Social Work / Maatskaplike Werk (E-Journal)
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TOWARDS THE RECONCEPTUALISATION OF SOCIAL WELFARE IN SOUTH AFRICA: AN ANALYSIS OF RECENT POLICY TRENDS
Get PDFINTRODUCTIONNearly 20 years have elapsed since the heady days of South Africa’s first democratic elections and the publication of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), the document that was intended to chart the country’s future development (ANC, 1994:1). It was soon followed by the White Paper for Social Welfare, which would help “realise the relevant objectives” of the RDP through the use of developmental social welfare (MWPD, 1997:5,68). Developmental social work would constitute the profession’s specific contribution to the developmental approach and, ultimately, to practice (Patel, 2005:206-210)
A STUDENT’S EXPERIENCE OF GAINING ACCESS FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Get PDFListening to lecturers and reading text books, students may think that planning a research project, gaining access to a site and finding willing participants is a straightforward process. On the ground, however, they are confronted with a much messier situation. To deal with the practical realities and the often unforeseen challenges of the particular project, they have to apply their classroom knowledge, develop a range of research skills and learn new attitudes. Gaining access is critical. The success of data gathering depends directly on how easy or difficult it is to access the site and how well the student can build and maintain relationships with the participants and hold them to agreements (De Vos, Strydom, Schulze & Patel, 2011). It is a process with many potential pitfalls (Johl & Renganathan, 2010). Failure to access the study site successfully can put paid to the whole project
MENTAL HEALTH LEGISLATION: DOES IT PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS?
Get PDFThe International Federation of Social Work places a concern with human rights and social justice at the core of its definition of social work. Social work values are based on “respect for the equality, dignity and worth of all people” (IFSW, 2000), and social work practice has a special concern for vulnerable and oppressed people. People with mental health problems are amongst the most vulnerable members of society and in South Africa they comprise a considerable proportion of our society. According to the South African Stress and Health Survey (Herman, Steyn, Seedat, Heeringa, Moonal & Williams, 2009), the lifetime prevalence for any mental health problems in South Africa is 30.3% and neuropsychiatric disorders rank third in their contribution to the burden of disease in South Africa (Bradshaw, Norman & Schneider, 2007)
INCOME-GENERATING PROJECTS: ALLEVIATING OR PERPETUATING POVERTY?
Get PDFFollowing the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa experienced a shift from an apartheid-based state to a democratic, egalitarian society, a shift which took place in the context of globalisation. Among the structural injustices inherited from the apartheid system, poverty is particularly prominent and compounds all others. The existence of a socially conscious government in South Africa has firmly placed the need to address poverty high on the nation’s agenda. Policy development and resources set aside by government are testimony to the fact that the government is committed to providing a better life for all by fighting poverty (Mubangizi, 2004)
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THOSE LONG HOURS NEXT TO THE ROAD? AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THREE INFORMAL DAY LABOUR HIRING SITES IN TSHWANE
Get PDFValenzuela (2002) calls people who congregate at informal pick-up points to seek for work for the day, by the hour or for a specific job, day labourers and the pick-up points hiring sites. These hiring sites are described as open-air geographical locations, such as street corners, pavements, car parking lots and factory gates (Blaauw, 2010), where day labourers seek employment (Valenzuela, 2003). Day labourers and the hiring sites appear to be a growing feature in South Africa and in many parts of the world. For example, in Japan in 1998 the number of day labourers who gathered at hiring sites was estimated to be as high as 1.26 million and in the USA the number of day labourers doubled from 1995, being estimated at 117 000 in 2004 (Gill, 2001:2; Grow, 2003:5; Louw, 2007:99)
EXCLUDED FROM EDUCATION AND WORK: PERCEPTIONS OF AT RISK YOUTH
Get PDF“At risk” is a concept that reflects probability or likelihood, not certainty. Youth living in resource-poor rural areas and not in education, employment or training (NEET) have fewer opportunities to make the transition to the role requirements of adulthood – specifically to productive work. Risk factors such as exclusion from more than one key societal system, such as education and the economy, increase the chance of youth not being able to make a successful transition into adulthood. We argue that at risk youth and their environments should be specifically targeted for interventions by social service providers. The promotion of their inclusion in all spheres of community life – from work to active citizenship, building on the strengths and assets of young people, their families and the community – raises the chances of positive outcomes (Moore, 2006)
