Family Unity Model

In 1989, New Zealand formalized the social work trend toward involving the family in child protection decision-making processes. Central to this legislation is the Family Group Conference, based on indigenous Maori decision-making practices. Connolly (social work, U. of Canterbury, New Zealand) and McKenzie (community and family studies, U. of Otago, New Zealand) discuss the social construction of family decision-making, the country's experience with this empowering model, international adaptations, and the necessity of a sound theoretical basis--which they provide in their Effective Participatory Practice model exemplified in two case studies. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Dissatisfaction with a human services system that is unresponsive, stigmatizing, and ineffective has led to a ferment of experimentation in recent years. Reinventing Human Services examines the historical and economic context of current efforts to reinvent human services, showing the urgency and the difficulty of the task. It draws on successful examples in Britain, Canada, and the United States to develop a new paradigm for social work practice, one that integrates individual, family, and community levels of practice and reconceptualizes professional-community relations. The interdisciplinary team of authors includes scholars, researchers, and practitioners from the disciplines of economics, urban planning, communications, criminal justice, psychology, marriage and family therapy, education, and social work.

Dissatisfaction with a human services system that is unresponsive, stigmatizing, and ineffective has led to a ferment of experimentation in recent years. Reinventing Human Services examines the historical and economic context of current efforts to reinvent human services, showing the urgency and the difficulty of the task. It draws on successful examples in Britain, Canada, and the United States to develop a new paradigm for social work practice, one that integrates individual, family, and community levels of practice and reconceptualizes professional-community relations. The interdisciplinary team of authors includes scholars, researchers, and practitioners from the disciplines of economics, urban planning, communications, criminal justice, psychology, marriage and family therapy, education, and social work.

KINSHIP FOSTER CARE: POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH assembles the thinking and research of experts from several professional fields concerning what has become the fastest growing type of substitute care for children in state custody. The editors have contributed the initial and concluding chapters of the book and the lead chapter in each of its three sections.

This book emphasizes family-centered, social network, and school-based interventions in the preparation of social workers for direct and indirect practice with clients from vulnerable populations, especially the poor, people of color, and recent immigrant groups. With an eye to recent changes in social work practice and service delivery, including the impact of welfare reform and managed care on vulnerable families and children, Social Work Practice with Families and Children helps social work students and practitioners understand the increasingly complex needs of their clients. Three valuable appendixes include information about tools and instruments to support practice, child welfare resource centers, and electronic resources pertaining to the field.

The nature and meaning of empowerment in the child welfare context are examined in this book. It evaluates the process which enables children and their families to have effective participation in decision making.

The issue of self-concept is central to the studies and practices of education and psychology. The varying degrees of self-esteem that exist between individuals can offer insight into the varying degrees of health and efficiency that exist for individuals in the worlds of education, family and sport. The research presented in this book are the latest explorations of how self-concept translates into and has an effect on these far reaching and unavoidable aspects of life.

Walking This Path Together is an edited collection devoted to improving the lives of children and families that come to the attention of child welfare authorities by demonstrating and advocating for socially just child welfare practices. In this new, updated edition, authors provide special consideration to the historical and political context of child welfare in Canada and theoretical ideas and concrete practices that support practitioners, educators and students who are looking for anti-racist, anti-oppressive and anti-colonial perspectives on child welfare practice.