International Journal of Social Welfare最新文献

Health limitations and disabilities can create considerable barriers to entering employment. Individual placement and support (IPS), an evidence-based model of supported employment, has proven effective in promoting the employment of individuals facing serious mental illness. The objective of this study was to examine the potential of IPS to influence the employability of new client groups: individuals experiencing prolonged unemployment and those with developmental disabilities. Through 17 client interviews and 12 interviews with employment specialists in Finland, we examined how IPS, guided by eight principles, can influence individual factors, personal circumstances, and external factors affecting employability. The findings indicate that IPS offers promising new approaches to enhancing employability and supporting job retention among the long-term unemployed and individuals with developmental disabilities. However, outdated notions of employability and reliance on conventional employment methods may hinder the transition of individuals with complex employment barriers into the labor market.

The migration of unaccompanied foreign minors (UAMs) to Europe has become a prominent issue, particularly in Spain, due to its geographic proximity to North Africa. This study explores the social perceptions and representations of UAMs on social media, analyzing the dominant narratives and their impact on public opinion. Employing mixed-methods analysis, combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches, we examine discourse structures and the amplification of polarized narratives around UAMs. Findings reveal a prevailing narrative of criminalization and security concerns, with frequent portrayals of UAMs as threats, which are amplified through social media's echo chamber effect and by influential network leaders. Conversely, a minority narrative highlighting their vulnerability and human rights needs is less visible, suppressed by the spiral of silence phenomenon. These polarized narratives significantly influence public perceptions, reinforcing stereotypes and shaping potential policies. The study emphasizes the importance of balanced, rights-based communication strategies to counteract negative representations and foster an inclusive public discourse surrounding UAMs.

The Behind Closed Doors project is a qualitative research study considering sousveillance in mandated social welfare contexts. Sousveillance (the practice of recording people in authority without their consent) and sousveillance social media advocacy (posting sousveillance recordings publicly without consent) are significant phenomena effecting the delivery of contemporary mandated social services (e.g., child protective services; probation and parole; mandatory mental health intervention). Sousveillance video recordings shared online via social media (e.g., YouTube and TikTok) are analysed using multi-modal discourse analysis; individual interviews with client content creators, frontline social workers, union representatives and professional regulators supported a deeper understanding of the effect of sousveillance on workers, clients and organisations. The significance of sousveillance as a resource for shifting power relations in practice is also considered.

Children and adolescents in out-of-home care (OHC) represent a diverse population influenced by various family and placement characteristics, which significantly impact their development and long-term outcomes. However, there is a dearth of research exploring OHC placement characteristics, essential for understanding and supporting this population effectively. This study aimed to identify subgroups within the OHC population that share similar patterns of OHC placements across age and to describe these subgroups' distinct family and placement characteristics. Group-based trajectory modelling (GBTM) was applied to a total sample of Swedish children born 1990–1999 to identify subgroups with similar placement patterns. Six distinct trajectories of OHC placements were identified, revealing varying patterns of placement onset, duration, and type. Parental characteristics differed across trajectories, with a higher prevalence of disadvantaged factors among children entering care at younger ages. These findings underscore the importance of early intervention strategies and family-centred approaches for preventing OHC placements.

This paper investigates income poverty in 14 Western European countries from 2004 to 2019, utilizing European statistics on income, social inclusion and living conditions longitudinal data. The study employs descriptive tables and panel regression models to examine poverty exposure and accumulation of poverty events over time for families with dependent children with a focus on large families with three and four or more children. The findings reveal that in all countries the reiteration of poverty spells, net of persistence dynamics, primarily results from higher risks for large families of falling back into poverty. The analysis shows large families experience carousels of poverty reoccurrence, especially among single-earner households. All in all, analyses suggest the necessity for integrated social policies for large families, combining timely social transfers to mitigate current spells of poverty, with mid-term follow-up programs in the form of preventive measures tailored to families with recent poverty experiences.

This article focuses on the study of the specific social vulnerability of migrant minors during their arrival and the corresponding integration processes in the host countries. The analysis focuses on identifying risks of social vulnerability using a conceptual framework based on the notion of social exclusion. Using a multidimensional, processual approach, the construction of vulnerability in households with migrant minors is analysed in comparison with households with non-migrant minors (in the EU, using Spain as a case study). Despite having an intermediate-level mean income, and despite economic development in the country, Spain has seen a re-emergence of child poverty that has had a significant impact on households with minors. The lack of targeted programmes and low levels of investment contributes to one in four minors living below the at-risk-of-poverty line. The economic crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic have worsened the situation, especially in households with migrant minors.

This article provides an overview of social protection challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. It explores three main challenges: the integration of informal workers, the management of climate change and pandemics. Despite the proliferation of social protection programmes in sub-Saharan Africa, effective coverage remains low. About 76.3% of the population is not covered by any formal social protection mechanisms. Following the principle of qualitative comparative analysis, this article offers a twofold contribution. Firstly, it provides an overview of the diversity of social protection mechanisms in sub-Saharan Africa. This article proposes to describe the three categories of social protection using the concept of social protection mix: formal, semi-formal and informal. Secondly, using this concept, this study explores three major challenges of the social protection mix in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, this article suggests ways to strengthen social protection systems that address new challenges and incorporate the diversity of social protection mechanisms.

Work-induced stress poses significant mental health risks in high-stress professions, such as social workers. This study, grounded in the Job Demands-Control-Support model and Conservation of Resources theory, explores how job stressors affect social workers' depressive symptoms, focusing on job demands, job control, and their combinations, alongside the moderating role of job support. Analyzing data from the 2019 China Social Work Longitudinal Study through a city-level fixed-effects model, we find that job demands (role ambiguity and role conflict) and job control influence depressive symptoms both independently and interactively. Specifically, high job demands increase depressive symptoms, while greater job control reduces them. When looking at the combination of job demands and control, social workers facing low job demands with high job control report the lowest levels of depressive symptoms, followed by those with low demands and low job control. Moreover, coworker support emerges as crucial in reducing depression, especially for those grappling with high-role ambiguity and job control. Additionally, in high role conflict with low job control scenarios, support from leaders and supervisors is essential for lessening depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the essential role of job support in mitigating the impact of job stressors on social workers' mental health in China.

One of the most contentious facets of universal basic income (UBI) debates revolves around its impact on labor supply. Against this backdrop, this study aims to replicate how labor supply responds to changes in net income caused by the implementation of UBI. Using data from the 15th wave of the National Survey of Taxes and Benefits (N = 9342) and a discrete choice simulation model, this study estimated labor supply outcomes under two specific UBI models. The results suggest that UBI exerts minimal negative effects on labor supply among full-time and part-time workers and appears to encourage labor force entry among unemployed individuals. These findings offer empirical evidence on UBI's effects, suggesting it may support labor participation without substantial disincentives for employment.

This study examined the regulator's perspective on service user participation in social care. To date, empirical research has focused on the participatory methods themselves rather than on regulators' motivations for using them. Drawing on case studies of social care regulators in England (Care Quality Commission), Australia (Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission), and Sweden (Health and Social Care Inspectorate), we identified three distinct rationales for promoting service user participation: gaining public trust and legitimacy, improving regulatory processes, and empowering service users. Each rationale embeds different underlying assumptions about the contribution of service users to the regulatory process and the regulator's role to promote it. Furthermore, these distinct assumptions are associated with participatory methods that reflect different participatory approaches: democratic or consumerist, collective, or individual.