The purpose of this paper was to explore and examine ways to promote the effective use of the needs assessment sheet developed for the Child-Rearing Support Services User Support Program. Group interviews were held with trained user support staff working for municipalities using this assessment sheet, and their responses were analyzed using a qualitative data analysis method. The results revealed three factors that were complicating the use of the assessment sheet: (1) problems with the assessment sheet itself, (2) problems with the five basic elements in the practice model that correspond to the five “unknowns” in frontline practice, and (3) problems with the needs assessment environment. The five basic elements referred to above are the following: (a) scope of practice, (b) significance of the practice, (c) support procedures, (d) dependence theory, and (e) effectiveness of support. In particular, information regarding these five elements was found to be lacking, and it was concluded that a practice model and practice manual are necessary to facilitate improvements in assessment sheet utilization.

If school social workers are to function effectively at the local school level, a supervision and training system is an important necessity. However, currently, this system is not functioning at a sufficient level. Given this situation, progressive local governments have begun to assign lead (chief) school social workers to replace and/or complement school social work supervisors. In this study, a questionnaire survey (including follow-up interviews) of these progressive local governments (7 locations in 6 municipalities) was conducted in order to fully understand the current situation and unresolved issues concerning the implementation of lead school social workers.

The results of the survey clarified the following points regarding the role of the lead school social worker: they provide advice and guidance to school social workers on an individual and group basis, serve as a link between the education and social welfare systems, function as an advocate for change, plan necessary training, and coordinate with the school social worker supervisors. Furthermore, the results suggested that improving terms of employment (salary, full-time status, etc.) as well as requiring the board of education to implement a training system are necessary steps towards the implementation of lead school social workers in other local school systems.

Mothers of mother-child dyads where both mother and child have Asperger’s Syndrome were interviewed with the objective of developing a conceptual framework and hypothesis regarding supporting the mother-child relationship. The semi-structured interview focused on the mother’s experiences of interpersonal happiness (childhood to the present). Results were analyzed using the Structured-Construct Quality Research Method (SCQRM) of meta-analysis.

The analysis generated 32 categories which were further classified into 14 subcategories and then into 4 categories. In the category of “interactions that make me happy,” items such as “talks to me gently without getting angry” and “used to pat me on the head” were extracted. In the category of “relationship I want to have with my parents,” the most common response was “I wanted to be treated well.” In order to develop a good mother-child relationship, the mothers not only need to understand the characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome but also need to be able to understand and respond to the relationship needs of their child. It is critical that mothers are supported in identifying and responding to the feelings of their child.

The objective of this study was to clarify the organizational characteristics of childcare centers that prevent early turnover of childcare workers. Group interviews were conducted with administrative staff, experienced childcare workers, and recently employed childcare workers of three childcare centers with low turnover rates. Qualitative analysis was conducted and the results indicated that the workplace environment and new employee orientation and training were significant in preventing worker turnover. Workplace conditions that are “not overly stressful,” senior staff/workers that maintain an “open and egalitarian attitude,” and childcare workers’ willingness to “talk/consult with each other,” were all factors that influenced childcare workers’ desire to continue employment.

With regards to new employee orientation and training, considering childcare workers’ “individual characteristics when determining class assignments,” senior childcare workers “communicating an attitude of respect, empathy, and concreteness,” and the “support from vertical, horizontal and diagonal relationships” contributed to the desire to continue employment. In particular, the results suggested that it is important for administrative staff to take initiative in demonstrating an “open and egalitarian attitude,” exemplify a friendly attitude, and establish a multilayered support system so that the burden of training new childcare workers is not concentrated solely upon experienced childcare workers.

This study aimed to clarify how Child Guidance Centers make decisions regarding placing children in temporary protective custody. A total of 16 Child Guidance Center workers were interviewed, and the data was analyzed using the modified grounded theory approach (M-GTA) with the Structure-Construction Qualitative Research Method (SCQRM) as the meta-study method. The results identified a model consisting of the following three factors: “necessity of temporary protective custody,” “negative effects on the child” and “the potential for family improvement.”

The results showed that Child Guidance Centers’ initial decision-making criteria for cases of psychological abuse and neglect was no different from that of other types of child abuse and that the decision began with the assessment that temporary protective custody is necessary. However, in the cases of psychological abuse and neglect where harm to the child is less conspicuous, the results suggested that Child Guidance Centers made the decision to provide temporary protective custody based upon a careful assessment of the balance between the “negative effects on the child” and “the potential for family improvement.”

In order to enhance community support practice that targets all families with children, this study aimed to describe structurally the functions of “community support” offered by Community-Based Child-Rearing Support Services (CCSS) and User Support Services (USS) and to tentatively propose measures for promoting these functions drawing on community-based social work (CBSW) theory.

The authors identified 4 categories of “community support” practice from 25 items obtained by pioneering work in CCSS/USS, while 4 community social work factors were identified by analyzing 27 items obtained from CBSW theory. A correlation analysis revealed positive associations between all 4 categories of CCSS/USS and all 4 factors of CBSW. Particularly, a strong correlation was found between the category of “to encourage the initiatives local residents are undertaking to support families” (CCSS/USS) and the factor of “to co-create resources with local residents (CBSW). The results suggest the possibility that introducing CBSW theory into the program of professional development training in CCSS, USS and other related fields could improve “community support” practice.

The “Family Home” (hereon referred to as FH), is a form of family-based care for children in the foster care system and is defined as a Type 2 social welfare service. The purpose of this study was to understand FH care providers’ awareness of the foster care system and its related issues. Half-structured interviews were conducted with 15 care providers representing 13 FHs identified through snowball sampling, and qualitative data analysis was performed. The results identified the following four points: 1) care providers with institutional staff experience and care providers with foster parent experience think differently about the significance of FHs, 2) related assistant care providers and non-related assistant care providers have different strengths and issues, 3) the perceptions of the Child Guidance Center and other support providers has resulted in dissidence between the support content and support sought by care providers, and 4) caring for multiple children and the sharing the same living environment can be both significant and problematic. The findings of this study have provided useful information to be applied to establishing FHs in the future and providing necessary support to FH care providers.