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Over the past few decades, the level of police involvement at a community level in matters of mental health has increased significantly. Police are often the only agency immediately available day or night to respond to such emergencies and are often left to deal with mental illness and associated social crises with very limited support. Whilst recent years have witnessed an upsurge in governmental policy intended to safeguard vulnerable groups, such as young people and people with mental illness, there is a dearth of research regarding the proficiency and operability of these directives in practice. Even less is known about how these policies are practically applied to young people in crisis. The study examines the police-led care pathways of Irish youth experiencing a crisis mental health event from the commencement of police involvement through to the initiation of psychiatric care. Qualitative interviews were conducted with police and a group of stakeholders comprised of medical professionals and a social worker. Results indicate a complex care pathway beset with ambiguous policy and legislation, deficits in specialist training, and chronic under-resourcing of services. In the face of these shortcomings, police innovate informal practices that sometimes help and at other times pose a risk to young people in crisis. Furthermore, uncertainties surrounding formal procedure was a source of significant psychological burden for police and potential disciplinary action. These findings are discussed in the context of existing theory and research, and recommendations for policy and practice are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Me and my family is a knowledge-based motivational program that includes eight weekly therapeutic sessions provided via the social services for families in which parent(s) have substance use problems (SUP). Purpose: The aim of this study was to report experiences gained while conducting the research project, in which social workers' active participation was a core feature. Materials and method: Guided by the implementation framework AIF (Active Implementation Framework) data were collected from multiple sources, such as minutes from guidance sessions, meetings with managers, booster days, and transcriptions of focus group interviews with social workers. Results: Findings indicate that social workers need to receive training in research activities before program start and to have time for pre- and post-therapeutic session reflections To deliver and maintain an intervention like Me & my Family require cross-sectional cooperation and staff having academic degrees to develop reflections on program delivery. Research design experiences indicate that RCT methods proved difficult to accomplish. An additional finding was organizational structures in silos as a barrier to recruiting families. Conclusion: Involving social workers in doing research on practices concern needs for managerial support regarding scheduling, routines and interest in evidence-based practice, well-educated social workers, and special attention to research design in relation to clients' needs. Conclusions drawn from using the AIF framework include the need for continuous coaching and consultations as well as feed-back on results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigates the role of Public Service Motivation (PSM) in retaining highly skilled and qualified child welfare graduates within the public child welfare sector. Materials and methods: Three entire cohorts of child welfare student social workers over three years (N = 125) in BSW and MSW child welfare programs at seven universities in a Southern state were surveyed to examine the effects of task self-efficacy achieved through the curriculum and public service motivation on retention intention among social work students specializing in child welfare practice at both the baccalaureate and master's levels. Mediation analysis was conducted to estimate the indirect effect of self-efficacy on students' retention intention. Results: The self-efficacy of child welfare students, operationalized as their confidence in performing competencies, significantly influences their intention to remain in the field of child welfare. Furthermore, self-efficacy among child welfare students has a statistically significant effect on their PSM. PSM, in turn, significantly impacts their intention to persist in child welfare work. Discussion: The findings indicate that PSM partially mediates the relationship between students" self-efficacy and their intent to remain in child welfare work, even when controlling for educational background. We recommend that child welfare agencies recognize and nurture workers" PSM by incorporating practices that promote PSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, protection and isolation measures established by the Canadian and Quebec governments have directly affected the work of health and social professionals (HSPs). These measures have added pressure on HSPs, complexified their work and added tasks to their already busy workload. However, few studies have explored in depth the impacts of the pandemic on HSPs working with people with disabilities. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to qualitatively explore the experiences of HSPs working among people with disabilities in the province of Quebec, Canada, during the COVID-19 pandemic (January and February 2021), including the impact on their work, the relationships with their colleagues, and on their immediate social and familial environment. METHODS: HSPs participated in a semi-structured interview. A mixed thematic analysis approach, combining inductive and deductive coding, was carried out using N'Vivo 12. RESULTS: Fifty-five HSPs participated in the interviews (mean [SD] age, 42 [9]). They mostly identified as women (91%). Three main themes representing the impacts of the pandemic were identified, including 1) Health and Well-being; 2) Family and social networks including the subthemes; 2.1) Fear of being a vector of contamination for their loved ones; 2.2) Work-family balance; 2.3) Social Network, and finally 3) Work, highlighting, including 3.1) Workload and adaptative strategies developed; 3.2) Relationship with colleagues; 3.3) Perceived support received at work, and 3.4) Services offered to patients. