First published in 1998. This is Volume IV of the twelve in the Sociology of Youth and Adolescence series and focuses on case work as part of the child-care officer’s role and, it’s value, and how it can be employed as a deliberate approach, with the need for commitment, in the care of a child over a long period.
In the late 1960s the child care service had undergone considerable change, and was to change again after the Seebohm Committee had reported. Yet its central tasks had become clear: preventive work; the reception of children into care, work with them and their parents during the period of care; the selection of foster parents; work with foster parents, and with residential staff; and adoption. Originally published in 1968, the present work devotes a chapter to each of these important tasks, and examines the role of the child care staff within the local authority department at the time, though many of the arguments of the book will also be applicable to the work of the voluntary child care organisations of the day.
Solution-based casework is an approach to assessment, case planning, and case management that combines what we know from clinical social work with what we value about sound social work practice. It is grounded in family-centered social work and draws from clinical approaches within social work and mental health. By integrating problem- and solution-focused approaches that form the clinical and social work traditions, treatment partnerships are more easily formed between family, caseworker, and service provider. Solution-Based Casework is a skill-based, practice-oriented text that provides the specific guidance that students and new practitioners need in order to make sense quickly of the complex tasks of assessment and case planning in child welfare. The book flows out of a long practice experience, and was developed in consultation with workers and supervisors who were attempting to remedy problems viewed as contributing to recurrent abuse and neglect. It seeks to end adversarial relationships in casework and advocates case plans based on specific outcome skills rather than on those written with vague outcome goals measuring attendance in counseling. It serves as a common conceptual framework for integrating disparate segments of a response network, thereby allowing all providers in a therapeutic system to work toward common goals. The text is divided into three sections. In Section I the conceptual history and theoretical foundations of solution-based casework are presented so that the reader can place this approach to casework within the ongoing professional conversation about what constitutes sound practice. Section II addresses issues of assessment and case planning. Section III focuses on case management issues and how treatment team members experience a solution-based casework approach.
Originally published in 1966, this book gives examples of the most advanced thought about casework by well-known writers in England and the United States at the time. The ground covered includes: the use of some current sociological theory in casework; analysis of the interpersonal relationships in casework; new thought about the appropriate use of authority with people whose own internal controls are weak and unreliable; and recent advances in understanding and working with people who respond to action more easily than to words. These articles by well-known authorities illustrate the increased range of insight and skill required of modern caseworkers, and at the same time are highly readable, conveying complex ideas in language refreshingly free from jargon.
From the Preface: This manual, Child Protective Services: A Guide for Caseworkers, examines the roles and responsibilities of child protective services (CPS) workers, who are at the forefront of every community's child protection efforts. The manual describes the basic stages of the CPS process and the steps necessary to accomplish each stage: intake, initial assessment or investigation, family assessment, case planning, service provision, evaluation of family progress, and case closure. Best practices and critical issues in casework practice are underscored throughout. The primary audience for this manual includes CPS caseworkers, supervisors, and administrators. State and local CPS agency trainers may use the manual for preservice or inservice training of CPS caseworkers, while schools of social work may add it to class reading lists to orient students to the field of child protection. In addition, other professionals and concerned community members may consult the manual for a greater understanding of the child protection process. This manual builds on the information presented in A Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect: The Foundation for Practice. Readers are encouraged to begin with that manual as it addresses important information on which CPS practice is based-including definitions of child maltreatment, risk factors, consequences, and the Federal and State basis for intervention. Some manuals in the series also may be of interest in understanding the roles of other professional groups in responding to child abuse and neglect, including: Substance abuse treatment providers; Domestic violence victim advocates; Educators; Law enforcement personnel. Other manuals address special issues, such as building partnerships and working with the courts on CPS cases.
Originally published in 1965, this standard work sets out to explore the questions: What is ‘social administration’, and how can people prepare themselves for this work? It shows the social services in continuous evolution in response to political, economic and social change, and it ends with a deeply thoughtful and thought-provoking analysis of the processes and causes of this evolution, and of the different contributions to change made by the various parties concerned. This analysis is based on the case studies presented in the book’s central chapters. Of this new version of the book, first published in 1975, Professor Donnison wrote: ‘The first three chapters of the original book have been scrapped and a new introduction to the whole subject takes their place – an introduction not only to the literature about social policy and administration but to the "point" and purpose of the subject (for students who, rightly, expect to be convinced about this before devoting their time to it). Then follow eight case studies of innovations in the work and policies of local units of the social services – including housing, education, a home help service, planning and legal aid, besides social work services. These are the original studies untouched. I have returned to each agency and found out what has happened since our original studies, adding a postscript to each, outlining the main developments since the original research, ten to twenty years ago. I don’t think anyone has ever done that before. In most cases the innovating trends we identified have gone further, often becoming national orthodoxy by now. The one (on legal aid) where unexpected developments have occurred is at least as interesting.’ Professor Donnison has added a ninth case study – of the Department of Social Administration at the London School of Economics where he was working when the original studies were made (Professor Richard Titmuss was head of the department at that time). This study traces the development of education for social workers at a seminal stage and the difficult problems which had to be resolved when major new departures occurred in this field. The chapter will be of lasting interest to historians of social work and social work education in Britain, besides throwing light on the process of innovation in social policy.
Juvenile Justice: A Social, Historical, and Legal Perspective, Fifth Edition guides students in developing a sound and balanced understanding of juvenile justice and the social, legal, and historical context that shapes juvenile justice practice. Throughout the text, there are FYIs, Myths v. Reality, Comparative Focus, and Interviews that highlight important facts, dispel common myths, compare practices in the United States with those of other countries, and allow readers to hear from present and former juvenile justice practitioners. Each chapter also contains critical thinking questions intended to help students examine key issues raised in the chapter and a discussion of important legal issues related to chapter content. Every new print copy includes an access code to the Navigate Companion Website that features interactive and informative learning resources to gauge understanding and help students study more effectively.