The 2002-2011 reforms of the social welfare system in Serbia produced changes to the assessment model in the field of child welfare. In addition to risks and needs, the new model considers the strengths of the child, family and community, marking a significant innovation for social welfare services. This paper aims to examine the perceptions of caseworkers regarding the strengths of the new assessment model that is used in social welfare centres in Serbia. Based upon a representative, stratified and random sample of 347 records of children who were referred to alternative care during a period of intense reform (2006-2011), notes taken by caseworkers were collected and analysed. The results indicate that strengths were poorly identified at the onset of work with the children, but improvement followed later in the process. This finding leads us to the conclusion that there are serious challenges and difficulties in transitioning from the problem-oriented model to the new strengths-orient...ed approach in the Serbian social welfare system.
Keywords:
child welfare reform / children in care / mixed method study / strengths-based assessment
TY - JOUR
AU - Žegarac, Nevenka
AU - Burgund, Anita
PY - 2017
UR - http://rfpn.fpn.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/639
AB - The 2002-2011 reforms of the social welfare system in Serbia produced changes to the assessment model in the field of child welfare. In addition to risks and needs, the new model considers the strengths of the child, family and community, marking a significant innovation for social welfare services. This paper aims to examine the perceptions of caseworkers regarding the strengths of the new assessment model that is used in social welfare centres in Serbia. Based upon a representative, stratified and random sample of 347 records of children who were referred to alternative care during a period of intense reform (2006-2011), notes taken by caseworkers were collected and analysed. The results indicate that strengths were poorly identified at the onset of work with the children, but improvement followed later in the process. This finding leads us to the conclusion that there are serious challenges and difficulties in transitioning from the problem-oriented model to the new strengths-oriented approach in the Serbian social welfare system.
PB - Wiley, Hoboken
T2 - Child & Family Social Work
T1 - Caseworkers' perceptions of the strengths of the child family and community
EP - 50
SP - 41
VL - 22
DO - 10.1111/cfs.12252
ER -
@article{
author = "Žegarac, Nevenka and Burgund, Anita",
year = "2017",
abstract = "The 2002-2011 reforms of the social welfare system in Serbia produced changes to the assessment model in the field of child welfare. In addition to risks and needs, the new model considers the strengths of the child, family and community, marking a significant innovation for social welfare services. This paper aims to examine the perceptions of caseworkers regarding the strengths of the new assessment model that is used in social welfare centres in Serbia. Based upon a representative, stratified and random sample of 347 records of children who were referred to alternative care during a period of intense reform (2006-2011), notes taken by caseworkers were collected and analysed. The results indicate that strengths were poorly identified at the onset of work with the children, but improvement followed later in the process. This finding leads us to the conclusion that there are serious challenges and difficulties in transitioning from the problem-oriented model to the new strengths-oriented approach in the Serbian social welfare system.",
publisher = "Wiley, Hoboken",
journal = "Child & Family Social Work",
title = "Caseworkers' perceptions of the strengths of the child family and community",
pages = "50-41",
volume = "22",
doi = "10.1111/cfs.12252"
}
Žegarac, N.,& Burgund, A.. (2017). Caseworkers' perceptions of the strengths of the child family and community. in Child & Family Social Work
Wiley, Hoboken., 22, 41-50.
https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12252
Žegarac N, Burgund A. Caseworkers' perceptions of the strengths of the child family and community. in Child & Family Social Work. 2017;22:41-50.
doi:10.1111/cfs.12252 .
Žegarac, Nevenka, Burgund, Anita, "Caseworkers' perceptions of the strengths of the child family and community" in Child & Family Social Work, 22 (2017):41-50,
https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12252 . .