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of closely tracking and supporting the well-being of HSPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latino gay men asylum seekers leave their homeland to avoid traditional male-dominated societies where they endure persistent sexual and physical violence, homonegativity, and discrimination within their communities. These men often arrive in the U.S. with mental health issues brought on by traumatic events experienced in their home countries. In the U.S. Latino gay asylum seekers experience additional stressors due to their multiple identities as an ethnic minority, a sexual minority, and an immigrant. This practice corner addresses the need to explore Latino gay men asylum seekers' pre- and post-migration experiences in the U.S. and its impact on their mental health. Culturally responsive strategies for clinicians are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an ethical and professional standard in social work education and practice, cultural competence must go beyond educating social work students about White privilege to promoting cultural consciousness and anti-racism. Using an anti-racist framework as a construct of cultural competence, this study examined the language in the course syllabi of graduate social work programs. Findings suggest that many graduate social work programs need to integrate more inclusive language in course syllabi and that further examination of anti-racism in course syllabi is needed. These findings have implications for including populations who have historically been marginalized in social work education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The entry into professional life is a critical stage in the professional identity development of social workers; it is a particularly sensitive milestone for Arab novice social workers in Israel. Novice social workers must deal with the gap between the universal, predominantly individualistic social work approaches taught in Israeli educational establishments, and the collectivistic values, which they encounter in social work practice within the Arab community. In addition, they encounter the practical and culturally-sensitive knowledge of experienced social workers in welfare offices in Israel. This gap is intensified due to novice workers' unresolved identity conflict as members of an indigenous minority, experienced during and since their academic socialization. Despite these critical issues, the challenge has rarely received scholarly attention. This article presents findings from a qualitative study that has examined the conflicting experiences of Arab novice social workers Vis-à-vis their professional identity development and incorporation into Israeli welfare bureaus. It is based on thirty in-depth retrospective interviews with Arab social workers with at least ten years of experience in the field of family and child welfare. Findings are analyzed from a critical multicultural perspective on social work. They show that integration of Arab novice social workers into the Israeli welfare offices is characterized by ongoing tensions and inner conflicts. Findings raise awareness of the need to implement critical multicultural programs in social work education which emphasize cultural sensitivity in order to support Arab novice social worker's professional identity formation and incorporation into social work practice in the Israeli welfare bureaus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based organizations (CBOs) serving older ethnic minority adults, especially older immigrants, are vital to satisfy their complex social, health, and behavioral health needs. This study uses organizational theories and a case study approach to examine how the organizational responses to the multifaceted impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and progress beyond the pandemic-related responses. Four CBOs serving older Chinese immigrants in New York City were examined. Results indicate that driven by unmet psychosocial needs of older Chinese immigrants and public health measures, CBOs modified practice protocols and established (or strengthened) collaborative relationships with medical providers and other CBOs. COVID-19 responses include CBOs' transformations in organizational structures (e.g. collaboration) and operational activities (e.g. telehealth). Successful transformations of CBOs were primarily due to prior adaptiveness to integrated care reform and assured needed resources before the pandemic; the transformation reflected orderly organizational progress rather than a temporary management strategy. PRACTICE POINT: CBOs modified practice protocols, established (or strengthened) collaborative relationships, and increased service coordination to address the unmet psychosocial needs of older Chinese immigrants and public health measures. Amidst evolving pandemic-related challenges, community-based organizations (CBOs) fostered collaborative partnerships and provided integrated care services, playing a crucial role in addressing the mental health needs of older immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizational theories explain CBOs' adaptive behaviors during the pandemic, as they provided essential services to vulnerable older immigrants while navigating normative and coercive pressures to meet evolving needs and secure funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heightened stress levels are experienced and reported by social work practitioners worldwide and issues such as secondary traumatic stress, burnout and compassion fatigue are terms increasingly being used in the context of social work practice. This study sought to investigate factors that influence compassion fatigue as well as compassion satisfaction in social workers. It was conducted in two cities in south India with a sample of 73 social workers. Standardized instruments were administered to assess compassion fatigue as well as compassion satisfaction besides measures to identify the manifestation of stress and resilience in the respondents. Findings indicate high levels of stress and resilience and significant manifestation of compassion fatigue and burnout levels in the sample studied. It was also observed that the interaction effect between resilience and stress significantly explained the manifestation of compassion fatigue but not that of compassion