ATTITUDES OF PLWHA AND OTHER SELECTED COMMUNITIES IN TSABONG TOWARDS OPERATIONALISING BIOMEDICAL AND TRADITIONAL THERAPIES IN TANDEM TO FACE THE AIDS EPIDEMIC
Get PDFThough the broad research study from which this article is derived was designed to assess the levels of stigma and discrimination in Tsabong District, the aim and objective of this article is to assess the attitudes of Tsabong people living with HIV/AIDS, along with those of a few Tsabong care service providers and a few members of civil society to the challenges and gaps inherent in the work of biomedical and traditional healers in HIV/AIDS service delivery. It also investigates the possibility of collaboration between the two systems
TRAUMA IS THE “STEALING OF MY SENSE OF BEING ME”: A PERSON-CENTRED PERSPECTIVE ON TRAUMA
Get PDFExposure to trauma has always been part of human existence (Marsella, Friedman & Spain, 1996). Extreme stress has been depicted by authors throughout the ages. In Homer’s Odyssey (4 000 years ago) and Shakespeare’s Henry VI (1591), for example, portray post-traumatic stress reactions to war (Wade, 2009). In 1993 the American Psychiatric Association (APA) defined trauma in the Third Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM III) as a catastrophic stressor that would evoke significant symptoms of stress in most people. Trauma was thought to be “a rare and overwhelming event, generally outside the range of usual human experiences” (APA, 2000:467). Events that fitted this definition of trauma included rape, assault, incarceration, military combat, accidents and domestic violence. After many debates about the concept of trauma, the definition was changed in the DSM IV to focus not on the event(cause) itself, but on the person’s response(effect) to the event or the symptoms the person showed after the event (APA, 2000; Wade, 2009). The APA acknowledged that people give different meanings to events and therefore not all seemingly traumatic events are experienced as traumatic by all people. The DSM IV constructed criteria or symptoms for the condition “post-traumatic stress disorder” (PTSD) to describe the condition in the following way: “The person experienced, witnessed or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self and others” (APA, 2000:467). This definition excludes other events that are not life threatening. The person’s symptoms, according the DSM IV, could include intense fear, helplessness or horror (APA, 2000:467). This would imply that events such as the destruction of one’s home, or a threat to life, would qualify as being traumatic, but divorce or illness would not qualify if physical threats were not present (Norris, 1992)
THE FOSTER CARE BACKLOG: A THREAT TO THE RETENTION OF SOCIAL WORKERS?
Get PDFSocial workers are seen as a key resource in addressing the needs of South African society (Department of Social Development, 2009:7). The Department of Social Development (DSD) employs the bulk of social workers in the country to implement policies and programmes targeting, for example, poverty, unemployment and HIV/AIDS. However, the government is faced with an overwhelming demand for services and the inability of social workers to cope with these demands. According to the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for Social Workers (Department of Social Development, 2009:7), this lack of capacity is the result of a critical problem with the recruitment of social workers and the fact that recruited social workers cannot be retained either in the government or within the profession in general. Social workers move between the government, NGOs, and the private and corporate sectors. Social workers also migrate to other fields or other countries because of better job opportunities. The Department of Social Development (2009:7) acknowledges the role of the poor working conditions of social workers: “The inability of the sector to retain social workers is further exacerbated by lack of support and the poor working conditions that social workers are subjected to, which often lead to burnout and inability to render effective services.
SOCIAL WORKERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF INTER-ORGANISATIONAL COLLABORATION IN CHILD AND FAMILY WELFARE
Get PDFThe nature of problems experienced by social workers’ clients has often challenged social workers to collaborate with other organisations (Patel, Hochfeld, & Selipsky, 2008). The concept of collaboration holds much promise, yet this delicate and complex process presents numerous risks of failure, threatening both the process of collaboration and the outcomes being sought. There are many barriers to inter-organisational collaboration. Consequently, there is a need for applicable knowledge and skills in the direct practice of partnership development in social development (Lombard & Van Rensburg, 2001) – inter-organisational collaboration being one form of partnership development. This report explores and describes the concept of inter-organisational collaboration as a social service delivery strategy as very few guidelines exist that could assist in the planning and managing of collaborative partnerships ensuring that it achieves its intended aims and goals of delivering quality social services (Lombard & Van Rensburg, 2001). A relevant theoretical perspective as presented here should inform the process of developing practice guidelines in collaborative approaches