Abstract: The purpose of this project was to design a program, identify potential funding sources, and write a grant to fund solution-focused training for social workers who are working with Child Protective Services clients to increase client engagement and improve overall outcomes for families in Los Angeles County. An extensive literature review increased knowledge about the problem of child abuse and neglect, the high number of referrals for maltreatment and the high numbers of repeat referrals for maltreatment. The review of the literature also increased knowledge about training for social workers and the use of solution-focused techniques. The grant writer then used that knowledge to design a training program. A search for potential funding sources found that the Weingart Foundation was the best source for this project. A grant was then written to train social workers in Los Angeles County to utilize solution-focused techniques when working with Child Protective Services clients.
Often in their careers, social workers will encounter clients who are either legally required to attend treatment services or are otherwise coerced or pressured into those services. Practitioners in settings from prisons to emergency rooms to nursing homes to child protection agencies will find themselves with involuntary clients. In an update to this classic text, social workers Ronald H. Rooney and Rebecca G. Mirick explore the best ways to work with unwilling clients. While work with involuntary clients is common, it can be challenging, frustrating, and unproductive unless practitioners are well trained for it. This book provides a theoretical framework for understanding the legal, ethical, and practical concerns when working with involuntary clients, offering theory, treatment models, and specific practice strategies influenced by the best available knowledge. Animated by case studies across diverse settings, these resources can be used by practitioners to facilitate collaborative, effective working relationships with involuntary clients.
Direct practice foundation courses in social work prepare students for every step of the problem-solving process, yet too often emphasize the what and the why of practice at the expense of the how. This practical, easy-to-use, and hands-on guide bridges this gap by illustrating the helping skills that practitioners can actually use to influence people's lives in positive ways. Integrating two major helping models--motivational interviewing and solution-focused therapy--it equips students with the techniques and skills necessary for activating client strengths throughout the problem-solving process. Helping Skills for Social Work Direct Practice presents a wealth of sample dialogue, exercises, tips, and do's and don'ts, all designed to encourage learning by doing. This workbook helps make the links between theory and practice with these unique features: - Chapters logically organized by phases of the problem-solving process - Case demonstrations involving a variety of roles, including case manager, crisis intervention counselor, medical social worker, and school social worker - Practice exercises that prompt students to apply and generalize skills to different practice settings and client problems - Exhibits and reflection questions facilitate integration between classroom learning and the internship experience - An online instructor's manual (www.oup.com/us/helpingskills) with detailed answers to discussion questions From the first meeting with clients, to assessment, goal-setting, evaluation, and the ethics that guide the process throughout, this is the nuts-and-bolts guide to helping clients using a strengths-based perspective.
This new and fully updated edition of the best-selling theories text for social workers introduces social work students and practitioners to a wide variety of theories for direct social work practice. Originally edited by Nick Coady and Peter Lehmann, the new edition provides a framework for integrating the use of theory with central social work principles and values combined with artistic elements of practice. Completely updated and reorganized to encompass the latest theories as applied to a generalist mental health practice, the fourth edition brings a fresh perspective with the addition of two new lead editors. Theoretical Perspective for Direct Social Work Practice: A Generalist-Eclectic Approach is rooted in the generalist-eclectic approach to social work practice, with the contents explored through a problem-solving model facilitating the integration of the artistic and scientific elements of practice. The new edition includes 9 new chapters covering Couples Theory, the Psychodynamic Approach, Dialetical Behavior Therapy, Dialetical Behavior Therapy for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, Trauma Informed Practice, Motivational Interviewing, Anti-Oppressive Theory, Mindfulness-based Approaches, and EMDR Therapy. Chapters are consistently organized and include a case study and associated prompts to foster class discussion. Each includes chapter objectives and summaries, tables, and diagrams. A robust instructor package contains a sample syllabus, PowerPoint slides, and exam questions for each chapter. Purchase includes digital access for use on most mobile devices or computers. New to the Fourth Edition: Two new lead editors and new chapter contributors bringing a fresh new perspective to the content 9 brand new chapters covering new and relevant theories and models to ensure readers have all the facts at hand and can easily incorporate theories into their everyday practice Significantly reorganized to reflect the state of art in social work practice Key Features: Chapters are consistently formatted and include a case study with prompts to promote critical thinking and discussion Chapter objectives and summaries in every chapter reinforce content Tables illustrate when and why to use a particular theory Diagrams serve as visual representations of various models Includes Instructor Package with Sample Syllabus, PowerPoints, and exam questions in each chapter
Drawing on 20 years of practical experience, research and teaching in the field, this book is a comprehensive guide on the use of Motivational Interviewing (MI) in child protection and family social work. MI increases the likelihood of behavioural change, working with client resistance to encourage a constructive environment when initiating difficult conversations. This makes it particularly effective for child and family social care. Drawing on over 500 studies spanning 11 local authorities, this book uses recordings of real meetings between social workers and families to explain what MI is, how it can be used in child and family social work and how to improve MI skills. An invaluable resource for frontline child protection and family social workers, this book will enable to help you to better understand the needs of the people you support and be more effective in providing the right kind of support.
Strengths-based, solution-focused practice is one of the most exciting areas of contemporary child protection work. The demand for this protection practice has increased faster than the availability of training resources to help students and practitioners, until now. Strengths-Based Child Protection is the first textbook solely dedicated to furthering strengths-based practices in a child protection setting. Carolyn Oliver provides an original, accessible, and practical research-based model that focuses on the key to success in this field: the worker-client relationship. Oliver’s long and varied front line experience in child welfare and research based on surveys and interviews with 225 child protection workers provides grounding in the realities of child protection work. Strengths-Based Child Protection contains a rich combination of case studies, reflective questions, and exercises that enable students and practitioners to conceptualize and master implementing strengths-based practices with children.
Therapy is frequently miscast as requiring an enormous amount of time and financial commitment, but helpful, goal-oriented therapy can produce positive results after only a few sessions. By focusing on solutions instead of problems, SFBT asks clients to set concrete goals and to draw upon strengths in their lives that can help bring about the desired change for a preferred future.
The definitive text on motivational interviewing (MI) written by and for social workers has now been updated and expanded with 60% new material, including a revised conceptual framework, cutting-edge applications, and enhanced pedagogical features. Melinda Hohman and her associates demonstrate what MI looks like in action, how it transforms conversations with clients, and how to integrate it into social work practice in a wide range of settings. Extensive new case examples and annotated sample dialogues bring the concepts to life, helping readers build their own repertoires of MI skills. The book also summarizes the research base for MI and shares expert recommendations for teaching, training, and professional development. New to This Edition *Expanded and restructured around the current four-process model of MI (engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning). *Content is explicitly linked to the Council on Social Work Education's Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) and the Grand Challenges for Social Work. *Chapter on MI through the lens of critical race theory. *Chapter on innovative applications in the areas of trauma, food insecurity, and environmental justice. *Additional pedagogical features--"Voices from the Field" boxes written by social workers in a variety of roles, and end-of-chapter reflection questions. This book is in the Applications of Motivational Interviewing series, edited by Stephen Rollnick, William R. Miller, and Theresa B. Moyers.
