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The role of social workers in political activism has been characterized with ambivalence, and few studies have addressed political activism within the social work academic setting. The purpose of the current study was to explore how social work educators responded to the war with Iraq from an educational perspective as well as a personal perspective. Undergraduate social work faculty (N = 65) from accredited social work programs in each state throughout the USA completed a brief quantitative survey via email about the war with Iraq including the following topics: educational responses; personal responses; personal views; academic freedom; and demographic data. Findings revealed that 70% of respondents felt that social work faculty had a responsibility to educate students about the war with Iraq, however, only 36% of respondents felt that social work faculty had a responsibility to advocate for or against the war with Iraq. The majority of the faculty surveyed incorporated the war with Iraq in their class activities (88%) and participated in war activities outside of class on their own campus (80%). A significant minority of faculty felt restricted by their institution from expressing their views of the war with Iraq during class time (14%) and on their own campus (17%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to add to the limited research on secondary traumatic stress in child welfare by investigating correlates of secondary traumatic stress (STS) in child protective services workers. Specifically, we examined the relationship between levels of STS in CPS professionals and personal history of trauma, peer and administrative support, intent to remain employed in child welfare, professional experience, and size of caseload. This study documents the existence of secondary traumatic stress in the population and the relationship between levels of secondary traumaticstress in CPS professionals and the group of potential correlates: personal history of trauma in the past year and lifetime, peer support, administrative support, intent to remain employed in child welfare, professional experience, and size of caseload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governing body of international social work, the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), provides ethical standards by which social workers around the globe are to abide. In terms of political activism, IFSW lays out guidelines that state that member associations are responsible for promoting debate, education and research regarding ethical questions (Healy, 2001). Furthermore, in terms of social work standards for agencies and organizations, it states that if necessary remedies are not achieved after channels have been exhausted, appropriate appeals to higher authorities or the wider community interest should be initiated (Healy, 2001). Therefore, social workers are encouraged to get involved in political activism. Issues that were once viewed as local or national are now being recognized as global issues impacting all levels of society (Lyons, 2006). However, many writers have documented how social workers have abandoned their mission of social and political action for a more clinical or therapeutic approach with clients (Gil, 1990; Hawkins et al., 2001; Schriver, 1987; Specht and Courtney, 1994), and how radical social work has changed paradigms in the current social work framework (Fook, 1993; Healy and Leonard, 2000; Leonard, 1995, 1996). Another issue of consideration is that many social workers who are employed by the government or seeking federal funds are hampered by real and perceived limits imposed by the federal government on their ability to engage in political activism, particularly when linked to the employment setting (Thompson, 1994). This may have an impact on social work educators who are employed by state-funded universities, seeking federally-funded grants or collaborating with federally-funded agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the impact of managed care on the substance abuse service system by reviewing the current status of the programs that were among the elite service providers in 1988. A survey was conducted assessing the status of the one hundred centers touted as "the 100 best treatment centers for alcoholism and drug abuse" (Sunshine & Wright, 1988). Findings include the following: Almost a third of these centers (31 %) are no longer providing services, the majority of the programs who reported data continue to provide services primarily at a residential level of care (92%); however occupancy rates haye dropped, the number of annual inpatient admissions have risen, and the length of treatment episodes has significantly decreased. In 1988, almost all (97.5%) facilities adhered to the 28-day treatment regiment, as evidenced by average treatment episodes of 26 days or longer. However, in 2001, the majority of programs (57.5%) reported treatment episodes of 25 days or less. While these facilities represent a fraction of the number of facilities that provide substance abuse services, they do exemplify elite programs that should be insulated from economic troubles, and help to document the changes that have occurred in the delivery system. Awareness of these changes is important for every social worker that advocates for substance abuse services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of beliefs and attitudes on poverty and housing is important to researchers and social workers interested in examining the role that belief structures have on the development of policy and programs in these areas. This article reports pilot study findings of a new scale, The Poverty and Housing Scale (PHS), that measures this concept and evaluates its psychometric properties. Preliminary reliability was in the very good range. Examinations of content and face validity provided support of the instrument as a valid measure of beliefs and attitudes on poverty and housing. The factor analysis emerged a one factor, 13-item scale. Unlike other related scales, the PHS attempts to link the social factor of poverty and housing together. Theoretical and methodological strengths and weaknesses are considered and the implications for social work practice are discussed. The authors provide recommendations for additional testing of the instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]