satisfaction. Implications of these findings have been discussed in terms of influencing individual and organizational factors to enhance resilience, deal more effectively with work-related stress, and reduce burnout and compassion fatigue. This will in the long run bode well for the wellbeing of social workers besides potentially impacting the quality-of-service provision. Practice Points: Social work organizations need to promote measures to ensure manageable workloads, role clarity, adequate resources, and workplace support to employees. The importance of self-care measures and timely help-seeking is a message that needs to be unequivocally conveyed. Stress management and resilience-building measures need to be incorporated within the work culture of organizations that employ social workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces the origins and goals of the abolition movement in the United States that began during the era of chattel slavery to demonstrate that the true aspirations of this movement—a racially just society free of racism and oppression—remain aspirations that are not yet realized. Realizing these aspirations is the real work of abolition and this is the work that social work must embrace today. Yet for social work to truly work toward an anti-racist future, we must also be anti-capitalist. This requires that we work toward both the abolition of harmful, racist systems and abolition of the racial capitalism that maintains these systems. The article concludes with recommendations for scholars and leaders in human service organizations to engage in and advance this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the influence of Bureaucratic, Supportive, and Innovative organizational structures on Consideration and Initiating Structure leadership behaviors. The study comprised survey of 261 purposively sampled social workers employed in Kuwaiti governmental social organizations. The Organizational Culture Index (OCI) and the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) were used for data collection, and Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine these relationships. The results of this study demonstrate that Bureaucratic cultures significantly affect both the Consideration and Initiating Structure behaviors. Moreover, Supportive organizational culture predicts Consideration, whereas little evidence is found to support if Innovative Culture has any impact on Consideration or Initiating Structure. PRACTICE POINTS: The predominant organizational culture of governmental social work organizations in Kuwait is Bureaucratic. Unfortunately, a smaller number of organizations exhibit a Supportive culture. Above all, the empirical evidence concerning these issues in the context of Kuwait is thin. Most organizations with bureaucratic cultures have leaders whose behavior have either Consideration or Initiating Structure. Those within Supportive cultures demonstrate behaviors associated with Consideration. Administrators in social work settings should promote Innovative and Supportive cultures instead of the predominant Bureaucratic cultures, thus enhancing the workplace environment with team-focused, people-oriented, encouraging, and trustworthy leadership behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High turnover rate has been a challenge in social work practice and the predictive roles and mechanisms of career choice motivation on turnover intention have not been examined in China. This study examined the relationship between career choice motivation and turnover intention mediated by job self-efficacy and job satisfaction. A sample of 5485 participants was obtained from China Social Work Longitudinal Study (CSWLS) 2019. Results illustrate that internal motivation was negatively associated with turnover intention, whereas job efficacy and job satisfaction fully mediated the relationship. However, external motivation was positively related to enhance turnover intention and partially mediated by job efficacy and job satisfaction. The findings suggest that social work educators should develop students' internal motivation and that social work agencies need to screen practitioners with higher internal motivation and to enhance their job self-efficacy and job satisfaction. PRACTICE POINTS: Different career choice motivations have different effects on Chinese social workers' turnover intention, with internal motivation reducing turnover intention while external motivation increasing it. There is a deeper mechanism by which career choice motivation affects turnover intention, with two career choice motivations affecting turnover intention through job efficacy and job satisfaction. Social work agencies need to establish mechanisms to screen practitioners with internal motivation and to enhance job efficacy and job satisfaction of social workers. Social work education needs to foster internal motivation in students, not just constant enrollment expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various studies have demonstrated how the discrimination and violence experienced by LGBT+ children and young people affect their mental health and quality of life. Training for professionals working with children and young people is a key means of helping them provide the necessary support to LGBT+ children and youth people, for handling any violence that may occur in their immediate environment, as well as for empowering them. This article discusses changes in the attitudes, beliefs and practices of professionals working with children and young people following their participation in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) delivered through the online platform of the University of Girona. Two surveys were carried out with the participants – the first at the beginning of the course, and the second at the end – in order to evaluate possible changes. Participants' attitudes, beliefs and practices regarding sexuality and gender diversity in childhood improved, even when taking into account the fact that many began from an initial position of support. The use of MOOC training has value, given the need to engage with sexuality and gender diversity as part of formal training for a variety of professionals working with children and young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 outbreak produced an unprecedented crisis in care sectors. Nursing home