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An increasing focus in aged care policy is supporting older people to age at home. However, there is little recognition of the health and independence of older private renters living in a space they do not own or control. This paper draws on in-depth interviews and assessments undertaken in the homes of 27 older tenants in the Brisbane environs aiming to understand how renting privately influenced their ability to meet their basic needs. An analysis of the findings highlights the disadvantage experienced by many older private renters. Most older private renters were unable to meet their basic needs given unaffordable rent whilst reliant on the aged pension. Further, with limited access to community aged care including home modifications, the health and independence of older private renters was found to be at risk. IMPLICATIONS Community aged care is difficult for older private renters to utilise in Australia, with unaffordable services and tenancy law limiting access to community aged care services including home modifications. It is vital social workers advocate for the community aged care needs of older private renters in practice and policy settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yoga is increasing in popularity. As a holistic practice, it is being applied and researched as a healing modality for physical ailments, assisting with mental health issues, and addressing traumatic symptoms. However, little is known about how social workers understand and include Yoga in their personal lives or professional practice. As part of a larger narrative study, practitioners in an Australian regional centre were asked: "What, if any, impact do embodied practices like Yoga have on your experience and your clients' experience?" This paper explores the stories told by three of the practitioners interviewed both individually and in focus groups. The dominant themes that emerged highlight that: a personal Yoga practice can be varied; the impact it has on professional outcomes is difficult to quantify; there is a lack of theoretical discussion about the body and embodied experience in social work; the challenges associated with introducing Yoga into social work practice are complex. Embodied practices such as Yoga provide social workers opportunities to increase self-awareness, their capacity to engage with clients and self-care. Theoretical understandings of the body and embodiment need to be better articulated in social work if embodied practices like Yoga are to be included in the professional conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Australian 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.)

While increasing attention has been paid to the experiences of Indigenous sistergirls over the past decade there still remains a dearth of empirical research on the experiences of this diverse population of Indigenous people. This paper seeks to add to the small body of existing literature by reporting on a thematic analysis of existing media in which 18 sistergirls shared their experiences of family and community. The thematic analysis identified two themes within each of these topics. Specifically, when talking about family, both familial acceptance and rejection were salient themes. When talking about community, both the traditional role of sistergirls in their communities and negative responses from communities were salient themes. The paper concludes by suggesting that increased knowledge about the lives of sistergirls may assist social workers in supporting sistergirls both in their own outreach endeavours, and in providing more culturally competent services. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In July 2006, “welfare-to-work” policies were introduced for single parents in Australia. These policies require most single parents with school-aged children to be employed or seeking employment of 15 to 25 hours per week in return for their income support payment. The changes represented a sharp increase in the obligations applying to single parents on income support. This paper is concerned with how the wellbeing of single mothers who are combining income support and paid employment is being influenced by these stepped-up activity requirements. The paper draws on data from semistructured interviews with 21 Brisbane single mothers. The analysis explores participants’ experiences in the new policy environment, utilising the theoretical framework of “relational autonomy”. Relational approaches to autonomy emphasise the importance of relations of dependency and interdependency to the development of autonomy and wellbeing in contrast with more individualistic approaches that privilege independence and self-sufficiency. Findings indicate that in their dealings with the welfare bureaucracy, participants experienced a lack of recognition of their identities as mothers, paid workers, and competent decision makers. These experiences have negative consequences for self-worth, relational autonomy, and ultimately the wellbeing of single parent families. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Australian 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.)

