Social Work Commons^™

Long Term Care Advocacy Delivery Systems: State And Local Responsibilities, Abraham Monk, Lenard W. Kaye, Howard Litwin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper reports the results of a national comparative study of nursing home ombudsman programs for the institutionalized elderly. Of recent origin, patient representative programs have received little critical assessment as to their success in improving the quality of life of America's most vulnerable aged. At the same time, anticipated increases in the number of institutionalized aged coupled with current austerity measures in the health and human services underscores the present and future need to design effective and efficient monitoring/advocacy mechanisms to prevent abuses in long stay institutions. The paper focuses on a description of the current configuration of state …

Economic And Human Capital Factors In The Future Work Plans Of Young Widows, Martha N. Ozawa, Susan Whitelaw Downs

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines the future work plans of nonremarried widows under age 55 who have dependent children at home (N=2,599). All families in this study were receiving survivor benefits from social security in 1978. Human capital resources of the widow, economic need, her age, and family situational variables were included in multiple regression analyses as possible predictors of future work plans. The results support the importance of human capital resources and age of the widow, support the importance of economic need only for widows already working, and suggest that family situational variables are less significant in predicting widows' future work …

The Concept Of Employment In Social Welfare Programs: The Need For Change In Concept And Practice, D. Macarov

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social welfare and social work practice are based upon and limited by concepts concerning the role of work in society. These include coverage, vestedness, administration, and the wage-stop. As human labor becomes quantitatively less important in the technological society, and as attitudes toward work change, the role of social work should become proactive -- leading toward necessary and desirable changes, including new meanings of the concept work and new methods of distributing income, rather than continuing to attempt to shore up an increasingly outmoded systems of values and structures.

In examining the content of the major social work textbooks published …

Empowerment Through The Needs Assessment Process, Michael Hibbard

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

One of the most persistent issues in social welfare planning has been the relative roles of service provision and social change. They have often been conceived as dichotomous: the assumption is that one precludes the other, on both ideological and methodological grounds. However, this division may be more the product of turf wars and fuzzy thinking than any necessary dichotomy. In this article a rationale for viewing service delivery and social change as dimensions of a single process --empowerment -- is developed. Next the needs assessment is examined as a vehicle for implementing the process of empowerment. Finally, a case …

Empathy/Role Taking: A Theoretical Model For Feminist Therapy, Michele Wilson, Gayle Twilbeck Wykle

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Feminist therapy is directed not only at individual, but also at social change. Because of this dual aim of feminist therapy, the symbolic interactionist perspective, which describes individual initiative as a source of social change, is suggested as a theoretical orientation which can provide a useful model for feminist therapy. More specifically, the empathy/role-taking model for the clienttherapist relationship is outlined here.

Afdc, Food Stamp, And Medicaid Utilization: A Research Note, Mark R. Rank, Paul R. Voss

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

During the past 20 years, social welfare programs have been expanding both in terms of federal and state expenditures, and in terms of numbers of recipients. Among the programs involved in this expansion were Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Food Stamps, and Medicaid. However, knowledge of the sheer numbers of people and dollars involved provides at best an incomplete picture of these social welfare programs. The researcher, policy planner, and government administrator must also have an understanding of who is at risk of utilizing welfare in the general population. Such knowledge may provide insight into the present and future …

A Systems Paradigm For Community Development, Salvatore Imbrogno

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The study of and practice in communities requires a theoretic construct of an overarching conceptualization that can "sweep-in" existing paradigms; variant epistemological foundations and methodological directives for complex community development. The purpose of this paper is to identify and define the existing epistemological and methodological approaches to communities with the objective of coalescing them into a unified system of inquiry. The intent is to first raise the level of abstraction in and about a community that goes beyond the confines of any (or combined) paradigm. In so doing, one can converge a polarity of opposing positions to the study and …

Child Abuse And Mental Health: An Examination Of Some Long Term Effects For Prison Inmates, Michael J. Belyea, Matthew T. Zingraff

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines the effects of childhood abuse on future adult mental health. A statistically significant relationship was found between abuse and mental health problems. This relationship remained even after controlling for parental characteristics and the effects of an abusive environment. These findings suggest that one way to deal with the consequences of abuse would be to develop long term intervention strategies.