workers, healthcare, social care, and clinical social workers (HSCW) often took the burden of managing the crisis in their facilities, risking increased stress, trauma, and burnout. As a response to this issue, increased interest in self-care in health and social work literature could be observed. Yet, the concept of self-care is problematic, as it focuses attention on the individual responsibility to care for oneself, regardless of organisational and structural factors and obstacles. The article provides a critical literature review, focused on risk factors and psychological consequences of the pandemic in health and social care and clinical social work, and on the proposed response, namely, self-care. The aim of the article is to systematise knowledge about approaches to self-care in these sectors and to critically review those approaches. Critiques of self-care are considered, including those informed by Foucauldian perspective of governmentality and responsibilization. The concept of community care is introduced as an implication and an answer to these critiques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the final issue of 2024, which compiles nine insightful articles that delve into critical themes in social work practice and policy. Topics include the identity construction of social workers, client perceptions of care, reflexive analyses of participatory research methodologies, and the lived experiences of diverse individuals, emphasizing the significance of context and critical reflection in ethical social work.

This study explores discretion in social work with persons with disabilities. By drawing on a narrative social work approach, the study acknowledges narratives crucial for conducting social work. The research question was as follows: How do persons with disabilities as clients and social workers as professionals consider discretion and its consequences? The data consisted of clients' and social workers' written accounts about discretion and were analysed by deploying narrative inquiry with small stories approach. The grand narrative was about getting adequate services through appropriate discretion. Three small stories about everyday life, in/equality and the economy were told against the grand narrative. The study argues that discretion in social work with persons with disabilities is constructed through the available narrative resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the conceptualization of cultural responsivity in Australian child protection through the critical Whiteness theory lens. Critical discourse analysis was deployed to examine the cultural responsivity concept in two statutory child protection documents from New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Interrogating the underlying assumptions present in the texts, the study demonstrated a narrow categorization of who is deemed 'culturally diverse' and a problematic conceptualization of cultural responsivity. We argue that these texts maintain Whiteness as the unexamined cultural norm and can reinforce the 'Othering' effect and racial disproportionality in the child protection system. We conclude with a call to practitioners to remain critical of the widely accepted concepts that inform their practice, such as cultural responsivity to avoid reinforcing racial inequality through their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North American Muslim population is growing rapidly, but little research has been conducted to help social workers interact with members of this population in a culturally sensitive manner. To assist social workers engage with Muslims in an ethical and effective manner, this qualitative study sought to answer the following questions: how do Muslims experience interactions with non-Muslims and what have they learned from their encounters that might facilitate positive interactions? To answer these two questions, we used narrative inquiry with a sample of 10 Muslim social work students and recent alumni. The findings suggest that Muslims may be treated either positively or negatively by non-Muslims in interactions in various contexts, that they are frequently unable to voice their religious perspectives, and that their religious difference is often portrayed in single-sided or negative ways as well as prioritized against their wishes while ignoring other aspects of their social identities. As a result, many tend to avoid interactions with non-Muslims. The paper offers strategies to foster more respectful interactions with Muslims, such as attending to how much their religious difference is prioritized, and providing opportunities to share their perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights social work practices for children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) and their families in a hospital. Embodiment is the main theoretical perspective used to analyse complex encounters between clients (children with CLP and their parents) and social workers in concrete interactive situations. It allows us to symmetrically reflect on how encounters between the bodies of clients, the social worker and medical professionals co-construct and redefine the social worker's identities. Three body-related identities emerge and coexist as the practice proceeds: a normal person with a normal life, a learner without embodied knowledge of a particular illness and a professional with both medical and social work authorities. These three dimensions show how mutual embodiment in contextualised interactions affects the social worker-client relationship. About implications for social work practice, we draw attention to the situated identities of social worker in a specific context, and explain how embodiment serves as a critical tool to improve our understanding of practitioners' dynamic identities through embodied reflexivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoliberal capitalism creates a "crisis of care" in which social reproduction —though necessary for society—is undermined by stripping away support for caregivers, who are disproportionately women. "Social reproduction" refers to the reproduction and maintenance of the labor force via childbirth, child rearing, and caregiving for loved ones more generally. This interpretive phenomenological study examines how a crisis of care manifests for women in the workplace. Drawing upon in-depth, semistructured