Social Work Commons^™

Building Citizen Support For Planning At The Community Level, Barry Checkoway

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Planning practice is changing. Previous years of economic growth contributed to an increase in federal, state, and local planning agencies, in addition to regional and special purpose bodies with territorial or functional responsibilities. In times of growth, planning was viewed by many as a type of urban engineering and applied social science characterized by objective fact-finding and the so-called rational model. Leading texts emphasized technical research methods and "hard data" analysis, while government guidelines described scientific application of facts (Krueckeberg and Silvers, 1974; Spiegel and Hyman, 1978). Planners were akin to technical experts who analyzed data for other people who …

Electoralism, Mobilization And Strategies For The 80s: An Assessment Of Organizing Trends In The Mid-Decade, Steve Burghardt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Community organizers in the United States have two tasks today: a short-term defensive one of holding back the rightward assault against both the social welfare state and the working class in general; and a long-term, mobilizing task of building a constituency strong enough to transform the welfare state itself. We cannot lose sight of this latter goal, for the method and objectives we set for ourselves in the short-run will greatly determine the feasibility of our long-term goals.

This is no small matter, for the assault on the welfare state is as fundamental to the restructuring of class and social …

The Influence Of Rev. Jesse Jackson's Candidacy For President On Pluralistic Politics: Implications For Community Action, James Craigen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This essay addresses the significant changes in power relationships brought about by the candidacy of the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson for President of the United States. Specifically, it will attempt to focus on themes or issues reflecting the impact of his entry into the contest for the Democratic nomination as a viable Black candidate in November 1983, and the consequent redefinition of power relationships which occurred not only within the Democratic Party, but between Blacks and Whites, Blacks and Jews, Black elected and appointed officials, and his effort on relative deprivation among the people in the Rainbow coalition that he …

Peer Reinforcement For Social Work Training: An Evaluation, Robert W. Weinbach, Karen M. Kuehner

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Techniques for peer reinforcement of social work training programs appear to be a promising complement to educational supervision. The authors conducted a quasi-experimental evaluation of its effectiveness for reinforcement of learning, of interviewing skills. Subjects were income maintenance workers in a large state public welfare agency. Findings indicated that peer reinforcement may have resulted in knowledge retention and use of skills which were superior overall to those demonstrated among trainees denied access to peer reinforcement techniques. Interpretation of findings and productive areas for future research are suggested.

The Sociology Of Alcoholism Counseling: A Social Worker's Perspective, Katherine Van Wormer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

An occupation - alcoholism counseling - strives to gain professional status. Still a field largely dominated by counselors who derive their status more from personal attributes - the fact of being recovering alcoholics - rather than from achievement of impersonally applied standards, chemical dependency counseling is in a state of flux. This sociological analysis examines recent developments in the field. Special emphasis is on roles for social workers.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 13, No. 2 (June 1986)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Table of Contents

• The Anatomy of "Burn-Out": The As Antidote - NORMAN N. GOROFF
• Love Paradigm
• Determinants of Knowledge About Social Security: A Study of Nonremarried Widows Caring For Children - MARTHA N. OZAWA, WILLIAM T. ALPERT
• Income Tax and Inequality: What Constitutes Welfare State Expenditure? - GORDON W. TERNO ETSKY
• Factors Contributing to Coalition Maintenance - MARIA ROBERTS-DeGENNARO
• On the Dialectics of Social Theory And Action: A Synthesis of Six Models of Community Engagement - DREW HYMAN
• Role-Set Diversity: Benefits or Strain? - MARILYN GAIL MORGAN, ALFRED DEMARIS
• Retirees As Technoguides: A New Role As Shapers And Makers of …

Prison Education, Joseph Behar

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

College level education is provided by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice to inmates on site at the Riker's Island Correctional Facility in New York City. This undergraduate satellite program is examined in relation to the opportunities for de-institutionalization, re-socialization, and possible effects on "prisonization." The conditions and potential of "education behind bars" for rehabilitation, student development, and personal reorientation are discussed through an analysis of the emergence of an innovative instructional environment not directly controlled by the official nor subcultural systems of the institution. In this context, the educational uses of the "sociological imagination" become part of a …

The Anatomy Of "Burn-Out;" The Love Paradigm As Antidote, Norman N. Goroff

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The phenomena, "burn-out," contains all of the factors of disappointment, disillusionment, fatigue, hopelessness, and powerlessness that a person experiences when coming face-to-face with the inherent contradictions between a desire to help fellow human beings and the structural demands and limitations of a social service enterprise wherein control is the central concern.

