Like gold dust these days’: domestic violence fact-finding hearings in child contact cases

Fact-finding hearings may be held to determine disputed allegations of domestic violence in child contact cases in England and Wales, and can play a vital role for mothers seeking protection and autonomy from violent fathers. Drawing on the author’s empirical study, this article examines the implications for the holding of fact-finding hearings of judges’ and professionals’ understandings of domestic violence and the extent to which they perceive it to be relevant to contact. While more judges and professionals are developing their understanding of domestic violence, the ambit of when and how it is considered relevant to contact has grown increasingly narrow, which suggests that many disputed allegations of domestic violence are disregarded and women and children continue to be put at risk from violent fathers. This bifurcated approach is likely to have significant implications for recent developments in this area of family law which are considered in this article

Groupwork as the method of choice with black children in white foster homes

Whilst professional child care thinking has rightly moved increasingly towards ‘same race’ placements as the placements of choice for black children in care, the needs of those young people who are already established in long term transracial foster homes and of their carers have frequently been ignored. The authorities which made these placements in the past have a continuing responsibility in the present to support them, with appropriately targeted intervention. Some of the key advantages of a groupwork response are explored, and the impact of one particular group on the self-image of its young black members is evaluated. The conclusion is reached that the existence of such a group allowed essential black identity work to be commenced at an earlier stage than is normal in one-to-one work. Some of the features of the group itself are critically examined in relation to its overall aims, and a further, complementary groupwork model is put forward. The conclusion is reached that all such efforts must take place within a context of far reaching agency policies which attempt to combat institutional racism and to offer developmental input to foster carers and social workers as well as to transracially placed young people themselves.Publisher’s note: We are now putting all back issues of Groupwork on line. Articles in this issue have been scanned to pdf files as viable original typesetting files no longer exist. Though they may not look it, these files are searchable. This issue was published nearly 30 years ago. We have stated author professional details as received at time of publication (though where we have current email addresses we have added them). Abstracts are word-for-word transcriptions of the original abstracts without any attempt to update terminology

CHALLENGING FAMILIAR ASSUMPTIONS Preparing for and initiating a self-directed group

The self-directed groupwork approach aims to empower group members to set their own goals for external change. The membership of self-directed groups is often, voluntary and non-selected. In this paper, the preliminary stages of the approach are examined in detail and are contrasted with more conventional groupwork methods. A key feature of self-directed groupwork is that workers must begin by thrashing out an agreed and explicit value position from which their practice will flow. They then embark upon a process of ‘open planning’ in which, rather than making all the initial decisions for the group, they hand over as much responsibility as possible to the members. Neither the length of the group nor the frequency of meetings is pre-determined; members themselves decide on the timing and location of meetings. The conduct of the group is also negotiated by workers and members together. The message to be conveyed is that the group belongs to its members right from the start.Publisher’s note: We are now putting all back issues of Groupwork on line. Articles in this issue have been scanned to pdf files as viable original typesetting files no longer exist. Though they may not look it, these files are to some extentsearchable. This issue was published nearly 30 years ago. We have stated author professional details as received at time of publication

Working with violent men from a feminist social work perspective

For two decades feminism has addressed the problem of male violence in inter-personal relationships by working with women. However, men continue to violently abuse women. This article argues that work with men is a legitimate focus for feminist social workers, and male social workers who are prepared to work in pro-feminist ways, and discusses pro-feminist groupwork as a model for bringing about change

Management in social work

xi, 244 p. : ill. ; 22 cm