There is a strong tendency for evidence-based approaches to social practices to view these practices as imperfect devices for delivering social services. Practices are regarded as in need of repair by evaluation (and research) that can deliver the necessary science-based solution to the problems of practice. This article presents a different view…

Background: Although religion is an important part of many people's lives, little is known about the role of religion in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Method: Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 29 people with intellectual disabilities of a range of faiths (various Christian denominations, Islam and…

Extended schools have featured in a range of government policies, promoting integration between education, social services departments and health services, supported by children's trusts, to better meet the needs of children. Legislative changes, and developments such as the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and the role of the lead professional,…

Many types of technology support caregiving: (1) Assistive devices include medicine dispensers, feeding and bathing machines, clothing with polypropylene fibers that stimulate muscles, intelligent ambulatory walkers for those with both vision and mobility impairment, medication reminders, and safety alarms; (2) Telecare devices ranging from…

This article reports findings of an exploratory study of 71 parents with substance abuse conditions involved in a child dependency court. Over half (59%) of the parents had a co-occurring mental health condition. Parents with co-occurring conditions (PWCC) differed in several important ways from those with only substance abuse conditions. PWCC…

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 includes provisions to deny reunification services under specified conditions and gives states latitude to develop any number of additional "aggravated circumstances" in which parents need not be offered services. California legislators have developed a relatively large number of…

Compared with other segments of the population, adolescents and, in particular, African Americans are disproportionately exposed to family and community violence. Research has consistently documented that exposure to such violence is often associated with psychological difficulties, poor educational and behavioral outcomes, and juvenile justice…

Outward Bound Canada's (OBC) Giwaykiwin Program was founded in 1985 in response to a recognized need for programming specific to students from Indigenous backgrounds. The Giwaykiwin program aims to integrate Outward Bound (OB) and Indigenous philosophies and traditions. Giwaykiwin means "coming home" in Ojibwa and signifies the program's…

Food insecurity in older adults is influenced by financial constraints, functional disability, and isolation. Twenty-eight social- and community-service providers participated in four focus groups to report (a) perceptions and experiences with food insecurity in their older clients, (b) beliefs about their potential role(s) in promoting food…

In spite of the need for pre- and post-adoption support, studies indicate low levels of services utilization among adoptive families, particularly those involving children with special needs. This study examines the relationship between utilization of adoptions services and adoptive child and family characteristics, pre-adoptive risk history, and…

Although there is a considerable body of knowledge about domestic violence, a limited proportion focuses on domestic violence in rural settings. Using a nonprobability purposive sampling technique, 93 providers of domestic violence services from rural and urban localities in North Carolina and Virginia were located and asked to complete a…

Organizational context, including line worker characteristics and service settings, may help explain the equivocal findings of intervention studies in the field of child welfare. Yet organizational context has been largely ignored in studies of child welfare interventions. The purpose of this article is to expound upon the likely role of the…

Impoverished populations and schools in rural areas face special challenges that are different from other settings. Among these are the distances from social services, the sparse availability of assistance programs, and the shortage of resources to support educational programs and student learning. Rural schools, do, however, have assets that can…

The nation's child protection system (CPS) has historically focused on preventing maltreatment in high-risk families, whose children have already been maltreated. But, as Jane Waldfogel explains, it has also begun developing prevention procedures for children at lower risk--those who are referred to CPS but whose cases do not meet the criteria for…

Noting that over 90 percent of private child welfare agencies in the United States are church related, this book expands the rather limited professional literature on the distinctive characteristics of a church context for providing social services to children and families. The two parts of the book deal with the foundations of the church's care…