Human Services

"Since its very inception, social work has been considered an organizationally based profession, with the majority of its workforce employed within formal organizations. Whether in nonprofit, for-profit, or governmental agencies, the practical realities of human service organizations are a central element of professional social work. This book explores the climate and culture of these agencies and provides essential information for surviving and thriving in this setting. It prepares students for their future careers so that they will feel empowered in their work and be able to fulfill their responsibilities toward organizational, community, and social change. Using real-life examples, the authors examine the internal structures of management, financing, and supervision and discuss common conflicts between agencies and professionals. The book’s straightforward tone and practical advice make it an asset to anyone entering human service organizations.

This new edition contains updated examples, case studies, and references. It also contains valuable information on the effects of the recent financial crisis on human service organizations. Agencies now face increased caseloads and more complex social problems with fewer resources and less money. Understanding how these events have changed the nature of human service organizations will allow students to be better prepared for the work ahead of them.

Features

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Expanded content on the practical aspects of organizational theory and suggestions for developing leadership skills
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Updated examples, case studies, and references throughout the book
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Key points and discussion questions following each chapter
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Updated instructor’s manual available online as a PDF or Word document"

Evidence-based practice has become an important approach to social work practice. This paper highlights some of the ethical dilemmas which may be implicated by this approach, and encourages social workers and social work researchers to carefully consider these potential quandaries.

It is argued that the role of the evaluator is fluid and subject to unpredictable change over time. Two key principles !from systems theory support the above: (1) the definition of an organization as an open system, and (2) the self-regulatory or cybernetic nature of systems. Actual experiences are drawn upon to describe that interrupted the evaluation process or changed the nature of the evaluation. The "By the way..." phenomenon referred to is described as an interaction between the organization and the evaluator that results in a modification, revision, deletion or addition to the previously prescribed evaluator role and its attendant activities. The basic premise, that changes themselves are not able to be anticipated, is explored: and it is concluded that the task becomes one of skill development (Specifically, renegotiation, so that the processes are there to handle the role changes as they occur. (Author/GK)

The big and increasingly complex problems faced by governments around the world do not fit neatly into the internal structures by which governments have divided and organized themselves. As a result, many governments are struggling to respond effectively. In this blog post, we summarize the findings of our recent paper "Abandoning Silos: How innovative governments are collaborating horizontally to solve complex problems" which explores how three countries (Estonia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand) are successfully overcoming this challenge.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore which of 17 categories of child maltreatment South Africans evaluated as most serious and to determine if those working with abuse and neglect evaluated abuse and neglect differently from those who did not.

Summary
Primary emphasis within the literature on mechanisms to address the prevalence of negative occupational well-being outcomes among human service workers has tended to focus on individual self-care efforts or organizational level policies aimed at improving work–life balance. While these are important areas of research, the workplace setting itself can also create negative outcomes, suggesting the need to adapt characteristics of this setting. One aspect of this workplace setting includes the dynamics of interpersonal interaction within the workplace. This study reports a multivariate analysis of the relationship between negative workplace interpersonal interactions (generally defined to provide a more holistic assessment of ways in which violence is manifested in the workplace) between workers and service users and between workers themselves and human service worker occupational outcomes.

Findings
In 2012, data were collected from a sample (n = 674) of human service workers in Alberta, Canada. This study finds a high prevalence of negative workplace interactions between workers, and that these experiences have consequences for worker experience’s with burnout and life satisfaction, and contributes to intentions to leave the workplace. Compounding negative interpersonal interactions between workers are particularly significant across all measured occupational outcomes.

Applications
These findings suggest the need for a workplace ‘settings-based’ approach to improve occupational well-being among workers. Utilizing a workplace ‘settings-based’ approach would place more emphasis on the processes and structure of day-to-day work within organizations to help alleviate negative occupational outcomes among workers.

The field of human services is increasingly adopting narrow practice approaches, driven by contemporary funding priorities. Such approaches reflect a reductionist understanding of human need, and run contrary to the wisdom, accumulated knowledge, experience, evidence and ethics of social and community development work. Drawing from a small group of refugee women's accounts of everyday challenges as well as their efforts to develop personal agency in resettlement, this paper highlights the mismatch between the complexities that such women face in everyday settlement processes and the focus of services available to them. It argues for a more responsive person-in-environment focus that could enable and enhance women's own efforts and aspirations for themselves and their children. The current tendency towards case management and away from community development is contributing to what we call the diminishing architecture of community development, and therefore represents a shift that is difficult to reverse. Refugee settlement work requires developmental actions within the cultural group, between new arrivals and the host community, and between new arrivals and the host society's resources systems and structures. Concurrently, the field needs to reclaim a broader paradigm of human service practice allowing for joined up, locality-based, capacity building work that is responsive to people, contexts and specific issues emerging over time. A broader funding paradigm that values social and community knowledge and practice, locality work and enables on-going, incremental, proactive changes is also needed.