A Comparison Of Child Welfare Curriculum In Undergraduate And Graduate Programs Of Social Work, John T. Pardeck

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper analyzes the differences in child welfare curriculum content of social work programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The findings report little discernible difference in curriculum content in the area of child welfare at either level. These results add to the continuing debate focusing on defining the differences between undergraduate and graduate social work education. A important question resulting from this study is -- what can the consumer of child welfare services or hiring agency expect from the social worker trained in the area of child welfare at either the undergraduate or graduate levels? The answer to …

The Social Work Service Commodity In The Inflationary 80'S, Harold Lewis

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The decade ahead is going to be dominated by economic issues. All signs point to continued Inflation, continued high levels of unemployment, cyclical troughs and declining peaks in the overall economy, energy shortages and Increasing financial pressures, particularly on those families living on minimal or below-poverty level budgets. Stresses In management of basic requirements for maintenance of health, housing, education and transportation %III burden middle income, blue collar and the working poor family. In this context, funding of social services will be tight, relative to need. It seems useful, for these reasons, to place our discussion within an economic framework, …

Reagan, Pickle And Pepper: The Benefit Reduction Versus Voluntary Approach To Encouraging Later Retirement, Eric R. Kingson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The degree to which benefit reduction and voluntary approaches to encouraging later retirement maximize four different and often conflicting policy objectives is assessed as are costs and benefits of these approaches to healthy and unhealthy older workers, minorities and women. While both approaches encourage later retirement, there are clear differences in the approaches in terms of meeting the goal of financing Social Security versus adequacy and social equity

The Politics Of Mental Health After Care, Steve Rose

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Essential to the development of a positive practice in mental health after-care is a precise formulation of clients' needs. Clarity about a statement of needs provides added information about anticipated obstacles to meeting those needs, both at the client and systemic levels. To accomplish this preliminary task, it becomes necessary to create what we refer to as a "problem definitional" level of theory. Problem defining theory mediates between more global theory, which establishes a larger context for understanding the broad policy issues and direct implications,* and the articulation of practice theory.

Alienation Among Social Service Workers And Integration Into The Social Services, John F. Longres

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study is concerned with objective alienation experienced by social service workers. To help understand this phenomenon, a Marxian sociological perspective will be used.

Book Reviews, Mike Parker, Gary Freeman, Martin B. Tracy, Michael Reisch, Kathryn B. Ward, Steve Burghardt, Patricia Morgan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

BOOK REVIEWS

• The Assembly Line by Robert Linhart - Reviewed by MIKE PARKER
• The Crisis In Social Security: Economic and Political Origins by Carolyn L. Weaver - Reviewed by GARY FREEMAN
• The Political Econany of Aging: The State, Private Power and Social Welfare by laura Katz Olson - Reviewed by MARTIN B. TRACY
• The Other Side of Organizing: Resolving the Personal Dilemmas and Political Demands of Daily Practice by Steve Burghardt - Reviewed by MICHAEL REISCH
• The Radical Future of Liberal Feminism by Zillah Eisenstein - Reviewed by KATHRYN B. WARD
• Setting National Priorities: The 1983 Budget edited by Joseph …

Reaganomics And The Welfare State, Mimi Abramovitz, Tom Hopkins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Supply-side tax and spending policies have intensified poverty, unemployment and inequality, especially for women, minorities and organized labor. At the same time Reaganomics is shrinking and weakening the welfare state. To better understand and resist this conservative assault it is necessary to demystify the "economics" and "politics" of supply-side doctrine. This paper (a) defines the basic assumptions of supply-side economics; (b) identifies some of its problems and contradictions; (c) discusses its impact on the welfare state; and (d) analyzes it as part of a broader plan for coping with the current economic crisis. It argues that the supply-side tax cut …

Seven Voices From One Organization: What Does It Mean?, Janice Perlman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

It would be trite to say that citizen action means different things for different people; a cliche to say that it means different things simultaneously for the same person: yet both are overwhelmingly true. Listening carefully to the members of citizen action groups -- not the organizers, staff, or wellknown leaders -- but simply the members, reveals the entire gamut of understanding and confusions; gratifications and frustrations; of hopes and fears.

