There is an increasing attention for youth social work professionals to collaborate with volunteers, parents, and other professionals. Collaboration can contribute to positive outcomes for youth. The present study contributes to understanding differences in the extent to which youth social work professionals collaborate with volunteers, parents, and other professionals. The survey was conducted with Dutch professionals working in youth care (n = 112), education (n = 67), and youth work (n = 89). Index for Interdisciplinary Collaboration was used to assess interdependence in and reflection on the collaboration process. Significant differences were found in the extent to which professionals working in different fields experience interdependence and reflection on the collaboration process with different partners. Future researchers should be aware that the degree to which professionals collaborate with others might depend on the context, work field, and the collaboration partner. Youth social work professionals and local governments can use this study to identify strong and weak collaborative partnerships in order to better organize collaboration between different partners with the final aim of improving support of young people.
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One of the authors of this research report participated in an international survey which provided insight into the ethical challenges that social workers faced during the covid-19 pandemic. However, this study did not show the prevalence of the challenges described. Were they widespread, or was it more a matter of individual cases? We conducted an additional survey among Dutch social professionals to shed more light on this matter, seeking an answer to our main question: what is the nature and extent of the ethical burden on social professionals in the Netherlands during the first phase of the covid-19 pandemic?
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Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on personal, social and societal life worldwide. The virus threatens the physical health, social contacts and financial and economic security of many. The pandemic has led to polarisation in society, to an increase in social inequality, to a threat to democratic rights and to international tensions. Social work has not been left unaffected either. Based on research conducted by the Centre for Social Innovation of HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht Netherlands and financed by ZonMw, a concise ethical manual was developed for social professionals in crisis situations. It contains a series of questions for reflection that can be used to make the most important ethical challenges explicit and to take action. The guide is also suitable for carrying out a brief ethical review, as it were, individually or collectively, in the hectic day-to-day work.
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In dit magazine (rapport) blikken betrokken onderzoekers en professionals terug op “The Next Level” en de resultaten daarvan, die onder meer bestaan uit trainingen op het gebied van ‘crises & social media’ voor professionals. In mei 2016 is na ruim 2 jaar een einde gekomen aan onderzoeksproject "The Next Level". De lectoraten Crossmediale communicatie in het Publieke Domein en Regie van Veiligheid (Hogeschool Utrecht) werkten hierin samen met professionals uit het communicatie- en veiligheidsdomein. Centrale vraag in dit onderzoek was: hoe kan bij een crisis - beïnvloed door sociale media - effectief vorm worden gegeven aan crisiscommunicatie en crisismanagement?
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Social work is a profession that is very much part of and contributes to an ever changing and evolving society. It is therefore essential that social work is able to respond to the diverse and dynamic demands that it may encounter in that society and in the future. The critique of social work is, however, present and growing. The profession can no longer deny or ignore the need to legitimize its value and effectiveness. In this article, a research project – entitled Procivi – aimed at developing a method of legitimizing social work is presented. The method developed in Procivi proposes a way of legitimizing social work through the development of reflective professionals. The method teaches professionals to take a research frame of mind towards their own practice and helps them develop a vocabulary to describe their work to different audiences. The paper discusses whether and how this method forms a viable way of legitimizing social work and as such could be an alternative for the growing demand for social work based on scientific evidence (evidencebased practice, EBP).
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This article reports on qualitative research among 48 social professionals, managers and policymakers and their perceptions of activating citizenship, social work roles and responsibilities, carried out in Utrecht and Tartu. Professionals from both countries agreed to the idea of activating citizenship but stressing the perspective of personalised or lived citizenship, each person to his own capacities and embedded in the personal context. Nearly all respondents were critical about the recognition of social workers as a full profession, about the new management way of steering social work and about cooperation between different groups of professionals and services. Although both countries have quite different historical and cultural backgrounds, the authors found many similarities among social workers regarding their ideas on support, participation and commitment to the people they work for and work with. International research projects contribute to a more strongly recognised social work theory and social work practice by getting a better understanding, in particular of the way social work adapts to different contexts but from a highly recognisable international discourse within social work.
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Social work in the Netherlands is attracting an increasing number of Turkish and Moroccan Dutch professionals, mostly second-generation migrant women from a Muslim background. Inspired by Amartya Sen’s capability approach, this article presents the findings of a qualitative content analysis of 40 interviews with professionals by peers from the same background. The question is, what kind of professionals do these newly started social workers desire to be and what hindrances do they encounter? The professionals challenge the dominance of Western beliefs and values. This becomes tangible in their desires and constraints and especially in the process of choice.
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The realization of human rights standards depends in part on the commitment of local actors. It can be argued that local public service professionals such as social workers can also be regarded as key players. The possible role of social workers becomes imperative if these professionals are working in a policy context that is not congruent with human rights. If existing laws or policies cause or maintain disrespect for human rights, social workers are in a position to observe that this is having an adverse impact on clients. When social workers are regarded as human rights actors, the question arises how they can or should respond to law and policy that impedes them in carrying out their work with respect for human rights. This article adds to existing theories on social workers as human rights actors by examining the practices of social professionals working in such a challenging policy context. The research took place among professionals in social district teams in the city of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Following a series of decentralizations and austerity measures the social care landscape in the Netherlands has changed drastically over the last few years. As a result, social workers may find themselves on the one hand trying to realize the best possible care for their clients while on the other hand dealing with new laws and policy expectations focused on self-reliance and diminished access to specialist care. The article explores how social professionals’ responses to barriers in access to care affect human rights requirements. In doing so, this socio-legal study provides insight into the ways in which everyday social work relates to the realization of human rights at the local level.
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This research examines the legal capabilities of social care practitioners involved in a new decision-making process, ‘the kitchen table conversation’, used since the introduction of the 2015 Social Support Act in the Netherlands. This law delegates social care allocation to the local authorities, who employ social care practitioners to assess and decide upon the needs of applicants for personalised services. Dit onderzoek focust op de juridische competenties van sociale professionals die betrokken zijn bij het ‘keukentafelgesprek’, een manier van werken die is geïntroduceerd met de transities in het sociaal domein. Sinds de implementatie van de Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning (Wmo 2015) zijn Nederlandse gemeenten verplicht onderzoek te doen naar de persoonlijke situatie van mensen die zich melden met een ondersteuningsvraag. De wet delegeert de toekenning van maatschappelijke zorg aan de lokale overheden, die sociale professionals inzetten om de behoeften aan maatschappelijke ondersteuning van cliënten te onderzoeken.
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Universities of applied sciences in Europe face the challenge of preparing students in health and social care for working with older people and contributing to the innovations needed in light of the ageing of society, along with changes in the health and social care systems in many coun- tries. Dealing with the special needs of older people and the increasing burden of chronic diseases requires specific competencies for health and social care professionals, as well as an integrated approach to health and social care. Research has found that many educational programs lack adequate preparation for students in health and social care when it comes to the correct competences. To identify the competences needed for all health and social care professionals in Europe, who work with older people, the European Later Life Active Network (ELLAN) has conducted research and developed a verified competence framework. This “European core competences framework for health and social care professionals working with older people” describes roles and competences that stu- dents in health and social care programs need to learn in order to provide good care and support for older people. Within the ELLAN consortium, 26 universities of applied sciences from 25 European countries collaborated in this research and development process. The framework has been ver- ified by two Delphi rounds among a group of 21 experts and a group of 21 researchers from 19 countries. The framework includes awareness of diversity and different cultural backgrounds. This makes it a useful docu- ment for educational purposes all over Europe.
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