Delivering essential health, education and human services in rural and remote communities remains a critical problem for Australia. When professionals have mandatory responsibilities (e.g. in child protection, law enforcement, education or mental health), tensions can arise between workers and the communities in which they live. This paper reports on part of an Australian Research Council Discovery project which is exploring the management of tensions in work-life balances for professionals in rural and remote communities, as well as investigating the views of community members impacted by the work. In this paper we present findings from the state wide survey of professionals (N ≈ 900) who lived and worked in small communities and who had statutory responsibilities in their role. These data provide valuable insights into practitioners' views about their roles, their preparation for rural practice during education and training, major tensions in juggling allegiance to work and co...

Background Caregivers in this qualitative study reported the multidimensional implications of having a child with autism on their family's lives and overall functioning. Method The Effects of the Situation Questionnaire ) was used to gather qualitative data from 80 caregivers. phenomenological data analysis method was used to analyse the caregivers' written narratives. Biopsychosocial-spiritual, systemic, and ecological theoretical lenses were used to conceptualise the recorded experiences. Results Seven thematic content areas emerged from the caregivers' data. They include: psychological implications, familial implications, social implications, services, spiritual benefits, economic challenges, and focus on the future of having a child diagnosed with autism.

“As we know, well-led groups provide many member benefits: feelings of universality, a sense of hope, altruism, acquisition of knowledge and skills, and mutual support...This text is affordable, easy to use, and very suitable for providing group work material in BSW or MSW practice courses.”

— Greg Tully, West Chester University



AN EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH TO GROUP WORK
Second Edition

Rich Furman, University of Washington, Tacoma
Kimberly Bender, University of Denver
Diana Rowan, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

An Experiential Approach to Group Work is not your typical group work text! Using dozens of exercises that build practice-tested skills, the authors' approach is in perfect step with CSWE's competence-based education requirements. The book is organized into three sections—the first addresses stages of group practice, the second looks at major types of groups, and the final section looks at examples of group work practice with special populations.

Features of the Second Edition

    Expanded! Discussion of the theory of group process and dynamics
    New! Content regarding Canadian, British, and Australian group work practices
    New! Chapters on anti-oppressive practice, group work with immigrants, and macro-practice group work
    New! Content on the use and development of technology to aid group work
    Contains customized exercises for each group work topic, designed to build the student and practitioner’s skills for use in group work sessions
    Special emphasis on how to bring individual sessions or groups to closure
    Provides examples of group work in specialized settings: conflict resolution groups within elementary schools, pregnant teens, Latinos, and HIV/AIDS clients

The Latino population is the fastest growing group in the United States; thus, it is imperative that social workers and other mental health practitioners be knowledgeable about the current literature on how to effectively serve this population. This article elucidates key issues and knowledge, such as immigration and migration concerns; discusses how to assess for levels of acculturation; examines cultural values; and highlights salient work issues and health disparities that Latinos experience. Recommendations on how agencies and universities can recruit and promote bilingual practitioners are introduced. Finally, culturally responsive strategies for professional use of self and fostering the therapeutic alliance are discussed.

This paper will argue that wealth and income inequality are among the most pressing issues for contemporary social work. Despite this, social work as a discipline and profession has, in the main, been slow to respond to this growing problem. Critical approaches to social work, however, have always included a commitment to eliminating poverty, promoting equity and addressing both the causes and consequences of socio-economic disadvantage as a core priority. This paper will discuss the contributions critical social work can make to socially informed and ethical responses, particularly through its critical pedagogic, reflective and activist practices in contesting wealth and income inequality.

This article demonstrates the importance of helping clients understand, explore, and develop friendships in social work practice. The nature of friendships is explored. A cross-disciplinary analysis of the literature concerning friendships and their relationship to human health and functioning is discussed. Case examples illustrating the importance of friendships and examples of the conscious use of friendships as a target of intervention are provided.

