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"Seen And Not Heard" Sociological Approaches To Childhood: Black Children, Agency And Implications For Child Welfare, Mekada Graham, Emily Bruce

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this article, the authors consider the socio-historical conceptions of childhood in relation to Black children and their unique relationship with child welfare institutions. Against this background we apply models of childhood to issues of race and social agency and argue that these elements have been inadequately addressed in developmental models of childhood. Following these concerns, we present a social model of childhood and consider how these distinct and different ways of understanding children might be applied to child welfare practice. This child centered approach presents a unique opportunity to incorporate the differential positioning of Black children in the wider …

The Use Of Critical Ethnography In Managed Mental Health Care Settings, Cassandra L. Bransford

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

How social workers in managed mental health care settings exercise their professional authority may have profound consequences for the provision of ethical and value-based services to vulnerable populations. Building upon Gidden's theory of structuration, this article describes the use of critical ethnography as a specific research methodology that may support social workers in the exercise of their authority. This article examines the historical roots of critical ethnography and provides a detailed examination of its underlying assumptions and research procedures. The article concludes with a case example of a critical ethnography conducted within a managed mental health care setting.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 33, No. 4 (December 2006)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPECIAL FEATURE: CENSORSHIP IN NASW JOURNALS?

• THE PERILS OF SELF-CENSORSHIP - Robert D. Leighninger, Jr
• INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL WORK, GLOBALIZATION AND THE CHALLENGE OF A UNIPOLAR WORLD - James Midgley
• LETTERS TO THE EDITOR REGARDING NASW PRESS CENSORSHIP
• Marcia B. Cohen, Co-editor, Journal of Progressive Human Services
• Richard Hoefer, Editor, Journal of Policy Practice
• Tony Tripodi, Former Editor of Social Work Research, Former Co-editor of Journal of Social Work Research and Evaluation
• Stanley L. Witkin, Former Editor-in-Chief, Social Work
• Elizabeth J. Clark, Executive Director, National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
• NINETEENTH CENTURY REVIEW OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE …

Nineteenth Century Review Of Mental Health Care For African Americans: A Legacy Of Service And Policy Barriers, Tony B. Lowe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The need to focus on service and policy barriers to mental health service delivery for African Americans remains critical. The purpose of this article is to review nineteenth century care as a method for understanding contemporary service and policy barriers. A case study strategy is used to compare the efforts of Pennsylvania and South Carolina using primary and secondary sources to document these developments through a political economy perspective. These findings suggest that the prevailing social, political and economic realities have created mental health disparities along racial lines. Existing barriers are likely rooted in this same reality.

Economic Mobility Of Single Mothers: The Role Of Assets And Human Capital Development, Min Zhan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines the economic mobility of single mothers. It highlights the relationships between single mothers' financial assets and human capital development (educational advancement, job training, and work hours) with their economic mobility. Analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) indicates that assets may help improve upward economic mobility. Assets, however, have differential impact on single mothers with different income levels. In addition, human capital development mediates the positive link between assets and the economic mobility for mothers living between the 100% and 200% federal poverty. These results support asset building as an investment strategy to …

Multiracial America: A Resource Guide On The History And Literature Of Interracial Issues. Karen Downing, Darlene Nichols, And Kelly Webster., Rose M. Barreto

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Karen Downing, Darlene Nichols and Kelly Webster, Multiracial America: A Resource Guide on the History and Literature of Interracial Issues. Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield, 2005. $35.00.

Economic Well-Being And Intimate Partner Violence: New Findings About The Informal Economy, Loretta Pyles

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between intimatep artnerv iolence (IPV) and women's participationin the informal economy (both legal and illegal) and their impact on economic well-being. This research was part of a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) study that was concerned with women's survival of childhood and adult abuse. For the 285 women that were in this sample, there were positive, medium correlations between IPV and various types of informal economic activity. Illegal informal economic activity, institutionalized informal economic activity, incarceration and physical abuse negatively impacted women's economic well-being.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 33, No. 3 (September 2006)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• THE EFFECTS OF PROLONGED JOB INSECURITY ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF WORKERS - Cynthia Rocha, Jennifer Hause Crowell, and Andrea K. McCarter
• THE POET/PRACTITIONER: A PARADIGM FOR THE PROFESSION - Rich Furman, Carol L. Langer, and Debra K. Anderson
• "PUT UP" ON PLATFORMS: A HISTORY OF TWENTIETH CENTURY ADOPTION POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES - Michelle Kahan
• ALTRUISM OR SELF-INTEREST? SOCIAL SPENDING AND THE LIFE COURSE - Debra Street and Jeralynn Sittig Cossman
• ECONOMIC WELL-BEING AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: NEW FINDINGS ABOUT THE INFORMAL ECONOMY - Loretta Pyles
• JOB SATISFACTION AMONG TANF LEAVERS - Jeff Scott
• SEARCHING …

