National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 introduced the notion of "contract culture" into the community care field in the U. K. "Contract culture", which encourages the local authority to purchase more services by contracts from the private and voluntary sectors, has an enormous impact on the nature of the local authority as well as inter-organisational relationships in the local social care market. This essay explores the way the local authority has reacted to changing relationship with the voluntary sector after the Community Care Reform. We organise three strategies for local authorities to manage the external relationship from "resource-dependence perspective". There are 'self-organising strategy', 'cooperative strategy' and 'political strategy'. These strategies are to maximize the positive effects of "contract culture" and minimize its negative effects. We investigate Sheffield's experiences by using this framework. We find that Sheffield has tried these strategies and gains many good results so far. In Japan, new social insurance legislation for elderly care will be introduced in a few years. Like Community Care Reform in the U. K., it emphasizes the use of the independent sector for delivering the service. What our analysis suggests is useful when considering how the local authority should organise the local social care market.

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The word 'social' in social work practice seems to show what social workers should do, and the uniqueness of social work practice. The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of 'social' in social work practice, throughout the examination of perspective on practice. A unifying perspective would help to bind together social workers who are doing various things and to strengthen practitioners' identitity as social workers. For this purpose, this study focused on ecological thinking that influenced perspective on social work practice in the 1960s〜70s. First, this paper look back on Richmond's and Reynolds' views, and reconsider the purpose of social work practice. Socond, it make clear what ecological thinking gave to perspective on social work practice. Third, it examines about perspective for human life, throughout considering how to grasp of the relation between individual and society, and the concept of handicap. With these discussion, this paper suggests that 'social' means the relatedness between oneself and others on the client, and the purpose of social work practice is to encourage reconstruction and development of them.

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This article examines ways in which social workers can help aging people living at nursing homes to increase their life satisfaction, making use of the "life review" method, which Butler (1963) shows brings psychological stability. The author suggests that social support will be gained if this method is incorporated to group work practice. In the first section, the author relies on Erikson's conceptualization of eight psychosocial stages spanning the total life spectrum in order to understand aging people's needs. The second section shows how life review or reminiscence process will meet their needs through clarification of the concept of it. The final section, the author tries to show that life review method is made more effective if it is adopted into group work practice, providing relevant arguments by such authors as Burnside (1993), Cappuzzi & Friel (1990), Matterson (1984), and Shulman (1985).

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Recently, the necessity of child care support is gradualy spread in Japan as one of preventative policies aganist birth-rate decline and familiy child care competence weakening. Community child care support centres and child and family support centres are resposibility for such policies, especialy the latter assume child protection rolles. But I think another aspects are needed in such provions. Namely, they need community-based, preventive, more comprehensive perspectives. As similar Japaniese provisions there are family centres in England.Its have community-based origins and comprehensive functions. Then, I tried to investigate the actual conditions and functions of family centres in order to compare with Japanese provisins. The research was carried out in family centres in Oxfordshire and community child care support centres in one Japanese city, thorough the questionnarire and the visit to some centres in both countries. The findings of this study suggest that Japanese centres are inclined to be instruction centres for women worried about care of their children, be inaccessible for disadvantaged families in community. I recommend that Japanese centres should be more community-based, comprehensive ones, and give families in community advocacy, empowerment for their welfare-being and self-confidences.

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In this study, we researched the characteristics of the process of decisionmaking concerning care from four professionals. The four professionals were the home helper , the visiting nurse, the social worker and the public health nurse. The results were as follows ; (1) The four professionals have the same macro-frame. (2) The four professionals were formed in group of two. One group was the home helper and the visiting nurse. The other was the social worker and the public health nurse. (3) Regarding the process of decision-making concerning care, professionals have not only their individual differences but also differences resulting from the characteristics of their different professionals. To a certain point there is agreement, but then opinions differ. Each professionals sometimes lead the different decision-making concerning care even if they recognize as the same situation. Therefore we need to understand more about the backgrounds which cause these differences of opinion. It will built the base for team care by professionals in a variety of fields such as health care and social welfare.

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The purpose of this study is to examine a cross-validity and a criterion-related validity of the Short Index of Self-Actualization (SSA) to use it as outcome evaluation for social welfare services of the elderly. Data used in this study were obtained from 282 elderly people who participate in educational services for the elderly, aged 60 years and older, living in a certain city in Japan. A subjective well-being and living satisfaction was used for external criterion of validity. The results were as follows : 1) SSA of This study was similar to previous studies on the character concerning means, standard deviations and factor loading of the 15 items. 2) Although there was an agreement that SSA was a sound measurement of self-actualization, its factor structure was not clear on previous studies. On this point, the results of this study was similar to previous studies. 3) There were significant correlation between SSA and external criterion. By these result, it was suggested that SSA have a cross-validity and a criterion -related validity. Based on these results, it appears that the SSA is a sound measurement of self-actualization to use it as outcome evaluation for social welfare services of the elderly.