Children and young people in rural Australia experience disadvantage compared with metropolitan counterparts, with low educational attainment and disengagement from schooling being linked to poorer health outcomes. Schools are an existing contact point between individuals and health services. However, these health services are often overburdened and have limited scope to address broader social issues and teaching staff are focused on achieving curriculum outcomes. Embedding social workers within schools may provide an avenue for supporting students, yet social workers are rarely present in New South Wales public schools. This paper describes a study to determine teachers' understanding of the socioeconomic issues faced by school students, and the role of the social work profession in addressing such issues as part of the early stages of establishing a Social Work in Schools (SWiS) project. Eighteen semistructured interviews were undertaken with teachers across four rural Australian schools. Participants identified their awareness of potential risk factors that could lead to educational disengagement, reflected on their own limitations in dealing with these broader health presentations given their teaching focus, and provided insights into their understanding of the potential role of social workers. Rural and remote school children in Australia are at risk of reduced educational attainment and disengagement due to low socioeconomic status (SES), geographical location, parental education and employment, and family dysfunction. Social workers should advocate for the role they can play within rural school communities to assist in ameliorating the impact of socioeconomic factors on a student's capacity to engage in learning. Partnerships between schools and social work field education may facilitate the growth of social work in schools in New South Wales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflective practice, reflexivity, and critical reflection are now widely accepted as important in contemporary social work practice. Despite this, there remain differences in how the terms are discussed within the literature. This results in confusion in how students are instructed about reflective practice, reflexivity, and critical reflection. This paper presents a proposal for clarifying these concepts based on the results from an interpretive study of reflective practice in social work education and practice in Australia. The study utilised three different methods: autoethnography, an archaeological analytic, and qualitative interviews. It found that reflective practice is understood as a capability, a form of critical thinking, a discipline response to a changing sector, and a way of theorising from practice. Conceptual clarifications of reflective practice, reflexivity, and critical reflection are presented. IMPLICATIONS There is a need for clarification about the meaning of reflective practice, reflexivity, and critical reflection within social work. Findings from a qualitative study on the meaning and use of reflective practice in Australian social work education may provide conceptual clarification of these terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against a background of rapid and widespread changes to the delivery of human services and social welfare, this paper reports on a study into the experiences of managers of human services organisations. Within an interpretive methodology, the research utilised focus group and interview methods to examine the relevance and need for business, finance, and management skills from the perspective of managers in the human services. Results indicate that managers of human service organisations need advanced business, management, and finance skills to deal with change and uncertainty in contemporary and competitive service environments. IMPLICATIONS Human service organisations in Australia are subject to change and uncertainty with new models of funding and increased accountability. Social workers employed as managers are under pressure to lead sustainable and accountable services, while still holding to social work principles. Social workers who manage organisations face a challenge of how to integrate business, management, and finance skills with the values and mission of social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Korean-Australian intercountry adoption has been practiced for 30 years. This longevity provides unique opportunities to develop critical perspectives on a complex, global practice. This paper presents understandings drawn from a study that explores Korean intercountry adoption using Actor Network Theory. It argues that the practice of intercountry adoption in Australia has been shaped by adoption-driven influences and characterised by controversy and competing discourses. It concludes that contemporary understandings necessitate a global, contextual, and critical view that is inclusive of emerging voices and alternate discourses. The challenge for practitioners and policy makers is to ensure the complex nature of the phenomenon is understood by all stakeholders. This will involve remaining child-focused, promoting multilevel interventions, incorporating research findings, and resisting wholly positive discourse that promotes singular perspectives. An awareness of how the internet is used to forge networks and promote discourses is crucial in ensuring multiple perspectives are considered in this contentious practice field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Australian 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.)

