Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Politics Of Funding: Human Needs And Social Welfare, Robert F. Kronick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Sociological theory has provided two models that attempt to explain social power and decision making in America, the elite model (Mills) and the pluralist model. Mills saw power in America like particles dispersed in a triangle--with more and more power at the top, but more people at the base of the triangle. For Mills there was a powerful elite that ruled almost like a monarchy and decision making on all fronts was vested in them. Rebellion as utilized in Merton's paradigm would turn this triangle upside down in setting up new goals and new means, as well as distributing power …

The Socially Constructive Aspects Of Outside Agents In Community Decision-Making In A Rural Area, Barry R. Gordon, Daniel I. Rubenstein

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The "outside-change agent" is dangerous, something to be feared (based on past experiences, long since blurred by boredom and powerlessness) and not taken into the community. The outsider offers few, if any, tangible immediately useable resources -- only promises and fancy talk. Limited experience has taught the Appalachian that promises fade into misery and fancy talk to poverty. The self-fulfilling prophesy of inhospitality and disbelief in oneself, turn the Appalachian against the change agent and challenge the agent to leave the area out of self-felt persistent futility.

Evaluating Explorations And Demonstrations For Planning In Criminal Justice, Leonard Rutman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from the full-text article:

This paper has emphasized the importance of evaluative research as an integral component for both explorations and demonstrations, particularly for its contribution to planning in criminal justice. In so doing, an attempt has been made to differentiate the purposes and, consequently, the appropriate research strategies for evaluating these projects. The research of explorations aimed to facilitate the process of conceptualizing and operationalizing "innovative" services into testable demonstrations. To increase the validity and generalizability of individual demonstration projects, replications in different places under varying conditions are needed. According to Wholey, however, many small studies have been …

Barriers To Knowledge For Practice: The Casework Effectiveness Dilemma, Alan Siman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Within the social work community there exists an acknowledged need for evaluating the effectiveness of casework services. This need developed and was sustained over time because of pressure exerted by the profession for internal accountability: understanding practice to improve intervention and insure professional growth. But more recently, evaluation endeavors arose from pressure to demonstrate external accountability: the need to prove the validity of casework services. This shift was produced by the change in casework financing from private voluntary contributions to public tax dollars. Claims made in the early 1960's that expansion of casework services could reduce existing, and prevent future, …

Program Research As Social Practice, Harris Chaiklin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from the full-text article:

What is done with the information developed by any researcher involves ethical and political considerations out of his control. In administrative research the sponsor has been able to dictate all conditions. We believe that this has contributed to the crisis in confidence about whether or not developing knowledge makes a difference in solving the problems of this world. It is time for professional societies to take more responsibility for the behavior of their members and to provide them with more protection.

Some Socio-Cultural Aspects Of Growing Up Black, Joan S. Wallace, Samuel P. Wong

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from the full-text article:

Black people, like other people, grow up in families. This simple observation is a suprise to people who are accustomed to associate the experiences of Black people with slavery, crime, delinquency, civil disorders. The Black historian, Benjamin Quarles (1967) has observed that white America tends to have a distorted perspective on Black life, and the fact of Blacks growing up in a family is a fresh approach to the understanding of socio-cultural aspects of growing up Black (cf. Billingsley, 1968).

The family is society's primary context for meeting a child's biological needs, directing his development …

Racial Identification Versus Professional Identification: Can They Be Reconciled, Patricia A. Brown

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

For close to a decade, members of the social work profession, who also were members of a minority race, have been confronting the profession with their perception that social work has not addressed adequately the needs of their racial groups. The fact that members of one group (a minority race) confronted another group (the social work profession) in which they also held membership signaled the strong and serious conflict between a person's identification with two major groups. Whether the two group identifications could find a common ground, became a concern for not only the individual belonging to the two groups, …

The Ethnic And Class Dimensions In Neighborhood: A Means For The Reorganization Of Human Service Delivery Systems, Arthur J. Naparstek, Karen Kollias

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from the full-text article:

Human service delivery systems get criticized by both "users" and "providers" of the services, regardless of countless reforms, evaluations, models, decentralization efforts and re-evaluations. In order to determine directions for the future, this article will discuss past policy initiatives, and review the literature which links human service needs to ethnicity and social class in a neighborhood context.

