MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS 

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.

The Families in Society acceptance rate is approximately 20% of all manuscripts reviewed. Most of these manuscripts are accepted conditionally, pending revisions suggested by the reviewers, editor, or both.  

Author Guidelines

• The page count for the manuscript in its entirety (including abstract; references; and accompanying figures, tables, or appendices) can not exceed 22 pages. Please submit the manuscript files using 1-inch margins, double-spaced paragraphs, and 12-point Times New Roman font.
  
  E-mail a cover letter (indicating the corresponding author with contact information, including an e-mail address) and an electronic version of the manuscript. Please 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 body, references, and tables/figures.
  
  The publisher requires the Publisher Agreement be completed, signed, and returned via email or fax with your manuscript submission. This ensures that you understand all copyright conditions and confirms that your work has not been previously published.
  
  The electronic version of your file(s) should be sent to: Manuscripts@FamiliesInSociety.org. 
  
  Return copyright forms:
  Fax: (414) 359-6721
   
  Families in Society
  11700 West Lake Park Drive
  Milwaukee, WI 53224-3099
   
• The journal follows the style of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition. Please consult Section 8.07 (pp. 241–243) of the Publication Manual and confirm all checklist items prior to submission.
  
  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.
   
• 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—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.
   
• 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, tables, figures, 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.

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, assigned reviewers 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 reviewer comments portion is given to the author with the disposition letter. An anonymous copy of each reviewer's comments is also shared between those consulting editors for their edification.

The initial disposition is usually sent to the corresponding author within 2–3 months of submission. Certain manuscripts with complex data or atypical topics may require a review period longer than 3 months. Additionally, some time periods during the year, such as before or after holidays and academic breaks, may take longer than usual to secure qualified 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 APA-style standards
• 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

Resubmission Guidelines
Revised manuscripts should adhere to all standard guidelines, including page limit, and be resubmitted in both electronic and hard copy formats. 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 3 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 12–18 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
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 trends that are pertinent to personal, interpersonal, familial, community, and societal 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
Families in Society Online typically publishes 3–5 book reviews each quarter, 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 Content
The Web-Only Collection provides 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.

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 serves as a forum for social workers where they can briefly share and comment on their experiences as practitioners, clinicians, and/or administrators. The pieces may range between 4–14 double-spaced pages. Please query the editor to discuss intended submissions.

Issues with a Special Focus

Families in Society biennially produces at least one issue with a special focus. Typically, these consist of 4–6 articles devoted to a singular focus. For example, recent special issues or focus sections featured the strengths perspective, program outcomes, and social welfare. Suggestions for special issues and focus sections are welcome. Please e-mail the editor at Editor@FamiliesInSociety.org with suggestions.