Altruism Or Self-Interest? Social Spending And The Life Course, Debra Street, Jeralynn Sittig Cossman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The primacy of self-interested individuals is often regarded as the appropriate basis for US social spending decisions. One thread of this argument has advanced age-based self-interest and politically powerful elderly to explain why Social Security and Medicare have thrived in a policy environment that has seen retrenchment in other programs. We argue that crude self-interest and individual programs considered in isolation are insufficient to understand social spending preferences. We use General Social Survey data to contrast conventional and critical explanations for understanding the role of age in preferences for social spending. Factor analyses demonstrate that social spending preferences cluster into …

The Politics Of Indigenization: A Case Study Of Development Of Social Work In China, Miu Chung Yan, Kwok Wah Cheung

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Internationalization and indigenization are dialectical processes of knowledge transfer. However, social work literature has paid scant attention to the process of indigenization, which can best be understood as one of recontextualization. This paper introduces Basil Bernstein's theory, which contends that recontextualization is a political process, as an analytical tool for us to understand the politics of indigenization. To demonstrate the usefulness of this tool, this paper analyzes how, in China, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and social work academics interactively compete for this control.

Review Of From Welfare To Workfare: The Unintended Consequences Of Liberal Reform 1945-1965. Jennifer Mittelstadt. Reviewed By Margaret Sharrard Sherraden., Margaret Sherrard Sherraden

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Jennifer Mittelstadt. From Welfare to Workfare: The Unintended Consequences of Liberal Reform, 1945-1965. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. $49.95 hardback, $19.95 paperback.

Review Of Queer Wars: The New Gay Right And Its Critics. Paul Robinson. Reviewed By Greg Mallon., Gerald P. Mallon

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Paul Robinson, Queer Wars: The New Gay Right and Its Critics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. $25.00 hardcover.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 33, No. 2 (June 2006)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• AMERICANS' ATTITUDES TOWARD EUTHANASIA AND PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE, 1936-2002 - Jen Allen, Sonia Chavez, Sara DeSimone, Debbie Howard, Keadron Johnson, Lucinda LaPierre, Darrel Montero and Jerry Sanders
• PROFESSIONAL HOPE IN WORKING WITH OLDER ADULTS - Terry Koenig and Richard Spano PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT DURING FISCAL CRISIS: A COMMUNITY/UNIVERSITY RESPONSE - Dianne Rush Woods, Phu Tai Phan and Terry Jones
• THE POLITICS OF INDIGENIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WORK IN CHINA - Miu Chung Yan and Kwok Wah Cheung 63
• RESHAPING RETIREMENT POLICIES IN POSTINDUSTRIAL NATIONS: THE NEED FOR FLEXIBILITY - Angela L. Curl and M. C. …

Reshaping Retirement Policies In Post-Industrial Nations: The Need For Flexibility, Angela L. Curl, M. C. "Terry" Hokenstad Jr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social Security programs in post-industrial nations are facing the need for policy reforms. Fiscal shortfalls in current Social Security programs are a major driving force promoting these reforms. At the same time, changes in longevity and the nature of work and retirement also suggest the need for policy reform. This article begins with a broad overview of some of the policy innovations of the Europe Union as a whole, and then focuses more indepth on policy reforms in three countries that exemplify Esping-Andersen's (1990) typology of welfare states: Sweden, Germany, and Canada. These three countries have passed policies that promote …

Review Of School Violence In Context: Culture, Neighborhood, Family, School And Gender. Rami Benbenishty And Ron Avu Astor. Reviewed By Susan Stone., Susan Stone

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Rami Benbenishty and Ron Avi Astor, School Violence in Context: Culture, Neighborhood, Family, School and Gender. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. $39.95 hardcover.

The Sequential Costs Of Poverty: What Traditional Measures Overlook, Elizabeth A. Segal, Laura R. Peck

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This research note proposes an addition to the poverty measurement debate. Motivated by dissatisfaction with the official poverty measure, which many scholars and practitioners share, we propose the use of sequential costs of poverty to enrich the poverty measure so that it might capture more closely the life-experiences of low-income families. After presenting some background on poverty measurement, this research note explores the conceptual framework that surrounds the notion of sequential costs. Drawing on our past research, we propose ways in which these sequential costs surface, with illustrative examples from health, employment, housing, and income maintenance.

