Summary

During adolescence, comprehensive changes take place, which are accompanied by demands that the social environment places on the adolescent. In the course of this process, the various socialization instances confront adolescents with diverse ideas about which values, interests, and competencies they should have developed at which point in time in order to successfully manage the transition to adulthood. How do young people, whose social situation is precarious look to the future? What wishes and hopes do they have? The data basis is formed by 16 guideline-based interviews with young people aged 15 to 21 years. The data collection took place in the youth detention center Berlin-Brandenburg, the youth probation center Berlin and in the context of the "street". The data analysis was multimethod and based on the documentary method and grounded theory. The boys and girls represent traditional values that are reflected in their desires and hopes. In view of their fragile biographies and family histories, most of the young people interviewed wish for an typical, "ideal" family in which they and their partners each take on the classic, gender-specific roles and raise several children. Their parents serve the young people as a negative foil to their own life desires and dreams. They not only want to do better than their parents in raising their children, but they also want to have a "good job" one day and to be financially independent of state benefits. Many of the young people, especially the boys, would like to be "rich" and flaunt the associated status symbols. Since almost all the young people left school without a diploma, many of the plans can be described as unrealistic and unreflective. In order to ensure the well-being of young people in precarious living situations, social work must integrate the young people's vision of the future.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Youth, poverty, prospects

Summary

Poverty, inequalities, and intergenerational trauma are, among several other factors, the causes of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). These can lead individuals, families, and communities to experience multiple intersecting layers of stigmatization, discrimination, and exclusion. Through collaborative, participatory research (e.g., photovoice, community cafes), we generated conversations with lived experience people, family members, cross-sectoral service providers, and communities. The knowledge and experiences shared through this method helped us understand how community-inclusive-mobilization approaches can overcome stigma and promote dignity. We approached this topic through a reflective narrative format that creatively weaves together critical, feminist, intersectionality, anti-colonial, anti-oppressive and social justice frameworks to co-create knowledge and explore possibilities for future actions. As a result, we identified and named essentialized narratives and stigmatizing labels often imposed on lived experienced and communities affected by FASD. These findings helped to build the connection between social inequalities and FASD while proposing a community mobilization and inclusion approach to promote dignity, the 'Reverse Co-construction Framework to promote dignity' that challenges the 'dominant Biomedical Perspective' of FASD. The methods became participants' tools to amplify their voices to shift public perspectives away from stigmatizing to attitudes and actions that support the dignity of people with FASD. These tools provide relationship-building opportunities for caregivers and service providers working with people with FASD in different capacities to include, connect and share knowledge and resources. They invite reflection, reimagining and redefining what FASD means to lived experienced people, their significant others, service providers and the community. This presentation will share this research project's process, stories and findings. It will also provide our perspective on community mobilization and inclusion to promote dignity. We conclude by identifying ongoing tensions and suggest shifts of paradigms to expand a dignity community of practice (CoP) beyond the traditional practices labelled just for FASD.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Poverty, Inequality, Intergenerational Trauma, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Stigma, Dignity, Community Mobilizing Inclusion, Photovoice, Community Cafe, Participatory Research

Summary

The rise in urban migration across Sub-Saharan African countries has given rise to a unique phenomenon known as the Blesser/Slay Queen Phenomenon, driven by factors such as the high cost of living, materialistic expectations, and limited employment opportunities. Blesser relationships have emerged as transactional relationships where young women, referred to as "Slay Queens," engage in sexual relationships with older men known as Blessers in exchange for financial benefits and lavish gifts. Poverty and the pursuit of survival needs have been identified as root causes, leading adolescents to engage in transactional sex and participate in Blesser relationships. However, girls and young women in Blesser/Slay Queen relationships remain a vulnerable and understudied group. Existing research has focused primarily on health outcomes, such as HIV/AIDS, or motivations for becoming a Slay Queen, without a comprehensive understanding of their subjective experiences, including trauma, psychological adversity, and the impact on social and familial relationships. By employing qualitative methods, this study aims to address the gaps in research by exploring the prevalence of Blesser relationships in Malawi, examining the mental health impacts on Slay Queens, and understanding their perceptions of these relationships and their effects on their mental well-being and close relationships. This study holds particular relevance for the social work profession in Africa, as it advocates for social justice and gender equity. The research findings will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the women's perceptions, support networks, and facilitation of interventions that can effectively support the mental well-being and autonomy of young Malawian Slay Queens. Additionally, by increasing transparency on the severity of marginalization and mental health problems among young women/girls in Malawi, this study aims to raise awareness and advocate for policies that will promote gender equality and equal economic opportunities to improve the livelihoods and mental well-being of vulnerable women.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Blesser, Slay Queen, Mental health, transactional relationships, Malawi