The mini-portraits presented below represent a cross section, members of a single citizen action organization at a single point in time. Exploratory interviews with members of similar groups in …

Introduction, Michael Reisch, Stanley Wenocur

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The field of political-economy dates back at least as far as Adam Smith over 200 years ago. The early political-economists made the first systematic attempts to examine the interconnections between the emergence of the new industrial system -- which changed the way in which resources were produced and consumed -- and the advent of bourgeois democratic states -- which made critical decisions as to how those resources were to be distributed. Although the study of political-economy throughout the 19th century implied no particular political ideology, by the 20th century it came to be associated with radical critiques of society, especially …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 10, No. 4 (November 1983)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction - MICHAEL REISCH, STANLEY WENOCUR
• The Social Work Service Commodity in the Inflationary 80's - HAROLD LEWIS
• Reaganomics and the Welfare State - MIMI ABRAMVITZ, TOM HOPKINS
• Reagan, Pickle and Pepper: The Benefit Reduction Versus Voluntary Approach to Encouraging later Retirement - ERIC R. KINGSON
• The Politics of Mental Health After Care - STEVE ROSE
• Seven Voices From One Organization: What Does It Mean? - JANICE PERIMAN
• A Note On Voethogenic Harm: The Politics of Science and the Professions - WARREN C. HAGGSTROM
• Alienation Among Social Service Workers and Integration Into the Social Services - JOHN …

A Note On Voethogenic Harm: The Politics Of Science And The Professions, Warren C. Haggstrom

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study had 27 psychiatrists watch a half hour film of a third year medical student talking with a patient. They were all psychiatric faculty in the UCLA School of Medicine and were trying to create a criterion for use in examinations within the School. The film was such that they could see the patient from the perspective of the interviewer.

The Social Work Profession And The Ideoloqy Of Professionalization, Stanley Wenocur, Michael Reisch

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The phenomenon of professionalization has been an exceptionally powerful force in Western industrialized countries for more than a century. "The professions are as characteristic of the modern world as the crafts were of the ancient," said Stephen R. Graubard in the preface to The Professions in America (1963). Talcott Parsons (1968) declared that "The development and increasing strategic importance of the professions probably constitute the most important change that has occurred in the occupational system of modern countries." Dry statistics alone bear out these views. In the United States "professionals" increased in the population from 859 per 100,000 in 1870 …

Book Reviews, Asoke Basu, Kristine Nelson, Dan La Botz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

BOOK REVIEWS

• Letter From An Author - ASOKE BASU
• The Limits of Reform: Women, Capital and Welfare by Jennifer G. Schirmer - Reviewed by KRISTINE NELSON 542
• Marxism and Domination: A Neo-Hegelian. Feminist, Psychoanalytic Theory of Sexual, Political and Technological Liberation, by Isaac D, Balbus - Reviewed by DAN LA BOTZ 534

Constitutional Dilemma And Social Welfare Policy In Canada, Angela W. Djao

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Canadian Constitution is usually interpreted as giving the provinces primary jurisdiction over social welfare. However, the federal government utilizing other powers provided in the constitution has expanded its role in legitimating the social order by promoting social integration and providing the disadvantaged groups with minimum social security. Thus social welfare is administered by both levels of government. Yet the fact that no mandatory obligations are imposed on either level of government has led to the development of social welfare policy in Canada in a fashion that resembles a crazy patchwork quilt. This is shown in a review of the …

The Coordination Dimensions Scale: A Tool To Assess Interorganizational Relationships, Stanley Blostein

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article describes a tool--the Coordination Dimensions Scale (CDS)--for use by human service organizations in assessing the viability of a coordinated relationship. A working definition of coordination is presented, followed by a description of the components of coordination: types, structural forms, medium, and auspices. Based on this framework, the writer presents fifteen Dimensions of coordination, each of which is placed ol a scale-- the total is the CDS Score--which can be used to provide structure to the decision-making process. Suggestions are made for use of the CDS in assessing an existing or proposed coordinated relationship.