Social Assistance And The Challenges Of Poverty And Inequality In Azerbaijan, A Low-Income Country In Transition, Nazim N. Habibov, Lida Fan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Although low-income countries in transition are facing the challenges of poverty and inequality, evidence on the performance of safety nets in these countries is scarce. This article uses micro-file data from a nationally representative household budget survey to analyze the existing social assistance programs in Azerbaijan, a low income country in transition, from the perspectives of poverty and inequality reduction. The empirical evidence presented in this paper indicates that the poverty and inequality reduction effectiveness of social assistance programs is inadequate. First, the benefits are very modest and the poor receive only a small proportion of them. Second, some programs …

Citizen Participation In Neighborhood Organizations In Poor Communities And Its Relationship To Neighborhood And Organizational Collective Efficacy, Mary Ohmer, Elizabeth Beck

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Collective efficacy describes residents' perceptions regarding their ability to work with their neighbors to intervene in neighborhood issues to maintain social control and solve problems. This study examines whether citizen participation in neighborhood organizations located in poor communities is related to neighborhood and organizational collective efficacy among residents. The results indicate that the more residents participated in their neighborhood organization, the greater their level of organizational collective efficacy, but not neighborhood collective efficacy. The results of the current study will help support social workers and other community practitioners understand how to effectively facilitate citizen participation in ways that enhance collective …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 33, No. 1 (March 2006)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• SPECIAL ISSUE ON COPING WITH POVERTY THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT: A STUDY OF ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS VS. NON-PARTICIPANTS - Richard K. Caputo
• WHEN POLICY MEETS PRACTICE: THE UNTESTED EFFECTS OF WELFARE REFORM - Amy D'Andrade and Jill Duerr Berrick
• FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE LOW-INCOME POPULATION: EFFECTS OF A FINANCIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM - Min Zhan, Steven G. Anderson, and Jeff Scott
• PATIENT INSURANCE STATUS AND DO-NOTRESUSCITATE ORDERS: SURVIVAL OF THE RICHEST? - Gigi Nordquist
• THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SANCTIONS AND TIME LIMITS ON RECIPIENTS OF TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE TO NEEDY FAMILIES - Taryn Lindhorst and Ronald J. …

Financial Knowledge Of The Low-Income Population: Effects Of A Financial Education Program, Min Zhan, Steven G. Anderson, Jeff Scott

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines the effects of one large financial management training program for low-income people. The data are from tests of pre- and posttraining financial knowledge of 163 participants. The test was designed to measure basic knowledge of participants in five content areas: predatory lending practices, public and work-related benefits, banking practices, savings and investing strategies, and credit use and interest rates.

The findings demonstrate that substantial pre-training knowledge deficiencies existed on basic financial management issues, especially on public and work-related benefits and savings and investing. Results also indicate that the program was effective in improving the financial knowledge of …

The Severely-Distressed African American Family In The Crack Era: Empowerment Is Not Enough, Eloise Dunlap, Andrew Golub, Bruce D. Johnson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Numerous African American families have struggled for generations with persistent poverty, especially in the inner city. These conditions were further strained during the 1980s and 1990s by the widespread use of crack cocaine. For many, crack use became an obsession, dominated their lives, and superseded family responsibilities. This behavior placed additional pressure on already stressed kin support networks. This paper explores the processes prevailing in two households during this period. In the 2000s, children born to members of the Crack Generation are avoiding use of crack but face major deficits from their difficult childhoods. This presents both challenges and opportunities. …

From "Poor" To "Not Poor": Improved Understandings And The Advantage Of The Qualitative Approach, Eleanor Wint, Christine Frank

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Re-analysis of qualitative data generated in six Country Poverty Assessments in the Caribbean, suggests that traditional ways of seeing the poor might well lead to unfair categorisation of a people who are unwilling to be seen as living in poverty. Use of qualitative data software was able to bring out new understandings of the conceptual difference between being poor and living in poverty. Wint and Frank suggest that this is a distinction which those responsible for designing and implementing poverty intervention strategies would be wise to bear in mind as it would allow for creative and timely use of community-based …

Review Of Legalizing Gay Marriage. Michael Mello. Reviewed By Ronald J. Mancoske., Ronald J. Mancoske

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review for Michael Mello, Legalizing Gay Marriage. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2004. $68.50 hardcover, $22.95 papercover

Review Of Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Offenders With Mental Disorders. Thomas Grisso. Reviewed By James W. Callicutt., James W. Callicutt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Thomas Grisso, Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Offenders with Mental Disorders. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2004. $29.00 hardcover.

Review Of The Politics Of Multiracialism: Challenging Racial Thinking. Heather M. Dalmage (Ed.). Reviewed By Wilma Peebles-Wilkins., Wilma Peebles-Wilkins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Heather M. Dalmage (Ed.), The Politics of Multiracialism: Challenging Racial Thinking. Albany, NY.: State University of New York Press, 2004. $65.50 hardcover, $21.95 papercover.

The Curious Feminist: Searching For Women In A New Age Of Empire. Cynthia Enloe., Michelle Johnson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Cynthia Enloe, The Curious Feminist: Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2004. $50.00 hardcover, $19.95 papercover.

Professional Hope In Working With Older Adults, Terry Koenig, Richard Spano

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Writings about hope within gerontological literature assume social workers already possess hope that they can use in their practice. The purpose of this article is to challenge this assumption and to examine ways in which social workers can sustain hope in personal life, in their agencies, and in the reform of larger social structures that impact older adults. The authors examine culture change in nursing homes as an emerging approach that can be more fully developed by applying the strengths perspective to interpersonal work with elders, agency change and broader structural change.