Social Work / Maatskaplike Werk (E-Journal)
Not a member yet
916 research outputs found
Sort by
CHALLENGES FACED BY SOCIAL WORKERS WORKING IN CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES IN IMPLEMENTING THE CHILDREN’S ACT 38 OF 2005
Get PDFThe transition from the Child Care Act 74 of 1983 to the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 has been chaotic. This has been caused by shortcomings in the new legislation; challenges faced by social workers in adapting to it; lack of capacity of the stakeholders in the field; and the shortage of resources to implement it. The Children’s Act 38 of 2005 needs to be amended to address its pre-statutory, statutory and post-statutory shortcomings. Recommendations on addressing these challenges include the establishment of a kinship care grant; amending the Children’s Act; and addressing technical issues on the implementation of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005.
VIEWS OF SERVICE PROVIDERS ON SERVICES RENDERED TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND ON THE NEED FOR FAMILY PRESERVATION SERVICES
Get PDFThe article reflects the research findings of a study that was initiated because a welfare organisation delivering social work services to people with disabilities was investigating the possibility of developing a family preservation programme. The aim of the investigation was to explore the views of service providers on services delivered to persons with disabilities to determine the need for family preservation services. It was found that limited people power and funds placed serious constraints upon services. However, a clear link between the aims of family preservation and the needs of families caring for a relative with a disability has been established.
REFLECTIVE SUPERVISION: GUIDELINES FOR PROMOTING RESILIENCE AMONGST DESIGNATED SOCIAL WORKERS
Get PDFThe importance of child protection as well as the designated social workers (DSWs) assigned to them, and the jeopardy they face, is well recognised. Although there is a call to enhance DSW resilience, little is known about their resilience, and there are no guidelines to equip South African DSW supervisors to promote supervisee resilience. This article proposes resilience-enhancing guidelines for South African DSWs within reflective supervision. These suggested guidelines are based on empirical research findings pertaining to (a) a systematic meta-synthesis of DSW risk and resilience; (b) indicators of South African DSW resilience; and (c) the lived experiences of 15 resilient South African DSW
EXPLORING ADOLESCENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING IN RELATED FOSTER CARE PLACEMENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Get PDFSince the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1989, children have a right to express their views and participate in matters concerning them. This aspect of participation is also encompassed in legislation in South Africa. The country has adopted a developmental social work approach after becoming a democratic nation in 1994 to guide social work service delivery on all levels. The purpose of this paper is to explore the participatory decision making experiences that adolescents have relating to their foster care placements. Against this background, the theoretical premise of the paper is based on the principles of participatory decision making. A qualitative research study was conducted in which thirty-five adolescents in related foster care placements across South Africa were interviewed. The responses of adolescents indicate that these young people in foster placements feel they are not sufficiently included in the decision making aspects related to welfare service delivery to them. This presents a challenge to developmental social work, which aims to be democratic, inclusive, and participatory. The paper concludes with discussing the implications of these findings for foster care in South Africa and recommends that adolescents should be taken seriously in matters concerning them
ADOLESCENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCES OF THEIR PREGNANCY AND PARENTING IN A SEMI-RURAL COMMUNITY IN THE WESTERN CAPE
Get PDFThis qualitative study aimed to illuminate the pregnancy and parenting experiences of adolescents from Sir Lowry’s Pass Village in the Helderberg Basin. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling and participated in unstructured interviews. Findings highlight factors contributing to the pregnancies and the challenges participants experienced during pregnancy and parenting such as poverty, stigma, loss, and lack of parenting skills. The complexity of being a child in the house of their parents while having their own child is illuminated. Positive experiences include their children as source of meaning and the aspirations they have for their children
REVIEWING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND HIV/AIDS AS INTERSECTING ISSUES
Get PDFGender-based violence against women continues to be endemic in different forms and in different settings. This form of violence cuts across status, class, religion, race and economic barriers. It occurs at home, in society, in the immediate community, at the work place and in various institutions. This epidemic in most cases also puts women at a greater risk of contracting HIV and Aids. This article reviews gender-based violence and HIV and Aids as intersecting issues. Understanding these phenomena can provide valuable information that could be useful in generating new knowledge within an existing body of knowledge
POSITIVE LIVING STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM STUDIES ON NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES AND LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESSES
Get PDFThis article addresses the two related issues of near-death experience and life-threatening illness with a view to helping survivors and helping professionals appreciate how to make sense of the experience whilst considering future living and future service provision. The article is based on two related research studies, citing literature from different disciplines of nursing, women’s health, spirituality and near death. This research was undertaken in the light of these experiences affecting so many aspects of life and living. The need to “dialogue with death” (Easwaran, 2008: Foreword) and life-threatening illness is the key message as opposed to shunning what is not readily understood and appreciate
A FIELD TRIP AS PART OF THE SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH MODULE
Get PDFThis study focused on the value of a field excursion for final-year Social Work students as part of the research module with the aim of integrating the theory and practice of research. Students were expected to do unstructured interviewing with older persons in a deep rural community, with the main focus of the study being on the impressions and experiences of the students. Seven main themes were delineated in this study according to narratives given by participants, namely Social Work and research, feelings of the researcher, knowledge of the self, resilience, infrastructure, challenges facing the community and future perspectives
REVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WORK
Get PDFSince the adoption of the international definition by the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) in 2001 there have been criticisms. The main criticisms centered on the definition representing a Western bias with its emphasis on individual rights and social change, to the exclusion of collective rights and the societal imperatives for continuity, stability and social cohesion. The current definition reads as
TYPES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EXPERIENCED BY WOMEN IN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS
Get PDFResearch and specialised practice indicate that women who are abused by their intimate partners are at an increasing risk the longer the abuse continues. Many men show escalating violent behaviour toward their female partners and many women are killed by their partners (Roche, 1999:24). Several researchers (Artz, 1999:2; Damon, 2003:94; Flinck, Paavilainen & Asredt-Kurki, 2005:383; Gelles, 1999:168; Vincent & Jouriles, 2002:7) view domestic violence as a leading cause of female injury in almost every country. Dwyer, Smokowski, Bricout and Wodarski (1995:185) claim that injuries as a result of domestic violence are more common than from muggings, car accidents and death resulting from cancer combine