2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Family Social Work in Residential Care to Reunify Abused Children with their Families; Risk Assessment for Safe Returning Home
| Project/Area Number |
16330120
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Social welfare and social work studies
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| Research Institution | Japan Lutheran College |
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Principal Investigator |
KATO Jun Japan Lutheran College, Department of Clinical Psychology, Assistant Professor, 総合人間学部, 助教授 (80247105)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
NISHIHARA Yujiro Japan Lutheran College, Department of Social Work, Professor, 総合人間学部, 教授 (30141724)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2006
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| Keywords | Child Abuse / Residential Child Care / Family Reunification / Risk Assessment / Family Social Worker |
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| Research Abstract |
To examine the current social work approach to family reunification, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five agency directors, five family social workers, two chiefs of staff and a care worker at eight agencies providing substitute residential care for children.
When reassessing the child safety, workers consider the quality of the parent-child interaction, mental health of the parent, personal, physical and financial situation of the family, and the social resources around the family. Traditionally professionals tend to wait for the parent to solve the problems, but now the agencies begin to assist the parent more actively. Reunification does not require total resolution of the problems but some indication of the progress and the social support network to reassure the safety. Empathetic and supportive approach is preferred to training or teaching mode of intervention. Casual conversation is regarded even more important than a formal program or a meeting in an office. With accumulated examples of effective interaction, we may be ready to formulate a theory or a model of the family reunification at the residential care.
To develop a tool to assist the family social workers with decision-making around the family reunification, a risk management model developed in Victoria, Australia was reviewed. The concept of child abuse was examined from the perspectives of social constructionism. As a basis of formulating a model of family reunification, three approaches were reviewed: i.e. Solution-Focused Approach, Sings of Safety Approach, and Narrative Therapy.
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Research Products
(6 results)