Role-Set Diversity: Benefit Or Strain?, Marilyn Gail Morgan, Alfred Demaris

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Most social workers interact with many different types of people in performing their jobs. One view suggests such diversity is beneficial; an opposing view is that this causes job strains. This 'research indicates a correlation between increased strain and increased role-set diversity only for those age 36-41. Perceived benefits rose with diversity for those in mental health and public welfare settings. For mental health workers, benefits outweighed strains more often as diversity rose. Several areas of job satisfaction were explored for correlation with role-set diversity. There were significant findings by age, years of experience, and agency type. There were no …

Welfare Fair Hearings And Client Advocacy: A Role For Social Workers, Jan L. Hagen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

As a legally mandated grievance mechanism, welfare fair hearings provide a formal recourse for applicants and recipients of welfare dissatisfied with agency decisions. Fair hearings may be viewed as an example of one agency's attempt to foster fairness and to control administrative discretion. However, as a mechanism for redressing grievances, welfare fair hearings have a number of severe limitations. Social workers practicing with potential and actual recipients of public welfare are in a position to reduce these limitations through client advocacy.

The Yorkville Emergency Alliance: One Community's Response To The Federal Budget Reductions, Michael J. Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A case study of one community's response to the Reagan budget cutbacks reveals the strengths and weaknesses of local voluntary initiatives for funding social services and replacing federal funds. The development and growth of the Yorkville Emergency Alliance is described as a private initiative of citizens living in a wealthy area of New York City. In about one and a half years, this group of residents raised over a quarter of a million dollars to attempt to replace federal funding reductions for the social services.

Homelessness: Residual, Institutional And Communal Solutions, Ron E. Roberts, Thomas Keefe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Drawing upon demographic data and ethnographic interviews conducted by the authors, the article addresses the question, "Who are the homeless?" It identifies five kinds of homeless people and the sources of the homeless populations in the social structure. It then addresses residual and institutional policy solutions and draws on the efforts of the homeless themselves to advance a collective solution to their problems.

Determinants Of Knowledge About Social Security: A Study Of Nonremarried Widows Caring For Children, Martha N. Ozawa, William T. Alpert

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social security beneficiaries and the general public alike are concerned about the financial solvency of the social security program. But how much do they know about how the system works? This study analyzes the determinants of knowledge about social security among nonremarried widows having children under their care. It builds a research model based on the economic theory of rational decision making. Using ordinary least squares regression estimation techniques, the level of knowledge about specific social security provisions is regressed on family income, implicit tax rate, number of children, human capital variables, and other demographic and locational variables. The findings …

Income Tax And Inequality: What Constitutes Welfare State Expenditure?, Gordon W. Ternowetsky

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper examines 1981 taxation returns for the Province of Saskatchewan and Canada as a whole. The analysis examined the extent to which legal tax breaks benefit the rich and act to reinforce income inequality. The question of what constitutes government social spending is also raised. It is argued that tax breaks are a form of social expenditure that result in a tremendous drain on government revenue. The findings show that if progressive taxation was enforced, even for the few very rich Canadians (those earning over $200,000 a year), governments in 1981 would have an extra 1.1 billion dollars available …

Factors Contributing To Coalition Maintenance, Maria Roberts-Degennaro

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Organizations are building advocacy coalitions as a way of strengthening their survival skills. This article reports on a case study of the factors associated with maintaining an advocacy coalition. The survival of a coalition appears to depend on whether it can insure its member organizations of the payoffs from committing their resources for advocacy purposes.