interviews with Chicago-based women who work as community organizers, our findings demonstrate that sexism in the workplace, coupled with the gendering of care work, creates unique difficulties for these women. By integrating the work of feminist critical theorists who argue that neoliberal logics produce gendered impacts, particularly due to processes they call responsibilization and retraditionalization, our findings help explain why and how gender subordination and gendered divisions of labor persist, even in organizations with a professed commitment to social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa struggle for health equity while also facing the constraints of economic hardship and patriarchy. In this article, we describe the experiences of women who participated in economic empowerment groups for women living with HIV in Wakiso district, Uganda. Fifty women engaged in economic empowerment groups and ten social worker and community health worker key informants enrolled in the study. Taking a phenomenological approach, we used field notes, qualitative interviews, and focus groups with participants and key informants to describe the experiences of the women who joined the groups. We present the findings including enhanced management of HIV and increased property and business ownership due to economic empowerment group participation. We discuss the findings through an economic empowerment framework and offer implications for social work interventions and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empowerment is central in gerontological social work. Operationalizing empowerment from the perspective of the target population is important to align with context specific interpretations of what empowerment means. This study aims at operationalizing psychological empowerment from the perspective of older people. A design was chosen that is based on the concept mapping method, though tailored to accommodate the specific principles we assume in empowerment research and to align with target specific conditions that come to play with older persons. The results show an empowerment with 58 statements divided over four components of empowerment; emotional, cognitive, relational and behavioural component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An online qualitative survey explored perceived training, readiness, and needs of recent SW graduates serving older adults. Over half (N = 14) held a master's in social work, with 70% having taken an introductory aging course. Nearly halfcompleted other aging-specific coursework, and 80% did fieldwork with older adults. Participants indicated moderate proficiency in assessing issues like lossestransitions (46.7%), and physical health (53.3%), and advanced expertise in cognitive assessments (60.0%) and caregiver stress management (53.3%). Training deficiencies were noted in disaster readiness, telehealth, and resource coordination. Findings underscore the need for educationfor early-career social workers, ensuring their effective support to older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is established evidence of complicated grief among people with an intellectual disability. This paper describes the process of adapting complicated grief therapy (CGT) for this population. Method: Action research documented the adaptation of CGT. Qualitative methods included analysing meeting notes, reflective interviews with two members of the team involved in adapting the materials, and interviews with six professionals working in disability settings who reviewed the adapted materials. Results: Key processes included adapting the standardised tools that form part of CGT and developing adapted approaches to abstract concepts related to death, dying and bereavement. Key therapeutic components such as imaginal revisiting and the role of significant others required adaptation for implementation with people with intellectual disabilities. Conclusion: The importance of adapting evidence‐based therapies for people with intellectual disabilities is emphasised. This research provides an adapted form of an established therapy for piloting with this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sparse professional literature on complaints against social workers, focuses on a few specific variables, discussing them from a universal/contextless viewpoint. This study considers such complaints as a holistic (integrative) issue which should be studied within particular contexts. The research traced service users' complaints against social workers, investigating social workers' conceptions concerning the extent and type of complaints, and the social workers' coping mechanisms. A phenomenological approach elicited data from semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 social workers from Arab welfare bureaus in Israel. Findings indicated that formal complaints are rare despite many grievances (tazamur) concerning the service. There are almost no complaints concerning serious offences, because in addition to formal punishment, community cultural punishments are severe. Complaints can be lodged in eight regulatory bodies, inside or outside the bureau, distinguished as either educational or disciplinary in policy. Coping strategies (expressing internal or external loci of control) depend on the complaint type (against the system or against the social workers' professional functioning and/or ethical behaviour) and the regulatory body's character. A professional-ethical complaint is a context-informed pragmatic challenge that social workers should understand and be trained to consider as an opportunity for professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The violent national events that occurred in Israel in May 2021 heightened the sense of anxiety and insecurity for Palestinian and Jewish citizens alike, particularly in mixed cities. This study examines the dynamics, emotions, and perceptions of Palestinian-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli social workers in mixed cities against the backdrop of these events. The study included in-depth interviews with 25 Palestinian-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli social workers in welfare departments in six mixed cities in Israel. The analysis was encoded inductively, informed by the principles of content analysis. Two themes emerged: (1) overt and hidden conflicts