The Use Of Telephone Surveys In Human Service Needs Assessment - An Idea Whose Time Has Come?, Lawrence L. Martin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article explores the potential use of telephone surveys for the conduct of human service needs assessments. After reviewing relevant literature bearing on the subject of telephone surveys, a theoretical telephone survey human service needs assessment of Maricopa County, Arizona is compared with an actual human service needs assessment using the traditional personal survey approach. The results suggest that the two approaches produce similar findings at the aggregate data, or community, level but that the underrepresentation of certain target groups of interest to human service administrators (e.g. low-income and ethnic minorities) may cause disaggregation problems. Methodological techniques to deal with …

Work-Related Perceptions Of Social Workers Versus Administrators: More Grist For The "Is Social Work A Profession?" Mill, Robert A. Snyder, Jane M. Ridolphi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The work-related perceptions of 683 employees of a federally funded public assistance agency were examined by occupational classification. The results show that persons employed as social workers report distinctively different patterns of attitudes and values than do those employed as administrators. These distinctions were most dramatic for the younger members of each group. The overall results fail to refute previous predictions of an evolving anc critical duality in the field of social work.

Social Action Organization Participation And Personal Change In The Poor: Part Ii, Robert D. Herman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In Part I (Herman, 1982) evidence bearing on the hypothesis that participation by the poor in social action organizations results in personal change was reviewed and found to be inconsistent and open to diverse Interpretations. In Part I It was observed that not all socizi action organizations are al ike and, thus, that participation is also of varied kinds and extents and may have different consequences for personal change. A typology of social action organizations forms (developed in Part I ) is used here to comparatively classify information on organizational characteristics and personal change drawn from eleven case studIes. The …

Ideology In Social Welfare Policy Instruction: An Examination Of Required Readings, Paul Lyons

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A national survey of required readings in social welfare policy courses indicates that a liberal, pro-welfare state ideology is predominant. Such an ideology rests on the concepts of modernization and industrialization within a structural-functionalist methodology. This predominant model of social welfare policy suggests the inevitability of the welfare state while effectively excluding serious consideration of both conservative and socialist alternatives.

Client Privacy And Social Work: A Comparison By Agency Function, Linda R. Hogan, Mary Ski Hunter, M. Coleen Shannon

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines the effect of agency function or purpose on the handling of client privacy issues in social work agencies. Practitioners working in public and private agencies were compared. The data revealed that, more than those in private agencies, social workers in public agencies: (1) thought that their work would be more affected if they could not rely on outside sources for information about clients; (2) were more often requested to supply information about clients to outside sources; and (3) were more likely to reveal information about clients as a form of ethical dilemma resolution. It is suggested that …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 10, No. 3 (September 1983)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Social Action Organization Participation and Personal Change in the Poor: Part II - ROBERT D. HERMAN
• Ideology In Social Welfare Policy Instruction: An Examination of Required Readings - PAUL LYONS
• Client Privacy and Social Work: A Comparison by Agency Function
• LINDA R. HOGAN, MARY SKI HUNTER, M. COLEEN SHANNON
• Case Law and Social Welfare: A Framework for Analysis - JAN L. HAGEN
• The Coordination Dimensions Scale: A Tool to Assess Interorganizational Relationships - STANLEY BLOSTEIN
• The Non-Orthodox Cancer Therapy Movement: Emergent Organization in Health Care Crisis - JOSEPH BEHAR
• The Use of Telephone Surveys In Human Service …

Case Law And Social Welfare: A Framework For Analysis, Jan L. Hagen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper illustrates an approach for analyzing case law within the framework of social welfare programs and policies. Drawing on a framework first developed by Burns and later expanded by Gilbert and Specht, selected court decisions related to income maintenance are categorized on the basis of four parameters: basis of social allocation, the nature of social provisions, the structure of the delivery system, and the method of financing. Unlike the legal framework typically used to analyze court decisions, an assessment of court decisions along the parameters of social welfare policies and programs highlights the court's role and its importance in …