scholarly journals Anti-oppressive social work practice in child welfare

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Cowie

This article explores the journey of reconciliation, both personal and professional, required for the social work profession to shed its history of colonialism in the context of its relationship with Canada’s Indigenous People, particularly in the realm of child welfare. This process involves becoming accountable for past harms such as the residential school system, the mass removal of children during the ‘60’s scoop’, as well as the contemporary over-representation of Indigenous children in Canada’s child welfare system. Further, this process demands that non-Indigenous social workers locate their privilege in order to become effective allies and partners along this path of reconciliation.

2020 ◽  
pp. 146801732092056
Author(s):  
John Mathias ◽  
Lauren E Gulbas ◽  
Matthew Chin ◽  
Tam E Perry

Summary Interdisciplinary contributions to social work have supported the profession’s development as a helping profession. Indeed, drawing from other disciplines has been a way to hone intervention approaches. This article analyzes the history of social work’s use of anthropological theory about “culture” in order to critically examine the profession’s positioning as a “recipient” of theories. At a time when evidence-based practice is a dominant ideal, this paper offers an opportunity to step back and interrogate a key concept, culture, that is often evoked as interventions are tailored for various populations. Findings While social work has substantially debated and revised how it approaches culture difference, the core conceptualization of culture as a relatively static set of shared values and traits remains ill-suited to the complex negotiation of diversity in social work practice. The limitations of the culture concept are symptomatic of an exchange relationship with anthropology that positions social work practitioners primarily as recipients of concepts, rather than as interlocutors. Application By treating intervention as an opportunity for theory revision, anthropologists and social workers can better account for the hybridity, change, and contestation of difference in social work practice. As the social work profession expands globally, a more dialogical engagement with anthropological theories about culture and other key concepts may prove fruitful.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 684-686
Author(s):  
Marilyn L. Flynn ◽  
Michal Sela-Amit

The social work profession has adopted science and empirical evidence as the means of validating discovery. As the commitment to science has intensified, interest in the use of arts in practice has grown as a counterpoise and an effort to justify other forms of knowledge and human experience. A roundtable was held in summer 2017 to examine whether the arts have a distinctive place in social work practice. It has been acknowledged that the arts have played a role in the history of the profession, however, remained neglected and marginalized in social work education. Roundtable participants argued that creativity, necessary disruption, and transformation have been lost to the field as a result. It is possible that social work education might be reimagined with new underpinnings of science, social innovation, and the arts. It should not be assumed that outcome measurement is not possible; however, measures would have to be rethought.


Author(s):  
Julija Eidukevičiūtė ◽  
Roberta Motiečienė ◽  
Rasa Naujanienė

This paper explains the current practices of the child welfare system in the context of Lithuania. In Europe, research on child welfare has a long history; however, the child welfare situation in Lithuania has not been systematically studied, nor has it been provided with the research-based knowledge necessary for the development of the system. Based on qualitative research results, the paper sheds light on how the voice of the child is heard in Lithuanian child and family social work practice. The research participants in the present study were children and family social workers. The research results indicate that adult-centered family social work practices are dominant and the voice of the child is misleading in the intervention process.


2005 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Gannon

Julia Gannon explores the findings of a study into the recording style and content of adoption files and the influences of these on the birth record counsellor's decision-making process. Her article focuses on the specific information shared or not shared with the adopted adult. It asserts that birth record counselling is one of the few tasks that propel the social worker back into the history of social work practice while simultaneously supporting service users through their search for information about their birth history and adoption. There is an emphasis on assessing how serviceable the recording style and content of adoption files are for adoptees. The research design involved semi-structured interviews with eight social workers currently holding birth record counselling cases. Four of the respondents were employed in local authority adoption teams and four were independent self-employed social workers in the field of adoption. The author's findings suggest that the knowledge birth record counsellors' gain from adoptees about how they experience their files has potential for practical application to social work practice in children and families teams today.


1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen French Gilson ◽  
John C. Bricout ◽  
Frank R. Baskind

Social work literature, research, and practice on disabilities has lagged behind other topical areas dealing with oppressed groups. The social work literature remains “expert focused” and generally fragmented into discussions of specific disabilities or subpopulations. A viable general model that deals with the personal experience of disability is not available. This exploratory study presents a social work literature search and analysis as well as interviews with six individuals with disabilities about their experiences with social workers. Individuals with disabilities assert that they were treated as though they had categorically fewer aspirations, abilities, and perhaps even fundamental rights than did nondisabled people. This study provides a base for follow-up research on models of consumer-focused social work practice in the area of disability.


