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Voice and meaning: the wisdom of F amily S upport veterans
Author(s) -
Devaney Carmel,
Dolan Pat
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
child and family social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-2206
pISSN - 1356-7500
DOI - 10.1111/cfs.12200
Subject(s) - meaning (existential) , welfare , vagueness , social work , context (archaeology) , clarity , narrative , social welfare , salient , government (linguistics) , psychology , medicine , public relations , social psychology , sociology , political science , psychotherapist , linguistics , history , law , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , archaeology , fuzzy logic
Although a widely accepted term in child welfare discourses, there remains a vagueness as to what F amily S upport as a named orientation in children and family services actually entails. This lack of clarity is, at times, used to detract from its usefulness within the policy and practice arena. Using the accumulated wisdom of a select group of accomplished managers, academics and policy makers in social work and social care, this paper retrospectively reviews the evolution of F amily S upport within the I rish context and distils the core characteristics of F amily S upport practice and service delivery. An unstructured narrative inducing interview was conducted with 14 veterans of F amily S upport and child welfare. Participants who are based in the USA , the UK and I reland each had between 30 and 60 years' experience working in this field. Salient factors were identified by participants as having contributed to the growth of F amily S upport. Specific and distinct characteristics of F amily S upport practice and services were also categorized by these veterans, providing voice and meaning to F amily S upport as a specific approach. This paper addresses the debate on F amily S upport with its place as an accepted and valued orientation within the child welfare arena acknowledged.