Describes the principal features of a multisystems approach to family preservation that involves placement prevention and permanency planning. The approach is being taught to family preservation workers in Illinois. Discussion concerns the approach's theoretical premises, tasks, significant assessment areas, and ways of understanding the approach.…

Explores the ways in which shifting meanings of childhood and constructions of sexually abused children and the structuring of team practice pose problems for multidisciplinary team members. Argues that understanding child sexual abuse and developing community-based practice approaches must be informed by broader perspectives. Suggests a model of…

Increasingly, social workers are being called on to conduct spiritual assessments, yet few assessment methods have appeared in academic literature. This article reviews five complementary assessment approaches that have recently been developed to highlight different facets of clients' spiritual lives. Specifically, one verbal model, spiritual…

This article examines whether the idea of "temperament" is a useful construct for families to understand babies' and toddlers' behavior. The author suggests that "regulatory skill" may be a more neutral term than temperament for parents and practitioners to use in discussing individual differences among babies and toddlers and suggests that…

The results of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial revolutionized the care of people with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). The era of "tight control" of blood sugars to decrease microvascular complications dawned. The subsequent technological development of insulin pumps has made it possible for individuals with Type 1 DM, as well as those…

The range of management strategies for school counselors dealing with conduct disorder in elementary school children can be expanded through an integration of several of the principles of the ASCA National Model[R]. This paper discusses ways the counselor can use the model to assist struggling children, teachers, administrators, and families as…

University outreach is an educational and research-based information source enabling farmers to make decisions that improve the quality of their lives. This paper explores how collaborative efforts between the university and farmers have directly impacted in albeit Striga ("noxious witch weed") ravaged maize farms in rainforest farming…

This article uses event history analysis to examine certain determinants of dropout from a case management program that serves homeless adults with substance abuse problems. The examined determinants are perceptions of conventional treatment services: (a) client perceptions concerning the value of the conventional services that case managers help…

A three-phase model for decision making at intake for both protective services and voluntary child welfare services is described in this manual. These phases include (1) reception, in which decisions are made as to whether a case seems appropriate for agency services; (2) investigation and problem assessment, which involves assessments regarding…

The use of the contract in social work practice is gaining momentum. In contrast to much of the literature, which has tended to be uncritical, this article takes into account gaps in knowledge, limitations, and potential dangers. (Author)

One of seven reports in the Innovations in Protective Services series, this document reports on the development of a model of case management that clarified what is expected from Child Protective Service (CPS) specialists. By conducting a literature review, studying the role of the CPS case manager, and developing a case management model, the Case…

Models of collaboration among disciplines and among agencies have been developed in the early intervention field in response to the need for service coordination for young special needs children and their families. Case management is seen as a mechanism for effectively coordinating these services, and encompasses the tasks of assessing client…

Timing and circumstances are critical factors in deciding when and whether to tell an abused foster child why he was taken from his own parents. This case study presents realistically the problems facing the professionals involved. (SDH)

This report describes a demonstration project in which service contracts were used as part of the caseworker approach to increase the effectiveness of foster care for children. The service contracts involved formal or informal agreements defining expectations for performance on the part of the children in foster care, the foster parents, and the…

Proposes that key to effective case transfer is the departing therapist's ability to assume role of "translator" in a four-phase process of information-sharing which includes: preparing clients for termination and transfer, orienting clients and incoming therapist with one another, bringing clients and incoming therapist together, and facilitating…