Limits to partnership working: developing relationship-based approaches with children and their families

Located within a context of widespread change social work professionals are required to navigate tensions between organisational imperatives and developing effective relationships with families. Achieving effective partnership working is premised on the development of relational ways of working where trust is formed through co-creation. The recent emergence of 'Fast-track' approaches in education and training reflects a shift away from developing skills in critical/analytical reflection, towards an employer-led approach that prioritises the need for 'ready practitioners'. Simultaneously there has been change in the family justice system, culminating in the Children and Families Act 2014 and the 26-week time frame for the completion of care cases. This paper explores current contradictions within social work practice. Pivotal is defining the role of social work within a contemporary English jurisdiction. Adopting deeper relational ways of working with families may help to define the boundaries of a profession that appears to have lost its identity. Rather than facing the prospect that the door is closed on the possibility of reclaiming practice that prioritises and values professional judgement and discretion, this paper reflects upon some positive examples of relational work with families by social workers within different sectors of practice.     

Implications of twin research for legal issues involving young twins

Twin studies have generated numerous findings that have had substantial impact upon research conducted in psychological and medical science disciplines. Twin research has, however, been underutilized utilized as an information base relevant to decision making in the legal domain. Current empirical knowledge of twins and the various legal issues for which they offer implications are reviewed. Selected case studies of young twins, illustrative of a meaningful relationship between twin research and the legal field, are presented. A research program to further address issues raised by the collaborative efforts of twin investigators and legal experts is proposed.     

Seizing the Opportunities of Fiscal Retrenchment

As both a trust establishment and a public institution, the Smithsonian Institution is a recipient of both public and private sector funding. This article examines the financial crisis within the Institution that resulted from increasing costs, a weakening economy, and eroding federal support. It further shows how the Institution's senior management recognized the permanence of their economic situation, accepted the structural nature of their fiscal plight, and initiated the downsizing and restructuring of a public institution that, until recently, experienced nothing but growth.