Summary

Research in Canada has documented the ways in which race, income, gender and lack of cultural knowledge by educators and service providers intersect to influence the experiences of Black children in the child welfare system. The role of child welfare needs to be understood through the structural and institutional forces that target and increase the likelihood that Black families will come to the attention to child welfare. This must be done jurisdictionally to allow for the appropriate development of responses. This research uses a qualitative case study design to examine the ways that culturally adapted services are provided to Black children and their families. We compare three different service models in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. The Alberta model consisted of a third-party collaboration between the child welfare agency, a multicultural health broker and a Black-led community organization. The Ontario model involved the creation of a Black worker team within the child welfare agency. The Quebec model included a formalized partnership between the child welfare agency and a Black community organization. \ Our findings raise important considerations for how best to provide culturally relevant responses to Black children and their families. Based on these findings, we identify gaps for addressing racial disparity and consider shortcomings to Black community agency under current child welfare policy and practice.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Child welfare, racial disparity, community response, community-based, policy

Summary

The world is experiencing a rapid growth of its ageing population. As persons age, specific needs must be prioritized, thus, ensuring they are treated fairly, and their human rights and dignity are honoured. This paper will pay attention to women ageing with HIV in a Trinidadian society with the aim of understanding their lived experiences, and ways they face double or sometimes triple jeopardy.\ \ Theoretically, this work was guided by a critical approach that leads to social justice which can be implemented in service provision for women ageing with HIV. A critical approach confirms social structures that perpetuate oppressive practices can be challenged and power regained.\ \ Feminist participatory action research methodology was used in this work, with methods of face to face semi structured interviews, one telephone interview, and talking circles.The findings revealed that women ageing with HIV possess the ability to negotiate their challenges, build strength and resilience through consciousness raising and support.\ \ Women ageing with HIV comprise a population that must be prioritized for inclusion at all levels of society. Social workers play an integral role in challenging structural inefficiencies that causes and perpetuate social injustices in their lives.\  This work highlights a social justice approach can be used in intervention with the population as well as creates new knowledge for further research efforts.\  Recommendations for future practice lies in an intergenerational approach, creation of safe spaces, restructuring social service delivery and inclusion of a gendered perspective from policy stand point.\ \ \ \ 

Keywords (separate with commas)

Inequality, \ elderly women, ageing with HIV, poverty

Summary

Social assistance policies are important policy tools to address the problem of poverty. In Taiwan, these policies have evolved in the last few decades to adapt to the changes of the socio-economic environment and the needs of financially disadvantaged people. The aims of this study are to demonstrate the level of poverty problem and show the extent to which social assistance policies can respond to the needs of financially disadvantaged people in Taiwan. It firstly adopts secondary data analysis and uses government survey datasets to analyze the problem of poverty in Taiwan and demonstrates how it compares to OECD countries. Second, this study uses the method of documentary analysis to review the development and main characteristics of social assistance policies in Taiwan such as family ethics, fictitious income, employment promotion measures and so on to discuss important issues and debates regarding the design and implementation of these policies. Moreover, this study examines the recent development of Child Development Account and its implementation in Taiwan. Finally, this study shows whether and the extent to which these social assistance policies can meet the needs of financially disadvantaged people and how these policies can be improved by interviewing government officials (including social assistance and employment service staffs), social group workers that provide services to support financially disadvantaged people and those who are financially disadvantaged. The findings of this study can provide the experiences of implementing social assistance policies in Taiwan and help to understand the advantages and disadvantages of some social assistance measures and their influences on financially disadvantaged people.