Ethnicity, Political Coalition And The Development Of A Megapolicy Perspective In Social Work Education, Howard A. Palley, Marian L. Palley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social Work Education should have two major tasks with regard to teaching about ethnicity, particularly working-class ethnics. The fostering of sensitivity to diverse cultures, and the members of such cultural groups is clearly one thrust; the architectural task of participating In the building of a society which fulfills the needs and builds the security of its people should be the second function. In the past, social work education has taught about ethnicity and often about politics with a narrow perspective limited "to single dimensions of policy". A broader gauge "megapolicy perspective' would enable practitioners to refrain from dividing ethnic group …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 2, No. 3 (Spring 1975)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

ISSUE EDITOR: JOAN WALLACE, SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, HOWARD UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, D.C., SELIG RUBINROTT, SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT, WEST HARTFORD, CT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Black Families and National Policy - ANDREW BILLINGSLEY, pp. 312
• Social Workers, Immigrants, and Historians: A Re-examination - LESLIE LEIGHNINGER, pp. 326
• Some Socio-Cultural Aspects of Growing Up Black - JOAN S. WALLACE and SAMUEL P. WONG, pp. 345
• Racial Identification versus Professional Identification: can They Be Reconciled - PATRICIA A. BROWN, pp. 358
• Ethnicity, Political Coalition, and the Development of a Megapolicy Perspective in Social Work Education - HOWARD A. PALLEY …

Black Families And National Policy, Andrew Billingsley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from the full-text article:

The family is both a source of society and a product of society. As a source of society the family produces individuals, values and a set of behaviors we call socialization which helps to build institutions which constitute the fabric of the larger society. As a product of society the family is highly influenced, conditioned and to a great extent determined by the forces which emanate from the institutional fabric of the larger society. Thus, what a family is, is to some extent determined by, influenced by, defined by the larger context of the society …

Social Workers, Immigrants, And Historians: A Re-Examination, Leslie Leighninger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

As a profession frequently caught in a "middleman" role between society at large and specific client groups, social work is often charged with adjusting client behavior to societal demands, rather than working from the other end of the continuum. In terms of their relations with ethnic and minority groups, social workers are sometimes pictured as representatives of a dominant, white Protestant culture, acting, intentionally or unintentionally, as standard bearers for that culture among dissident minority groups. In light of this picture, the addition of courses like "Black Dor Chicano] Culture and American Social Work" to the social work curriculum appears …

Assimilationist Theory And Immigrant Minorities In The United States And Canada: Implications For Social Services Development, John M. Herrick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper examines from a comparative perspective theories of cultural assimilation in the United States and Canada and speculates on the impact of these theories for developing social services, especially social services for immigrants and ethnic minorities.

Some Implications Of Ethnic Disparity In Education For Social Work, Faustine C. Jones, Samuel P. Wong

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from full-text article:

The increasing attention to the institutional nature of social problems is a significant emphasis in social work. Many of the personal troubles of individual clients are the products of a social system which operates to keep them in trouble, and an awareness of the institutional nature of social problems is a prerequisite for effective solution of personal troubles (cf. C. Wright Mills, 1959).

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 2, No. 2 Supplemental (Winter 1974)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

VOLUME II - NO. 2 SUPPLEMENT WINTER 1974

Issue Editor: Alan M. Cohen, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

• Editorial - pp 208
• Change and Program Evaluation in Social Organizations - ALAN M. COHEN - pp 210
• Behavioral Science Influence on Legislation: The Case of Delinquency Prevention - ALBERT S. ALISSI - pp 227
• The Demonstration Project as a Research and Change Strategy - LEONARD RUTMAN - pp 259
• The Three Evaluations of Social Welfare Programs - DEAN HARPER, HAROUTUM M. BABIGIAN - pp 271
• Evaluation Research and Evaluation: Scientific Social Reform Movement and Ideology - …

Behavioral Science Influences On Legislation: The Case Of Delinquency Prevention, Albert S. Alissi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from the full-text article:

This paper will discuss some of the issues and problems which arise in the field of delinquency prevention where there is over-riding public interest and concern and calls for action to prevent delinquency, but where the problem is elusive and where the variables are not easily isolated and controlled through experimental procedures. What, in fact, constitutes the body of knowledge in the field? What uses can be made of behavioral science materials where there has been little or no experimental successes, or data upon which to build action programs? What credence should be given to …

The Three Evaluations Of Social Welfare Programs, Dean Harper, Haroutun M. Babigian

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

As new and innovative social welfare programs are being attempted, there has been an increased concern with evaluating the effectiveness of such programs. To what degree is a new program effective? For which kinds of clients is each type of program effective? What elements are crucial in a program which has been judged to be effective? These are just a few of the questions that evaluators would like to answer.

There is a large literature on evaluation research--some of it reporting or reviewing the results of specific evaluations (6, 8, 9, 10, 11) and some of it presenting general discussions, …

Evaluation Research And Evaluation: Scientific Social Reform Movement And Ideology, Michael Baizerman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The idea that human services programs should be evaluated is accepted by most practitioners and researchers. Discussion is about the technical aspects of this research and about how practitioners can be encouraged to utilize evaluative findings in their everyday practice. Emphasis is placed also on the organizational barriers to this utilization. These ideas and issues are found in a growing literature in the social sciences and, increasingly, in the even faster growing literatures in the professions and in the human services, including the social services, medical and health services, criminal justice and the like.

Here, evaluation research is discussed from …

Transforming The Orientation Of A Health Organization Through Community Involvement, Sharon Pastor Simson, Laura J. Bleiweiss

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Health organizations have been oriented to meeting needs and fulfilling demands which are perceived and defined by physician providers (Freidson, 1970 Stevens, 1971). Organizational goals, services, structures, and processes of operation were formulated in accordance with the interests, values, and concerns of provider-members. Latent to this provider orientation was the assumption that professional members were the ones most qualified to determine what was best for the organization and for its consumers (Freidson 1971). In recent times, however, numerous social changes have occurred on a societal level and within the institution of medicine (Hepner, 1972; Somers, 1971; Rosengren and Lefton, 1969). …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 2, No. 2 (Winter 1974)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Letter to the Editor - pp 109
• A Holistic Perspective on Child Abuse and Its Prevention - David G. Gill - pp 110
• Towards a Radical Reassessment of Social Work Values - Shimon S. Gottschalk - pp 126
• Ethics Shock: Technology, Life Styles and Future Practice - Sonia Leib Abels, Paul Abels, Samuel A. Richmond - pp 140
• The Social-Psychology of Small Groups: Relevancy of Social Work Practice with Groups - Martha E. Gentry - pp 155
• The Myth of a Population Explosion in America: Implications for the Social Welfare Profession - Lillian T. Cochran, James M. …

A Holistic Perspective On Child Abuse And Its Prevention, David G. Gil

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In recent decades, child abuse has come to be considered a social problem of significant scope and has, therefore, attracted intense public and scholarly interest. Yet, in spite of efforts by scholars, professionals, government agencies, concerned individuals and organizations, and the media of public communications, misconceptions prevail concerning the nature, sources, and dynamics of this destructive phenomenon and concerning effective approaches to its primary prevention. Such conceptual shortcomings, and a related persistent failure to design effective policies and programs for the primary prevention of child abuse, seem to be due to a number of obstacles.

Toward A Radical Reassessment Of Social Work Values, Shimon S. Gottschalk

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social Work's inherited statements of core values are excessively individualistic and politically conservative, posing a false dichotomy of individual versus society. "Maximizing individual opportunities for self expression", is criticized as an outdated, if not dangerous value stance. An alternative position Is suggested which sets as the valued aim of all social work practice the enhancement within and among individuals and society of the capacity for sharing and reciprocity. The promotion of a just society and of individual well being are viewed as being inextricably intertwined.

