About Families in Society

Families in Society is a double-blind, peer-reviewed journal on social work and related fields. As such it serves as a forum for addressing the interests, activities, and concerns of human services professionals in direct practice, education, supervision, administration, research, and policy and planning.

Readership is estimated at approximately 20,000-plus based on a pass-a-long average of at least seven readers per issue. More than 75% of the circulation comes from institutions, including agencies and institutional libraries. Approximately 25% of the paid subscriptions are from international sources with readers in all corners of the globe. The journal has wide-ranging content and appeals to practitioners, educators, and allied professionals.

Author Guidelines

• Articles should be no more than 20 pages in length, double-spaced, excluding references and accompanying figures and tables. Each copy should include a cover sheet with the name, position title and the affiliation of each author. The next page should include the manuscript title and abstract (limited to 120 words), followed by the main body of the article (including tables and figures); this page and those following should not include indication of authorship. The cover letter should identify the corresponding author with contact information, including an e-mail address.
   
• The publisher requires the Publisher Agreement be completed and returned with your manuscript submission. This ensures that you understand all copyright conditions and confirms that your work has not been previously published.
   
• Prior to submission, it is essential for the manuscript to be reviewed for grammar, sentence clarity, and wording. Manuscripts must follow the guidelines set by the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (www.apastyle.org). Literature citations in text should follow the author–date style. Web sources in the reference list require the exact date the information was retrieved or accessed.
   
• Contributors are strongly advised to have a statistician or methodological expert review the accuracy of discrete data found in the article text, tables, and figures before submission.
   
• Manuscripts should have clear contextual information, i.e., content should clearly identify the context(s) in which the topic arose; in which any or all information and findings can be applied; and who, in what types of circumstances, should take notice of the article. For example, where might the content of the article be applied, under what circumstances, and for what purpose(s)? With such information near the beginning, readers are more likely to ascertain the pertinence of the article to their own circumstances. Such information can be part of the abstract.
  
  Similarly, articles should conclude with a detailed and thoughtful  ‘Implications for Practice’ section – an exposition of how the material can appropriately be used in/with rethinking practice settings, formulating policy, informing further research, strengthening the administration of social services agencies, and/or benefiting clients and communities.
   
• When submitting your initial manuscript, please print out and mail two (2) printed copies to the address below, along with an electronic version of the file as a MS Word document (.doc).
   
  The electronic version of your file should be sent to us via e-mail at Manuscripts@FamiliesInSociety.org. Zip files are not accepted.
   
• If the manuscript is accepted, authors may be invited to present a 60-minute teleconference, develop a discussion guide with talking points, or prepare sample continuing education course questions.  
   
• Permission authorization and fees for the use of any existing copyrighted material (e.g., fiction/nonfiction text, photos/graphics, poetry, etc.) that are incorporated into a manuscript beyond use permitted by §107 and §108 of the U.S. Copyright Law are the sole responsibility of the author(s). When applicable, signed authorization by the publisher of such works is required at the time of submission.

Manuscripts not following the above instructions can not be reviewed until all guidelines have been met. Queries regarding the suitability of potential articles are welcome. Please contact the editor at the address below:

Manuscript Peer Review Process

Manuscripts submitted to Families in Society are considered via a double-blind, peer-review process. When received, the editor scans the manuscript for topic relevance and quality control and identifies at least three consulting editors to review those papers selected for consideration. After agreeing to review a manuscript within the given timeframe, these reviewers (at least two individuals) are given 3-4 weeks to provide detailed comments, and recommend acceptance or rejection. The editor then considers these comments and recommendations, along with his/her own analysis of the paper. A disposition is then conveyed to the corresponding author.

An anonymous copy of the comments portion of each review is given to the author with the disposition letter from the editor. An anonymous copy of each reviewer's comments for the same manuscript is also shared between those consulting editors for their edification.

The written disposition is usually sent to the corresponding author within 2 to 4 months of submission, with an average of 3 months. Certain manuscripts with complex data or atypical topics may require a review period longer than 4 months. Additionally, some time periods during the year, such as before or after holidays and academic breaks, may take longer than usual to secure available reviewers.

Manuscript Review Criteria
Consulting editors/reviewers critique manuscripts using a review guide provided by Families in Society. Key review criteria include:

• Relevancy to the social work environment
• Appropriateness for inclusion in Families in Society (see Typical Issue Content)
• Quality of writing and adherence to the style standards established by the APA
• Thoroughness and relevancy of the literature search
• Soundness of research methods or ideas
• Conclusions that are in keeping with the scope of the manuscript
• Findings that are applicable to practice, policy, or other use
• Articles that are applicable to practice should include an ample section of implications for practice

Initial Manuscript Disposition
The Families in Society acceptance rate is approximately 23% of all manuscripts reviewed. Most of these manuscripts are accepted conditionally, pending revisions suggested by the reviewers, editor, or both. Authors with questions about provided comments may send these questions to: Editor@FamiliesInSociety.org.  

Resubmission Guidelines
Revised manuscripts should be resubmitted in both electronic and hard copy formats.  (See the section Manuscript Guidelines for more information.)  Authors should also include a separate document outlining the changes made from their original manuscript. Authors should expect to receive a final disposition on their revised manuscript within 1 month after the resubmission date. 

