Preview the Next Issue (October–December 2009; Vol. 90, No. 4)
The Winter 2009 issue of Families in Society will highlight antipoverty programs for vulnerable families, intervention models and service delivery, evolving practice frameworks, and familial strengths and efficacy.

• Read the abstracts for the upcoming articles. 

View Our New Book Reviews Online
Families in Society has expanded its reviews of publications written for social workers and other professionals in the fields of human services, psychology, behavioral health, and medical care. Dozens of newly published and archive reviews are available for free to registered users.

All book reviews can be accessed by becoming a registered user on the journal Web site:
Visit FamiliesInSociety.org/BookReviews.asp.
 

• Trauma and Human Existence: Autobiographical, Psychoanalytic, and Philosophical Reflections
  Trauma Transformed: An Empowerment Response
  Wounded by Reality: Understanding and Treating Adult Onset Trauma
  Collective book review by Joan E. Goldberg
  Book Review PDF
   
• Autism and Me (Film)
  Asperger Syndrome: A Different Mind (Film)
  Getting the Best for Your Child With Autism: An Expert’s Guide to Treatment
  Collective multimedia review by Stefi Rubin
  Book Review PDF
   
• Learning a New Land: Immigrant Students in American Society
  Book review by Needha M. Boutté-Queen
  Book Review PDF
   
• Social Work in a Sustainable World
  Book review by Michael Wolf-Branigin
  Book Review PDF
   
• Social Work and Service Learning: Partnerships for Social Justice
  Book review by Mary B. Carney
  Book Review PDF
   
• Reclaiming Social Work: Challenging Neo-Liberalism and Promoting Social Justice
  Book review by James Petrovich
  Book Review PDF
   

Call for Book Reviewers
Love new books about social work and related fields? Become a book reviewer and add titles to your personal library, publish reviews in Families in Society, and contribute to peer knowledge-building.

Interested in being a reviewer? Complete a book reviewer profile online* or download the form and e-mail to Reviews@FamiliesInSociety.org. 

*To submit the form online, you must have Flash installed on your Internet browser and the free Adobe Reader for PDF files.

Call for Papers: Aging in Poverty
Families in Society and the New Age of Aging are seeking brief papers related to aging in poverty for a special journal supplement in early 2010. The due date for papers has been extended to August 31, 2009. Click here for more information and submission instructions.
 

2009 Alliance National Conference: Caring, Courage, Collaborations (Oct. 14–16, Houston)
Join the best national peer network of nonprofit human service leaders at the Alliance for Children and Families' premiere event. This conference is your stimulus package to help you survive, thrive, and position yourself to come out of these challenging times strong. Visit www.alliance1.org/NC09 for registration information and more details.
 

Practical Tools and Features

• Hot Topic Webinar and Teleconference Series
  Learn More
   
• Practice & Policy Focus E-Supplement
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• Online Continuing Education Courses
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Current Issue  │ Table of Contents  │  Article Summaries  │ Editorial  │  Article Abstract Podcast

Topics in this issue include:

• Family Services
• Family Functioning in Economic Disparity
• Out-of-Home Care Comparisons
• Worker–Client Relationships
• Organizational Change
• Community Social Work

To view all articles, visit the current issue page. Online subscribers can view the complete issue and nonsubscribers can view all abstracts and summaries.

Online subscribers and registered users can access the full-text article links below. Log in, subscribe to premium content, or register for a free account.

Listen to the podcast of the article abstracts from this issue. (15 minutes/ 14 MB .mp3)
Click on the hyperlink to listen to the podcast with your computer's default media player,
or right-click to download and save the file.

New Articles With Free Access

The Virtuous Social Worker: The Role of “Thirdness” in Ethical Decision Making
by Margaret Arnd-Caddigan & Richard Pozzuto
This article presents observations as a starting point for dialogue about the responsibility social workers, as members of a practice, have to engage in discussions concerning the nature of “the good,” as well as the manners in which social workers believe it is appropriate to pursue their own ends. The discussion is meant to be open and frank regarding the implications of seeing the close relationship that evolves between the social worker and client as potentially dangerous. The role empathy plays as a necessary component of social work practice is examined, specifically focusing on the various meanings and changes the definition has experienced over time. Ethics in social work is also discussed in regards to its close ties to one’s understanding of relationship, questioning if social workers as a group agree that relationship is a fundamental human need, and that growth and healing require a mutual relationship in which the subjectivity of each participant is valued. The article also examines the unintended consequences of this position and the potential for, or pitfalls of, revising this perspective.
Abstract │ Article PDF (free to registered users)

Making the Possible Probable: A Strength-Based Assessment and Intervention Framework for Clinical Work With Parents, Children, and Adolescents
by Edward Rawana & Keith Brownlee
Widely accepted in social work, the strengths perspective is often used by practitioners who work with families and children with reliance on resilience theories for specific intervention guidelines. These theories tend to focus on strengths connected with previous problems encountered by clients, which can lead the practitioner to forego the benefits of harnessing strengths from all of a client’s domains of functioning. Therefore, this study posits that when practitioners draw on a diversity of strengths in an intervention, children and families are empowered—perceiving such strengths as assets in resolving difficulties. Furthermore, this article offers a framework for exploring and working with children using strengths from all domains of their daily living. This strength, assessment, and treatment model assesses a broad array of strengths that are not strictly related to problems that initiated a referral. It provides a mechanism for drawing on identified strengths to energize and galvanize the client toward the realization that strengths can be used for self-development and problem resolution. The model uses both a self-evaluation of strengths and evaluations by significant others for a comprehensive multi-source strength-based assessment and treatment framework.
Abstract │ Article PDF (free to registered users)

