The purpose of this paper is to bring to light the problems related to the Social Welfare Law, as well as to make suggestions regarding the same from the following viewpoints : the object, purposes, and ideal of this law. The object of this law, namely; "the services intended for social welfare", is so broad a concept that it is too difficult to grasp it clearly. Besides, "the protection of user's benefits", which is one of the purposes of this law is, restrictive in scope and is unclear as well, because the term "user's benefits" is not clearly defined. The core of its ideal is "the maintenance of the dignity of an individual". The meaning of the fundamental ideal is not enough for the respect of lifestyle and choice of users. Because its most basic ideal is the protection of "human dignity". We must put in efforts to do away with the problems facing the law to protect the user's rights in keeping with the objective of the Constitution and this law.

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The purpose of this study was to attempt to increase the verbal behavior of an elderly person using behavior modification therapy in Japanese nursing home. The elderly person was an 87 year old woman who had been living in a nursing home for the past eight years. When the subject arrived at the nursing home, she was able to express herself verbally, interacting with the other residents and the staff. However, by the time the study began, she could not speak and did not talk with anyone. It was thought that this was due to limited opportunities for verbal interaction in the nursing home environment. The staff was very busy caring for the other residents who were severely demented. Behavior modification therapy was used to stimulate talking by the subject. This entailed the therapist immediately praising and physically contacting the subject following every verbal expression. After the treatment had been implemented for one day weekly for six months, the subjects verbalization increased.

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The present study aimed to clarify category-specific aspects of service satisfaction for the Japanese elderly in the residential settings and to examine the relationships between the category-specific aspects of service satisfaction and overall service satisfaction. The research design is a cross-sectional survey with interviewing the residents in nursing and boarding homes for the Japanese elderly. The sample is a convenient one in Kinki area agreed to participate in this study. The questionnaire was completed by 121 individuals. The principal component analysis with varimax rotation confirmed four category-specific aspects of service satisfaction: Care Staff Attitude, Effectiveness of the Residential Care Program, Food and Bathing Services, and Facility Comfort. Result of the multiple regression analysis indicated that in particular Care Staff Attitude and Food and Bathing Services were significant factors affecting the overall service satisfaction. The practical implication is that not only food and bathing services but also staff care attitude are crucial in improving overall service satisfaction for the Japanese elderly in nursing and boarding homes.

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There are various employment policies for people with disabilities in the world. Previous studies have reported these policies in each country and many measures to promote participation of them into labor market in detail but separately. On the other hand, a broad overview of the policy seems to be absent. This paper aims to compare these policies and measures in seven countries from various and consistent angles, and subsequently seeks to generalize and theorize them. Firstly, paying attention to important measures, policies of seven countries are classified into three types: the type which adopts anti-discrimination legislation to guarantee equal opportunity, the one which adopts the quota system to obligate employers to have certain ratios of workers with disabilities, and the one which provide sheltered employment for such people directly. Secondly, distinctive features of each type are identified from following angles: that is, ideal ways of employment of people with disabilities and principles of the policy which are assumed to be by each type. Finally, based on these analyses, advantages and disadvantages of each type are theoretically discussed, and new policy directions for the future will be presented.

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Background of child care services in Japan and current situation of various child care settings focusing on treatment for the deprived children is described.

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The purpose of the present study is to examine ways to improve school social work practice for students who refuse to attend school. The interview record data of two groups was compared using the method of qualitative analysis developed by Strauss and Corbin (1990, 1998). One group consisted of 10 students who had begun attending school again. The other group consisted of 10 students who continued their absence from school. The results showed that the factors of "friendships" and "future goals" positively influenced school re-attendance by students who had formerly refused to attend school. That is, students who had rebuilt friendships showed positive behavior to attend school again. The present results suggest the effectiveness of group work practice for students who absent themselves from school. In particular, Schwartz's (1977) "Interactional model" is important because the perspective of this practice model is not only to tackle building social skills of clients through human relationships in groups, but also improving the environment of clients. Therefore, group work with school non-attenders, following Schwartz's practice model, aims at improving their school environment, human relationships, and goal-oriented behavior.

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