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The changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have resuscitated different mindsets in people. While much attention has been focused on the effect on health and the economic system, the study diverted attention to the disrupted social life and psychological trauma caused by the pandemic. This qualitative study explored people's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they will be leveraged to promote social service delivery through social work intervention in the post-pandemic era. The data were collected through phone interviews involving 12 participants, comprising both social workers and nonsocial workers within the Southeast geopolitical zone. The generated data were analyzed thematically and arranged in quotes. The study found that the pandemic has both positive and negative implications for the social and psychological well-being of people. However, there was no effective engagement of social workers' intervention amidst the need for social service during the pandemic. As a result, the level of preparedness of social workers for effective social service delivery in the post-pandemic era is not adequate. However, the finding reveals prospects for social work in Nigeria. The study suggests a swift government response, which will involve revitalizing the social work profession in Nigeria to enhance social service delivery. Also, social work, especially in the health care setting, should leverage this to make its voice heard in society through enhanced education and practice. However, future research should consider exploring new perspectives in social work education and practice based on the experience of COVID-19 to ensure better social service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: An interview study was conducted with persons receiving home care services and personal assistance in Sweden (13 individuals, 25 interviews) with the aim to analyze their experiences of managing personal and intimate care. The analytical approach was guided by phenomenologically informed research and Erving Goffman's theoretical work on self-presentation and social life as it differs in frontstage and backstage settings. Findings: A reflected approach to the complex challenges associated with becoming and being a person in need of personal and intimate care was revealed. This involved continuous adaptations and attuning to organizational and relational conditions of formal home care. Being a recipient of personal and intimate care does not mean being passive. It entails relating to and sustaining the care relation, where even choosing to accept suboptimal conditions is an act of agency. The recipients' private homes were hybridized, transformed both into a waiting room, with the recipient on standby and into a workplace. The homes thus partly lost their character as a backstage realm where one could avoid the gaze of others. This also led to a hybridization of the personal sphere, in the form of marginal scope for true privacy, necessitating strategies for protecting one's own space. Applications: It is important both to acknowledge the intrusive nature of personal and intimate care, which results in extensive hybridization of the home and personal sphere and to recognize care recipients' agency in the relationship that care establishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Individuals with intellectual disabilities who might have been previously placed into segregated institutions now live independently in the community, supported by the necessary community care services. Nevertheless, social inclusion can be deemed successful only if they can positively interact with the various microsystems of the community. The disruption of social service provision due to the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to evaluate other systems of support in the community. By adopting a bioecological perspective, qualitative methods are used to examine the interactions between people with intellectual disabilities and their social environment during the pandemic primarily based on focus group sessions with 17 social workers and 12 caregivers. Findings: Three overarching themes are identified through a thematic analysis: (1) limited social ties with the community that could provide support; (2) professional support as the main source of assistance; and (3) limited resources on how to care for people with intellectual disabilities. Applications: The results show that unilateral systems of support with limited participation of other systems lead people with intellectual disabilities to live segregated lives, even though they reside in the community. To fully realize the right of inclusion in society of all people with intellectual disabilities, further efforts are required to promote informal social care for people with intellectual disabilities. There is a need for a shared-care model that provides care in the community by the community through the establishment of neighborly relations and expansion of the social networks of people with intellectual disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary : While scholars have examined how neoliberal ideas and policies manifest at the front lines of the welfare state, far less is known about how the neoliberal approach prevalent in such states shapes decisions that senior state actors make about social welfare policy. The current study advances the literature by examining the processes and motivations behind the decision to withdraw from enacting a law designed to secure the social rights of all Israeli citizens. The study is rooted in a critical research paradigm, combining both inductive and deductive analyses of in-depth interviews with 15 senior officials and legislators in the field of social