Social Work

Fifteen years ago, New Jersey became the first of over twenty states to introduce the family cap, a welfare reform policy that reduces or eliminates cash benefits for unmarried women on public assistance who become pregnant. The caps have lowered extra-marital birth rates, as intended but as this book shows they did so in a manner that few of the policy’s architects are willing to acknowledge publicly, namely by increasing the abortion rate disproportionately among black and Hispanic women. This book presents the caps history from inception through implementation to the investigation and the dramatic attempts to squelch the author’s unpleasant findings. The book contains clear-cut evidence and data analyses, yet also plays close attention to the reactions the author’s findings provoked in policymakers, both conservative and liberal, who were unprepared for the effects of their crude social engineering and did not want their success scrutinized too closely. The book argues that absent of any successful rehabilitation or marriage strategies, abortion provides a viable third way for policymakers to help black and Hispanic women accumulate the social and human capital they need to escape welfare, while simultaneously appealing to liberals passion for reproductive freedom and the neoconservatives sense of social pragmatism.

This book gives an overview of family psychoeducation as an evidence-based psychosocial treatment for schizophrenia and other major psychiatric disorders. Family psychoeducation has produced a robust body of research indicating significant, sustained reductions in patients' relapse and rehospitalization rates and improvements in families' wellbeing. Converging with historical changes in mental health systems, the empirical findings and new theoretical approaches that produced this treatment modality are described. Responsive to research data and expressed informational needs of families of persons with severe mental illness, psychoeducational models were developed by major research centers in the U.S., the U.K., and other European countries, and in China. The book presents theoretical premises and a research overview, together with descriptions of model programs and long-range outcomes. Psychoeducation for prodromal, first-episode, and child and adolescents interventions are discussed as well as for diverse diagnoses and special populations. Cross-cultural and international studies are presented, with a focus on uniformities and cultural variations. Briefer versions of family education, now widely utilized, are then discussed, including research findings of efficacy. Generic components are presented together with a discussion of variations. Training models and issues, and required competencies, are presented. Contemporary applications of family psychoeducation in American and European mental health systems are described, with research on barriers to implementation and suggested solutions. A critical assessment of unresolved issues is followed by a discussion of future trends in families' involvement in the treatment process. An Appendix provides information on family organizations and other selected resources for families in various countries throughout the world, as well as useful materials for service providers.

This collection of field research narratives from veteran social and behavioral science researchers acknowledges the unpredictability of managing a project, and candidly illustrates real-world problems and solutions. Unlike standard research tests, each chapter has practical import for the researcher, ties together extant literature, and illustrates the issues with concrete examples from the authors' own experience. The chapters each address one or more of the research stress points that many researchers have found concerning during their careers, and are loosely organized by the naturally unfolding series of choice points and problems confronted during research projects and careers. The text is designed to supplement traditional textbooks on research methods for doctoral students, junior faculty, and research assistants in the fields of psychology, social work, psychiatry, and public health. The text covers scenarios such as: implementing a research project; creating an interdisciplinary research team; using consultants; hiring, training, and monitoring research staff and interviewers; developing the instrument; preparing data for analysis; budgeting; maintaining data standards; data archiving; navigating human subjects, IRB and ethical dilemmas; maintaining cultural sensitivity; efficacy and effectiveness trials for evaluating an intervention; influencing policy and practice; as well as disseminating results, sharing data, maximizing publications, and co-authoring publications.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) promises to have a profound impact on social work practice, education, and scholarship, but adopting EBP depends on the availability of evidence to support this endeavour and on strategies to synthesize this information. Systematic reviews provide a comprehensive, unbiased method for retrieving and synthesizing relevant research. Finding and Evaluating Evidence: Systematic Reviews and Evidence-based Practice is a concise introduction to systematic reviews that describes the steps required to complete a review and the criteria that can be used to assess the quality of existing reviews. This pocket guide provides straight-forward information on how to 1) define a search question that clearly defines the parameters of the problem, 2) develop a search strategy that is transparent and comprehensive to insure that all relevant research is included in the review, 3) assess the quality and credibility of existing research, and 4) summarize the available research to support EBP in social work. One of the distinguishing features of this book is that both quantitative and qualitative synthesis methods are presented, and examples are provided to illustrate the steps and decisions associated with each approach to research synthesis. This pocket guide is an excellent introduction to EBP and systematic reviews that will be valued by social work students, practitioners, and scholars.