Over the past two decades there has been a growing awareness that sport may not be a positive experience for all children. For example, we know that some children experience sexual abuse in the context of organised sport, and that these offences are often committed by trusted adults, including coaches and club officials. However, less attention has been given to the physical abuse of child athletes. This paper presents a study that explored children's experiences of organised sport, as recounted by young people between the ages of 18 and 25 years in Australia. The study explored the experience of child physical abuse in organised sport including violence, overtraining, and training while injured. A mixed methods research design produced 107 survey responses and 10 in-depth interviews with young adults. Most respondents reported the positive impact that participating in sport had had on their development, but more than a third of the respondents also described experiences of overtraining, being forced to train when injured or of direct physical violence. Drawing upon a thematic analysis of the qualitative data, a conceptual model has been developed and is presented to assist in the understanding of the dynamic of secrecy, which may facilitate ongoing physical harm to children in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The year 2014 marked the abolition of the Baby Bonus and its replacement with a substantially reduced parenting payment. While often criticised as "middle-class welfare," or publicly denounced due to its purported misuse by disadvantaged mothers, this paper argues that the Baby Bonus provided valuable financial assistance to families experiencing high financial stress. To investigate young women's experience of receiving the Baby Bonus, 19 semistructured interviews were conducted with young mothers in Melbourne who had recently had babies. Many were experiencing financial stress and this payment provided much needed financial support for the basic costs arising from having a baby. Several mothers perceived work as a luxury that was out of reach due to high childcare costs relative to their earning capacity and therefore saw Paid Parental Leave as a further privilege unavailable to them. Our results suggest that while the concerns of policymakers to achieve the best use of scarce resources are critical, it should also be acknowledged that the policy change may have serious implications for many young mothers and may exacerbate disadvantage, and young mothers' sense of alienation, ultimately leading to greater inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Australian 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 Australian 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 Australian 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 Australian 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 Australian 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 Australian 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.)

Australian families are changing and parenthood is increasingly being seen as an individual choice. One important arena for exercising such choice is adoption, which today takes place across national boundaries in the form of intercountry adoption. This is now the predominant type of adoption in Australia. In order to reach their goal of parenthood, individuals choosing intercountry adoption must undergo an education and assessment process. This paper presents the findings from research undertaken as part of a larger doctoral study, with prospective intercountry adoptive parents, intercountry adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and support group representatives living in Australia. Three groups were found to exist in relation to the intercountry adoption assessment process: embracers, acceptors, and pragmatists. Factors influencing each group are discussed and suggestions for strengthening the role and efficacy of education and assessment in the selection of Australian intercountry adoptive parents are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work practice with Aboriginal people and communities is generally regarded as complex, with workers often engaging with communities that are experiencing significant disadvantage. This paper reports on a research project that interviewed Aboriginal and non Aboriginal social workers who are experienced and well-regarded by Aboriginal communities. It provides insights into what sustains these workers and how they integrate a range of knowledge, values, and skills in their work. The research findings suggest that experienced Aboriginal and non Aboriginal social workers prioritise the development of relationships with their Aboriginal clients and communities, which are characterised by reciprocity, the integration and valuing of Aboriginal and Western worldviews, and the application of microskills such as deep listening and stillness. The article concludes with the presentation of a practice framework that is applicable to Aboriginal and non Aboriginal social workers who want to work alongside Aboriginal people across a range of practice contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the mid-1980s, Australian governments have focused on expanding community and home-based services for older people. This has led to increased levels of dependency, vulnerability, and complexity to be managed in the community. Consequently, aged care services have had to develop mechanisms for regulating and managing these increased risks, and risk management has become more central to the practices of professional workers in this field. This paper reports on some findings from a large-scale study that explores the way risk management policies have been translated into practice by community-based services in Victoria, Australia. Drawing on interviews with 18 frontline and management professionals employed in community aged care, we found that these workers were wrestling with a diverse and new range of institutional risks beyond those encountered in the actual delivery of frontline care. We found that these workers experienced 'risk' in four different contexts, which often created demands for contradictory or conflicting responses. Here we examine these 'contexts of risk practice': professional workers' relationships with their clients, relationships with other service