services. Findings : Despite their purported support for equality in the provision of social services, their acknowledgment of the shortcomings of current legislation in this respect, and their active role in promoting an alternative thereto, participants were persuaded to act in such a way as to support free-market measures. These findings illustrate an arena of policymaking wherein some state actors "purchase" other actors' cooperation and compliance with the neoliberal approach. Applications : The "behind-the-scenes" account of the legislative process, set against the backdrop of neoliberal welfare governance, provides insights useful to all those who seek to promote parity-enhancing legislation aimed at supporting marginalized social service recipients, in Israel and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To gain insight into current use of social-media platforms in human services delivery, we systematically surveyed 172 social-service workers from six agencies in a Midwest US city to gather data about social-media usage among social-service providers, potential challenges and benefits of using social media, and whether a social-media-based informatics platform could be valuable. Quantitative analyses showed that approximately half of participants have used social media to collect client-related information; nearly one-quarter indicated "often" or "nearly daily" use. Adjusting for the effects of worker characteristics, social-media use was associated with the type of agency involved and with increased tenure in social services. Adjusted results also showed that participants' comfort with using the potential application was greater in those agencies substantially involved with investigative/legal work. However, trust in the information collected by the potential application was a stronger, independent predictor of comfort using the tool. Qualitative analyses identified numerous challenges and ethical concerns, and positive and negative aspects of a social-media-based informatics platform. If the platform is to be created, work must be done carefully, fully considering ethical issues rightly raised by social service workers, existing agency policies, and professional standards. Future research should investigate ways to negotiate these complex challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Public trust towards social workers is essential for legitimacy and accessibility of the social services, as well as for help-seeking behaviour. However, research on public trust towards the social services is lacking. The aim of this study was to describe the extent to which Swedish citizens trust social workers who work within the social services, and to explore patterns in level of trust based on demographic factors and history of service use. The analysis draws on survey data from 2010, 2014, and 2018 (total n = 4975). Logistic regressions were conducted to assess associations between predictor variables and trust. Findings: On average, 40 percent of the general public reported a high level of trust regardless of year. Approximately 20 percent reported a low level of trust. The results indicate a slight decrease in trust between 2010 and 2014 but not between 2014 and 2018. No gender or age differences were identified. Low income level, being related to a service user, and low level of education were all associated with low level of trust. Applications: Our findings provide new insights regarding variations in levels of trust in the general population. Economically and educationally disadvantaged groups as well as those related to a service user are more likely to report low trust than their more advantaged counterparts. To strengthen legitimacy and accessibility, these groups should be prioritised in trust-enhancing efforts. Still, reports of high trust were predominant, indicating that social workers are generally perceived as trusted providers of social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Given the global and local social inequalities and the complex life circumstances of people living in poverty, social workers are called upon to broaden their knowledge with the purpose of developing social services that respond to the needs of this growing population. However, very little research has been done on the kind of knowledge that social workers require in order to care for this population. The present article focuses on the epistemological aspects of service development for people living in poverty and reviews three main issues: What is "poverty knowledge," where does it come from, and what are the barriers to and opportunities for its development? These questions are investigated through a qualitative paradigm among social workers employed in Israel's public social services. Findings: Findings reveal a profound epistemological controversy about what poverty knowledge means: Is it objective, consistent, readily available, and transferrable knowledge, or is it a dynamic and reflexive process affected by a great number of fluctuating contexts? Findings stress the dominance of positivist views of poverty knowledge, mostly derived from practice while other sources of knowledge development, such as service users' local knowledge, theory, and research knowledge were seen as less relevant to their needs. Applications: Practical recommendations are offered relating to the need for poverty knowledge development processes in social services as well as in social-work education through collaborative, contextual, and reflective learning with and from service users and other stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although its theoretical and methodological applications have been discussed since the 1970s, the theoretical framework of the four basic systems of practice has not been widely used to analyze or