scholarly journals Sustaining a plurality of imperatives: an institutional analysis of knowledge perspectives in Swedish social service policies

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-44
Author(s):  
Filip Wollter ◽  
Ola Segnestam Larsson ◽  
Lars Oscarsson
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
National Level ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Reliable Knowledge ◽  
Service Policies ◽  
Abuse Treatment ◽  
The Relationship

Social services are among the public policy areas criticized for lacking a reliable knowledge base to support professional as well as political ambitions and actions. This article contributes to the literature on knowledge perspectives in social service policies by studying and analyzing mechanisms that sustain a plurality of perspectives in the policies. The empirical material consists of knowledge perspectives in social service policies at the national level for child and family care and substance abuse treatment in Sweden between 1992 and 2015. Mechanisms that sustain a plurality of perspectives are identified with the support of an institutional logics framework. The main findings are that a plurality of knowledge perspectives. such as professional, scientific, and organizational, seems to be a permanent rather than temporary configuration; and that this permanent plurality is sustained by a set of mechanisms, including assimilation, blending, segregation, and contradiction. Despite this pluralism, there are few comments or guidelines in policy regarding the relationship between different knowledge perspectives. The findings suggest that more attention should be paid to the relationship between different knowledge perspectives and its impact on social work practice. In this, research and practice together need to support a development towards a more transparent professional acting.

scholarly journals Pakiwaitara - social work sense for supervision

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-31
Author(s):  
Jacquelyn Elkington
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Dominant Culture ◽  
Social Service Delivery ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
Definition Of

Pakiwaitara (Elkington, 2001) came about as a gap identified in social service delivery between western, middle class, dominant culture and the healing of Māori whānau in crisis. While education has responded to this gap by offering bicultural training, ensuring more Māori components within degree programmes, etc, social services statistics are still high for Māori and indigenous peoples. It has helped to shift the definition of cultural supervision to inside the definition of specialised professional supervision (Elkington, 2014), but now continued invisibility of values and beliefs, particularly that of Tauiwi, exacerbate the problem. The challenge must still be asserted so that same-culture practitioners are strengthened in same-culture social work practice (eg, by Māori, for Māori), and to avoid when possible, or otherwise by choice, white dominant-culture practice, for all-and-every-culture social work practice (eg, by Pākehā, for everyone).

The Better Future International’s family care model in Tanzania: Creating social capital as a means to empowerment in social work practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 002087281988498
Author(s):  
Barbara Kail ◽  
Manoj Pardasani ◽  
Robert Chazin
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Future Orientation ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Future Path

This article describes the impact on social services of an innovative model of family care in Moshi, Tanzania, aimed at orphaned children and youth who are affected by HIV/AIDS and their caregivers. We explore three questions: Is social capital created during the provision of social work services? If so, what aspects of the model are responsible for it? How does this social capital influence the participants’ educational/occupational aspirations and vision of the future? This qualitative study is based on a case analysis of eight adolescents and their caregivers. Data were collected from in-depth interviews. The unique aspects of a family-oriented, holistic, social service model focused on empowerment and future orientation-generated bridging, bonding, and linking social capital. Youth with more social capital appeared to have clearer visions of their future path. Implications for community-based social work practice serving marginalized and impoverished groups are presented.

scholarly journals Evidence-based social service in Sweden: a long and winding road from policy to local practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Knowledge Development ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Complete Replacement

It is possible to discern a new trend replacing New Public Management (NPM) in human service organisations. This trend comprises a discussion about evidence and governance with the goal of establishing a knowledge-based practice within Swedish social service. Efforts aimed at promoting an evidence-based practice have been an explicit part of Swedish social policy for more than 15 years. As a public venture aimed at changing local municipality social work practice, the initiative described in this article has few predecessors in terms of personnel, finance, or political support. The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to describe the intervention and its implementation, and second, to analyse the intervention and its implementation and some implications of them. The article uses translation and institutional theory. The overall aim is to analyse the intervention and its implementation from the perspectives of power and governance. The empirical data include documents, interviews, and a survey of professionals. Data were collected between 2009 and 2016. This article shows that the intervention has been interpreted and reinterpreted during its implementation, and that the intervention has not yet created any radical change or knowledge development in social work practice. The article argues that evidence-based governance and other forms of governance constitute a successor of NPM, though far from a complete replacement. It is also obvious that actors such as researchers, professionals, and clients seem to have limited influence over future knowledge development within social services.

Older people, pensions and poverty: An issue for social workers?

2011 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam Foster
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

Poverty is encountered by the majority of users of social services but is often overlooked in social work practice. This article explores the relationship between poverty in older age, pension receipt and the role of social policy formulation in the UK with particular reference to New Labour governance. It also briefly explores the EU context before considering the implications for social work.

scholarly journals Social work in the public services in Brazil - disclosing ruling relations in a local context

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-146
Author(s):  
Trond Heitmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Local Context ◽  
The Public ◽  
Professional Careers ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

This article about social workers in the public social services in Brazil explores professional social work practice through the subjective standpoint of the social workers. Inspired by institutional ethnography, this approach explicates how understandings of social work are interpreted and implemented in various contexts. The findings show that the formalization of the relationship with the employer through contracts of employment implicate that the disciplinary normative definitions of social work succumb to institutional regulations, which are not necessarily discipline specific. In addition, the temporary character of the contracts of employment makes the social workers align their practice to institutional frameworks and demands, as they are personally interested in renewal of the contracts and the maintenance of their professional careers. With this approach, disciplinary, political, ideological, legal and moral definitions of social work are not viewed as the essences of social work, but rather as contextual processes that are locally activated in different contexts. At the same time, it underscores social work as a political profession which should naturally include interventions on political, juridical, economic and organizational levels. Consequently, professional social work is not one thing, nor only one profession, but rather professional practices adapted to a variation of contexts. This perspective is significant to help detect areas of intervention for social change.