between social workers of both nationalities; and (2) challenges to cooperation against the background of the conflict. The research findings enable a deep and broad understanding of the complexity of the personal, national, and professional identities of Palestinian-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli social workers in Israel, reflected in their relationships with colleagues of the other nationality. Raising awareness of these aspects will facilitate developing appropriate tools for intervention programs and a direct and sensitive reference to these issues within the curricula of social work schools in Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Executive Summary: The literature on administrative burdens demonstrates that citizens may experience different kinds of administrative burdens when interacting with the state. However, we know little about whether citizens' communication of these experiences affects how frontline employees implement compliance demands. Building on the street‐level bureaucracy and administrative burden literature, we hypothesize that citizens' communication of direct and indirect psychological costs affects frontline employees' inclination to accommodate citizens. Furthermore, we expect this effect to be stronger for members of the ethnic majority than for ethnic minority members. We test these expectations using a preregistered survey experiment on a sample of 1048 Danish public caseworkers from 32 employment agencies. Results show that frontline employees are indeed more willing to reduce demands and help citizens that communicate their experiences of direct and indirect psychological costs. Further, we find some evidence that frontline employees are more responsive to citizens from the ethnic majority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration between the child welfare and court systems is critical. Using qualitative data, experiences of stakeholders were examined to identify areas where growth is needed. Stakeholders included: Local Department of Social Services (LDSS) child welfare workers (n = 28); LDSS supervisors (n = 32); LDSS directors and assistant directors (n = 13); judges and magistrates (n = 11); and attorneys (n = 16). Three main themes were identified: barriers to meeting mandated timeframes, a dependence on court orders, and the need for training and consultations. Findings suggest previously recommended improvement efforts have not been implemented successfully. Important implications for practice, specifically as it relates to achieving permanency, are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High child protection caseworker turnover diminishes care quality. While burnout is acknowledged, the impact of protective factors is unclear. This study examines caseworkers' burnout, individual resilience's protective role, and strategies for curbing turnover and preserving work-life balance. Results indicate that personal, work, and client-related subscales correlate highly. The moderating effect of resilience on burnout was significant yet marginal. Maintaining boundaries was the primary core theme reported in relation to strategies to maintain work-life balance. The results of this study highlight potentially modifiable factors likely to reduce caseworker turnover. Findings support the need for a collective re-evaluation of resilience as an individual responsibility to something that can be supported and fostered within the workplace for increasing employee retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A caregiver is generally required for a patient to proceed with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). If continuous caregiver support is not available, alloHCT will likely not be a treatment option. A qualitative study design was used to explore caregiver requirements from the perspectives of social workers (SWs). Secondary objectives included learning about requirement flexibility, barriers, and ideas to support patients and caregivers. Methods: Semi-structured web-based focus groups were conducted with alloHCT SWs who worked with adults at the United States (U.S.) transplant centers (TCs) from May to July 2022. Focus groups explored TC caregiver requirements, including flexibility and exceptions, origins, and barriers. Results: Twenty-two SWs from TCs across the U.S. participated. All noted their TC required a caregiver to proceed to alloHCT, though there was variation in the length of time a caregiver was required and the distance needed to stay near the TC post-alloHCT. Most participants described differences within the transplant team in allowing exceptions to caregiver requirements. SWs described barriers including finances and patients needing to relocate closer to the TC. Conclusion: SWs reported variation in caregiver requirements across TCs. Though variation may allow for some flexibility, it may contribute to access barriers. Additional research is needed to identify essential requirements for safe post-transplant care and monitoring and to develop patient-centered models to help patients access life-saving treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seventy percent of homes have at least one pet with 83% of people referring to themselves as a pet-parent. Veterinary Social Workers provide clinical support to both owner and veterinary medical teams. This study focused on the exploration of social workers embedded in veterinary medicine settings. The researcher-created survey explored: (1) general characteristics of Veterinary Social Workers and practice settings; (2) Characteristics of client groups; (3) Description of the role and tasks; (4) overall mental health needs of clients; and (5) Veterinary Social Workers response to mental health needs. Suggestions for future research, and best practices for educating social work students/practitioners about animal-human informed practices are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines the development, evolution, and implementation of an ecological justice advanced practice curriculum for Master of Social Work students at the University of Denver, USA. This work began in 2011 and continues to evolve to meet student needs and societal pressures. Key ingredients in the success of this program have been critical leadership support, gathering of expertise, maintaining a critical eye toward emerging social, natural, and