explain critical real-world social work practice problems. This qualitative study adopted and advanced the four basic systems of practice framework to analyze the current status and future directions of trauma-informed social work service among COVID-19-affected communities in Wuhan, China. Fourteen frontline social workers who directly served COVID-19 survivors were recruited and completed semi-structured interviews. The analysis revealed that COVID-19 survivors experienced physical and psychological posttraumatic stress from their infection and, after recovery, trauma from discrimination in their communities and on the job market. Interviewed social workers reported a lack of power and skills to provide efficient and adequate services. The roles of the acting parties in the action systems were also identified. Building on these findings, this article proposes several key objectives in the target systems that could contribute to the develop future trauma-informed systems of social service practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: There is broad consensus that COVID-19 has had a pernicious impact on social work, in general, and among social work practitioners, more specifically. However, at present, very few, if any, empirical examinations of this impact exist. This exploratory study examined peritraumatic distress among a sample of social workers (N = 3920) in one southeastern state in the United States. Findings: Analysis suggests that distress is impacted by several variables. In general, participants identifying as male, married, reporting good physical and mental health, working in microcontexts, and who were finically secure tended to experience less COVID-19 associated distress. In addition, social workers identifying as LGBTQ* and who had been working mostly remotely experienced higher levels of distress. Applications: Overall, findings indicate the need to provide adept support to social workers practicing during the pandemic. Data suggest the need for targeted support initiatives, typically for those who are from underrepresented groups (e.g., LGBTQ*) or experiencing financial or mental/physical health issues. Certainly, researchers should continue to examine the impact of COVID-19 on social work practitioners and service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study has as its general objective to understand the perspectives of the social workers of the Expanded Nucleus of Family Health and Primary Care (NASF-AB) in the municipality of Iguatu - CE regarding the use of health education as a work tool for Social Work. The research process took place through field research with a qualitative approach; semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection technique; and the information collected was analyzed and systematized based on the content analysis technique. From the research findings, some potentialities regarding the use of health education are evidenced, such as: the fact that they constitute powerful spaces in the process of deconstruction of the medical-centric health model; to provide an environment for exchange and construction of knowledge with users regarding the various forms of care; their very important role in encouraging popular organization and participation, among others. With regard specifically to the use of health education as a technical political instrument of social work, it was seen that these practices dialogue directly with the pedagogical dimension of the profession, as well as with the ethical-political project of social work, insofar as which it seeks to build an emancipatory health education, based on respect for the autonomy of subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Working with abused children can have positive and negative implications for social workers. Some of these implications have been conceptualized as secondary traumatic stress and vicarious post-traumatic growth. The current study examined the question of whether these two phenomena share similar contributing factors. Based on the social-ecological theory and previous studies on secondary traumatic stress, we examined the contribution of personal factors and level of exposure to trauma (i.e. years of work experience, professional exposure to child abuse, mastery) and environmental factors (i.e. social support, supervision, and role stress) to the explained variance of secondary traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth, with the goal of understanding these two potential outcomes. This cross-sectional study comprised 255 social workers who worked with abused children. Findings: The results showed that despite the correlation between the two outcomes—post-traumatic growth and secondary traumatic stress—they shared only one common predictive factor: the extent of social workers' exposure to abused children. Role stress was correlated positively, and mastery was correlated negatively, with secondary traumatic stress only. Years of work experience was correlated positively with post-traumatic growth only. Applications: The current study shows the importance of continuing efforts to identify the factors that contribute to post-traumatic growth. At the same time, efforts should be made to foster certain personal and environmental factors to reduce secondary traumatic stress levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at analyzing the professional and Institutional demands of the Social Work at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Espírito Santo, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, through revisiting the data of our master’s research (2017) – which was held from interviews with active social workers at the Student Assistance Policy of this Institute – in interface with the analysis of letters and notes produced in the