There is a deadline of 4 months for revised manuscripts to be resubmitted after the initial disposition.  This allows manuscripts to be published on a timely basis.  If manuscripts are submitted after this deadline, the manuscript will be received as a new manuscript and put through the peer-review process again.         

Determining Manuscript Publication Date
After manuscripts are accepted for publication, they typically appear 12 to 18 months after the original submission date. Manuscripts are not strictly scheduled for publication in the order in which they are accepted. Instead, the editor selects manuscripts based on focus or topic, and a desired editorial balance within an issue.

Typical Issue Content

Articles
Each issue typically contains up to 15 articles. Because of social work’s unique concern with the person-in-the-situation, across the life span and across generations, Families in Society articles reflect the broad array of issues, conditions, and problems that are pertinent to personal, interpersonal, familial, community, and societal problems of living. In this regard, articles might be informative, instructive, reflective, and controversial. More specifically, the journal welcomes articles concerned with:

• Issues in direct practice. Examples include practice with special populations, innovations, preparation for practice, unmet needs, dealing with involuntary clients, obstacles to helping, private practice and agency practice, the place of values, culture, and diversity.
• Reflections on and analysis of practice. Families in Society is particularly interested in critical and controversial essays that examine the state of the art, the strengths and failings of professional practice, the adequacy of professional education, the limitations of social policy, future needs, and personal reflections on what it means to be a social worker, the philosophy of practice.
• The role of theory and other foundations for practice. Among other issues is the question about how the integration of theory and practice might be achieved. What theories are particularly relevant to social work education and practice?
• Research reports. Families in Society is receptive to many forms of inquiry including quantitative and qualitative. Beyond the relevance of the study itself, a major criterion for publication is the study’s applicability to practice concerns and its accessibility to practitioner-readers.
• Agency/profession. Articles dealing with the context of practice including training and supervision, the agency and the community, legal and ethical issues, administration, funding, and interagency alliances are welcome.

Other formats. Families in Society also invites literary formats other than the standard manuscript that readily capture the humanistic qualities of practice. Such formats might include brief commentaries, reports of experiences, reflections on practice, personal essays, narratives, and critical discussions.

Book Reviews
Each issue of Families in Society typically features from three to five book reviews, written by readers with an expertise or special interest in the subject or topic of the book being reviewed. Please send us an e-mail if you are interested in joining our team of book reviewers.

Letters to the Editor
Readers are encouraged to voice their opinions in support of, or to counter arguments presented by their peers within the pages of the journal. Letters to the editor must be signed with contact information, including an e-mail address. All letters will be verified prior to publication.

Families in Society reserves the right to edit letters for length, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Only letters that are relevant, timely, and concise will be considered for publication. Letters will be published on a space-available basis.

Op-Ed Pieces
Periodically, Families in Society will ask a reader to prepare a response to previous content that is more extensive than the letter format allows. As with letters to the editor, Families in Society reserves the right to edit for length, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Please contact the editor before preparing an Op-Ed piece.

Web-Only/Preview Content
The "Web Preview" section of the Families in Society Web site will allow online subscribers to view articles before they appear in print. This preview section will keep our articles at the forefront of emerging issues and trends in social work and human services.

The "Web-Only Collection" section will provide a forum for additional content not published in the print journal. While still maintaining the integrity and editorial standards of Families in Society content that our readers have come to expect, the journal will be able to provide more research, analysis, and other significant information than our print format allows. This format also allows for original content that might otherwise be considered unconventional for print format. While we prefer to publish papers on both the web and in print, web only publication may speed up the publication process and that all papers will be considered as equally meritorious because all published papers (regardless of format) will have gone through the same review process. If you'd like your submission considered for Web-only publication, please indicate so on the Publisher Agreement.

Recurring Article Series

Occasional Essays
When the conventional manuscript format is not appropriate, or when an author wishes to produce a piece that is subjective in tone and content, Families in Society publishes "Occasional Essays." These pieces may or may not be processed using the peer-review system. Please contact the editor if you are interested in having an essay considered for publication.

Writers at Work
These articles reflect the writing process as it relates to the preparation of material for journals such as Families in Society, and for other professional venues, including dissertation development. Please query the editor before submitting a "Writers at Work" article.

Field Notes
Items appearing as Field Notes recount the experiences of our readers "in-the-field," and typically are written in the first person narrative. Field Notes sections serve as a forum for social workers where they can briefly share and comment on their experiences as practitioners, clinicians, and/or administrators. This may include new perspectives or critical commentaries on practice, innovative programs and policies, work with diverse client groups, and other related approaches to social work practice. We invite all readers to share their experiences. The pieces may range between 4 to 14 double-spaced pages. Please query the editor to discuss intended submissions.

To review recent articles in these series, please visit the article search page.

Issues with a Special Focus

Every year Families in Society produces at least one issue in the quarterly schedule with a special focus. Typically, these consist 7-8 articles devoted to a singular focus. For example, recent special issues or focus sections featured the strengths perspective, program outcomes, and social welfare. Most special issues have a "guest editor," who works with the Families in Society editor to prepare the content. Suggestions for special issues and focus sections are welcome. Please email the editor at Editor@FamiliesInSociety.org with any suggestions.