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Lately the issue of child abuse is becoming a serious social problem. Child abuse is the complicated problem which is caused by many factors. It is likely to be considered a very contemporary problem. On the other hand, child abuse in prewar days is thought to be a labour problem and to be quite different from the modern one. Indeed, the labour problem of child was the center of child abuse in those days. But children were abused by their carers in the family, too. And it was the first time that the maltreatment of children in the family was recognized as child abuse. This paper deals with two points about child abuse in the prewar days. One is the reason why child abuse in the family existed at that time. The other is the background that the maltreatment of children in the family was recognizedas child abuse and social problem.

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"Shin Fujin Kyoukai (The new women's association)" was the women's organization proposed by Raityou Hiratsuka in 1919, cooperating with Fusae Ichikawa. This association has been studied by Women's study or history, because it's image has been the organization for acquiring the woman suffrage. Raichou, however, planned it to embody her thoughts for maternal protection, and hoped the woman suffrage to protect the right for woman and child. Her thoughts were persisted in her opinion during "The controversy about the maternal protection", which had been disuputed with Akiko Yosano, Waka Yamada and Kikue Yamakawa in 1918〜1919. This paper intends to demonstrate that the works of new women's association had been programed to aim at the works in Hull House. Further, I intend to explain that Mr. and Mrs. Yamada contributed to plan the as sociation. Finally, the assosiation and based thoughts try to take their position in the history of social work.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the care workers' self evaluation of professional skills and knowledge related to care management. 357 care workers and control group (775 other kinds of health-social professionals) answered the questionnaire of "Evaluation of professional skills and knowledge", which had 3 mainstreams -basic skills and knowledge, management skills and knowledge, and general evaluation. Each subscale includes essential items for professional skills and knowledge, covering all health-social professions. As the results of investigation, almost all care workers agreed to the framework of this evaluation and items. Difference according to kinds of profession were few. The structure of items related to professional knowledge and skills showed clearly by cluster analysis, and coefficient alphas were more than 0.95 for each subscale. It means that this evaluation would be practical for care workers. This flamework will be useful for care workers to facilitate their coordination with other kinds of professionals on job situations and they will also be able to utilize it in educational situations.

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Now the heavily disabled at medical care have a new issue for their daily life. They only lived at hospital in the past. However medical science developed, so that some of them could live at home. Therefore parents of them require day-service for heavily disabled at medical care. But there are but few welfare establishment with medical accommodation now. Because of medical care,they can not make use of day-service at usual welfare establishment for disabled. In short the question is that the heavily disabled with medical care can live comfortable at home. What I wish to show in this paper is the improvement of welfare at home.

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The current study states the self-judgment of activities by the volunteers for the mentally disabled. In this study, the author examines how the volunteers judge themselves in terms of self-actualization and mutual support. The research design is a cross-sectional survey. The sample was conveniently selected. The author used a principal component analysis and an analysis of variance (ANOVA). In the study, the principal component analysis with varimax is used in order to create the measures for the self-judgment concerning the volunteer's activities. As a result, the author found two factors in the items pools of the self-judgment of the activities by the volunteers. One is called as "mutual support between the volunteers and the mentally disabled". Another is called as "work aid for the mentally disabled". Furthermore, the more actively the volunteer participate in a community-based program for mentally disabled persons, the more strongly they think that they have the perspective of mutual support. Finally, the author states the role of the volunteers in a community-based program for mentally disabled and the recommendations the concerning the support systems for the volunteers.

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Most of the students studying social welfare have a pure desire to help the elderly, people with physical handicaps, or people with emotional problems. Although the students' pure motive empowers them to achieve their future goals, behind their wishes, we can see their own emotional problems, coming from their experiences of being abused or bullied. Despite the students' various personal types of emotional problems, their common issue is their low self-esteem, which often makes them emotinally unstable and insecure. As a result, they are sometimes not able to help a client effectively, or, in some cases, they may even harm a client. Thus, it is very important to give special attention to improving student's self-esteem, which will, in turn, protect our future clients' best interests. This study focuses on an actual case work process during a period of fifteen months for a welfare student who experienced emotional problems resulting from physical and emotional abuse. Dr. Michele Borba's idea of "the components of self-esteem" is introduced to reinforce this student's self-esteem. Specific techniques and workers'roles are discussed in each stage with some ideas. From this study, I conclude that reinforcing this student's self-esteem lessened her emotional problems and helped her become more independent in her life.