pandemic context (2020) by students and workers from different professional categories. It was theoretically supported by Antunes (2018, 2020), Iamamoto (2015) and Yazbek (2009). We concluded that the qualified professional demand of Social Work differs from the institutional demand at Ifes, then (re) visiting the data contributed to resignify the way of understanding the social work demand, which is not solitary but powerful, because it makes it possible to build alliances with other workers and students who stand and fight for equity and social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: One major effect of the demise of the welfare state on public social services is increased heavy workload which leads to stress, burnout, and compromised well-being among social workers. Less explored are the ways in which heavy workload shapes the helping relationship between social workers and clients. Extrapolating from the narratives of 14 Israeli social workers who participated in an institutional ethnographic study, this paper offers a nuanced understanding of the toll that heavy workload takes on the helping relationship. Findings: Results showcase heavy workload as a ruling relation, an organizational reality outside the control of social workers and clients. The damaging effects of heavy workload on the helping relationship as well as on the social workers were apparent: social workers expected to slice themselves thin and deal with frustration and guilt in the face of an organizational reality that deters them from investing in their clients the time and energy required to cultivate helping relationships. Application: The helping relationship has been paramount to social work throughout the history of the profession. This research contributes to this longstanding focus with a renewed understanding of the helping relationship in public social services as a political and public encounter between social workers and clients, one that is governed by extra-local relations of ruling. Heavy workload is one such ruling relation that organizes the helping relationship. As such, this organizational reality can be reorganized to eliminate, or at least reduce, the toll that heavy workload takes on the helping relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Worker experiences of workload is a poorly understood component of health and safety practice in the social services sector. Job Demands-Resources theory is applied to explore how workload contributes to health and safety, workplace violence, and violence prevention. Data from qualitative interviews (n = 81) of workers in publicly administered social services in Western Canada were analyzed using analytic induction and constant comparison methods. Findings: Qualitative themes highlight the role of Workload Management, Equal Distribution of Workload, Stress Management, and Flexibility on worker experiences with workplace violence prevention. These themes are further elaborated on and contextualized within a Job Demands-Resources framework. Finally, a conceptual model of workload management and health and safety is presented. Applications: Findings highlight areas of workload development and innovation as a component of violence prevention interventions within social service workplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers were introduced to funeral homes in China amid the transition and expansion of both the funeral home industry and the social work profession and are proving to play a valuable, though under-researched role in serving not just clients but also communities and funeral home staff. Funeral home social work fills gaps in after-death care and mental health and is distinct from palliative, hospice, end-of-life, and bereavement social work. Based on the experiences of funeral homes that employ social workers, this article argues that this innovation may bring new ideas to bridge some of the service gaps in after-death care in China and globally. This article outlines the support that will be needed from funeral homes, social work service agencies, and educational and research institutes to facilitate further development of funeral home mental health and social services and to promote the professionalization of funeral home social workers in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sought to problematize and analyze neoliberal counterreforms in Brazil and their inflections for the professional work of social workers who work in social security, in particular, at GEX/Belém-Pará. It was based on the partial results of an empirical research on the work and health of these professionals working in social security, based on a qualitative approach. The data collection instruments were questionnaires and individual interviews with 9 of the 16 social workers who work in that management. In the light of Marxist theory and the dialectical historical materialist method, the data obtained were analyzed, allowing the observation that the neoliberal counter-reforms since the 1970s have been strategies to face the crisis of contemporary capitalism, causing profound changes in the politics of social security, with inflections for the professional work of the social worker, in general and, in particular, at GEXBelém/Pará. The inflections of these counter-reforms for the professional work of these professionals at - GEX/Belém-Pará are manifested both in terms of form with the introduction of new technologies (INSS Digital), accelerating the demand for immediate responses, etc., in terms of content, as the State reduces the budget for social security policy and promotes, in social security, private insurance that favors the profits of international bankers, with the result that the demands for Social Work in this space increase. socio-copational, leading to the intensification of work caused by the adoption of new forms of workforce management, such as polyvalence and goal management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Helping professionals suffer from a number of health and psychological difficulties resulting from their occupation. In the field of helping professions, the demand for understanding the predictors of burnout has been rapidly emerging. The aim of this study is to analyse and identify the possible mediators between stress and the three factors of burnout in a specific sample of helping professionals. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE Helpers (N = 698; 618 women) were randomly selected from institutions in 8 districts in Slovakia. The sample comprised social workers (n = 188); residential care providers (n = 191); ergotherapists (n = 97); providers of physical and psychological care (nurses, physiotherapists, psychologist and psychotherapists; n = 222). They described their levels of perceived stress, risk of burnout (in three factors: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and personal accomplishment) and performed self-care activities in selfreported questionnaires. RESULTS The relationship between stress and emotional exhaustion was mediated by health self-care. In comparison, the relationship between stress and depersonalisation was mediated by psychological self-care. The relationship between stress and personal accomplishment was mediated by both psychological and professional self-care. CONCLUSIONS When helping professionals have initial symptoms of burnout in the form of emotional exhaustion, concentrating on health self-care activities could be helpful. Performing health, psychological and professional self-care activities may prevent further development of burnout in times of high stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined communication between 51 transition-aged foster youth and their social workers as related to perceived relationship quality and satisfaction with care receipt/provision. Youth–worker dyads were audio-recorded during a requisite monthly meeting and completed assessments of perceived relationship quality and satisfaction with social services. Communication was rated in a 5-minute excerpt across full audio-recorded speech, verbal transcribed content, and nonverbal content-filtered tone. Findings: Ratings of workers' communication in transcribed content most closely reflected workers' reported perceptions of their relationship with the youth. In turn, youth's perceptions of the relationship and satisfaction with care were most strongly linked to the content of workers' communication. Similarly, youth's communication in full speech and content most closely reflected their reported perceptions of their relationship with the worker and their satisfaction with care, and workers' perceptions of the relationship and satisfaction with care were most strongly linked to these channels of youth communication. Applications: Findings suggest that foster youth and social workers may communicate their authentic beliefs and expectations differentially by communicative channel. Further, both communication partners appeared selectively attuned to the most authentic speaker channels. These findings can inform case planning and intervention work focused on leveraging the power of the worker–youth relationship to improve key service outcomes for foster youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper discusses the insertion of Social Assistants in Public Health Policy under a perspective the expansion of social rights, since these profesionals work in prevention, health's promotion and regular improvements in public Health System in relation to access and extension rights health desk. In this way, the general objective is to analyze as the insertion of social assistants in health in the framework of the Health Reform Movement even an arrival of Neoliberalism in 90s. In the literature review have been studied authors who discuss the theme Social and Health Service as: Bravo (2006), Code of Ethics/a Social Worker (1993), Minayo (1994) and Parameters paragraph Practice of Social Workers in Health Policy (2013), besides documentary revision of the laws relating to health such as the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil (1988) and Law 8.080. A qualitative approach was used from the method of the narrative analysis, which will address the major landmarks that customize the inclusion of social workers in health, focusing mainly on health reform, federal council of social assistant resolution and the arrival of Neoliberalism. The resolution legitimized the performance of these professionals in the field of health, being currently the area that employs more social workers in Brazil. Finally, the study found that the social worker has his activities often considered as irrelevant, this fact is given even greater importance to the curative practices, minimizing educational activities, mobilization and communication in health together with the various professionals in the field of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The study examined social workers’ participation in two powerful parliamentary committees in Israel: the Finance Committee (FC) and the Economics Affairs Committee (EAC). It sought to better understand the characteristics of social workers who participated in these committees, their inputs, and to uncover differences between these findings and those on social workers in other parliamentary committees. Qualitative and quantitative content analyses were conducted on the minutes of the committees’ sessions between 1999–2013. Findings At least one social worker spoke in 50 of the FC sessions and in 26 of the EAC sessions. These sessions dealt with a wide range of subjects, including