scholarly journals Beyond Traditional Social Work with Elderly: Reflections from Ukraine in Times of Social Distancing

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 5001-5007
Author(s):  
Tetyana Semigina ◽  
◽  
Olena Karagodina ◽  
Oksana Pozhydaieva ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Work Organisation ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Impact

The global COVID-19 pandemic envokes numerous challenges in many areas of societies, including social services. The idea of ‘social distancing’ contradicts the whole idea of social work and inevitably causes deepening social exclusion. This study is aimed to analyse peculiarities of Ukrainian social workers’ activities under severe quarantine restrictions or lockdown. Special attention is paid to local social services for the elderly as a group recognised as most vulnerable to COVID-19. A survey of representatives of territorial centres of social services in Ukraine, conducted in August 2020, revealed some problems caused by restrictive quarantine measures and positive changes in the centres. The study highlights some surprising contradictions in the impact of the pandemic on social work practice with the elderly. Social services providers in local communities (territorial centres of social services, social services centres for families, children, youth, etc.) received almost no additional support during the quarantine. Yet, they consider introducing new, distant forms of communication, adjusting the work schedule, etc., as positive changes in service provision. The study determines that the response to the challenges of a problematic situation depends on local characteristics and mostly on human resources – work organisation and professional adaptability. An important role belongs to the ability of social workers to act in emergencies, the availability of standard procedures, protocols, and resources for use in such situations, understanding the need to adhere to values of social solidarity. The specific applications from the study results are drawn for Ukrainian social work.

Radical Hope

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Krumer-Nevo
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Critical Social Work ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Impact

This book describes the new Poverty-Aware Paradigm (PAP), which was developed in Israel through intense involvement with the field of social work in various initiatives. The paradigm was adopted in 2014 by the Israeli Ministry of Welfare and Social Services as a leading paradigm for social workers in social services departments. The book draws from the rich experience of the implementation of the PAP in practice and connects examples of practice to theoretical ideas from radical/critical social work, critical poverty knowledge, and psychoanalysis. The PAP addresses poverty as a violation of human rights and emphasizes people’s ongoing efforts to resist poverty. In order to recognize these sometimes minor acts of resistance and advance their impact, social workers should establish close relationship with service users and stand by them. The book proposes combining relationship-based practice and rights-based practice as a means of bridging the gap between the emotional and material needs of service users. In addition to introducing the main concepts of the PAP, the book also contributes to the debate between conservative and cultural theories of poverty and structural theories, emphasizing the impact of a critical framework on this debate. The book consists of four parts. The first, “Transformation”, addresses the transformational nature of the paradigm. The second, “Recognition”, is based on current psychoanalytic developments and “translates” them into social work practice in order to deepen our understanding of relationship-based practice. The third, “Rights”, describes rights-based practice. The fourth, “Solidarity”, presents various ways in which solidarity might shape social workers’ practice. The book seeks to reaffirm social work’s core commitment to combating poverty and furthering social justice and to offer a solid theoretical conceptualization that is also eminently practical.

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.

The Call of the Faithful: The Integration of Spiritual and Social Work Practice in the Time of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-392
Author(s):  
Shirley Newton-Guest ◽  
Claudia Sofia Moreno ◽  
Marla Coyoy ◽  
Roxanna Najmi ◽  
Tonia Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Unaccompanied Children ◽  
The Impact

This has been a season of change worldwide. It has become virtually impossible to ignore distressing news about the state of our world. COVID-19 has changed the way we live, work, how we think, and even how we grieve. Every day, Americans are bombarded with reports of rising death tolls, massive unemployment, economic turmoil, and dismal foreseeable predictions. This health crisis has put an enormous amount of pressure on the global community, and this is especially true for our clients who are new immigrants. This pressure has manifested in mental health challenges. Social workers have reported that for many clients the uncertainty and pressure are becoming too much to handle. Typically, clients are experiencing anxiety, depression, substance use disorder, and in some cases interpersonal violence (Brodhead, 2020; Endale et al. 2020; Saltzman et al.,2020). Now imagine the impact on unaccompanied minors arriving at our borders. Prior to the pandemic, the unaccompanied children were dealing with three crises simultaneously: 1) parental and home country separation; 2) trauma from a harsh journey; and 3) language barrier and cultural shock. These issues alone are overwhelming and cause powerful emotions such as anxiety in these children. So how can these emotions be managed, coupled with the dangers of COVID-19? How can social workers provide comfort and support when they may be experiencing the same emotions? This article brings this hidden reality into the public view and enrich the existing social work body of knowledge by demonstrating the restorative power of faith, spirituality, and self-care.      

scholarly journals Construction of Reflexivity in Social Workers Working with Vulnerable Children in the Czech Republic

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Kateřina Glumbíková
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Situational Analysis ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
The Impact

Social work in the Czech Republic is confronted with the impact of global neoliberalism, which is manifested by privatisation of social services, individualisation of social risks and economisation. Reflexivity of social workers working with vulnerable children and their families has the potential to lead to a higher quality of social work, strengthening of social workers' identity, and empowering social workers to promote changes in everyday practice. Meeting this potential requires an understanding of constructing reflexivity by social workers, which is the objective of this paper. We used a qualitative research strategy, particularly group and individual interviews with social workers and their analysis using current approaches to grounded theory. Concerning data analysis, we found out that constructing reflexivity (nature and subject of reflexion) derives from the perceived roles of social workers (social worker as an ununderstood artist, social worker a as mediator between social and individual, social workers as an agent of a (society) change, social workers as an agent of normalisation and reflexive professional). The acquired data, within the situational analysis, was inserted into a position map on the scale of holistic and technical reflection. The conclusion discusses the implication for practice and education in social work.

