[Articles] Early intervention and the management of Finnish children and young people.

30 June, 2015

The concept of early intervention emerged into everyday Finnish language of media and politics at the turn of the Millennium. The invasion of early intervention occurred through extensive political and organizational support, accompanied by vigorous media discussion. The rationale, shared by the key agents of early intervention, was formed according to this distinguished project and public discourse. At the turn of the Millennium, the idea of early intervention seemed compatible with many reformations of the public government relying on the New Public Management. Early intervention, and applying it, quickly spread to daycare, schools and child protection, among other things. This article aims at analyzing what early intervention was in this particular empirical case. It analyzes the Finnish practices of preventive child protection in social work with children and young people from the point of view of governing, and as practices that target children, young people and their parents suspected to belong to a risk group.

Author(s): Mirja Satka

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[Articles] Employability, gender and migration. The case of Eastern European circular carers in Italy.

This paper examines the phenomena of circular migration of Eastern European women to Italy both theoretically and empirically. Using interview material from migrant women working in Italy, in temporary positions, it exposes the changing nature of gender roles and the precarious nature of women’s employment whereby, in order to maintain gendered care commitments, this type of employment is sometimes in fact chosen. The respondents in this study give vivid expression to the complex way in which this selection of migrant women made decisions around balancing their work life and their caring life.

Author(s): Sabrina Marchetti

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[Articles] Lone mothers in Central Albania during communism and after 1990. Caring and earning responsibilities and regulations.

This article discusses how Albanian women – all of the sample here being lone mothers – attempt to balance between their earning and caring activity. The here discussed research reveals how the situation of lone mothers in Albania changed drastically after 1990. As there have always been moderated regulations for support to lone mothers during communism as well as after, the correlation between different factors gives insights into a more precarious need for individual handling of job possibilities without socialsecurity on the one hand and acceptance of different sources for social support on the other hand.

Author(s): Arla Gruda

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[Articles] Violence against women in Slovenia. Lessons to be learned from the victims of domestic violence.

This article focuses on the theme of violence against women in the home and tackles the dilemma of how, despite the development of measures to address domestic violence in Slovenia and at EU level, women continue to under-report this crime, primarily due to their distrust of institutions and their ability to protect them. Based on comparative research, a number of concrete recommendations on how this situation might be addressed by social work and within social policy are made.

Author(s): Vesna Leskosek

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[Articles] Dealing with everyday racism and discrimination. Experiences of migrant Chinese mothers in the Netherlands.

Based on in-depth interviews and participatory observation, this paper aims to reveal how first-generation Chinese immigrant mothers deal with every day racism and discrimination inside and outside the private domain in the daily situation in the Netherlands. Based on data collected from mydoctorate project, this article concentrates on the individual capacity and resilience of mothers to help their children to combat, resist and negotiate racism that they experienced.

Author(s): Shu-Yi Huang

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[Articles] Overcoming Self-reliance and Lack of Expectation among Care Leavers in Higher Education in England. The Role of Inter-agency Working.

31 December, 2014

This paper reports on a study exploring care leavers’ experiences of higher education in England. Although a range of support is available from local authorities and higher education institutions to care leavers, there is a tendency towards self-reliance and lack of expectation of being supported. The findings suggest that by recognising their respective strengths and weaknesses and working together, local authority and higher education staff can engage care leavers more effectively, increasing levels of expectation and reducing the need for self-reliance.

Author(s): Georgia Hyde-Dryden

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[Articles] Young people transitioning from out of home care and youth justice. Exploring the experiences of “Dual Order” Care leavers in Victoria, Australia

This exploratory research examined the state care, education, youth justice and post-care experiences of 15 care leavers who were also involved in the youth justice system in Victoria, Australia. In-depth audiotaped interviews were conducted and later thematically analysed. Access to affordable housing and substance abuse treatment, and a meaningful relationship with at least one supportive adult characterised the lives of young people who had reduced or ceased their offending behaviour. Areas for future intervention and research are identified, including working with families, supporting education retention, and the need for better supported transitions from state care.

Author(s): Susan Baidawi, Philip Mendes, Pamela Snow

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[Articles] Employment, education and housing outcomes for care leavers from a children’s village in Ghana.

Each year several young people in Ghana make a transition from residential care to adulthood. However, little is known about the adult lives of care leavers in Ghana. Using a qualitative research design, the study explored the effect of care and leaving care support on the adult outcomes for care leavers from a private residential home in Ghana. The findings show that while aspects of the support provided in care and leaving care positively impact the outcomes of young adults, there are areas where support is needed. Recommendations are made in the study for improving support for young people leaving care.

Author(s): Kwabena Frimpong-Manso

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[Articles] Young People’s Experience of Participation When Exiting out of Care.

The aim of this paper is to focus on young people’s experiences of participation during the process of transition from placements in out-of-home care independent life. 65 young care leavers were interviewed, 14 boys and 51 girls between 18 and 26 years old. Results show that those who were invited to participate in the planning of their care leaving experienced a more positive and successful transition from care to adulthood. When administrative regulations guided the care leaving process, young people felt excluded and out of control, and their transition became a more negative experience.

Author(s): Ingrid Höjer, Yvonne Sjöblom

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[Articles] Identifying and tackling inequality. A challenge for social work.

31 December, 2013

The value of equality is recognized as a core principle of social work. At an international level, the statement of ethical principles describes social work as a profession which “challenges injustices” and sees principles of “socialjustice”asfundamental. The idea that social work is about combating inequalities generally provokes content among policy administrators and social workers. As stated in T. H. Marshall’s (2009/1950) essay on citizenship and class, the development of citizenship in the modern capitalist state was driven by attempts to ground the “principle of the equality of citizens to set against the principle of the inequality of classes” (Marshall 2009, p. 149). For him, the guarantee of social rights included in citizenship is closely connected to the institutions of “education and the social services” (Marshall 2009, p. 148), thus to social work.

This issue raised considerable debate within the discipline of social work over the last thirty years (Brumlik/Keckeisen 1976; Autès 2004; Ferguson 2008; Stehr 2008; Kessl 2009; Lima 2011). Recently, the capability approach – initially developed by Amartya Sen in the context of human development studies – has become an influential frame of reference considered as a possible normative foundation for social work and social policy (Nadai 2013; Otto et al. 2010; Schrödter 2007). The orientation towards a broad conception of human freedom and individual autonomy – so the authors – would make the capability approach an ideal reference framework for social work.

Author(s): Benoît Beuret, Jean-Michel Bonvin, Stephan Dahmen

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