national and local social services budgets, social problems, and vulnerable populations. The social workers expressed opinions on deficiencies in social policies and made recommendations for dealing with social problems. Their opinions conveyed support for social provision in a period in which the neo-liberal discourse was in ascendant. They also provided information on diverse aspects of current social policies. Most of the social worker participants were employed in the government sector. Implications In terms of theory, the study augments our knowledge of social workers as policy actors. In terms of practice, it shows that finance committees are relevant and accessible arenas of social work activity. Awareness of the inputs and the roles identified can enable social workers to better understand their potential contribution to the discussions of such committees and conceptualize their possible roles in them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This study examines factors associated with Israeli social workers’ investment of effort in, and inclusion of, volunteers in their work. The variables are drawn from three theories: status characteristic theory, psychological contract theory, and organizational culture theory, and from claims regarding training in working with volunteers. The sample consisted of 118 randomly selected direct social workers in 26 municipal social service departments in Israel. The instruments were designed specifically for the study. Findings Social workers’ effort investment and inclusion increased when they: (a) viewed volunteers as contributing to social workers and the organization; (b) expected themselves to invest effort in their volunteers; (c) believed their volunteer met their expectations with regard to service users and social workers; (d) trusted their volunteer; (e) perceived their managerial culture, peer culture, and artifacts as encouraging effort investment and inclusion; and (f) received training in working with volunteers. Implications On a theoretical level, the findings expand our knowledge about factors that may impact on social workers’ investment of effort in volunteers and their inclusion. On a methodological level, instruments with good psychometric properties were developed to examine the associations studied and these can serve in future research. On the practical level, the findings highlight the importance of training in working with volunteers and underscore the value for managers and volunteer coordinators discussing the workers’ psychological contract with them and of fostering an organizational culture that encourages effort investment in, and inclusion of, volunteers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed fundraising efficiencies within the South African nonprofit social services sector. Employing an electronic questionnaire, this quantitative study used a national database of social service organizations as its sample. A secondary data analysis of the organizations' audited annual financial statements was conducted. Fundraising-related financial data was in most cases inaccurate which limited amore extensive interrogation of fundraising indicators. The findings revealed inadequate fundraising management with limited or no fundraising monitoring and evaluation procedures. Better informed fundraising leadership was needed to alleviate organizations' reliance on state funding, which in itself was also found to be problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using case examples from Kenosha, Wisconsin, and metropolitan Washington, D.C., this article examines the relationship between social capital and civic engagement. Clarifying the differences and connections between the two concepts through comparing emergency-services organizations in the two communities, the article identifies three kinds of organizations where civic engagement and social capital function differently: citywide civic-engagement organizations, community-based civic institutions, and social-capital organizations. Analysis of the three organization types reveals that social capital and civic engagement are not always intertwined and that civic engagement through contributing to a nonprofit organization can either involve most groups in a locality or represent civic activity of one group within the city for its own members or another specific group. Findings suggest that participation in social-service agencies through volunteering or donations does not necessarily lead to greater civic engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To study the validity of the decision not to investigate mandatory reports of suspected child maltreatment. Methods: Written files of 220 reports indicating possible child maltreatment were analysed and re-evaluated. As a measure of the justification for the decisions, a 5-y follow-up study was done. Results: We determined that 76% of the reports still indicated child maltreatment after the initial assessment was done. In the follow-up study, 45% of the children had been investigated. The social worker used the family as the only source of information in 74% of the cases, in 6% someone outside the family was contacted, and in 11% no further information in addition to the report was collected. In 9%, data on information sources were missing.Conclusion: The findings are rather discouraging, as they challenge the belief that a report is a means of ensuring that maltreatment does not continue. The study shows that, depending upon the way in which the initial assessments are made, maltreated children may run a risk of not being identified, even though the maltreatment has been reported. This suggests that there may be a need for national guidelines concerning the reporting of maltreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]