On The Dialectics Of Social Theory And Action: A Synthesis Of Six Models Of Community Engagement, Drew Hyman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Two dominant theoretical perspectives--systems theory and conflict theory--can be seen to underlie major approaches to community intervention. This paper presents a conceptual linkage between models of intervention for planning and organizing as developed by Rothman and elaborated by Stockdale and major sociological theories of society. Two additional models are presented to address issues of management and administration. The six models are integrated into a typology which integrates the conflict and consensus theories of society in relation to the The result is a synthesis of six models for community engagement which is rooted in dialectically opposed theories of society, and which …

Retirees As Technoguides: A New Role As Shapers And Makers Of The Future, Arthur B. Shostak

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Retirees nowadays serve in many out-of-the-home roles that make astute use of their maturity, their discretion time, and their flexibility about compensation: Large numbers help as paid or voluntary aides in day care centers, health fairs, home health care, hospice programs, nursing homes, and the vital like.

A brand new role that might appeal to many would have them learn and practice the craft of technology assessment and the process of technology diffusion: With these tools retirees could serve as technoguides, or paid or voluntary aides in the testing, evaluating, and adapting of new products and services to the needs …

Administrative Offices Of Aging In State Bureaucracies: Agency Location And Organization Effectiveness, Barrie Blunt, Scott Ingram

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study considers the effects of state level reorganization on organizational access to the governor and state legislature, its ability to coordinate service delivery, its access to budgetary funds and resources, and its visibility and prestige. The findings are based on a nation-wide survey of all State Aging Units. Conclusions suggest that reorganizing an Aging Unit does have an impact on the aforementioned variables.

Assessing Social Agency Functions: A Model, Elizabeth W. Lindsey, John S. Wodarski, Kristyn S. Greaves

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The assessment of general agency functions is the focus of this manuscript. Initially inventories that may be utilized in the assessment of the relevance and quality of services provided are reviewed. Next, cost benefit analysis is addressed in terms of helping social workers estimate the cost of services provided. The manuscript concludes with a discussion of the issues involved in general agency assessment.

The Latent Functions Of Welfare And Need-Satisfaction Of The Disadvantaged, Zeev Ben-Sira

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In a study carried out among a representative sample of Jewish Israeli adults, a paradigm of need-satisfaction by direct welfare assistance has been developed and, to a great extent, empirically supported. Multivariate analysis revealed that, despite the fact that it is recognized as indispensible in facilitating basic living conditions, direct welfare assistance, whatever its kind, predicts frustration rather than need-satisfaction. The data ascertain that attributing to the welfare assistance the latent functions of preserving consumers' inferiority and of pursuing the agencies' and the welfare workers' interests rather than those of the consumers, constitute a major factor in the resulting feeling …

Introduction To Thematic Special Issue, John T. Pardeck, John W. Murphy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Currently technology is proliferating at a rate never before imagined. As a result, every facet of society has changed because of technological developments, including the delivery of social services. Although there is much debate over whether or not these changes are good or bad, they cannot be denied (Murphy and Pardeck, forthcoming). In fact, Jacques Ellul ( 1964: 127) has referred to modern society as a technological civilization. What he means by this designation is not only that society is dependent upon technology for its survival, but, more importantly, technological rationality has come to determine how persons view themselves and …

Assessing Child Maltreatment: The Role Of Testing, Joel S. Milner

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Due to the recent development of test instruments designed to assist professionals in the evaluation of child maltreatment cases, social service professionals must become familiar with issues related to test construction and use. The purpose of the present paper is to provide the reader with a discussion of issues related to test selection and use. This article, however, is not Intended to be a substitute for a basic understanding of the test validity and reliability. The paper begins with a review of different prevention modes and discusses how each mode uses test data. Next, test use as it relates to …

Scientific Technology And The Human Condition, Vernon R. Wiehe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Society applauds the recent advancements of scientific technology in fields such as medicine, energy, and communication. While humankind profits in many ways from this technology, a few voices are heard cautioning society to consider the implications of these developments. This paper discusses the gulf which appears to exist between scientific technology and the human condition. Reasons for this gulf are: I ) the failure to develop a philosophy of science in which human values, and aspirations are viewed within the context of scientific technology, 2) the reductionist approach to science in which the parts are emphasized at the expense of …