Author(s):  
Mpumelelo Ncube

Supervision practice in social work is understood as the mainstay of the profession. However, various studies have pointed to the inadequacies of supervision to facilitate quality service provision. Previous studies have reflected a general misalignment between the approach to supervision practice and the approach to social work practice as one inadequacy leading to the failure of supervision practice. Although there are numerous supervision models in the profession, some of which are aligned with certain practice approaches, none is directly identifiable with the social development approach, which should be at the core of social work orientation in South Africa. Thus, this article provides a process model of supervision in social work that aims to establish a dialectical relationship between supervision and the social development practice approach. The study was underpinned by Thomas’ research and design process, which was used to design and develop a social work supervision model mirroring a social development approach. The paper concludes with recommendations related to the use of the developed model.


Author(s):  
Iván Cisternas Villacura

  RESUMEN El presente artículo es una reflexión sobre la práctica del trabajo social en el rol de perito social forense dentro del sistema de administración de justicia, donde su labor se funda en mediar entre la realidad del periciado –sujeto del que se debe dar cuenta en una investigación judicial– y quien requiere de los antecedentes necesarios para que el “Juez” dicte sentencia, lo que habitualmente genera un “conflicto de interpretaciones”. En tal sentido, es relevante discutir las dificultades que deben enfrentar las y los trabajadores sociales, en cuanto a la comprensión de una realidad cada vez más compleja, y al conflicto que se genera entre las interpretaciones de los mundos de vida de las personas y los requerimientos del sistema judicial chileno. Palabras clave: Pericia judicial social forense - Trabajo Social Pericial - Conflicto de interpretaciones. A compreensão dos conflitos de interpretação na prática do perito social forense RESUMO O presente artigo é uma reflexão sobe a prática do trabalho social no rol de perito social forense dentro do sistema de administração de justiça; onde seu labor funda-se em mediar entre a realidade do periciado – pessoa de quem se deve dar conta numa investigação judicial – e quem precisa dos antecedentes necessários para que o “Juiz” determine sentencia o que habitualmente, gera um “conflito de interpretações”. Neste sentido, é relevante discutir as dificuldades que devem enfrentar as e os trabalhadores sociais, em quanto á compreensão de uma realidade cada vez mais complexa, e ao conflito que se gera entre as interpretações dos mundos de vida das pessoas e aos requerimentos do sistema judicial chileno. Palavras chave: Pericia judicial social forense - Trabalho Socia Pericial - Conflito das interpretações. Understanding the conflicts of interpretation in the social forensic expert practice ABSTRACT This article is a reflection on social work practice in the social role forensic expert plays in the legal system, where their job is based on mediating between ‘periciado’ – individual who is being charged during a trial at the court and requires the necessary case background for the ‘Judge’ to deliver judgment, which usually generates a “conflict of interpretations”. In this view, it is relevant to discuss the difficulties faced by social workers, in terms of understanding an increasingly complex reality, and the conflict that emerges among the interpretations of the life of people and Chilean legal system requirements. Keywords: Forensic Social Legal Expertise - Forensic Social Work – Conflict of interpretations


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annahita Ball

Abstract The persistent and systemic inequities within the U.S. public education system have grave implications for children’s and youth’s outcomes, yet these inequities go far beyond academics. Marginalized and vulnerable students experience injustices across the educational system, including disproportionality in school discipline, unequal access to advanced courses, and poor conditions for learning. Social work has a solid history of addressing issues that intersect across families, schools, and communities, but the profession has had little engagement in the recent educational justice movement. As educational scholars advance a movement to address educational inequities, it will be increasingly important for social work researchers to provide valuable insight into the multiple components that make up youth development and support positive well-being for all individuals within a democratic society. This article encourages social work researchers to extend lines of inquiry that investigate educational justice issues by situating social work practice and research within educational justice and suggesting an agenda for future social work research that will advance equity for all students.


Author(s):  
Samantha Teixeira ◽  
Astraea Augsberger ◽  
Katie Richards-Schuster ◽  
Linda Sprague Martinez ◽  
Kerri Evans

The Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative, led by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW), aims to organize the social work profession around 12 entrenched societal challenges. Addressing the root causes of the Grand Challenges will take a coordinated effort across all of social work practice, but given their scale, macro social work will be essential. We use Santiago and colleagues’ Frameworks for Advancing Macro Practice to showcase how macro practices have contributed to local progress on two Grand Challenges. We offer recommendations and a call for the profession to invest in and heed the instrumental role of macro social work practice to address the Grand Challenges.


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