Requisites for the Establishment, Implementation, and Evaluation of Social Work Treatment Programs for Anti-Social Children

Requisites for the establishment, implementation and evaluation of social work treatment programs for anti-social children are reviewed. Specific items discussed are: how does one ascertain the level at which change efforts should be directed, i.e., individual, group, organizational, or societal; what is the appropriate context for behavioral change; who should act as the change agent; what characteristics should the worker possess; what are the rationale for service provided; how long should the treatment continue; how does one prepare for the termination of treatment and maintenance of behavior; what organizational factors of treatment contexts are pertinent to the constructive delivery of services; what are the requisites for the adequate evaluation of treatment programs, and what are the characteristics of efficacious therapeutic programs for anti-social children. Throughout the manuscript relevant future research issues are reviewed

The Application of Behavior Modification Technology to the Alleviation of Selected Social Problems

The application of behavior modification technology to the alleviation of various social problems is reviewed. Specific items discussed are: energy consumption, pollution control, token economies, architectural control of behavior, welfare, worker performance, social action, crime, and social integration. Where relevant, specific studies are summarized. Future developments and implications for social work practice are reviewed briefly

Procedures for the Maintenance and Generalization of Achieved Behavioral Change

Procedures for the maintenance and generalization of achieved behavioral change in anti-social adolescents are reviewed. A review of follow-up studies which provides the rationale for the incorporation of such procedures in practice is initially elaborated. Specific items discussed are possible avenues to the maintenance and generalization of behavior: social networks, peers, and parents; training socially relevant behaviors; changing the conditions of training; gradually removing or fading the contingencies; delayed reinforcement; and self control procedures. Throughout the manuscript relevant case illustrations are reviewed

HIV AIDS and substance abuse primary prevention in minority adolescents

Introduction The research prevention project entitled “HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse Primary Prevention in Minority Adolescents”, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), targets minority male and female adolescents 12-17 years old in the implementation and evaluation of a program designed to prevent adolescents from engaging in substance abuse and sexual activities which place them as risk for contracting the HIV/AIDS virus. The five-year intervention will serve 750 adolescents and 750 parents. Materials and methods The program combines the effects of a program that consists of two evidence-based primary components: 1) refusal skills training and education for the adolescent focusing on issues relating to sexuality and substance abuse; and 2) a family prevention educational and skills component involving the parent(s) of the participating adolescents. The small group educational techniques employed with the adolescent component are based on the Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT) Alcohol Prevention curriculum, cited as a Model Program in SAMHSA’s National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices (NREP) and as a Model Program by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Reducing the Risk (RTR) curriculum, both of which have been empirically evaluated as effective methods of teaching adolescent skills development in the areas of substance abuse and high-risk sexuality prevention. The parent prevention component is based on extensive research in which problem-solving skills and communication procedures have been used effectively with parents of adolescents. Results The evaluation component of the project assesses participants (adolescents and parents) at baseline, post participation, and at 6-month follow-up periods. Dependent variables include the adolescents’ and parents’ knowledge of, attitudes toward, and behavior related to HIV AIDS and substance abuse. Additionally, adolescents’ self-efficacy and quality of peer and parental relationships are assessed. For all participating family members, conflict and communication measures are secured. Conclusion Significant differences have been shown for adolescents and parents between baseline, post participation, and 6 month follow-up for all dependent variables. Training manuals provide program implementation requisites and materials to facilitate dissemination at local, state, and international levels

Variables Influencing Publication in the Field of Social Work

The manuscript presents a descriptive summary of variables influencing professional publication in four major journals: Social Work, Social Service Review, Social Casework and Clinical Social Work Journal. Data were drawn from a random sampling of the years 1960 to 1976. The following descriptive variables were analyzed: degree, sex, occupation, organizational affiliation, and geographic location of author; topic of article; and single VS multiple authorship. Implications the data have for the production of knowledge in social work and future research questions are briefly educidated

Deinstitutionalization: A Review of the Literature with Implication for Social Work Training and Practice in Rural Areas

The manuscript reviews the social, legal, and political background of the deinstitutionalization movement, reviews successful programs for deinstitutionalized chronic mental patients in the major problem areas of socialization skills training, supportive living, interventions with families, vocational rehabilitation, and medication monitoring. Problems which prevent the successful replication of these programs in rural areas, such as differing characteristics of rural and urban clients, distance and travel, and staff attitudes are discussed. Implications for social work training and practice in rural areas include the increased need for paraprofessional staff development and supervision skills, ability to utilize and mobilize existing community helping networks, and training in behavior modification techniques

Issues in Evaluative Research: Implications for Social Work

Various issues in evaluative research are reviewed according to their relevance for the evaluation of social work practice. Specific items discussed are: plausible studies, what should be changed and why, the change agent, criteria for positive assessment, traditional research designs, time-series designs, organizational aspects of research, researchers vs clinicians, researcher\u27s distance from populations served, incentives for research, and the dissemination of information and application of relevant knowledge. Where relevant, aspects of certain evaluative studies are discussed to illustrate the items reviewed

Assessing Social Agency Functions: A Model

The assessment of general agency functions is the focus of this manuscript. Initially inventories that may be utilized in the assessment of the relevance and quality of services provided are reviewed. Next, cost benefit analysis is addressed in terms of helping social workers estimate the cost of services provided. The manuscript concludes with a discussion of the issues involved in general agency assessment

Delinquency Theories, Group Composition, Treatment Locus, and a Service-Research Model for \u27Traditional\u27 Social Work Agencies

Summary Rehabilitative endeavors within correctional institutions have failed because of overpopulation, high costs, labelling and stigmatization of inmates, low transferability of treatment changes to the outside community, and deviant peer group composition. Community treatment programs have fared little better because they also entail client stigmatization and typically are conducted within the context of deviant peer groups. Consequently, in order to enhance the rehabilitative potential of community treatment, subsequent efforts should be conducted within traditional agencies and within pro-social peer groups. The emphasis upon pro-social rehabilitation environments does not posit any particular assets and/or liabilities of a given socio-economic stratum, thus avoiding a major deficiency of many sociological theories of juvenile delinquency, viz., the tendency to derive particularized etiological and interventive principles from a generalized variable, that is, social class. Instead, our basic assumption is that both anti-social and pro-social environments are to be found within any social stratum, and that the latter ought to constitute the preferred loci for rehabilitative endeavors. A brief overview of major formulations concerning juvenile delinquency reveals at least minimum consonance between their basic assumptions and the proposals set forth here. Moreover, although the proposals envision a broad scale augmentation of rehabilitation resources the operational consequences for individual agencies and their members appear to be minimal. Forthcoming empirical data will permit specific detailed examination of the foregoing proposals. However, as additional agencies choose to adopt or reject them prior to accumulation of all the requisite data one might easily conduct a separate study of considerable merit, the subject of which would be innovation within social work institutions