physical sciences, and a university and profession that provides an implicit curriculum supportive of preparing university students for a precarious future. The social work profession is responding to global environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding more about the discharge of care orders is vital—whether a care order remains in place has significant implications for children and their families and for local authorities. While there has been comprehensive research about the process and outcomes of care proceedings, much less is known about the discharge of care orders—particularly how, why and when care orders are ended and the differences between applications that are granted and those that are not. The present study combined data from an anonymized administrative data on discharge applications, a detailed analysis of children's e‐records and qualitative interviews with family justice professionals to create the first detailed profile of discharge applications across England and Wales. This paper reports, for the first time, the number of discharge applications and outcomes across England and Wales, highlighting regional as well as between‐country variation. Drawing on data from children's e‐records and interviews with professionals, highlighting how and why local authorities are more likely to submit discharge applications, and to have applications granted, than parents. Recommendations are made for how to adapt professional practice and policy around discharge applications to better meet the needs of children and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies suggest a widespread notion among social workers that children should be involved in child protection processes. Nevertheless, children are found to be unsatisfied with the degree to which they feel involved and heard in those processes. This study explored social workers' reasons to exclude children from conversations about contact visits. It applied a social constructivist approach, in which the dominant understandings of children—'child constructions'—in the social workers' responses were identified and then used to discuss the concepts of 'participation' and 'conversation'. Findings reveal that social workers' reasons to exclude children from conversations about contact visits align with prevailing notions of children as rights holders, as vulnerable and as mentally immature. This study suggests that broadening the concept of conversations could provide social workers with the latitude to explore innovative approaches to conversing with children. Furthermore, conversations about contact visits should be performed to be as a tool that empowers children to influence and make meaning of their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child and family social workers routinely make professional judgements involving significant legal and moral questions (e.g. whether a child has been abused) and more 'everyday' issues (e.g. will the child be re‐referred again if we close the case now?) Yet the world is capricious, and we rarely know with certainty what is going to happen in future or the likely impact of our different choices. Given the consequences of their judgements and decisions, it is imperative that social workers are provided with the best possible support. This paper reports a proof‐of‐concept study of a set of interventions to improve the judgemental accuracy of social workers: (i) a survey to identify respondents with above‐average existing abilities, (ii) training sessions on cognitive debiasing and (iii) structured group working and (iv) three methods for aggregating individual judgements. Findings indicate that it is possible to measure the accuracy of social work judgements in relation to case‐study materials and retrospective questions, while the feedback about the training was largely positive. Any future studies should aim to recruit a more diverse set of respondents, test judgemental accuracy in relation to prospective judgements and explore what types of questions would be most helpful for real‐world decision‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situations where parents do not accept support while their family situation is assessed as unsafe (for instance in cases of child abuse and neglect), it is sometimes necessary to offer mandatory support to families. The aim of the current study is to investigate how parents perceive the results of mandatory support from Child Protection Services (CPS) and which elements of the mandatory support parents mark as crucial for the results of the support. In‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 18 parents. Parents report mixed feelings about the results of the mandatory support. According to parents, reaching alignment with professionals about the problem definition, as well as the aims of CPS at the start of mandatory CPS, is a crucial element contributing to results of CPS. Additionally, the perceived quality of the support (both on the organizational and professional level) is simultaneous important conditions for a positive view on the support of parents. Implications for practice include the importance of multi‐directed partiality of professionals to reach an agreement about the problems definition and the aims of the mandatory CPS involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child maltreatment seriously affects children's psychological and social well-being, as well as their physical health. The study aimed to explore the impact of violence experienced by children on their self-rated health. It also examined whether this effect is mediated by parent–child conversations and whether it varies based on the child's gender. The study was based on the Child Victim Survey of 2013 (FSD2943) in Finland. Mediation and moderation models were tested. According to the analyses, violence experienced by a child at the hands of their parents weakened the parent–child relationship, which, in turn, negatively impacted the child's self-rated health. Further, the higher the frequency of experienced violence, the more negative are the health consequences. However, girls had stronger negative health consequences as a result of low frequency of violence than boys. Social workers should pay particular attention to the dynamics within the family when assessing the possibility of child maltreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research