Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- File Type
Articles 1 - 30 of 43
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Families Affected By Substance Abuse, Annmarie Mumm, Lenore J. Olsen, Darlene Allen
Families Affected By Substance Abuse, Annmarie Mumm, Lenore J. Olsen, Darlene Allen
Annmarie Mumm
A generalist approach to practice with families affected by parental addiction is presented. Using a model program for working with parents and children who have been affected by substance abuse, the article illustrates the application of the problem-solving process to effect change at multiple levels, including individual, family, community, organizational, and policy-making levels. The authors describe assessment and intervention strategies at each of these levels and conclude with an evaluation of the project's success.
From Child Abuse To Permanency Planning, Deborah Siegel
From Child Abuse To Permanency Planning, Deborah Siegel
Deborah H Siegel
Reviews the book "From Child Abuse to Permanency Planning: Child Welfare Services Pathways and Placements," Richard P. Barth, Jill Duerr Berrick, Mark Courtney, and Vicky Albert..
Selecting Effective Treatments / Book Review, Deborah Siegel
Selecting Effective Treatments / Book Review, Deborah Siegel
Deborah H Siegel
Reviews the book "Selecting Effective Treatments," by Linda Seligman..
Open Adoption And Adolescence, Deborah Siegel
Open Adoption And Adolescence, Deborah Siegel
Deborah H Siegel
In open adoptions, birth and adoptive families exchange identifying information and have contact. Although most adoptions today include some form of openness, much of the public remains wary of this. The purpose of this study was to explore, longitudinally, adoptive parents' perceptions of their children's open adoptions. This article reports the findings of tape-recorded interviews with 31 adoptive parents who were first interviewed when their children were infants and toddlers, again 7 years later, and a third time when their children were adolescents. The study found adoptive parents were committed to maintaining contact with the birth family even when discomforts …
Preventing Adolescent Abuse, Deborah Siegel
Preventing Adolescent Abuse, Deborah Siegel
Deborah H Siegel
Reviews the book `Preventing Adolescent Abuse: Effective Intervention Strategies and Techniques,' by Richard P. Barth and David S. Derezotes..
Ethical Issues In Open Adoption, Frederic Reamer, Deborah Siegel
Ethical Issues In Open Adoption, Frederic Reamer, Deborah Siegel
Deborah H Siegel
Total secrecy and confidentiality no longer typify adoption in the United States. Today, most adoptions involve an exchange of information or some form of contact between the birth family and adoptive family - so-called open adoptions. This article provides a comprehensive overview of ethical issues associated with various forms of open adoption, including issues of privacy, confidentiality, self-determination, paternalism, conflicts of interest, deception, and truthtelling.We present guidelines for social work practice in open adoptions, based on current ethical theory and ethical standards in social work.
Open Adoption Of Infants, Deborah Siegel
Open Adoption Of Infants, Deborah Siegel
Deborah H Siegel
As the frequency of open adoptions of infants increases, furious debate continues between those who argue that open adoption is a grave mistake and those who assert that it is a long-overdue innovation. This ankle defines open adoption, summarizes the open adoption controversy, and presents a qualitative descriptive study of adoptive parents' reactions to the recent open adoptions of their infants. Findings indicate overwhelmingly positive feelings about open adoption and some issues and concerns unique to the open adoption experience. The ankle concludes that social workers involved in adoptions should move from their traditional stance in directing and defining the …
Defining Empirically Based Practice, Deborah Siegel
Defining Empirically Based Practice, Deborah Siegel
Deborah H Siegel
The article deals with a study, which described the integration of research and practice into the graduate social program of the School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago. The need to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical practice is an increasingly frequent theme as agencies scramble for limited funds. Reaganomics has helped bury the once-fashionable belief that social ills can be cured by tax dollars. More than ever, social workers are required to justify the services they deliver. In addition to the economic reasons for the profession's need to integrate research and practice, social workers also have an ethical obligation …
Open Adoption Of Infants, Deborah Siegel
Open Adoption Of Infants, Deborah Siegel
Deborah H Siegel
Adoptions today increasingly include contact between adoptive and birth families. What do these "open adoptions" look like? How do the participants feel about them? This article, based on part of a longitudinal study that first examined adoptive parents' perceptions of their infants' open adoptions seven years ago, explores the parents' reactions now that their children are school age. This qualitative descriptive research revealed changes in the openness in the adoptions over time and identified four dimensions along which open adoptions vary. Findings showed parents' enthusiasm for the openness in their adoptions, regardless of the type and extent of openness. Implications …
The Impaired Social Worker, Frederic Reamer
The Impaired Social Worker, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
The social work literature contains little about the impaired professional, despite increased attention to the problem by other professions. This article discusses the concept of the impaired professional; reviews research on the various types of impairment, the prevalence and causes of impairment, and responses to it; and outlines a model assessment and action plan for social workers who encounter an impaired colleague. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].