providers, the unregulated nature of the home as a work environment, and community expectations about the management of risk. Despite tensions that frequently arose, workers expressed strong professional commitments to their clients and were motivated to find positive resolutions amid competing interests. We conclude that tensions experienced by workers were embedded in the structural dimensions of institutional relationships and the systematic absence of shared understandings of 'acceptable' risks in the community care of older people, rather than in the failure of professional agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work in Australia requires educators to teach skills, knowledge, and Aboriginal ways of knowing, doing, and being to ensure graduates are culturally responsive and potential allies when working with Aboriginal peoples and communities. This education should include an accurate teaching of Australian Aboriginal history and sharing of Aboriginal knowledge. Currently, non-Aboriginal educators are more likely to teach Aboriginal content, which can foreclose opportunities for Aboriginal educators. On the surface this appears to be a continuation of colonialism where white privileged groups speak for, speak about, and occupy, in this instance, the educational spaces related to Australian Aboriginal peoples and other minority racial groups. This occupation of the educational space in social work is an interesting predicament when considering whether social work educators are allies to the processes of decolonisation. This article explores the experiences of non-Aboriginal educators and asks the question—how do we decolonise social work to create culturally responsive practitioners? IMPLICATIONS Universities need to be aware of and address the continuation of colonising practices in teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content. There is the potential to create a transformative future in social work education with the sharing of two world views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work programs in the Global North are increasingly engaged in international student exchange with countries in the Indo-Pacific that belong to the Global South. However, there is a paucity of literature exploring the experiences of the institutions that host these exchanges. This article reports on the findings of a qualitative project that sought host institutions' perspectives on the value of student exchanges. The findings indicate a perception that some mutual benefit and reciprocity can be established in international exchange but that disparity in resourcing, absence of opportunities for hosts to travel to Australia, and the privileged status of knowledge produced in the Global North maintains an inequity between exchange partners. These findings highlight the need for steps that can be taken toward reciprocity while demonstrating the impact power imbalance can have on the nature of Global South–North student exchange programs. IMPLICATIONS Research has shown that student exchange programs between the Global North and the Global South are often underpinned and shaped by a significant power imbalance in favour of the Global North. Findings show that Australian (Global North) knowledge is privileged over knowledge that is Indigenous to the host country and that financial constraints prevent host organisations from equal participation in programs. A form of reciprocity can be established whereby organisations in the Global South can access benefits associated with the programs, without sending their own students on exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflective practice and critical reflection are considered crucial to learning and practising social work. Based on qualitative analysis of interviews with Australian social work practitioners, students, and academics this article offers a description of the strong normative role reflective practice plays in contemporary social work practice. The research was conducted as part of a larger interpretive study into how reflective practice is understood in social work education and practice in Australia. The research found that reflective practice is considered as central to the development of practice wisdom, accountability, and the development of self-awareness. The article discusses the normative role reflective practice plays for social worker agency. The article also outlines the formative role social theory plays in the development of critical reflection. IMPLICATIONS Reflective practice and critical reflection can be viewed as important and distinct capabilities in professional social work practice. Reflective practice is an important foundation for the emergence of practitioner agency. As critical reflection is more likely to develop in social workers who have had the opportunity to learn social theory, it is important to ensure social theory is included in foundational social work curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers play a pivotal role in addressing equity and diversity within Australia using both culturally responsiveness skills and knowledge. This article describes a research project that resulted in the development of the Continuous Improvement Cultural Responsive Tools that can be used by social workers in their practice. This was a large project conducted over three years, which involved engagement and consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community social workers. The community engagement and consultation process included the provision of cultural governance and participation in interviews. The tools developed are linked to seven key domains (Ngurras) that aim to increase the skills, knowledge, and overall confidence of social work practitioners in their culturally responsive practice. This article discusses the tools that provide a clear structure to guide social workers' critical engagement in becoming more culturally responsive social workers and individuals when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. IMPLICATIONS Social work practices need to address the social injustices faced by Aboriginal Peoples by becoming more culturall responsive. The tools were developed to support social workers in their practice to self-assess their transformation in becoming culturally responsive social workers. Continuous improvement in collaborative and culturally responsive social work will improve services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the resettlement experiences of Torres Strait Islanders who moved to the Australian mainland. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 individuals, using a grounded theory method. Findings suggest that Torres Strait Islander contemporary out-movers are adjusting rather than assimilating to the Australian mainstream culture. The concept of "living in two worlds" required managing the crossing between the obligations of island life and demands and expectations of the mainstream. As people made sense of their experiences, out-movers developed strategies to "manage the crossings" from one world to another- the simpler lifestyle of "island life" that offered a greater sense of certainty and familiarity, and "mainstream" which may present many challenges, competing demands and expectations. While Torres Strait Islander out-movement is internal, there are similarities to international migration experiences, and like other internal movements, this movement tended to go unnoticed. Migration is an important area of social work practice that needs the attention of social workers, particularly with the predicted increases in out-movements that may occur in response to economic and climate-related change. IMPLICATIONS Torres Strait Islander internal migration is absent from social work literature. There is a gap in knowledge of how contemporary migrants experience and make sense of life on the mainland. Social work can learn from this movement to prepare for future migration responding to environmental and economic imperatives, both internally and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Help seeking for domestic violence is complex and multifaceted, and settling in a new country might make the help-seeking process more challenging and complicated. This study explored the barriers to seeking help for domestic violence, specifically experienced by Afghan women after settling in Australia. The study involved 21 semistructured interviews with newly arrived Afghan women. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed, and the data were analysed thematically. The barriers Afghan women experienced were embodied in cultural norms to stay in marital relationships, demands to preserve the family's reputation, personal circumstances, and women's experiences with, and perspectives on, available services. The findings suggest that policy and practice should recognise those barriers and respond to them in a culturally appropriate way. IMPLICATIONS Domestic violence services' procedures and processes should be developed based on an understanding of multiple layers of oppression and barriers to seeking help for migrant women. Service providers should apply an intersectional lens along with antioppressive perspectives to address barriers to domestic violence services women experience at different levels. Social workers in domestic violence services need relevant training to provide culturally appropriate services to migrant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As cancer patients face long-term health and psychosocial issues from their diagnosis and treatment, many patients are seeking medicinal cannabis to manage their symptoms and treatment side effects. This qualitative study aimed to explore attitudes, barriers, and concerns of cancer patients from one regional community in Australia to gain a better understanding of the experiences faced in using medicinal cannabis. Participants (n = 16) engaged in focus groups or semistructured individual interviews, and an inductive thematic analysis of data was undertaken. Four themes emerged from the data: perceived benefits, access difficulties, uncertainty, and issues of support. The findings revealed a need to provide easy access to accurate information and address the barriers faced by cancer patients in using medicinal cannabis. IMPLICATIONS Despite the growing body of clinical evidence, cancer patients may be faced with bureaucratic and social challenges in gaining access to medicinal cannabis that will require social workers' individual advocacy. Social workers should consider the roles that might be appropriate for them in advocating for policy and legislation changes around access, cost, and other barriers. Social workers working in oncology should consider the roles that might be appropriate for them in linking cancer patients to community support and resources, and in assisting cancer patients interested in medicinal cannabis, including an advocacy role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Australian 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.)

Short-term study abroad programs are increasingly embraced by Australian schools of social work. These programs improve access to international experiences and have a demonstrable impact on academic outcomes. However, little is known about the factors that influence students who decide to participate in such programs. Using a qualitative semistructured design, eight Australian social work students were interviewed about their perspectives on the pre-application phase of a short-term study abroad program to Ireland that was advertised in early 2018. The findings reveal a number of multilevel structural, institutional, and personal enablers and barriers that impacted their decision to participate. Implications for future research, the tertiary education sector, and social work educators are identified, especially in terms of broader economic and political issues that contradict social justice and render the future of these programs precarious. IMPLICATIONS Short-term study abroad programs offer important learning opportunities for students, but there is a need to understand the dimensions that can impact the decisions of students to participate in these programs. The qualitative findings indicate that various factors impact on the participation of students, especially financial and caring responsibilities. Further research that is underpinned by a social justice lens is needed to address inequities in student participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Australian 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 Australian 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 Australian 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.)