Ethics Shock: Technology, Life Styles And Future Practice, Sonia Leib Abels, Paul Abels, Samuel A. Richmond

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

During the past ten years a new movement has developed in the United States which has taken as its major emphasis the study of the future. The futureologists led by Kahn, Weiner, and Theobald, have projected a number of alternatives for the United States. The value of this movement has been: 1) to alert the country to the fact that change is occurring at an extremely rapid pace; 2) to provide a transdisciplinary view, not only utilizing projections from various disciplines, but illustrating the multiplier effect that the combination of developments from many disciplines may have on our society; and …

The Social Psychology Of Small Groups: Relevancy Of Social Work Practice With Groups, Martha E. Gentry

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Inclusion from the social sciences to broaden the knowledge base of social work is an accepted fact. In the professions' experience with group practice such reliance is not new, and extends at least to the efforts of Coyle who saw the usefulness of the small group field in social psychology as early as 1930. More recently, Hartford's book provides a text which bridges small group theory and social work practice with groups. An examination of diverse conceptualizations of group practice reveals differential reliance upon small group findings.

As the small group is increasingly chosen as the context and means for …

The Myth Of A Population Explosion In America: Implications For The Social Welfare Profession, Lillian T. Cochran, James M. O'Kane

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In the past decade, the concern over a hypothetical "population explosion" has become an increasing preoccupation in growing segments of the American public. Terms such as "standing-room-only-world," "demographic catastrophe,' "future doomsday," etc. have become common, and the work of organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Zero Population Growth, and countless other agencies has centered around this supposed threat to continued human existence. Paul and Anne Ehrlich have set forth the general position on "overpopulation" stating: "The explosive growth of the human population is the most significant event in the past million millenia. . . . Mankind itself may stand on the …

The Nonprofessional And The Professional Culture: A Dilemma For Social Work, Edward Allan Brawley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A critical shortage of trained social workers, a restructuring of the social services, and a national policy of employing the poor in human service organizations have all led to the introduction of large numbers of minority-group and low-income nonprofessionals into social service employment during the last decade. The social work profession has affirmed the necessity and desirability of this trend, not only as a means of solving the manpower problem but also because these new entrants to the field of social work are indigenous to the client groups which social work seeks to serve and they have attributes and skills …

Change And Program Evaluation In Social Organization, Alan M. Cohen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

There is an assumption of an inherent rationality in linking information on program effectiveness to program change. This article briefly discusses three typical evaluation studies and demonstration projects that fail to link information generated on the effectiveness of what people do, to program changes. Perceived inaccuracy of the information and the perceived threat of the information are emphasized as two reasons for this failure of program information to affect change in social organizations. A pre-planning functional information base is proposed as an important prerequisite in the sequence of creating a more receptive environment for organizational change.

It is often assumed …

The Demonstration Project As A Research & Change Strategy, Leonard Rutman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The demonstration project is becoming a major instrument for social planning. In sponsoring demonstration projects the overall goal is for small scale "pilot" programs which include some form of research to contribute to program change and policy-making (14, 16, 19, 21). It is generally expected that the lessons learned from demonstrations, through the rigours of scientific research, will somehow result in large scale adoption and major shifts in aims, styles and resources, and effectiveness of social service programs. Models or prototypes for future operational programs are tested to determine their effectiveness in meeting states objectives. For this reason, they are …

Anti-Poverty Policies And Evaluation: A Critique Of The Pluralist Conception Of Politics And Evaluation, Robert D. Herman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from the full-text article:

The beginnings of U.S. federal evaluation research can, in descriptive historical terms, be located in McNamara's Department of Defense and the later requirement that all federal government agencies adopt a Planning, Programming, Budgeting System. While the formal PPB system was discontinued in 1971, the analytical or policy evaluation activities it required, still live on, especially in agencies dealing with human resource development and/or social welfare programs (Schick, 1973, Wholey, et al, 1970). Given the recent advocacy of increasing and improving federal evaluation efforts, I think it important to examine some of the assumptions and consequences …

Conflict And Compromise In Evaluation Research: A Case Study, Joe Hudson, Peter Chommie

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

As has been pointed out by a host of writers, a crucial issue in conducting evaluative or action type research is the problem of gearing an appropriate research design into the cogs of organizations, ensuring that once initiated the evaluation is in fact conducted according to the original design, and that the results of the study are utilized in policy formulations and ultimately in program development. The focus of this case study is on the major political and administrative problems and processes involved in planning, conducting, and utilizing the findings from a field experiment dealing with the relative effects of …