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.

Conflict Resolution

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Mayer
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Core Competency ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Family Counseling ◽  
Potential Growth ◽  
Dispute System

Conflict resolution is a core competency for social workers, and social workers have contributed greatly to this thriving field. Conflict resolution as a field of practice includes mediation, facilitation, conflict coaching, dispute system design and management, and arbitration. Conflict professionals provide preventative, restorative, substantive, procedural, and decision-making services to people in conflict. The use of conflict resolution processes is rapidly growing in areas of traditional social work practice such as child welfare, special education, family counseling, care of the elderly, and medical care. This is a tremendous potential growth area for social work.

Measuring Rights-Based Practice: Introducing the Human Rights Methods in Social Work Scales

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 222-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane McPherson ◽  
Neil Abell
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Root Mean Square ◽  
Interdisciplinary Collaboration ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This article introduces a measurable framework for rights-based social work practice and an accompanying set of instruments, the Human Rights Methods in Social Work (HRMSW) scales: (i) ‘participation’, (ii) ‘non-discrimination’, (iii) ‘strengths perspective’, (iv) ‘micro/macro integration’, (v) ‘capacity-building’, (vi) ‘community and interdisciplinary collaboration’, (vii) ‘activism’ and (viii) ‘accountability’. These scales, designed for use by researchers, educators and practitioners, are the first to measure social workers’ use of rights-based methods. An electronic survey was used to collect data from a convenience sample of 1,014 licensed US social workers, and a confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the scales’ psychometric properties. A respecified model using eight error covariances fit the data (χ2/df ratio = 2.9; comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.91; tucker lewis index (TLI) = 0.90; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.04; standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.07). Thus, factor analysis yielded a set of eight related scales—collectively called the HRMSW—each measuring a different human rights practice method that social workers can use to promote human dignity and the rights-based principles of participation, accountability and non-discrimination. Scholars argue that ‘human rights’ are a more appropriate yardstick for measuring the impact of social work intervention rather than our traditional aim of social justice; the HRMSW scales can help us begin to test this proposition.

scholarly journals The charitable activities as the basis of the social work

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Social Program ◽  
Job Descriptions ◽  
Charitable Organizations ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Charitable Activities

The growth in the number of the country’s charitable organizations, transformation of one-time humanitarian actions (charity) into regular social work with veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war (since 2014) and internally displaced persons from Donbas, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea have put on the agenda a study of the relationship between charitable activities and social work. The expansion of social work aimed at the elderly, which is often performed by the employees of territorial centers of social services beyond their job descriptions, also determines the relevance of this topic. The task of the study was to substantiate the place of charity in social work, based on the analysis of the activities of the Ukrainian charitable foundations, and employees of six territorial centers of social services in Kharkiv region. It was found that the All-Ukrainian social program “Home Care” of the International Charitable Foundation “Caritas Ukraine” represents social work with people who are not clients of territorial centers of social services. The Regional Landscape Park “Feldman Ecopark” (the flagship project of the International Charitable Foundation “Aleksandr Feldman Foundation”) is often used for social work, particularly with the elderly. It has been substantiated that the charitable activity of these foundations creates conditions for conducting systematic daily social work, in particular, with the elderly. The results of the expert survey of 16 social workers and 21 social workers of the territorial centers of social services of Bohodukhiv, Izium, Krasnokutsk, Lozova, Chuguiv, and Kharkiv districts of Kharkiv region show that charity occupies the leading place in their activities, creating conditions for social work. Charitable activities such as volunteering, social services of public/charitable organizations for the elderly are rightly regarded by experts as social work. The types of social work with the elderly in rural areas, carried out in spare time, such as helping in vegetable gardens, nature rides (in particular, to Feldman Ecopark), group communication on topical issues are referred by the experts to charitable activities. There is a partial overlapping of the subject areas of social work and charity, as well as a common goal – to help. Social workers and officials of the territorial centers of social services in Kharkiv region, performing daily social work with the elderly, often carry out charitable activities, too. It has been proved that charity helps to increase the efficiency of social work, solving many social problems of the territorial community.

scholarly journals Social distancing and social work field placements

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
Prospera Tedam
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
United Arab Emirates University ◽  
The Impact

The impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on social work practice placements around the world and in the United Arab Emirates is of concern to students, social work educators and service users. In this practice note, I focus on the impact of the interruption to social work practice learning for students at  the United Arab Emirates University and reflect on the introduction of 'social distancing', a health and safety strategy aimed at reducing the likelihood of the spread of the coronavirus. I propose ways in which students in school placements can continue to develop their social work knowledge and skills ‘from a distance’ and while physically absent from their practice learning settings

CROSS-CULTURAL ADOPTION IN SOUTH AFRICA: NEW DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-398
Author(s):  
Cyndy Snyder
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Adoption Research ◽  
The Impact

This article reviews the literature on cross-cultural adoption in South Africa and provides new insights and research questions to help social work practitioners and researchers better understand the impact of cross-cultural adoption for adoptees. The article compares the context of race and adoption research in the United States and South Africa, paying particular attention to strengths and limitations of research studies from both countries. In this paper, I argue that race and racism shape the experiences of black cross-cultural adoptees, and therefore adoptees’ ability to navigate such circumstances should be a central focus when assessing the impact of cross-cultural adoption. While much research from both countries has focused on the experiences and perspectives of parents and social workers, future research should focus on the adoptee perspective. Practical implications for those involved in social work practice and social services in the South African context are also addressed.

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