Children and Families at the Center for Governmental Research Inc. (CGR), a non-profit research and consulting organization based in New York State. She specializes in helping government and non-profit organizations to design more comprehensive, integrated, and efficient responses to serving children and families. Ms. Lepler has been a leader in conceptualizing new and innovative models, including the master contract approach featured in this paper.

In Aotearoa / New Zealand there is a growing awareness that cultural competence is a key tool to making health services more responsive to Pacific peoples, Maori and other groups. Some organisations (including District Health Boards and other regulatory bodies) have already begun thinking about what Pacific cultural competence means. Likewise many Pacific health services have for many years already interpreted and implemented culturally competent Pacific practice in their work places. This report by Dr Jemaima Tiatia (Hibiscus Research Ltd) also includes the input of leading Pacific cultural competence experts. The report contributes to the exciting and evolving thinking in the area of Pacific cultural competence, by providing an overview of the literature to date. It also provides practical recommendations for taking Pacific cultural competence forward. Increasing cultural competency is a shared responsibility that requires partnerships across a wide range of sectors − including health, social services, education, justice and research − using systematic and sustainable approaches.

"Latinos are now the largest ethnic minority population in the United States and still they encounter a great deal of misunderstanding, prejudice, and discrimination. Utilizing a strengths-based perspective, Social Work Practice with Latinos addresses the unique needs of this diverse population.

Written by practitioners and scholars from many disciplines, this book discusses social issues of consequence to Latinos and specific strengths and risk factors of the Latino community. They then offer methods that utilize these strengths to ensure a culturally-competent approach to practice with Latino populations. Each chapter is accompanied by key questions for personal and group reflection to facilitate discussion and understanding of these vital themes.

The editors have nearly three decades of combined experience working with Latino populations inside and outside the United States. Drawing on this experience, they integrate these varied perspectives to prepare students and practitioners for practice with this richly diverse community."

This article examines Philippine social work under martial law. The article begins with an account of the assault on human rights under the Marcos regime. It then outlines
the response of the mainstream professional community to
the challenges under martial law and the implications for contemporary social work practice.

This article will discuss how two theoretical frameworks can be useful in the analysis of conflict situations in social work practice. By viewing situations from the perspective of competing and differing values, social workers are able to come to respect the positions of those with whom they are in conflict. The respect that emanates from being empathic and validating towards another's values is crucial for negotiating resolution to difficult conflict situations.

Religion (dharma) plays a vital role in the Hindu (Sanatana) quest for understanding and practicing harmony between nature and humanity that result into the formation of a cosmological awakening, i.e. ‘transcending the universe.’ The importance and applicability of such new consciousness is a sign in promoting global humanism in the 21st century, where environmental ethics and sustainability are the wheels of making the future more humane and peaceful. Arne Naess, who coined the term ‘deep ecology’ conceiving humankind as an integral part of its environment, gives credit to Gandhi. Gandhi’s contributions help to re-awaken the human spirit to self-realisation, finally leading to revelation promoting human coexistence with nature sustainably, mostly through re-interpretation of Vedantic thought. Under the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) the ideas of Gandhi are recognised as a path that makes human coexistence stronger, feasible and co-sharedness, sustainable in peace and harmony with nature. This essay presents ecospiritual contextuality and its vitality concerning a sustainable perspective in line with Gandhi’s vision and way of life.
Keywords: Hindu tradition, Sanatana dharma, Gandhi, environmental ethics, ecospirituality, sustainable development, SDGs.

Human services is an interdisciplinary field with the objective of meeting human needs through an applied knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of service populations. The paper deals with some fundamental notions of Human Service Administration with special reference to Social Work education.

This examination will define and delineate the process of grief and bereavement as well as investigate grief through the lens of several seminal bereavement theorists. In addition, further exploration of research by several of the prominent modern theorists whose models are often used to assist with the grief process will be discussed, including controversies surrounding the models and grief therapy as a whole. Finally the discussion will revolve around determining the efficacy of each theory in correlation to how it may be effectively used with bereaved clients.

The ‘City as a Commons’—the idea of urban commoning—is an emerging body of ideas and practices, that have the potential to transform the ways in which we experience and shape our urban environments, and indeed world.

I submitted a short paper to this compilation assembled by José Maria Ramos.

