Asian Social Work and Policy Review最新文献

This article aims to raise and empirically test whether complexity and ambiguity would affect the intent to apply for public assistance in the case of South Korea. Results of regression analysis reveal that the complexity of the application process has led to a greater decline in the intent of the poor to apply, possibly because the present bias is relatively greater. These outcomes indicate that the ambiguity aversion attitude of the poor was not different from that of the non-poor. However, when ambiguity is combined with complexity, it has an additive effect, lowering the intention to apply. From these findings, understandable policy manuals should be provided to potential applicants of assistance services and multiple forms, and evidence materials should be simplified in public assistance. Finally, in terms of behavioral economics and social policy, decreasing the complexity and ambiguity could “nudge” the Non-take-up and encourage them to apply for selective welfare programs.

This study identified the acculturation trajectories of multicultural adolescents in South Korea along with those of their migrant mothers using a latent class growth analysis and examined the relationship between latent trajectories of adolescents and their mothers and the adjustment of adolescents. Data from a nationally representative sample of Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (N = 1458, Girls = 50.62%, age range = 9.97–14.96) were used. Three latent acculturation trajectories of multicultural adolescents were identified, including integration, modest assimilation, and high assimilation, and four latent acculturation trajectories of migrant mothers were distinguished, including high assimilation, high separation, modest assimilation, and modest separation. The most favorable profiles were those of the integration of adolescents and high assimilation of migrant mothers. These findings suggested the importance of providing family-based prevention and intervention programs against the maladjustment of South Korean multicultural adolescents.

This paper examines the attempts to improve public accountability in the private-led Korean Long-Term Care (LTC) insurance system, illustrating their characteristics and limitations. Korea introduced universal LTC insurance in 2008, but with the purposeful exclusion of public provision, for-profit providers were able to take part without regulation, which caused problems such as low-quality services and widespread corruption. In response, the government tried to improve public accountability through various regulations such as new accounting/finance rules, but when such regulations had negative effects on their profits, they were met with stout resistance from providers. This case study of Korean LTC insurance illustrates the difficulty of implementing regulations to improve public accountability in a private welfare system.

Adopting the principles of managerialism, the Lump Sum Grant Subvention System in Hong Kong grants service organizations autonomy to deploy resources. Using organization- and individual-level survey data, this article examines the salaries of social workers under the managerialist subvention system and investigates its impacts on frontline service professionals. We found that when service organizations adopted flexible employment terms to hire social workers, they offered lower minimum wage. Smaller organizations, which are often believed to benefit more from the system, paid social workers lower minimum wage. When individual social workers made use of flexible employment terms and switched their jobs in the welfare sector, there was no evidence that their income levels would be raised—on the contrary, switching jobs for three or more times would in fact lower their income levels. Furthermore, while the system encouraged social workers to get more involved in management work, there was no evidence that increasing work hours on management-related work would increase the income of social workers. As organizational autonomy does not necessarily result in income justice for frontline social workers, clear guidelines, supervision, and policy interventions in the management of service organizations are still needed in social service planning and delivery.

The body of knowledge related to child well-being in Southeast Asia is sketchy and preliminary. Using standardized Z-scores, we computed the child well-being index (CWI) to observe how well 11 Southeast Asian countries take care of children. The overall result shows most countries in this region have “less” to “moderate” performance in terms of CWI realization. An exception is given to Singapore, which has achieved a higher degree of CWI. Further analysis on “child well-being regimes” suggests that examined countries have been combining productive and protective models with more emphasis on the former. The explanation for the low level of CWI and pervasive characteristic of productivism may rest on moral argumentation, in which child well-being is constructed as an intimate and private area. Public provisions to regulate child well-being, consequently, remain hidden behind the family unit as objects rather than subjects of social policy. Tied to low-performance countries, we call for generous welfare programs to support low-income families and intensified effort for the provision of quality education, healthcare, and basic facilities in order to enhance the well-being of children.

This study investigates the applicability of organizational learning in non-profit human service organizations for the management of outcome-based programs. The focus of this study was the organizational learning level of J Agency and the enhancement of outcome-based program planning capacity through organizational learning. The organizational learning conducted at J Agency consisted of training and consulting sessions to establish an outcome-based program management system by enhancing the capacity level of social workers. The result of this study shows the organizational learning level of J Agency being lower than other corporations or public organizations, but the program planning capacity through education and consulting to have enhanced positively. Social workers acquired program planning, management, and evaluation knowledge through the learning strategy of training and consulting, and shared and spread it at the team and organizational level. This organizational learning strategy contributed to improving the program planning capacity of social workers, and it can be confirmed that it is useful as an organizational management strategy of non-profit human service organizations.

This paper investigated associations between COVID-19 responses in social welfare facilities and the psychological state of social workers together with the potential mediating role of satisfaction with the government. During the COVID-19 pandemic, following government guidelines, social workers have continued to provide social services to the vulnerable groups. However, no research has been conducted focusing on their psychological state. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Incheon Metropolitan City, South Korea. Data from 332 participants were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Supplementary in-depth interviews were conducted with social workers. Analysis results show that higher levels of preventive measures against COVID-19 directly worsen levels of well-being, but this negative effect is offset by the satisfaction with the government (β = .383, p < .001). In social workers, satisfaction with the government fully mediates the influence of preventive measures toward reduced negative emotionality (β = −.288, p < .001). The implications of this study suggest that the government's active response to the social welfare sector is important to alleviate the negative psychological consequences of social workers.

The first wave of the pandemic caused due to COVID-19 was marked by a complete lockdown in India in March 2020. This unprecedented time and global health crisis pushed everyone indoors and compelled all employees to work from home (WFH). This study is an attempt to explore the challenges and possibilities of the WFH scenario in the context of working women in India. Around 203 women professionals participated through Google form questionnaire from May–June 2020 to fathom the impact of lockdown while working in the WFH format. This study employs the ‘the Standpoint theory’ and the theory of ‘Performative action’ by Judith Butler to grasp the work-life balance and gender roles in family spaces. The results of the study have shown that although the spouses of these women are sharing some responsibilities of household and children, but still the main onus rests on women's shoulders. The identities attached with their working and non-working status have been fused with the arrival of paid work at home. The majority of the respondents reported that they have to give a big share of their time to household activities by compromising their work efficacy on the job.

Transitioning from institutional care to independent living is a complex process for orphan care leavers. Most of them struggle to adapt to independent living for longer periods after leaving institutional care. This study describes those challenges in the Indian context. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 orphan care leavers to explore their experiences and perceptions of independent living. Findings showed that orphan care leavers perceive independent living as both opportunity and challenge. Some orphan care leavers felt that after leaving institutional care, they have lived through difficulties at their workplace: while finding accommodation, in household management, and establishing their official identity. However, data suggest that even in adverse circumstances, these orphan young adults have kept hope and have positive aspirations about their lives with a very strong informal network of care leavers as their main source of support. But overall, it was confirmed that social exclusion based on personal and care background is persistent among the orphan care leavers. Therefore, for promoting a better independent living experience initiating changes in the approach to work with care leavers is recommended.

Social work education is facing multiple difficulties and challenges in Mainland China. Partly because of a dearth of national studies on the viewpoints of social work educators to explore the alternatives, this qualitative study tried to fill in the gap to interview 23 social work educators to investigate into the issue. Twenty-three cities, across two municipalities, two autonomous regions, and 11 provinces were covered to provide a full picture of national education practices and trends.