“I Wish I Had Help Earlier. We Could Have Been Happier Sooner.” Overcoming the Bystander Effect in the Care for Alcohol-Dependent Parents

Parental alcohol dependency is associated with risks for the well-being of their children. However, guiding these families to support is often complicated. We interviewed 10 alcohol dependent parents, and held 3 focus group interviews with child welfare social workers, and alcohol and other drug workers. We identified a reluctance to act among professional and non-professional bystanders. Family members, neighbours, teachers, and general practitioners are often aware of parental drinking problems, but are reluctant to discuss them with the parents or to alert services designed to support families. The aim of this paper is to share the experiences of parents and show that parents appreciate interventions if done in a certain manner. Although parents were reluctant to discuss their drinking problem, they considered these problems as symptoms of underlying severe distress. They were highly motivated to get help for these underlying problems and wondered why they were not questioned about their distress by those around them. The silence of others reinforced pre-existing feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness. In this paper we analyse other's hesitation to intervene as a form of the bystander effect, and make suggestions on how this bystander effect can be overcome.

Storytelling among child welfare social workers: Constructing professional role and resilience through team talk

Child welfare social work is emotive and demanding work, requiring highly skilled and resilient practitioners. In a context of austerity, increased public scrutiny and accountability, defensive practice has been identified as a feature of professional practice. However, little is known about the processes through which social workers develop resilience or come to adopt a defensive stance in managing the demands of their work. This article focuses on professional storytelling among child welfare social workers. It examines how social workers construct their professional role through team talk and the implications of this for our understanding of professional resilience and defensiveness. Drawing on an in-depth narrative analysis of focus groups with social work teams, eight story types are identified in social workers’ talk about their work: emotional container stories, solidarity stories, professional epiphanies, professional affirmation stories, partnership stories, parables of persistence, tales of courageous practice and cautionary tales. Each story type foregrounds a particular aspect of child welfare practice, containing a moral about social work with vulnerable children and families. The article concludes with the implications of these stories for our understanding of both resilience and the pull towards defensiveness in child welfare social work.

Social Workers’ Support Skills for Parents with Mental Disorders: A Qualitative Descriptive Study in Child-Welfare Social Workers

Background: In Japan, a half to one third of child abuse cases involved parents with mental disorders. However, support skills for these parents have not been established. Objective: This qualitative descriptive study aimed to describe child-welfare social workers’ support skills for parents with mental disorders. Method: Eight social workers were interviewed, and each was asked to identify four cases (32 total cases); two were successfully supported, and two were not. Descriptions of support goals and content were extracted from transcripts, coded, and categorized. Results: Almost half of the parents with mental disorders identified in this study were diagnosed with addictive or personality disorders. Social workers supported parents in the following goals: “being able to consult when the need arises,” “living conditions with minimum level of safety and comfort for children,” “living arrangements suitable for the family,” “independence of the family,” and “growth of children.” Social workers supported more comfortable and realistic living arrangements for each family and supported them to live independently. The social workers supported the parents with the following support skills: “assessment of the needs of the family,” “assessment of and support to relationships with parents,” “assessment and support of growth of children,” “assessment and support in child-raising by parents,” “assessment and support for the stability of medical condition of parents,” “support through cooperation with other related agencies,” and “continuing support for being an independent family.” Conclusion: Social workers had many ways of assessing/supporting parents with mental disorders. However, social workers must be more sensitive to medical conditions and collaborate more with psychiatrists.

Enhancing the practice of immigrant child welfare social workers in the United States

Responding to the needs of growing immigrant populations, many US social service sectors have recruited bilingual and bicultural practitioners, including immigrants. However, little is known about the immigrant social workers. This article explores the practice context of immigrant child welfare social workers in the United States. First, acculturation theory is applied to frame the experiences of US immigrants. Second, we explore professional development of practitioners working with immigrant families. Third, we discuss the intersectionality connecting immigration and social work professionalization. We conclude that the immigration and acculturation experiences of immigrant social workers are unique strengths for working with immigrant populations.