Clients' Right To Competent And Ethical Treatment, Frederic Reamer
Clients' Right To Competent And Ethical Treatment, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
Although clients do not have a right to effective treatment, they do a have a right to competent and ethical treatment. Clients have a right to expect that social workers will provide services in a manner consistent with prevailing practice and ethical standards. This article explores social workers' obligation to provide service competently and ethically, focusing especially on issues related to social workers' guaranteeing treatment results, expertise, and competence; representing qualifications and expertise; monitoring and evaluating treatment effectiveness; and using of research-based knowledge to guide practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].
A Duty To Warn, An Uncertain Danger / Discussion, Frederic Reamer
A Duty To Warn, An Uncertain Danger / Discussion, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
The commitment of confidentiality in the various health and mental health professions is deep-seated. Codes of ethics routinely cite the professional's obligation to hold in confidence information that a client shares. The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers--which is pertinent to Mrs. D's predicament--is representative: "The social worker should respect the privacy of clients and hold in confidence all information obtained in the course of professional service."
Juvenile Correctional Reform, Frederic Reamer
Juvenile Correctional Reform, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
The field of juvenile justice was established in the late nineteenth century and for roughly the next half century refined its ways of dealing with juvenile offenders. Over time, the need for specialized juvenile police, courts, and correctional facilities became well accepted.
Documentation In Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Documentation In Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
Social workers' understanding of the relevance of documentation has evolved over time. During the profession's earliest years, social workers viewed documentation primarily as a mechanism to facilitate theory building, research, and teaching. This was followed by social workers' development of detailed and sophisticated documentation standards for clinical and other direct practice settings. Most recently, social workers have begun to appreciate the relevance of documentation for risk-management purposes, particularly as a tool to protect clients and to protect practitioners in the event of an ethics complaint or lawsuit. This article updates the profession's literature on documentation by summarizing current ethical and …
Malpractice Claims Against Social Workers: First Facts, Frederic Reamer
Malpractice Claims Against Social Workers: First Facts, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
Malpractice claims against social workers are increasing. Unfortunately, to date social workers have not had access to data about the frequency, types, and cost of malpractice claims filed against practitioners. This article summarizes claims data drawn from the records of the National Association of Social Workers Insurance Trust covering the period between 1969 and 1990. Data are provided on the frequency and cost of claims for various claims categories. Suggestions are offered to minimize the occurrence of liability claims and to enhance risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].
Moral Philosophy Meets Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Moral Philosophy Meets Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
In recent years, social workers have become increasingly aware of ethical dilemmas in practice. Beginning especially in the mid-to-late 1970s, social work's literature has included a steady stream of reflections on difficult moral choices involving conflicts among professional duties and obligations (Loewnberg and Dolgoff 1996; Congress 1998; Reamer 1998, 1999). To what extent do clients have the right to engage in self-harming behavior without interference? How should social workers allocate scarce or limited resources such as emergency services, shelter beds, funds, and even their own time? Is it ethically permissible for social workers to violate laws and regulations they believe …
Boundary Issues In Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Boundary Issues In Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
Social work literature clearly demonstrates that ethical issues related to boundaries are among the most problematic and challenging. Boundary issues involve circumstances in which social workers encounter actual or potential conflicts between their professional duties and their social, sexual, religious, or business relationships. This article provides an overview of boundary issues in social work (circumstances involving dual and multiple relationships); presents a conceptually based typology of boundary issues in the profession; and provides guidelines to help social workers manage the boundary issues and risks that arise in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].
Between First And Final Impressions, Frederic Reamer
Between First And Final Impressions, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
The article discusses the issues related to social work education. The author believes that one reason is that many authors seem to have the impression that a paper that is meant for social work education must be quantitatively oriented and empirically based to be published. To many this means con- ducting studies on fairly narrow questions that may be of interest to a limited audience. Junior faculty especially, he has found, often believe that tenure and pro- motion committees are much more interested in published papers filled with statistical analyses and tables than in theoretical or conceptually oriented essays. The …
Ethical Issues In Open Adoption, Frederic G. Reamer, Deborah H. Siegel
Ethical Issues In Open Adoption, Frederic G. Reamer, Deborah H. Siegel
Frederic G Reamer
Total secrecy and confidentiality no longer typify adoption in the United States. Today, most adoptions involve an exchange of information or some form of contact between the birth family and adoptive family - so-called open adoptions. This article provides a comprehensive overview of ethical issues associated with various forms of open adoption, including issues of privacy, confidentiality, self-determination, paternalism, conflicts of interest, deception, and truthtelling.We present guidelines for social work practice in open adoptions, based on current ethical theory and ethical standards in social work.
The Place Of Empiricism In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
The Place Of Empiricism In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
Remember Plato's allegory of the cave? In his imaginary cave, one can only see shadows cast on a wall by objects from an unknown source. An individual who has lived only in this setting would, presumably, assume that these distorted shadows constituted the real world. He or she would not realize that any other objects exist, or that the shadows cast on the cave's wall reflect a reality never seen. The individual's beliefs about what actually exists in the world would not correspond with what, in fact, exists.