Fostering Accountability presents a model of child welfare decision-making that holds public officials answerable for the integrity and validity of the actions they take on behalf of the children and families in their care. It operationalizes the concept of results-oriented accountability, which demands that administrators and practitioners show valid evidence of their success in improving child and family outcomes, not do not merely demonstrate mechanical procedural compliance. Drawing on the experiences of directors, staff, and evaluators, this timely and practical book describes the emergence of results-oriented accountability in child welfare with a special focus on the editors' role in establishing a university-agency research partnership under a federal consent decree. Chapters elaborate on the five successive stages of the results-oriented accountability framework — outcomes monitoring, data analysis, research review, evaluation, and quality improvement — and provide examples of applications of each stage for agency managers. By re-focusing the emphasis on developing policies based on agency data, instead of purely reactive approaches that grasp at solutions and often fall short, Fostering Accountability guides administrators in monitoring outcomes, using evidence to select interventions to enhance results, and applying management strategies to evaluate and improve these efforts. The result is a pragmatic implementation guide for administrators seeking to bring safety, stability, continuity, permanence, and well-being to the lives of abused and neglected children in the United States.

Using a case example of how Pennsylvania Blue Shield trained, hired, and retained several hundred welfare recipients on its work force, this book offers a success story and a broad discussion of welfare reform, public policy, and corporate social responsibility. It also offers a practical explanation of the specific steps needed to establish such a program, including corporate tax incentives, business and government collaborations, and the special needs of welfare recipients. The book demonstrates that it is possible for corporate America to combine bottom-line goals with socially responsible goals.

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) is an important element in developing effective behavior interventions in schools. By understanding how the environment predicts and maintains problem behavior, school social workers can change those environmental conditions and facilitate positive behavior. Although FBA has traditionally been applied within the context of special education, it is relevant to supporting behavior of all students in a school. In this book, the authors explore how FBA can be applied in a three-tiered model of prevention and provide tools and case examples to facilitate application. This process is described as occurring within a team context wherein the school social worker serves as a facilitator and contributor with behavioral expertise. In Tier 1, FBA is applied to the behavior of all students in a school and leads to the development of school-wide behavior interventions that are intended to prevent students from developing more serious patterns of problem behavior. In Tier 2 FBAs, the behaviour of at-risk students is assessed in an efficient manner to determine which available evidence-based interventions will be effective in improving their behavior. In Tier 3, FBAs involve extensive individual assessments of the conditions that maintain the problem behaviour students with significant behavior problems. This book provides detailed information about conducting FBAs at each tier of prevention and reviews the process of developing interventions from the FBA information at each tier. As initiatives encouraging positive behavior support in schools proliferate, this book will help school social workers develop the skill-set necessary to maintain their role as important contributors to student outcomes.

Across the world, children are the most vulnerable population. The threats to them may vary, but wherever one looks, children are endangered and exploited. Using the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a base, threats to child well-being globally are examined, in countries both in the Global North and the Global South. The history of the Convention is examined, together with evolving understanding of childhood in different cultures. Different forms of child labor are discussed, including street children, child trafficking and child soldiers. How war affects children who are not directly involved in combat is examined in a separate chapter. The issues of child maltreatment and adoption are discussed along the Hague Convention and child trafficking for the purposes of adoption. Educational issues are explored in countries around the world including the growing movement towards Universal Primary Education (UPE) as well as high dropout rates in the United States. The final content chapter discusses how many of these issues, together with others such as Female Genital Cutting (FGC) and fistulas, disproportionately affect girls. The book closes with a summary chapter underlining the importance of addressing these issues to allow children to achieve their adult potential.

Grounded Theory (GT) is one of the oldest and most often used forms of qualitative research. Unlike other methods, GT is used to develop theory. Grounded Theory has great potential for social work because in order to conduct theory-based practice, social workers need middle-range theories that are neither highly abstract nor difficult to apply in real life. Social work and Grounded Theory focus on the interaction of individual and society. GT studies can provide theories about how individuals navigate their surroundings that can be tested in social work practice and, ultimately, be used to guide social work practitioners. This book provides discussions of the common roots of social work and Grounded Theory, the basic characteristics of grounded theory research, and issues of quality in grounded theory research. In addition, practical guidelines and suggestions are provided for conducting grounded theory research, from writing the proposal to advanced data analysis. Exemplars from social work literature are used to illustrate grounded theory research in different social work fields. This book offers practice exercises, guidelines for formulating problems and gathering and analyzing data, tips for working with software, consideration of ethical and institutional review board issues, and discussion of new developments such as mixed-method and synthesis.

This book illustrates, step by step, how to practice evidence-based group work. As group workers are increasingly being held accountable to evaluate, monitor, and improve their practice, there are scant resources available that apply specifically to their practice. The book is organized around the process and philosophy of evidence-based practice, and consists of the following four stages, which provides the framework for the book: how to formulate a practice question; search for evidence; critically appraise the evidence for its research merit, impact, and applicability; and apply the best available evidence and evaluate if desirable outcomes were achieved. The evidence-based group work framework teaches how to apply skillfully best practices through practical learning activities, case examples, research designs, step-by-step guidelines and checklists, assessment tips, and detailed instructions for formulating questions and evaluating answers.