarifying questions that asked for specification, challenged applicants’ ideas, confirmed their knowledge and encouraged self-reflection. These follow-up moves allowed social workers to achieve the progression of talk into relevant areas of investigation and constituted a central and characteristic feature of assessment interviews. We suggest that they allow social workers to accomplish two hybrid institutional goals: i) the assessment of applicants’ suitability and ii) applicants’ preparation for future parenthood.

scholarly journals Attachment states of mind among internationally adoptive and foster parents

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Lee Raby ◽  
Heather A. Yarger ◽  
Teresa Lind ◽  
R. Chris Fraley ◽  
Esther Leerkes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foster Parents ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Adult Attachment Interview ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
States Of Mind ◽  
Protective Services ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Taxometric Analyses

AbstractThe first aim of the current study was to examine the latent structure of attachment states of mind as assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) among three groups of parents of children at risk for insecure attachments: parents who adopted internationally (N= 147), foster parents (N= 300), and parents living in poverty and involved with Child Protective Services (CPS;N= 284). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the state of mind rating scales loaded on two factors reflecting adults’ preoccupied and dismissing states of mind. Taxometric analyses indicated the variation in adults’ preoccupied states of mind was more consistent with a dimensional than a categorical model, whereas results for dismissing states of mind were indeterminate. The second aim was to examine the degree to which the attachment states of mind of internationally adoptive and foster parents differ from those of poverty/CPS-referred parents and low-risk parents. After controlling for parental age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, (a) internationally adoptive parents had lower scores on the dismissing dimension than the sample of community parents described by Haltigan, Leerkes, Supple, and Calkins (2014); (b) foster parents did not differ from community parents on either the dismissing or the preoccupied AAI dimension; and (c) both internationally adoptive and foster parents had lower scores on the preoccupied dimension than poverty/CPS-referred parents. Analyses using the traditional AAI categories provided convergent evidence that (a) internationally adoptive parents were more likely to be classified as having an autonomous state of mind than low-risk North American mothers based on Bakermans-Kranenburg and van IJzendoorn's (2009) meta-analytic estimates, (b) the rates of autonomous states of mind did not differ between foster and low-risk parents, and (c) both internationally adoptive and foster parents were less likely to be classified as having a preoccupied state of mind than poverty/CPS-referred parents.

The experiences of German social workers working with refugees

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel J Hagues ◽  
David Cecil ◽  
Ken Stoltzfus
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Personal Attributes ◽  
Cultural Immersion ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Related Stress

Summary This study examines the experiences of German social workers who provided services to refugees during the refugee crisis of 2014–2016. Interviews were conducted in 2016 in two regions of Germany, Berlin/Brandenburg ( n = 18) and Würzburg (Bavaria; n = 16). Researchers used a semi-structured interview guide complemented by a five-item Likert-type instrument. Questions explored Social Service Provider’s Background and Training, Refugees’ Needs, Role of Faith in Coping, and Recommendations for Universities and Churches and measure Effectiveness of Services, Adequacy of Resources, Benefits to Refugees, and Extent of Work-Related Stress. Findings A thematic analysis indicates social workers feel Germany has effectively responded to paramount refugee needs. Social workers emphasize the importance of learning to see people “eye-to-eye,” cultivating empathy, cross-cultural competence, overcoming personal biases, and self-reflection. Applications Findings suggest social workers who practice with refugees should devote attention to the development of personal attributes to facilitate effective service delivery (e.g. learning to respond empathetically, practicing self-reflection, and treating refugees as equals) and refining practical skills (e.g. study of refugee and immigration law nationally and internationally and development of cross-cultural knowledge and understanding). Suggestions include learning a greeting in another language or understanding gender roles in different cultures. The usefulness of cultural immersion gained by spending time abroad was highlighted; such experiences allow one to cultivate the ability to be open-minded, encourage the development of a capacity to empathize with members of under-represented groups, and prevent the tendency of seeing refugees or migrants as “the Other” ( Said, 1978 ).

‘[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.

Avoiding saying too much: The complexity of relationships between permanent parents and social workers

2001 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cas O’Neill
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Physical Punishment ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Parenting Expectations ◽  
Over Time

Relationships between social workers and foster care, permanent care and adoptive parents are based on a combination ofknowledge, power, partnership and support, the ‘mix’ of which is likely to change over time. Different interpretations of what each side contributes to these relationships during assessment and post-placement contact, add to the complexity which parents and workers negotiate.In a longitudinal research project on support in permanent placements, avoiding saying too much was an important part of these relationships. ‘Good’ and ‘bad’ parenting, expectations, blame, physical punishment and not coping are just some of the issues which were not spoken about.This article explores the gap between the things which can be said and the things which are rarely said, and looks at how this gap affects relationships between fami lies and workers.

scholarly journals NEW PROGRAM OF FAMILIES PREPARING FOR CARE AND EDUCATION OF FOSTERED / ADOPTED CHILDREN

2021 ◽  
pp. 160-164
Author(s):  
Zhanna Petrochko  ◽  
Larysa Pietushkova 
Keyword(s):  
Foster Parents ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Total Duration ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Adoptive Parents ◽  
Family Education ◽  
Experimental Program ◽  
Adopted Children ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Common Learning

The urgency of developing an alternative program for training candidates for family uniforms and child custody is justified by the need to: accelerate the process of training such candidates in case of difficulties in completing study groups; to acquaint participants with all forms of family upbringing, adoption, childcare services in order to make further conscious choices about the form that is most acceptable for candidates and to which they are most prepared; save resources needed to prepare candidates to avoid duplication of common learning topics. The purpose of the article is to reveal the features of such a combined program and prove its effectiveness. Research methods applied: analysis of scientific literature on the topic of research, observation, survey of candidates for family education and foster carers. The combined modular program is a new normative document that outlines the range of knowledge, skills and abilities to be acquired by candidates for foster parents, foster parents, guardians / trustees, adoptive parents, foster carers for quality care and upbringing of foster / adopted children. The peculiarity of the Program is that it contains joint classes of candidates for foster parents, foster parents, guardians / trustees, adoptive parents, foster carers, and specialized classes for individual groups of participants. The program focuses on the formation of the competence of foster parents, foster parents, guardians/custodians, adoptive parents, foster parents to protect the rights of the child, establishing effective communication with the child and his biological or potential parents, finding the most effective forms and methods of influencing emotional state child, behavior, its correction, rehabilitation. Its total duration of implementation is 13 days, of which: 7 days - joint classes for all participants. The program is implemented in the format of trainings. Conclusions on the effectiveness of the program were made based on the results of a survey of participants (candidates for family education) during 2020-2021 in the Ternopil region on the experimental program.

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