Japanese Journal of Social Welfare

NPM for the Administration of Welfare Policy

Yoshihiro HIROKAWA

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 3-13
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_3

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Recently, NPM (New Public Management) has introduced market mechanisms into the public sector in order to improve public services. However, NPM ignores some important values in welfare policy, and market mechanism is not suitable for welfare services. So, it isn't good to introduce NPM in its pure form. In this article, I try to consider how to modify NPM to use it successfully in welfare policy. In chapter 1, I identify the stance and purpose of this article. Then, chapter 2 picks up 3 factors of NPM and explains "What is NPM?". In chapter 3, according to the 3 factors, I explain "Why NPM cannot be introduced into welfare policy in its pure form" in relation to the characteristics of welfare services. Finally, in chapter 4, 1 consider "How to modify NPM in order to solve these problems".

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The 'New' Concept of Poverty : Emergence of the Concept of the Underclass

Takanao NISHIMURA

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 14-22
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_14

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In the advanced countries, especially in the British and the US society, the concept of the 'underclass' has emerged and penetrated into people with the victim-blaming ideology of poverty.The concept includes the idea that some poor people have deviated from our society. In short, 'they' are no longer the unemployed working class, but members of a separate, underclass society. In this article, I want to clarify some background and reasons for the concept for the underclass and/or underclass debates. This work is very significant for the examination of Japanese social and antipoverty policy which will be learning from British or US' 'workfare' policy in future.

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Transitions in Mother-and-Child Family Policies in the Public Assistance Program

Hideaki KIKUCHI

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 23-32
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_23

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The public assistance program of Japan prescribes the principle of equal justice and nondiscrimination. This means that any poor people can receive benefits regardless of their morality. But in fact, many poor recipients are excluded from the program because of their immorality. The purpose of this study is to show how the government has treated mother-and-child families well or coldly within the program. After WWII, the government treated mother-and-child families well because most of them lost their father or husband in the war. The government amended the law to add "basic principle of meeting needs". However, in the latter half of the 1970s, as the number of mother-and-child families increased because of the increase of divorce, the government excluded many of them from the program, the most important reason being that they broke the family norm. Throughout these processes, we can see that administrational discretion has been used quite arbitrarily. This needs further discussion.

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A Study of Social Work in Local Governments Regarding Child Abuse Prevention in Japan

Mari SAIMURA

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 33-45
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_33

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In Japan, the core agencies of child abuse prevention are the child guidance' centers of local governments. The child guidance centers provide examinations, diagnosis of child abuse and child protection, including legal procedures, treatment and integration of children and parents. When parents strongly abuse their child, social workers need to shelter the child from his/her parents. If parents don't agree with the protection of their child, social workers must remove the children from their homes and put them into a temporary institution under legal procedures. Conflict often occurs between social workers and parents, so then social workers cannot establish relationships with parents. When social workers intervene in the family in the name of governmental authority, they need to acquire special skills in social work. The present study proposes "a system reform" for child abuse prevention. In other words, first, child guidance centers should be changed into institutions for guarding children's rights. Second, the quantity and quality of social workers should be improved. Furthermore, social network systems, commitment systems by legal authorities, and advocators' involvement in child abuse prevention are also discussed.

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Mothers' Abuse of Children and the Risk Factors : A Survey of Mothers with Infants in Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Michiko OHARA

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 46-57
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_46

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A self-recording questionnaire survey was conducted with 1,538 mothers with children aged six years or under living in Tokyo Metropolitan area. A multifaceted questionnaire was conducted pertaining to mother's child abuse and its frequency, Family Environment Scale (FES), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Dissociation tendency, Maternal Consciousness Scale (negative). The measure of perceived support, and the risk factors of abusive behaviors were also examined. When abusive behaviors and the above mentioned items were analyzed through Multiple Regression Analysis, the number of children (parenting burden), dissociation tendency, presence of characteristically incompatible children (inappropriate parental perception of one's children), conflict (violence in the family), rejection of maternal consciousness (mother's low self-esteem) were selected as being the risk factors of child abuse. The assessment of these risk factors allows family supporters to identity families and children who are at high risk of child abuse, facilitating the implementation of appropriate prevention and treatment interventions.

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Treatment Method to the Difficult Problems of a Child in an Orphanage : A Case Analysis

Kiyoshi KAMO, Kayo MAEDA

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 58-69
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_58

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The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new treatment method for the problematic behavior of children in orphanages. This treatment method, which might be called "new group work," is composed of the idea of 'normalization' and the skill of 'solution focused approach'. First of all, the utility of the skills of this 'solution focused approach' to intervene in the behavior of the child who steals habitually is examined, closely centering on the skills of 'tracking the problem pattern', 'searching for exceptions' and 'scaling questions'. The usefulness of the 'tracking method' to analyze the problematic behavior pattern will be emphasized. After analyzing the deviance amplifying process between the child and the staff in the facility by the tracking method', examples of using skills such as 'searching for exceptions', 'refraining', and 'scaling questions' will be concretely described, and the social worker's problem solving process will be clarified.

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A Study of the Workers' Working Environment and Stress in Residential Care Institutions for Children

Kayoko ITO

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 70-81
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_70

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This study is based on a survey of the actual conditions of the workers' working environment and their attitude to the issue across 554 residential care institutions for children (RCIC) in Japan. This study aims to examine how the working environment should be changed to improve the quality of services for children. This survey targeted the care workers working in the RCIC. From this survey, various severe discontents, burdens, or stresses felt by care workers and coping behaviors they take use are clarified. The study points out the areas that need to be improved to alleviate workers' stress so that they can serve children with pleasure. These are 1) the improvement of working conditions, 2) the improvement of staff training supervision systems.