Keywords (separate with commas)

poverty, social assistance, Child Development Account, fictitious income, Taiwan

Summary

Homelessness is an extensive societal problem in Sweden which poses major challenges for the social services in developing sustainable and effective methods that can meet the service user’s needs. The RECO project is based on practice research and has mutual learning at its core. The aim is to investigate and analyse how evidence-based methods like Housing First can be sustained within the social services and how implemented methods can become resilient towards external pressures. The research questions are:What factors facilitate or hinders high programme fidelity and what are the Housing First tenants’ experiences of the programme?What conditions are beneficial when trying to work knowledge-based in the social services efforts to combat homelessness?What methods enables participation and involvement with service users?What impacts and consequences do the participation have on the involved social workers and service users? Our ambition is to present the ongoing research project and also briefly present the new homelessness strategy in Sweden. 

Keywords (separate with commas)

Resilient Communities,  Housing First, Service user participation, Co-production, Welfare transformation    

Summary

In Finland child´s family is the primary way to take care of a child. Finland is part of Nordic Welfare System that influences also child protection services. Supporting a child and the family as early as possible is considered important. Removing a child from birth parents should be the last intervention option. Taking a child into care means that the child is placed in a foster home, professional family home, or institutional care. Family foster care placement is a primary choice of foster care and in Finland child should be placed in a kin family if it is a child best interest. Social worker has a great responsibility as a determiner of the child´s best interest.My PhD research shows that\ social workers are looking for factors that favor placing the child in a kinship family. For that purpose they\ collect different kind of information for their assessment and decision-making processes. One of the interest is to understand different kind of complex family relationships and systems what can support child welfare or also challenge it. There\ are different alliances and sticking forces between different people in the family\ and kin.\ People are attached to each other. That is why kinship foster care is a unique context as a child protection service but also as a social workers work. Kinship foster care needs special expertise to understand multidimension relationships and family systems. Kinship care\ also makes the diversity of families visible and challenges social worker define child´s best interest when there isn´t only one right answer and a kin can take care of a child sufficiently.\ 

Keywords (separate with commas)

Child protection, kinship foster care, assesment and decision-making process

Summary

The concept and act of “aging” can often carry a negative connotation in many Western societies; however,research suggests collective perceptions may be shifting as people are living longer lives. This cross-sectional studyusing survey methodology sought to understand how older people (N = 477) perceive their age by analyzing theresponses of closed- and open-ended questions through summative content analysis. The mean age of participants was63 years, and the average age that they felt was approximately 10 years younger. The seven themes for why individualsdid not feel old ranged from maintaining an active and engaged lifestyle to “I don’t act or look old,” and the seventhemes for why individuals felt old ranged from stopped or changed activities to nearing death. The findings illuminatehow subjective age is shaped by perceptions of what it means to be old, and the ways in which these micronarrativesare reflective of larger macronarratives surrounding age and aging.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Subjective Aging, Ageism, Cross-Sectional, Summative Content Analysis

Summary

This presentation will teach the impact of ableism (discrimination toward people with disabilities), audism (discrimination toward people who are deaf), and linguicism (discrimination of people who speak differently), toward people with differing abilities. The presentation will explain these forms of discrimination and their impact on individual service provision and self-esteem.  Presentation participants will learn to be anti-ableist, anti-audist, and anti-linguist. There will be a focus on issues of accessibility, equity, and respect for all clients/patients who have differing physical, mental, cognitive, and health-related abilities/disabilities. 