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In a modern society, we are unable to discuss the problem of education without considering child welfare. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the study of child welfare should treat the matter of education and children. Theoretical and empirical examination leads several findings as follows : (1) The previous discussion tended to neglect the importance of the 'child wellbeing' viewpoint when the educational problems were concernd. In particular, the discourse and practice around the 'shool-refusal' are typically distorted in the educational institutions. (2) When we are engaged in the socialwork of children in educational context, it is necessary to elaborate the social values more reflecxively. And also, it is essential and useful to act in ecological way. (3) Finally, we should have a fundamental philosophy that is recommended in the convention on the Rights of the child. Although we are now in the starting point, the attempt to connet education with child welfare would bring some fruitful effects for the studies of social welfare.

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Although many of the conceptual foundations of Japanese social work theories have been imported from the United States, there seems to exist a conceptual chaos regarding the selection of theoretical models and practical methodologies. One of the reasons might be the existing uncertainties of conceptual framework of social work theory. The present study reviewed literature on basic social work theories, focusing on micro and macro perspectives as well as direct and indirect action in social work practice, and discussed how those theories have been orientated differently among social work practitioners, educators, and researchers. The authors further discussed the significance of micro and macro practice skill in traditional social work, and suggested that "micro and macro" perspectives be the common foundation in keeping a solid conceptual framework of social work. Future studies are necessary in clarifying the conceptual differences between "micro and macro" and "direct and indirect" in terms of social work practices, in order to avoid the further conceptual chaos.

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Social workers in Adult Protective Services are the front-line professionals charged with the primary responsibility in one of the most sensitive area of human services. After receiving an abuse report, APS workers frequently deal with difficult cases in a demanding environment. However, the issues of high stress and the subsequent burn-out among APS workers are often neglected according to a review of the literature. This article is a descriptive study of APS workers in Santa Clara County based on the survey utilizing quantitative and qualitative data to identify the level of social workers' job satisfaction. In this research, the main question is to gain knowledge of factors related to job satisfaction among APS social workers who are working with abused dependent adults and seniors. The study also describes the demographic characteristics of social workers who participated in this survey. Furthermore, the results of this study can be a useful framework for developing strategies and working conditions for social workers in Japan. Social workers in Japan should be take part in the center role to help abuse victims in preventing and providing services.

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"Home care" is getting more attention with the increase of the aging population and the number of patients with long-term chronic diseases, together with the change of family styles including the increase of nuclear families. In such situations of today, the clarification of the fields of nursing and care is a very important problem. This paper examines the specialties of nursing and care in home care activities, comparing both fields in subjects, needs, function, and structures. Special attention was paid to the differences between two terms used to identify the recipients of care : kanja (patient) and riyosha (user). It was found that the rights of both kinds of recipients were respected, but the historical development of their rights was different. It is necessary to understand an individual, who is a "patient" and "user", with a wide perspective and multiple views from different professions. This paper states for the future of nursing and care that nursing and care are in a complementary relationship,though each will probably continue to maintain its relative independence. It is very important to have coordinations in these fields, improve the quality, and construct special areas in the respective fields. Clarification of special areas means not only distinguishing between the roles of nursing and care and creating new areas. It also means increasing the experiences in practice, for example, of the best bath care for each individual person based on an appropriate decision, creation, and provision.

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The purpose of this research is the improvement of the space in welfare facilities and hospitals that provide care for elderly people with Dementia. Nine hundred and forty-nine people from the fields of medicine, welfare and architecture replied to research into planning methods needed to establish the necessary care and home like environments. A large number of the replies showed agreement between individual concrete concepts and suggested improvements, but showed that the present situation does not reflect these suggested improvements. As for the design of small group space which includes clusters, alcoves and kitchen space, there is a difference between the ideas of people who work in the facilities and ideas of the architects.

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The author has designed and practiced the family life education (FLE) program for families with handicapped members. The participants of this program were 37 mothers who have physically handicapped or mentally retarded children in total. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate implemented FLE program and discuss about future tasks for program development. The evaluation intended to investigate the satisfaction and effectiveness of participants on the program. Although the results showed a certain degree of satisfaction and effectiveness, the following procedures are necessary to further program development : (1) To allocate more time for participants to discuss about issues concerning the family relationship in the program design. (2) To promote the group cohesion of participants not only by activating interactions between them, but also by composing group of members who have some points of similarities (i.e., age of mothers or children). (3) To promote the mutual learning between group members by adopting experiential learning methods in such circumstances as allowing them express their own feelings or thoughts freely. (4) To compose a systematic program design by having the relation between themes of each session.

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