Human service workers are susceptible to negative phenomena such as compassion fatigue through their work with people experiencing trauma and extreme emotions. The aim of the study was to examine compassion fatigue in Irish funeral directors, and the role of possible protective factors. Measures included; the Professional Quality of Life Scale (Stamm, 2009) which examines compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue (burnout and secondary traumatic stress), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) (Zimet et al., 1988), 2 self-constructed items examining training; and a purpose designed item exploring self-care. Employing a questionnaire based correlational design; purposive sampling acquired a sample (N=60) of 48 males and 12 females. Findings indicate that funeral directors do not possess high levels of compassion fatigue, although their high levels of compassion satisfaction may reduce the possibility of burnout. Perceived social support from friends was negatively correlated with length of service. Discussion, suggestions and limitations of the study are addressed.

American Sign Language is one of the most widely used languages in the U.S. and millions of children and adults with hearing loss use sign language interpreters to gain access to a wide array of human services. Understanding the professional role of interpreters enhances the services provided, making them more efficient and effective. Ethical guidelines and communication protocols for working with interpreters are presented and discussed. Awareness of the role of the interpreter increases general cross-linguistic and cultural sensitivity, and improves access to available resources for all the parties involved.

Human service professionals offering psychosocial services to people who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) report multiple impacts to their physical and psychological well-being.  These impacts have been described and investigated through multiple concepts including vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress disorder, compassion fatigue, and posttraumatic stress disorder.  This scoping review mapped the relevant empirical literature on this topic guided by the question: What has been found in the empirical, peer-reviewed, scholarly literature examining exposure to the aversive details of IPV among human service professionals?  Thirteen relevant empirical studies investigating the impacts of exposure to the aversive details of IPV and human service professionals were found.  The results were charted, collated and summarized.  The results support previous research finding IPV human service professionals to be at elevated risk of harm as a result of their work.  The impacts of IPV practice were predominantly described as challenging.  Some research participants also reported having experienced positive growth and appreciation for their work despite exposure to traumatic events.  Protective factors including workplace social support emerged.  Implications for practice, training, and research are offered.

This paper will argue that wealth and income inequality are among the most pressing issues for contemporary social work. Despite this, social work as a discipline and profession has, in the main, been slow to respond to this growing problem. Critical approaches to social work, however, have always included a commitment to eliminating poverty, promoting equity and addressing both the causes and consequences of socio-economic disadvantage as a core priority. This paper will discuss the contributions critical social work can make to socially informed and ethical responses, particularly through its critical pedagogic, reflective and activist practices in contesting wealth and income inequality.

Purpose: The purpose of this applied research project is to explore caseworkers’ attitudes and perceptions towards services provided to children and families in the state of Texas. The research uses working hypotheses as the conceptual framework.

Method: Six working hypotheses were created that examine services provided by Child Protective Services (CPS). All working hypotheses and sub hypotheses were tested using group interviews. The sample size included 30 CPS caseworkers (Investigators, Family Based Safety Service workers, or Conservatorship workers). Five group interviews were conducted with 6 caseworkers in each group. The interviewees’ responses were recorded and categorized using a Likert scale, from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree and a Not Always response. The interviewees also gave their opinion and experiences about working for CPS.

Findings: The interviewees generally agreed that family based safety services have a positive impact on family preservation. The majority of interviewees disagreed that CPS places less emphasis on kinship care. Most interviewees agreed that foster care is fraught with safety concerns. A large number of interviewees agreed that children who are placed in institutions and group homes are there due to extreme behavioral or emotional problems and the children are often medicated, regardless of their ages. The majority of interviewees agreed that permanency planning teams act in the best interest of the families and children. Lastly, most of the interviewees disagreed that parental rights are often terminated unnecessarily.

In one of the first volumes to address social work practice with this emergent and often marginalized population, practitioners and scholars specializing in transnational issues develop a framework for transnational social work practice. They begin with the historical and environmental context of transnational practice and explore the psychosocial, economic, environmental, and political factors that affect at-risk and vulnerable transnational groups. They then detail practical strategies, supplemented with case examples, for working with transnational populations utilizing this population's existing strengths. They conclude with recommendations for incorporating transnational social work into the curriculum.

