Displaying 31 - 40 of 53
Abstract
The current chapter comprises the first-time inclusion of Israel’s child protection system in a comparative survey of such systems worldwide. Following the introduction, the chapter describes the historical development of social services and child protection in Israel, relevant governmental commissions, and the prevention-oriented ‘360 Degrees – Israeli National Program for Children and Youth at Risk’. The child protection legislative framework for child maltreatment, including the ‘Youth (Care and Supervision) Law’, and the ‘Mandatory Reporting Law’ are additional topics…
Abstract
Thinking about and planning for the future are crucial in emerging adulthood. The goal of this study was to explore the assets and pathways in pursuing the future goals of 25 care leavers in Israel. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes including the young adults' professional figures, informal network and personal characteristics. The findings indicate that care leavers utilize their reliance on themselves in order to move towards their goals. In addition, their parents' struggles in life are perceived as a motivator in seeking a better future for themselves. The…
ABSTRACT
Engaging marginalized youngsters in the mainstream society poses a great challenge for child and youth-care (CYC) workers. Workers' ability to promote significant inclusion of these adolescents is largely shaped in process of their professional education. Most academic programs for CYC workers define the profession too broadly, and this lack of specification, reflecting the scope and complexity of the field, could have a negative impact on the inclusion-aimed process of professionalization. This opinion note aims at opening a discussion about a new, inclusion-focused perspective…
Abstract
Purpose:
Four factors might bias child risk assessment and recommendation of treatment for children at high risk among Arab social workers in Israel: collaboration of parents and social workers; improvement in child conditions; and child’s gender; as well as the social worker’s personal, cultural, and professional characteristics.
Methods:
An experimental survey design, using case descriptions manipulating cooperation, improvement and child’s gender, in addition to a questionnaire regarding the social workers’ personal and professional characteristics. The case…
Abstract
This study examined the associations between exposure to armed conflict, perceived support, work experience, needing help, and post-traumatic distress among Israeli social workers in foster care agencies based on Conservation of Resources theory. The study used a mixed-methods design. Six months after the end of an armed conflict, 82 social workers responded to a web-based questionnaire with closed- and open-ended questions. Results showed that exposure to the armed conflict was moderately associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms and functional impairment. Only the workers'…
Social support networks of care leavers: Mediating between childhood adversity and adult functioning
Abstract
Care leavers' social support networks have often been theorized as having a salient role in explaining youths' functional outcomes and the way these relate to their adverse pasts. The goals of the present study are to examine the association between childhood adversity and adult functioning among youth aging out-of-care, and to explore how attributes of their social support networks mediate this association.
The sample consisted of 345 Israeli care leavers (ages 18 to 25), formerly placed in residential or foster care. Standardized self-report questionnaires were…
ABSTRACT
Background: Being a foster parent is stressful. It becomes even more stressful when foster parents face major threats to their own families and to the foster children in their care, such as during war situations. This study focuses on foster parents' reactions to the war with Gaza in southern Israel that took place in 2014. The first goal of this study was to describe posttraumatic symptoms (PTS) and problems in functioning among foster parents following their exposure to the war. The second goal was to identify background and social support predictors of PTS and functioning…
Abstract
The Mothers Unit is a reunification and treatment programme in a welfare emergency centre in Israel. The unit is the only one in Israel offering joint residence for mothers at risk of abusing or neglecting their children. The unit provides an alternative to out-of-home care for young children suffering from maltreatment in order to enable them and their mothers to return to the community together at the end of the treatment. The current qualitative study examines the lived experiences of the women and their children from the subjective perspective of the women currently or…
Abstract
Studies have revealed that young people who age out of residential or foster care (care leavers) must cope with a variety of challenges as they transition to adulthood. In addition, there are wide gaps in achievements in different life domains between care leavers and other people in their age group. Using a narrative approach, the study presented in this article analyzed the life stories of 16 care leavers in Israel. To shed light on their subjective experiences in life after care, data were collected four years after the participants left residential care. The analysis…
Abstract
This paper addresses the challenges and benefits of involving biological parents in group homes in Israel and presents various means to encourage their involvement in care. Using family systems theories and the concept of co-parenting, it analyses the fragile and complex relationship caseworkers and foster parents have with biological parents. The paper presents four components that might play a role in encouraging parental involvement to benefit their children's adjustment. The components are demonstrated through case studies and include assessing the family profile; addressing…