Informed Consent In Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Informed Consent In Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
With increasing frequency social workers are being expected to comply with legal requirement to obtain informed consent form clients. In this article, the evolution of the concept of informed consent is traced and its implications for social work practice are discussed. Particular attention is paid to legal statutes and case law with which social workers need to be acquainted to protect client right and to avoid being held liable for malpractice or negligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].
Liability Issues In Social Work Supervision, Frederic Reamer
Liability Issues In Social Work Supervision, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
Supervision is recognized widely as a central role in social work practice. Beginning with the work of the Charity Organization Societies in the nineteenth century, supervision has been the principal means for transmitting professional knowledge and skill from the experienced to the inexperienced, from the trained to the untrained, and from field instructor to student. Although social workers have learned significantly more about pedagogical and technical aspects of supervision in recent years, one important aspect of the supervisory role has been neglected: liability risks faced by the social work supervisor. Until recently, a lawsuit against a mental health professional was …
The Evolution Of Social Work Ethics, Frederic Reamer
The Evolution Of Social Work Ethics, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
The recent ratification of a new NASW Code of Ethics--the most ambitious set of ethical guidelines in social work's history--marks an important stage in the profession's development. This article traces the evolution of ethical norms, principles, and standards in social work during four stages in the profession's history: (1) the morality period, (2) the values period, (3) the ethical theory and decision-making period, and (4) the ethical standards and risk management period. In the past 100 years, social work has moved from a preoccupation with clients' morality and values to the formulation of comprehensive ethical guidelines for practice. In recent …
Ethical And Legal Standards In Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Ethical And Legal Standards In Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
Social workers frequently encounter circumstances involving ethical and legal issues. In many instances, relevant ethical and legal standards complement each other; however, in some circumstances, ethical and legal standards conflict. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between U.S. ethical and legal standards in social work. The author presents a conceptually based typology of 4 types of relationships between legal and ethical standards. Case examples are included. The author concludes with a decision-making framework designed to enhance social workers' constructive management of difficult decisions involving ethical and legal standards.
Nontraditional And Unorthodox Interventions In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
Nontraditional And Unorthodox Interventions In Social Work, Frederic G. Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
Social work interventions with individuals, families, couples, and small groups have evolved over time. Traditional casework methods associated with social work's pioneers during the early and mid-twentieth century, such as Mary Richmond, Florence Hollis, Harriett Bartlett, Grace Coyle, and Helen Perlman have been transformed. Today's social workers are more likely to discuss and debate the use of such approaches as dialectical behavior therapy, narrative therapy, hypnosis, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, art and dance therapy, radical cognitive therapy, and Internet-based therapy, among others. Clinicians now have access to a staggering array of clinical options that would be unimaginable to social …
The Use Of Modern Technology In Social Work, Frederic Reamer
The Use Of Modern Technology In Social Work, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
The article focuses on ethical dilemmas regarding the use of modern technology in social work practice. The practice of social work has changed dramatically since its formal inception nearly a century ago. Methods of intervention, theories of human behavior and the social environment, research agendas, funding and reimbursement procedures, and training programs have evolved over the years to keep pace with an ever expanding number of social and personal problems with which social workers deal. Although some of the profession's contemporary concerns are comparable to those faced by the earliest social workers, others were unknown to social work's first practitioners. …
Aids, Social Work, And The "Duty To Protect", Frederic Reamer
Aids, Social Work, And The "Duty To Protect", Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
This article discusses social workers' obligation in cases where clients with aquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) pose a threat to a third party. Emphasis is on cases where a client diagnosed with AIDS withholds that information from a sexual partner. Legal and ethical issues concerning the limits of confidentiality and the social worker's "duty to protect" third parties are reviewed. Relevant case law and emerging ethical standards in various professions are summarized. The author reviews legal precedents concerning disclosure of confidential information without a client's permission and discusses their relevance to AIDS cases. Implications and guidelines for social workers are …
The Community Of Rights / Book Review, Frederic Reamer
The Community Of Rights / Book Review, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
Reviews the book "The Community of Rights" by A. Gewirth.
Social Work Scholarship And Gatekeeping, Frederic Reamer
Social Work Scholarship And Gatekeeping, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
This article responds to Pardeck and Meinert’s claim that editorial board members for the journal Social Work lack adequate records of scholarship. Pardeck and Meinert raise a number of compelling points about the qualifications of the journal’s editorial board members. The author argues, however, that Pardeck and Meinert’s results might be different if they broadened their definition of scholarship to include books and anthology chapters, and examined a more substantial time period. Furthermore, the author argues that many qualified editorial board members can be drawn from the ranks of accomplished scholars who are at a point in their careers where …
The Social Work Ethics Audit, Frederic Reamer
The Social Work Ethics Audit, Frederic Reamer
Frederic G Reamer
In recent years, social work's knowledge base related to professional ethics has expanded significantly. However, most practicing social workers concluded their formal professional education at a time when comprehensive ethics education was not a critical or mandated component of the curriculum. This article integrates current knowledge on social work ethics and introduces the concept of a social work ethics audit to aid social workers in their efforts to identify pertinent ethical issues; review and assess the adequacy of their current ethics-related practices; modify their practices as needed; and monitor the implementation of these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].