This volume has been many years in the making. The earliest study reported here was carried out in 1993, the most recent was completed in 1998. It was in 1999, however, that the editors first discussed gathering these studies into a single volume. There are many people whose contributions over this long gestation we wish to thankfully acknowledge First, we thank the members of the research teams that made each of the studies possible. Many of them were already trained in the social sciences or were graduate students; the remainder came from a range of disciplines and occupations medicine, social work, teaching, joumalism, law, or nongovernmental organizations. Some had worked with poor people before; others were deeply shocked by what they learned about their own country. Without their intelligence, willingness to work long hours in uncomfortable conditions, and serious commitment to the task, these studies would not have been as compelling as they are. Several colleagues have provided feedback at different stages of the process Deniz Kandiyoti (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) and Michael Woolcock (World Bank) peer-reviewed the collected chapters and provided detailed and incisive comments on each. Kathleen Kuehnast (Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University) provided extensive input on the volume as a whole, contributed to the introductory chapters, and, very important, inspired the title of the collection as well as those of several individual chapters. Meg Wilder provided early editorial support dunng the painful process of converting long reports to shorter chapters. Kim Kelley provided patient and hands-on guidance through the final publication process. And the authors are particularly indebted to Michael Treadway's sensitive and meticulous editorial input for the final stage of revisions. We are grateful for funding received to help this undertaking from the team that produced the earlier World Bank publication, Making Transition Work for Everyone Poverty and Inequality in Europe and Central Asia. We would also like to thank Kevin Cleaver, former Sector Manager, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development, Europe and Central Asia Region (ECSSD), for his strong x I When Things Fall Apart support throughout the long publication process, and Laura Tuck, current sector manager of ECSSD, for her strong support during the final phase of publication. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) commissioned an earlier version of the chapter on the Crimean Tatars-and kindly granted permission for its republication. Perhaps the final paragraph should be reserved for the people whose experiences and perspectives we have tried to capture in this volume. The people we interviewed throughout the eight countries covered in this volume responded graciously, generously, and forthrightly, providing a rich and nuanced commentary on their own lives and on the changes under way in their societies. To the extent that this volume contributes to our knowledge of poverty in the former Soviet Union, it is due in huge measure to the willingness of poor people to talk about their lives

The paper reports on both methodological and substantive findings. It presents a method for generating simplified representations for regional urban populations, their geographical sub-populations and communities. the method generates greatly simplified high-resolution socio-economic profiles of populated geographical areas from complex large census data sets.

Abstract
Objective: Many professions use some form of internship in professional education. Social work has utilized field instruction
throughout much of its history. Recently, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) designated field instruction as social
work’s signature pedagogy. A systematic review was undertaken to examine evidence related to this designation. Method:
Twenty-five primary databases, three grey literature sources, a research university library (for monographs and collections) were
searched in addition to a survey of the invisible colleges and hand searching of journals. The goal was to uncover quantitative studies
of social work field instruction in the United States. Results: None of the studies that passed the initial review and were acquired for
full examination met the inclusion criteria, precluding a meta-analytic integration. Conclusion: The assertion that field instruction is
the signature pedagogy of social work would be more credible if supported by stronger evidence.

Keywords
systematic review, meta-analysis, CSWE, EPAS, social work, field, fieldwork, field work, field education, field placement, field
instructor, field instruction, field learning, intern, internship, practica, practicum, signature pedagogy

This critique of some of the prevailing approaches to youth work argues that theories of practice offer better ways of understanding and achieving good practice. A significant body of literature suggests good youth work involves engaging young people in education and training, implementing a practice model, or acting upon young people’s feedback. However, criticisms of these accounts suggest they are inadequate. This article makes the case that we need to think about the problems youth work is trying to address as “wicked problems” that call for “wicked solutions” and argues that practice theories missing from the youth work literature provide more in the way of wicked solutions compared to the conventional approaches to youth work.

This article explores a new paradigm or model for the professional social worker: The poet/practitioner. The training and practice of the poet are congruent with many aspects of social work practice. An examination of the practice of the poet, and the congruence of these practices to social work, reveals a paradigm with the capacity to focus social workers on the essential values of our profession. This paradigm, which highlights the humanistic, creative, and socially conscience role of the social work practitioner, may be particularly important today given the medicalization of social problems and the conservitization of society.

Workplace cultures are an important component in creating safe work environments. In-depth qualitative interviews (n = 85) were conducted with human service workers of a large publicly administered human service organization in Canada to learn more about the organizational and/ or workplace conditions that contribute to a safety culture. Findings reveal that a safety culture within this human service workplace is defined by values or attitudes associated with safety and structured mechanisms that help promote workplace safety. Insights from respondents help to identify areas for workplace and organizational development to promote health and safety within human service workplaces.