highlights age-specific barriers to employment for older workers and the gap between activation policy design and implementation, focusing on difficulties in extending working life under employment support services. Design/methodology/approach: This research employed a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews to gather perspectives on extending the working lives of older adults. Eighteen experienced social workers who worked in employment support services for older workers who aged fifty-five and above participated in the study. Findings: This study underscores the importance of comprehensively understanding the heterogeneity of individuals' circumstances and emphasizes the impact of intersectionality on the development of extending working life. It incorporates individual and familial difficulties, including considering caregiving responsibilities, health issues and housing challenges before exploring employment-related concerns. The study also highlights external factors influencing older workers' employment prospects, including employer perspectives, government support levels and public recognition of the necessity to extend working life. Research limitations/implications: This research sheds light on the impact of welfare-related stigma, which imposes obstacles and inflexibility on older workers seeking employment. It ultimately contributes to the sustainability and dynamism of the Asia–Pacific workforce while also informing regional discussions on social security and welfare services. Originality/value: It uniquely employs the perspectives of social workers providing employment support services to highlight challenges and policy gaps in extending the working lives of older workers in Hong Kong. It also provides practical insights into strategies and mechanisms for extending working life across diverse social contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Social workers navigate systemic stressors while managing self-care amid scant institutional support. The purpose of this systematic review is to critically examine the state of social work intervention research for self-care practices. Methods: This review includes empirical research articles focusing on self-care interventions in social work between 2011 and 2022 (N = 22). Results: All self-care interventions focused on modifying individual behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge. Discussion: Most (83%) research on self-care interventions focused on mindfulness, which tended to be associated with improvements in mindfulness, distress management, and clinical self-efficacy. The remaining interventions tended to be associated with improvements in self-care attitudes, knowledge, practices, and wellness. Conclusion: Structural factors and socioeconomic privilege have been found to be predominant predictors of whether social work students, educators, and practitioners engaged in self-care practices, yet no interventions incorporated structural or institutional variables. Multilevel interventions addressing structural, institutional, and relational determinants of burnout are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Job satisfaction in social work has been widely studied, and yet continuity measurement tools utilized to assess job satisfaction among social workers are rare. The purpose of this study was to validate the use of the Social Work Satisfaction Scale (SWSS) with U.S.-based social workers. Moreover, we sought to examine the validity of the scale across rural, suburban, and urban designations. Method: A sample of U.S.-based social workers (N = 1,764) were recruited via social media to participate in an online survey that collected demographic information and assessed job satisfaction using the SWSS. Descriptive statistics were generated. MPlus (8.5) was used to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis of the SWSS. Results: Results indicate the SWSS is an appropriate measure to use with U.S.-based social workers across geographic settings. Discussion: The SWSS can assist social work-employing organizations seeking to better understand the multidimensional nature of job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper evaluated an electronic service-learning (e-SL) course utilizing regular and intensive delivery modes offered to undergraduate students in the 2020–2021 academic year. Methods: We collected pretest–posttest data (N = 130) and students' subjective evaluations of the course (N = 148) and the services they had provided (N = 160). Results: Students showed significant positive changes in both e-SL modes on positive youth development attributes, service leadership qualities, and life satisfaction, with greater changes among students taking the intensive mode. Students' views towards the e-SL course and the services they provided were positive, and students in the two e-SL modes did not differ significantly in their subjective evaluations. In addition, students' changes in outcome measures were positively associated with their subjective evaluations. Conclusions: The study provides additional support for the potential effectiveness of e-SL and suggests the promising application of intensive mode in implementing e-SL projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Research-supported family programmes are proven to be effective in reducing dysfunctional behaviours in youth. A fundamental role is played by professionals with high competence levels and a positive attitude to evidence-based practice (EBP). The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of prior training for the facilitators of the PCF-AFECT, in order to ascertain whether it led to improvements in their competence levels and whether favourable attitudes to evidence-based practice were associated with higher competence levels. Method: A quantitative method was used, with a sample of professionals from Spain (N = 150). Results: Results showed that the training was effective in the case of four categories of professional competencies. Favourable attitudes to EBP were associated with clusters of professionals with higher competencies. Discussion: Both findings contribute scientifically to the identification of the core components or gold standards of training that are needed for the facilitators of research-supported family programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]