Keywords (separate with commas)

Disability, deaf, ableist, discrimination, accessibility, equity

Summary

This presentation explores the use of the therapeutic relationship in complex discharge planning inan Australian hospital setting. Australian hospitals mostly employ social workers to provide boththerapeutic support to patients and families while also providing case management and dischargeplanning. The skills needed for these aspects of the role are often spoken about separately, howeverthe author argues that case management can be a therapeutic practice in itself and meaningfuldischarge planning occurs within a therapeutic relationship. Many marginalized clients do not havethe stability in their lives to engage in traditional one on one counselling, social workers howeverhave the opportunity to provide therapeutic support while also working alongside clients to addresstheir priorities, whether that be housing, income or support services in the community. Whenworking with this model social workers see case management tasks such as filling out forms, makingphone calls or attending appointments as windows of opportunity to provide to invite a therapeuticconversation and demonstrate care and compassion. This presentation will highlight three casestudies to demonstrate how the therapeutic relationship can aid in complex discharge planning formarginalized clients leaving hospital. Many of the clients had experienced significant social isolation,long periods of homelessness and complex trauma.

Keywords (separate with commas)

therapeutic relationship, complex discharge planning, hospital social work\\ 

Summary

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs are consistent with the mission of social work; indeed the very first line in the preamble of the National Association of Social Workers code of ethics reads as follows: “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.” However, social workers and students have only been recently been actively engaged in delivering VITA services, despite the fact that such services help low-income workers access the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is one of the largest anti-poverty policies in the United States funneling more than $60 billion back to low-income taxpayers each year. Launched in 2020, and now entering its third year of operation, the Institute for Nonprofit Organizations VITA Program has engaged more than 25 MSW and MA in Nonprofit Management and Leadership program students in the delivery of VITA services while also working toward the development of comprehensive assessments of clients’ financial needs beyond tax preparation such as job training, eviction prevention, student financial aid, and other related issues.\  While these benefits accrue to VITA clients, we also have documented the value of the program for the students themselves in that they have gained knowledge regarding the impact of VITA on the financial well-being of individuals and families as well as how the influx of federal tax refund dollars affects the local economy.\  Initially, students have questioned how tax preparation is relevant to their social work education however by the end of each tax season, they report a heightened awareness of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of the VITA program to the broader issue of poverty.\ \ \ 

Keywords (separate with commas)

poverty, tax refunds, financial well-being, interdisciplinary practice, racial minority communities

Summary

Youth unemployment remains an intractable problem in the Caribbean with an average rate of 21.4 percent compared to 9.6 percent in the general population (ILO,2021). While commentators highlight the inappropriateness of education and training, or poor work ethic as some of the factors which prevent youths from finding jobs, this paper points to structural factors within the labour market as the main causes of youth unemployment. Some of the main factors include the size of the youth cohort, the weak aggregate demand for labour, the industrial structure of the country and high retention rates of older workers who have passed the age of retirement. Using data from the Jamaica Labour Force Surveys 2018 and 2021, we demonstrated that unemployed youths are no different in their qualifications when compared to employed youths. However, females although better qualified than their male counterparts experience higher rates of unemployment. Similarly, youths from disadvantaged social backgrounds also face greater challenges in finding work. The paper challenges policy makers and employers to act decisively so that the growing number of young people in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean can realizing their true economic potential.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Youth, Unemployment, Labour market participation , Jamaica 

Write here the title of the Symposium and the name of who coordinates it:

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Summary

In South Africa, there appears to be a paradigm shift where the majority of the country’s children are taken care of by their grandparents. This article explores the states of reciprocity existing in grandparent-grandchildren care in Mdlankomo location, Libode of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The study utilised a qualitative approach to explore the perceptions of grandparents on reciprocity between them and their grandchildren. Nine grandparents were interviewed. The findings revealed that grandparents manifested love for their grandchildren, who also reciprocated the gesture; delinquent behaviours of grandchildren exasperated their grandparents; the conflict between grandparents and grandchildren ensued when children suspected the abuse of their children’s welfare grant by their grandparents. The researchers urge the Department of Social Development and NGOs working in the children’s domain to strengthen the programmes for the well-being of older persons and children

Keywords (separate with commas)

Reciprocity; Best interests of children; Aging and older persons; Child delinquency; Child welfare grants