The De-Skilling Of Social Workers: An Examination Of The Impact Of The Industrial Model Of Production On The Delivery Of Social Services, Howard Jacob Karger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article examines the effect of the industrial model of production on the delivery of social services. As part of this study, the effects of technology (used in its broadest sense) and system rationalization are explored, particularly as they result in the de-skilling of social workers. Lastly, the author makes recommendations for the development of alternative criteria for system rationality and the evaluation of efficiency in social service programs.

Medicine, Technology, And Genetic Engineering: Reflections From The Outside, Jeffrey R. Plittman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Advances in technology are producing many changes in the ways humans view and manage their lives. The refinement of genetic engineering techniques has created vast opportunities for humankind, along with novel problems and dangers. Accordingly, the questions that must be addressed pertain to the nature of life itself. Yet the scientific community can not be given sole discretion In managing todey's technologies. Instead, all segments of society must be Involved In determining how genetic engineering will be used.

Developing Social Work Interviewing Skills Through A Micro-Video Analysis Training Program, Peter C. Iverson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Effective interviewing techniques are required for successful social work practice. Consequently, mastering this relatively complex technology is vital for both social work students and agency professionals. This article will provide a descriptive analysis of the Micro-Video Analysis Training Program which may be operationalized in either an academic classroom or agency. Also discussed are the primary components of the training program and their inter-relationships within the context of the Micro-Video Analysis approach. Hopefully this material will assist those with social work education responsibilities to teach interviewing skills more effectively.

Technology, Corporate Mobility, And A Decline In Urban Services, Marcus D. Pohlmann

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Technological changes have produced a postindustrial economy which has both facilitated and encouraged the flight of capital and well-to-do people from the older industrial cities. Left in their wake are increasing levels of unemployment, poverty, and crime. Service needs have Increased accordingly, but at a time when these cities have not only smaller tax bases but also less electoral clout with which to acquire additional financial assistance at the state and federal levels. In a nearly futile attempt to reestablish a healthy degree of private investment in their cities, municipal governments let service levels decline and focus on spurring capital …

Applying Computers To Clinical Social Work, James Gripton, Paul Licker, Leo De Groot

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper discusses the application of computer technology to clinical social work. It is based on a three-year research and demonstration project on microcomputer applications to clinical social work. The paper reviews the use of computers in social work, contrasting the developments in this field with those that hove occurred in psychiatry and clinical psychology. It then describes the two major components of the integrated software package for supporting clinical social work that has been developed and is currently being tested. The paper concludes with a discussion of the misconceptions and realities of introducing computer technology to a clinical social …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 13, No. 1 (March 1986)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS - THEMATIC SPECIAL ISSUE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY

• Introduction to Thematic Special Issue - JOHN T. PARDECK, JOHN W. MURPHY
• Computers in Social Work and Social Welfare: Issues and Perspective - WILLIAM H. BUTTERFIELD
• Applying Computers to Clinical Social Work - JAMES GRIPTON, PAUL LICKER
• The Implications of Computer Technology in the Delivery of Human Services - NARVIAR C. BARKER
• Assessing Child Maltreatment: The Role of Testing - JOEL S. MILNER
• Technology, Stress, and Family Violence: Some Issues in Teaching Social Work Practice - SHIRLEY J. PORTER
• Scientific Technology and The Human Condition - VERNON R. …

Computers In Social Work And Social Welfare Issues And Perspective, William H. Butterfield

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper provides a general overview of the areas in which technology has had significant impact. These are specifically important for social workers, since technology poses many challenges for both society and the social work profession. Most important about modern technology is that It can either improve the human condition or destroy society. With this In mind, social workers must learn about technology, so that Its benefits are understood and problems avoided. This will not occur, however, if technology is ignored or treated as something which is inherently bad because it disrupts the status gun.