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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Social workers' use of power in relationships with grandparents in child welfare settings | | Author(s) | James W Gladstone, Kerri-Ann J Fitzgerald, Ralph A Brown |
| Journal title | British Journal of Social Work, vol 43, no 6, September 2013 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press, September 2013 |
| Pages | pp 1073-1091 |
| Source | www.bjsw.oxfordjournals.org |
| Keywords | Social workers ; Attitude ; Grandparents as carers ; Qualitative Studies ; Canada. |
| Annotation | This paper focuses on ways in which social workers use power in their relationships with grandparents who are caring for grandchildren involved with child welfare agencies. Also examined are the ways in which grandparents perceive this use of power. Qualitative data were gathered from 43 social workers and 32 grandparents in kinship care settings in south-western Ontario, Canada. Findings showed that social workers' expression of power falls into three main categories. Workers 'dispense resources', which include the provision of material support and services, the use of clinical skills and their influence over the middle generation. Workers can be 'directive', which involves their controlling interaction and defining the meanings of help. They also 'manage negotiations', which can occur in both an open and an implicit manner. Findings showed that workers' use of power can be beneficial to grandparents. A central issue for grandparents is whether there is reciprocity in their relationships with workers. The authors' conclusion is that being less directive and engaging in negotiations will result in collaborative relationships in which the needs of grandparents, as well as the agency, are more likely to be met. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-131003203 A |
| Classmark | QR: DP: P6:SW: 3DP: 7S |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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