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Elderly Persons' Satisfactions and Dissatisfactions with Geriatric Intermediate Care Facilities and Styles of Coping with Dissatisfactions

Toshie KUSUNAGA, Yoshihiko YAMAZAKI

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 82-92
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_82

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This study explored the experiences of elderly persons who were admitted to geriatric intermediate care facilities. We determined their satisfactions and dissatisfactions with the facility and how they coped with their dissatisfactions. Participants were 31 elderly persons living three geriatric intermediate care facilities in Tokyo. Data were collected by participant observations and interviews. Participants were satisfied with good living conditions in the facility. On the other hand, they were dissatisfied when their physical needs were unmet, their lifestyles were disrupted, and they had unpleasant contact with others. The main means of coping with these dissatisfactions were giving up, avoiding situations that could lead to dissatisfaction, and trying to solve problems themselves rather than requiring the staff to do so. The reasons they used these 'passive' coping styles were considered to be that they did not think their dissatisfactions could be easily solved, they knew the stay would be short, and they downplayed dissatisfactions by focusing on the things that gave them satisfaction.

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Construction of 'the K-I Scale for the Feeling that Life is Worth Living among the Aged' and the Definition of this Feeling

Tsutomu KONDO, Jiro KAMADA

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 93-101
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_93

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It seems to be important to define ikigai-kan or the feeling that life is worth living, which might affect the spiritual life of the aged, at least in Japan. However, gerontological psychology has not given any adequate answers about the definition, muchless constructed an adequate scale to measure this feeling. Alternative scales have been used in Japan, but they originated in U.S. and measure somewhat different feelings. The purpose of this present study is to investigate the notion of ikigai-kan, to construct a scale in accordance with the result, and to present an operative definition of ikigai-kan. Investigation of the concept was conducted among 162 aged people to define ikigai-kan, and a temporary definition was made. Scale items were collected and selected based on this definition, then the main research with this scale was conducted among 391 aged people. As a result, a scale with 16 items was constructed through item analysis. Moreover, this scale was verified to have high reliability and validity. The definition of ikigai-kan was clarified from the structure of this scale as follows : Ikigai-kan consists of a challenging spirit with purpose and motivation toward everything and with self-awareness of making a contribution to others. It includes the sense of self-progression and the sense of being approved of by others.

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A Study of Group Guidance, Leading Students to Reflection After Practice : A Grounded Theory Approach

Chiaki TSUBOUCHI

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 102-112
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_102

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This study aims at developing after-practice group guidance that leads students to "reflection" into a theory, using the Grounded Theory approach of qualitative research method. The data were gathered throughout a year from a direct inclass observation of two groups of 14 to 20 students and one university instructor whose conversations after the practice were then analyzed. As a result, four categories, "facing each individual," "active use of group," "a lead for reflection," and "facing oneself," were formed and the overall structure of after-practice guidance was clarified. From this analysis, one example of guidance in field practice education leading to after-practice reflection is discribed ; moreover, the usefulness of interaction in group work that enhances learning, which cannot be attained in a oneto-one setting, is also demonstrated. Also, these categories are comparable to those of "retrieval," "reflection," "linkage," and "professional response" in the Loop Model, which was adopted by Prof. Bogo of the University of Toronto in the supervision of relating education theories with practice.

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A Student's Consciousness Change in Learning with the Mentally Handicapped

Masatoshi KIDACHI

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 113-124
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_113

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This research is a report of an interactive learning project in which high school students encounter the mentally handicapped in their welfare education. In order to create a welfare society, in contact with the mentally handicapped, it is important to encounter these persons face to face, to communicate with each other, and to understand our mutual inner worlds. Recently, the independent activities of the mentally handicapped are progressing. There have been a growing number of those who wish to participate in interactive learning with students. In order to understand the mentally handicapped, it is necessary for us to experience the learning based on students' encounters with these persons. For the purpose of creating a welfare society rooted in the idea of conviviality instead of social Darwinism, the interactive learning style in which high school students encounter the mentally handicapped is needed in the new welfare education. Through case study, this research tries to analyze students' consciousness change, and to explore the subject and possibility of such learning.

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Research on the Use of a Long Cane by People with Acquired Visual Impairment : A Mail-in Questionnaire Research to Grasp the State of Actual Usage and Their Mind

Akiko TAKATA

Article type: Article
2003 Volume 43 Issue 2 Pages 125-136
Published: March 31, 2003
Released on J-STAGE: July 20, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.24469/jssw.43.2_125

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I conducted a mail-in questionnaire research among 161 members of a selfhelp group for the Low Vision Clinic patients in National S Hospital. The purpose of this research was to grasp the actual usage of a long cane by people with acquired visual impairment and their state of mind about it. (Response rate : 57.8%) As a result, 51.1% of those researched did not use a long cane. (It corresponded to 40.8% of people with severe impairment whose severity level was 1-2 in the identification booklet for persons with physical impairments, and to 33.3% of people who needed to use a long cane by the judgment of 4 orientation & mobility trainers) Self-consciousness, experience of orientation & mobility, vision (p<.001 each) , severity level in the identification booklet for persons with physical impairments (p<.01) and age (p<.05) were significant in the use of a long cane. Only 5.4% were provided with information on public social services available to them. People with acquired visual impairment had feelings of resistance toward using a long cane ; "it means to expose my own disability to the public," "it makes me the center of the public attention," or "it is not so useful." For those reasons, even after they recognized their decline of visual function or danger in their daily mobility, they remained confused or distressed for a long time until they finally reached a decision to use a long cane. Those results suggest the necessity of social services to encourage the use of a longcane.

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