This article discusses the lived experience of professional identity during the transition from student to newly qualified practitioner. Current literature emphasises the first year of practice as an important time of transition to a job-role as student social workers move into postqualification practice. However, little research has explored how professional identity is experienced during this significant transition period. A phenomenological research project was undertaken with 17 newly qualified social workers in Australia. Three in-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with each participant across the first 12 months postqualification period. Participants described how they resolved personal, relational, and professional questions about becoming and being a qualified social worker. The findings indicate a need for educators, employers, supervisors and the profession to consider how to better integrate professional identity within curricula, policy, and systems of support, including supervision. Findings from a qualitive study indicate the initial postqualification period involves consolidating, clarifying, and settling into professional identity as a newly qualified social worker. Educators should consider a holistic approach to curriculum development regarding professional identity and how they prepare graduating students to transition from university to qualified practice. The Australian Association of Social Work, supervisors, and managers are prompted to recognise and support the changing and evolving professional identities of newly qualified practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Australian 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 Australian 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 Australian 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 Australian 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.)

Grandparent kinship care is a growing policy concern in Australia. Availability of appropriate, timely, and up-to-date information on payments and allowances, support services, and children's needs, is an important factor in determining whether grandparent carers, and the children in their care, receive the support they need. While it is known that custodial grandparents in Australia have trouble gaining access to information and support, relatively little attention has been paid to the causes of this difficulty. Drawing from interviews with 55 service providers and policy makers from New South Wales, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, this article identifies two salient issues: the characteristics of this group, which results in special communication and information needs; and the difficulties grandparent-headed families face due to their unique relationship to the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most recent version of the Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics includes substantial reference to social workers' professional responsibilities for environmental awareness and advocacy. This article reports on a qualitative study of 20 Australian environmentally-conscious social workers from a variety of fields of practice. The study found that while there was a high level of awareness of the relevance of environmental issues for social work practice, participants reported professional and organisational constraints, which prevented them from aligning their environmental concerns with their professional practice. The findings from this study suggest that proenvironmental views and actions may not yet be accepted as a legitimate aspect of social work practice, despite strong recognition of the links between social justice, human rights, social work, and the environment in the Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing recognition in Australia and in other countries that some people face complex challenges and multiple disadvantages in their everyday lives, and that their needs for safety, health, clothing, food, shelter, and emotional wellbeing form interacting webs of need. However, it is often this very group who may be excluded from services and other opportunities. A qualitative study was carried out with 80 families living on income support in two regions in Australia. The study explored how parents defined their families’ needs, their current levels of formal support, and their experiences of navigating multiple service systems and networks. Parents identified a range of issues that they viewed as adversely impacting on their health and wellbeing. They also described barriers to accessing services and the features of helpful service experiences. Families provided important information as to how those with the greatest need can be effectively assisted to access needed resources and services. Program design and individual service provision need to be based on principles of responsive, respectful service, and collaboration. Locating skilled workers in nonstigmatising settings such as schools has great potential for making services accessible and linking people with what they need. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Given the range of needs and competencies among children whose parents have a mental illness, it is crucial that such children are identified and provided with appropriate support. The first aim of this Australian national study was to ascertain how and by whom children already in a support program were identified for program selection. The second aim was to identify the manner in which children were assessed prior to program entry. In this study, 20 program coordinators, responsible for 19 intervention programs, were asked a series of questions related to referral and assessment practices. Audio transcripts from the interviews were content analysed, along with interrater reliability and member checks. Primarily, children were identified for program intervention from adult mental health agencies and schools. All coordinators cited parental mental illness as the main reason for referral. Coordinators relied on self-constructed questionnaires, referral information, or interviews with children and parents to ascertain children's suitability to programs, their individual needs, and to build rapport. It was found that coordinators did not totally subscribe to a “one size fits all” model of intervention, as a number of otherwise eligible children were excluded and some process refinements were made to programs. Actively listening to children and matching participants’ needs to program goals is strongly encouraged, prior to program entry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]