A Place to Call “Home”: Exploring the Experiences of Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program Recipients in Their Efforts to Find Housing
by Barbra Teater
Residential mobility, one of two main policy goals of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, is seen as a key factor in improving opportunities for low-income individuals and families. It is distinguished from project-based public housing because it provides recipients with access to the private housing market and promotes economically mixed neighborhoods. Although highly appealing, many program participants find the program to be quite challenging. In order to evaluate how residential mobility is experienced by recipients, this study examined a sample of Caucasian and African American HCV program recipients. Recipients reported the most extensive step in the process to be the home search, which involves locating a home that meets specific criteria within 90 days. Developed from this study, the conceptual model depicts the housing search process as a complicated, time-consuming, and strategic activity for recipients. One solution for social workers and housing service providers is to offer housing counseling. Recipients given counseling and assistance were more likely to move to neighborhoods with significantly lower poverty and crime rates. By acknowledging the many variables of the HCV program, social workers, housing case managers, and housing administrators can maximize the availability of affordable housing and minimize unnecessary mobility.
Abstract │ Article PDF (free to registered users)

Wives and Mothers At Risk: The Role of Marital and Maternal Status in Criminal Activity and Incarceration
by Marianne Berry, Toni Johnson, Margaret Severson, & Judy L. Postmus
Arrest and incarceration rates for women have grown dramatically in the last 12 years. This study examines mainly Caucasian, Hispanic, and African American women who may be at greater risk for arrest and incarceration due to reported histories of childhood and adult victimization. Heightened risk is examined as it relates to women who have histories of intimate partner violence, women who have children, and women who have achieved a lower level of education. Findings suggest many of these women have turned to illegal strategies to support themselves and their children. Furthermore, regarding women’s involvement in the criminal justice system, educated and financially secure adult women and mothers fare better than those younger, less educated, or poorer, despite similar substantial histories of victimization. This study offers specific programs and services that are likely to mitigate some of the consequences of violence for wives and mothers, including those of arrest and incarceration. Study findings can be utilized in developing methods of preventing increasing populations at women’s prisons.
Abstract │ Article PDF (free to registered users)

Fostering Interdependent Versus Independent Living in Youth Aging Out of Care Through Healthy Relationships
by Becky F. Antle, Lisa Johnson, Anita Barbee, & Dana Sullivan
Youth aging out of foster care are often released from care immediately into adulthood, greatly reducing or eliminating family, community, and government assistance. This shock can lead to illegal drug use, low income, homelessness, criminal court system involvement, and inability to self-support. Research indicates several aspects of a significant youth–adult relationship that enhance the youth’s ability to be successful once he/she transitions out of care: the relationship must be individualized, genuine, supportive, trusting, ongoing, and caring. This relates to the concept of interdependent living, which suggests youth should be prepared to develop and maintain supportive relationships and useful social networks instead of being expected to live independently, without assistance. If youth develop, experience, and practice supportive adult relationships while they are in transition, the study states it logically follows that they will be able to continue utilizing such skills after emancipation and throughout their lives. Shifting from independent living to interdependent living and developing a practice framework that promotes significant adult relationships may encourage child welfare workers to change thinking about youth aging out of care and reinforce the need for lasting relationship supports.
Abstract │ Article PDF (free to registered users)

Growing Through Organizational Change (At the Agency Series)
by Ann M. Callahan
With mental health services experiencing budget cuts and social workers experiencing increased workloads, some workers may become disheartened by difficulties in providing excellent client care. Focusing on the strengths of an organization can provide insight into how to improve such poor conditions. Offering a personal account, this article illustrates the power of using challenges in the workplace as an impetus for personal and professional growth. It suggests that rather than systemic change, a positive attitude in the workplace may be the spark needed to prevent undermined client care. The account describes seemingly simple changes implemented by the narrator that become the turning points for the organization. The narrator points out that part of social work training is recognizing that organizations impact client functioning; when organizations have a negative impact on clients (and co-workers), social workers have a professional responsibility to solicit and be responsive to feedback. Changes implemented by the author yielded laughter, camaraderie, and genuine caring among staff and clients, and greatly improved the overall working environment.
Abstract │ Article PDF (free to registered users)

Using the Miracle Question in Community Engagement and Planning (Research Note Series)
by Leslie D. Hollingsworth, Paula Allen-Meares, Trina R. Shanks, & Larry M. Gant
Although the solution-focused brief therapy’s “miracle question” has been used in helping individuals and families plan their goals, there has been little evidence of its application in community engagement and planning. In this article, a case study is presented which describes how the miracle question was used to engage families of a major metropolitan community in identifying their goals and planning strategies for change in their neighborhoods. The study is a 10-year urban planning initiative carried out in six city neighborhoods that are unique among U.S. metropolitan communities; they represent neighborhoods with large ethnic minority populations, high resident achievement, active community participation, strong political involvement, and immense civic pride. However, the neighborhoods are beset with social problems—high unemployment, low high school graduation rates, low household incomes, high poverty rates, and high rates of mortgage foreclosures. The miracle question approach was successful in engaging participants and eliciting positive and realistic pictures of desired changes. However, although serious crime decreased, the city is still perceived as a dangerous place. Study findings give support for additional practitioners to use the miracle question in community engagement and planning efforts.
Abstract │ Article PDF (free to registered users)

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educators in social work and human services.  Share your contributions
with the series Field Notes, At the Agency, Research Note, and Commentary. 
See FamiliesInSociety.org/Writing.asp for more information.