This study aims to inspect the birth of the law that served as the foundation of “welfare” administration by clarifying an enactment of the military relief law established in July, 1917. Given that such establishment of the law enabled the relief sector and became the initial opening of the social work administration, this recognition has been shared conventionally but concrete inspection has not been carried out. This study examines the military relief law was established by expectation of Ministry of the Department of the Interior, by comparing a bill (August, 1916) of the Department of the Army and a bill (May, 1917) of the Department of the Interior. The Department of the Army showed resistance to four kinds of relief operation and the commission to a private group until the last. Thus, the Department of the Interior establishes the policy and clarifies that the accomplishment of the purpose by an enforcement order is the important element for post-war welfare administration.

This study aims to determine the logic behind the justification and maintenance of “household division” when students living on Public Assistance move on to higher education. For this purpose, the records of the proceedings of the Social Security Council (Section of Self-reliance Support System for Needy Persons and Public Assistance) are examined. Results of the analysis are as follows: 1) Given the current balance between “students moving on to higher education and those who are not,” “students moving on to higher education and those who will be employed after high school,” and “students living on public assistance and those who are not,” several committee members pointed out the “impossibility of including higher education in the minimum standard of living”; 2) Given this “impossibility”, the study of higher education while receiving welfare benefits was denied; and 3) “Household division” is thus justified negatively. However, the logic behind the justification of “household division” presented in the Council is not robust. Therefore, a reexamination is necessary for the logic behind the justification of “household division” when students move on to higher education and whether students must be allowed to study higher education while receiving welfare benefits.

This study clarifies the involvement of public assistance caseworkers (hereafter, caseworkers) in supporting children in public assistance households and who have either not enrolled or dropped out from high school. The data collected from interviewing caseworkers are analyzed using qualitative data analysis. Results show that the caseworkers first reached out to each child and parent to ascertain the child’s future career aspirations; accordingly, the caseworkers provided support for schooling or employment. The narratives indicated the awareness of caseworkers regarding the subject of employment guidance for high school dropouts. By contrast, there was no support in the case of children who found employment on their own. Thus, the children who are not enrolled in or have dropped out of high school require assistance for schooling and employment according to their aspirations, provision of knowledge and skills that are necessary to lead independent lives, and direct support from caseworkers.

This study aims to clarify the perceptions of school teachers about young siblings of children with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities and to examine the ideal systematic support for these siblings at school. A questionnaire survey was carried out for school teachers and 320 effective responses were obtained. Results show that numerous young siblings are responsible for the emotional supports for children with chronic illnesses and disabilities and their parents, but the direct effects on their school life are hardly observed. In addition, most of the responses to the young siblings in need of support are problem-solving measures taken by school teachers. For these young siblings, understanding the background of the problem caused by their family situation and environment is necessary, and thus the current support is pointed out as insufficient. Given these considerations, schools are required to play a role in grasping living conditions of young siblings from a precautionary standpoint. A system where school teachers and specialists can mobilize their own specialties and cooperate with each other to provide the required support for the young siblings is necessary.

In this study, we calculated an estimated value of the number of long-term care workers required in the future, and as a result, the required number of care workers will start to decrease around 2030, but in the working-age population as a whole. It was suggested that the proportion of care workers would continue to increase. The current policy for securing human resources in the field of long-term care emphasizes securing the number of care workers on the premise that a large shortage of human resources will occur in the future. There is room for reconsideration. In addition, pushing the number to the forefront carries the risk of making it difficult to maintain the quality and expertise of care work. In order to secure numbers and maintain and improve quality at the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between fluid human resources (foreign workers based on the technical intern training system and those who have completed the training for life support workers, etc.) and universal human resources (qualified persons such as foreign workers and certified care workers working in Japan with status of residence), and take necessary measures for each.

This study clarifies the parenting experiences of nonoffending parents and suggestions for child welfare practices in domestic violence cases. Semi-structured interviews with 27 domestic violence victims were carried out to collect data, which are examined using qualitative analysis. The core categories of parenting experiences of nonoffending parents were found to be (a) deprivation of parental function owing to the violence and coercive control of their abusive partners and (b) desperate undertaking of parental function as resistance to violence and coercive control. The findings reveal that regardless of being abused, the victims possess the strength to attempt and protect and care for their children under difficult circumstances. Furthermore, the presence of the child influences the victims’ choice of staying or leaving their abusers. These results indicate how social workers need to assess abusers’ coercive control and the family dynamics that affect the parenting of nonoffending parents. Findings highlight the need for social workers to trust the parents’ strengths, while encouraging them to work together for the safety and welfare of their children.

This study clarifies the process of member participation and the ways to promote participation related to co-production in health and welfare co-operatives. Interview data from members with experience in organizing other members and from health and welfare professionals were analyzed with the Glaserian approach to grounded theory. As a result, a core variable, “resonance of opened health and welfare,” was generated. This variable means that members’ understandings of efforts by health and welfare co-operatives—which includes values such as democratic member-driven management and health and welfare practices that respect individuals—are deepened through interactions between members and professionals, thereby developing a wide range of actions among them. Furthermore, as a result of the coding processes around the core variable, two findings were unveiled: (1) resonance is generated through the promotion of member participation, which leads to both “continuous development of trust” and “experiential empathy for medical co-operatives” and (2) member participation becomes more co-operative in proportion to degrees of resonance.