scholarly journals Innovative Social Work Practices for Vulnerable Groups of the Population in Ukraine

2020 ◽  
pp. 91-113
Author(s):  
Yu.V. HOREMYKINA
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
The Social

Th is article is devoted to the issues of formation and functioning of innovative social work practices in Ukraine. Its purpose is to highlight the best examples of innovative social work practices for vulnerable groups in the country and to analyze the possibilities for their further application. Th e relevance of the study, on the one hand, is conditioned by the humanization of approaches to building relationships between the individual and the social protection system, the appearance at the state level of the requirements for the quality of social services, which are refl ected in the activities of social services, creating certain new models of work with socially vulnerable groups of citizens, and on the other hand it is conditioned by the severity and unresolvedness of a number of social problems related to the social protection of vulnerable populations. Such general scientifi c methods as generalization and analogies logical analysis are used for realization of the purpose. Innovative prac- tices are practices in the fi eld of social work practices for vulnerable groups, which have emerged as new ways of meeting the urgent needs of social service clients and aiming to achieve the most eff ective result both in solving the problems of individuals in need and social problems in general. Th e author proposes the algorithm for the formation of innovative social work practice, which covers all stages from the identifi cation of the need for such practice to the beginning of the functioning of an innovative practice. It is found that case management and integrated social services are the most widespread among innovative practices in the fi eld of social work in Ukraine. Th e article analyzes the specifi cs of both innovative practices and identifies and justifies the ways of their further development. Both practices have proven their eff ectiveness and fl exibility in solving specifi c social problems, and therefore the possibilities of their application (including in the newly created territorial communities) are expected to be expand in the future. Combined, these practices are able to ensure the high effi ciency of the domestic social service delivery system.

scholarly journals Negotiating Quality for Social Work: A Participatory Research Project in South Tyrol

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 505-514
Author(s):  
Walter A. Lorenz ◽  
Silvia Fargion ◽  
Urban Nothdurfter ◽  
Andrea Nagy ◽  
Elisabeth Berger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
South Tyrol ◽  
Starting Point

Purpose: The measurement of quality in social work practice has become an area of growing interest and relevance in the social services field. Our starting point is that quality in interventions with human beings has to be defined in ways that incorporate the multiple perspectives of all the subjects involved. Methods: The study, adopting qualitative and quantitative methods, explored issues of quality in social services provision in South Tyrol in Italy from the point of view of the main stakeholders. Results: It was possible to identify four dimensions of quality that stakeholders considered important: the political role of practitioners, the ability to take an active role in the organization, the capacity to connect with other professionals, and the quality of direct relationships with users. Conclusions: Results provide an understanding of the common and differing expectations evident in stakeholders’ perspectives and ideas for better quality systems

An End to Incrementalism? The Impact of Expenditure Restraint on Social Services Budgets 1979–1986

1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aidan Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Activity Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Total Budget ◽  
Service Departments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACTThe theory of incrementalism is a long-standing and influential perspective on policy making and resource allocation in the public sector. Previous research on social services budgeting suggests that resources are allocated incrementally, although there has been some debate as to whether this would persist in an era of prolonged expenditure restraint. Incremental budgetary outcomes are operationalised as percentage changes in budgets pro-rata with percentage changes in the total budget, and as stable shares of total expenditure for each activity. Data for 99 English social service departments supports incrementalism in that budget shares change by only 1.8 per cent, but percentage allocations depart from pro-rata incrementalism by a mean of 74 per cent. The comparison of the two summary indices over time supports those who have argued that prolonged restraint would encourage non-incremental budgeting, but change in the agency's total budget does not consistently predict budgetary outcomes. The effect of restraint on incrementalism varies with the measure used and across the component activities of the measures, but there is enough evidence to suggest a significant decline in the level of incrementalism in social service departments. In particular, non-incremental budgeting is strongly associated with the growth of day centre expenditure on the mentally ill and the elderly before 1982–3, and after that with the pursuit of the ‘community care’ strategy within state provided services for the elderly and children. Incrementalism as a general theory of agency budgeting is limited in its ability to explain variations in the degree of incrementalism between agencies, between component budgets and over time. The conclusion suggests that further research should seek explanations for these variations in the varying balance of the competing forces which shape outcomes in welfare bureaucracies and in the relationship between these forces and the organisation's environment.

Digital social work practice through social networking sites. Case study with users of Social Services Community Centre from Malaga (Spain) on Facebook

Groupwork ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquin Castillo de Mesa ◽  
Antonio López Peláez ◽  
Paula Méndez Domínguez
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Mutual Help ◽  
Digital Skills ◽  
The Impact

Isolation is a clear indicator of social exclusion. To tackle it, we wondered if it would be possible to improve digital skills and strengthen bonds through online groups on a social networking site. This paper presents the results of an experimental study carried out in Malaga (Spain) with unemployed users of social care services. From the perspective of social work practice with groups, this study aims at strengthening bonds and mutual help through improving digital skills. This was carried out using a Facebook group as a shared space for community empowerment. To know the impact of these interactions, netnography and social network analysis were conveyed, as well as algorithms to identify communities and assess cohesion. Results showed that Facebook groups may be effective tools to promote active learning and mutual support and which can be used effectively by social workers.

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