The Challenge Of Permanency Planning In A Multicultural Society

Explains to child welfare workers, supervisors, trainers, and program managers the importance of cultural knowledge, sensitivity, and skill for putting permanency and stability into the lives of at-risk children. Considers the role of culture in a family's life and how to use that understanding to prevent unnecessary out-of-home placements, judge when the time is right to reunify parents and children, and determine when adoption is the best choice. Paper edition (0302-3), $19.95. Also published as the Journal of Multicultural Social Work v. 5, nos. 1/2/3/4 (1997). Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

With contributions ranging from academic and professional theorists and policy developers to independent social workers, this book explores the development of family-centered services, the processes by which these services are implemented, the problems the field now faces, and prospects for the future. Multi-faceted examinations of the field show how family-centered services and child well-being can be linked on a daily basis to better the lives of both parents and children.

Within a historical and contemporary context, this book examines major policy practice and research issues as they jointly shape child welfare practice and its future. In addition to describing the major problems facing the field, the book highlights service innovations that have been developed in recent years. The resulting picture is encouraging, especially if certain major program reforms I are implemented and agencies are able to concentrate resources in a focused manner. The volume emphasizes families and children whose primary recourse to services has been through publicly funded child welfare agencies. The book considers historical areas of service—foster care and adoptions, in-home family-centered services, child-protective services, and residential services—where social work has an important role. Authors address the many fields of practice in which child and family services are provided or that involve substantial numbers of social work programs, such as services to adolescent parents, child mental health, education, and juvenile justice agencies. This new edition will continue to serve as a fundamen-tal introduction for new practitioners, as well as summary of recent developments for experienced practitioners.

The growing number of older adults in the United States poses a significant challenge to families, healthcare systems, mental health services, and many other caregiving groups. Using the Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative as a framework, this text evaluates critical policies and issues pertaining to older adults, identifying both the overall systemic inequalities currently working against older adults as well as specific areas that require updated policies and interventions. It calls for active attention to the implementation of science-based research, policy, and practices to promote health and well-being. Among the topics addressed: Family violence against older adults Disaster planning and preparedness Building financial capability for aging families Health needs of incarcerated older adults Closing the gap in healthcare services for older adults Social isolation and its effects on mental health and well-being A useful gerontology resource for students, social work scholars, and practitioners, Gerontological Social Work and the Grand Challenges advocates for justice and equal opportunity for older adults, and highlights important social issues that must be urgently addressed in the near future.

Explore the cultural, familial, and community resilience and protective factors that are available to different youth populations in the U.S.! The face of American youth is changing. In 2000, ethnic minority youth constituted one third of the adolescent population; by mid-century, the combined ethnic minority youth population will exceed the white adolescent population. This vital book illustrates the diversity within the adolescent population, examines the factors that serve as barriers and as facilitators to development, and identifies strengths and protective factors contributing to resilience as well as needs and risk factors. Social Work with Multicultural Youth presents accurate conceptual frameworks for understanding the experiences of ethnic youth to help you create culturally relevant interventions to promote their well-being. Here is a sample of what you'll find in this important and informative book: a comprehensive epidemiological profile of adolescent populations—with current data on issues that contribute to adolescents' health and well-being cultural strengths models and resilience models that meet the developmental needs of Latino and African-American youth an overview of the academic disparities between Latina adolescents and their cohorts in other ethnic groups an important chapter that employs conflict theory to place the disadvantaged status and position of African-American youth in its proper context specific recommendations for modifying the process of preparing Latino and African-American youth in foster care for emancipation information on factors that differentially impact academic achievement between African-American youth and their European-American cohorts real-world data about the “who” and “where” of adolescent fighting—identified by race/ethnicity, gender, and age new information about substance use in Asian/Pacific Islander populations in America, with important implications for substance abuse interventions resilience and protective factors that emerge from a qualitative study of seventh grade Latina adolescents a look at the differences in sexual behavior and attitudes between Latina adolescents born in the United States and those born outside the U.S. an evaluation of a unique, five-hour intensive intervention aimed at changing the knowledge and attitudes of Latino youth in regard to pregnancy and STDs

This newly revised and updated edition of a widely adopted text continues to address a broad array of issues in supporting children and strengthening families. It includes key information about federal legislation as well as policy-related outcomes research in child welfare. The first edition of The Child Welfare Challenge was hailed by Social Work as "an excellent source from which to gain an in-depth understanding of the practice and policy dimensions of child maltreatment, foster care, and adoption" and by the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare as "essential reading for anyone interested in knowing more about child welfare practice in social work." Within a historical and contemporary context, this book examines major policy, practice, and research issues as they jointly shape current child welfare practice and possible future directions. In addition to describing the major challenges facing the child welfare field, the book highlights some of the service innovations that have been developed, as these could be used to help address some of these challenges. In child welfare the focus is on families and children whose primary recourse to services has been through publicly funded agencies. The contributors consider historical areas of service--foster care and adoptions, in-home family-centered services, child-protective services, and residential services--in which social work has a legitimate, long-standing, and important mission. This is a comprehensive book, but one that appreciates the fact that many areas, such as daycare and early intervention, invite exploration. It is unique in that each chapter describes how policy initiatives and research can or should influence program design and implementation.

The inadequacy of the foster care system has long been recognized. One of the biggest obstacles to reforming the system is the relative unavailability of research data from the field, information that would shed light on key empirical trends and pressing issues. ø This long overdue volume provides a much-needed overview of the current state of foster care. Leading researchers and practitioners summarize and discuss the results of their current research, providing through their data an unparalleled, detailed glimpse of the inner workings of the foster care system in its entirety. The volume is also valuable for its survey and syntheses of important issues and trends affecting foster care. Subjects discussed include welfare reform, reporting systems, family reunification, mental health services, and the needs of minority children. Wide-ranging and detailed in its coverage, this collection is destined to become an essential reference and guide to the foster care system.

Family Group Conferencing indicates a large-scale shift in assumptions about the way child welfare services are planned and delivered - away from models that emphasize pathology, and toward those seeking an ecological understanding of the families and social networks involved. The contributors also present a wealth of information on related approaches, such as community conferences, circles, and wraparound services. The British Journal of Social Work noted that 'there are issues relating to both process and outcome. This book offers some answers that are intelligent and passionate.'

In an increasingly diverse social environment, misunderstandings often arise between practitioners in the helping professions and clients from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. This book investigates the culturally specific beliefs and child-rearing practices of five major racial/ethnic groups: African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans. Analyses of case vignettes illustrate the book's dual focus on the practitioners' own views in addition to those of their culturally diverse clients. Guidelines offer suggestions for effective engagement and work with culturally diverse families.