Daniela Stehlik

Implications of social capital for the inclusion of people with disabilities and families in community life

This paper seeks to ascertain the usefulness of the theory of social capital as a framework for developing and sustaining the inclusion of people with disabilities and families in community life. We discuss the theoretical elements of social capital and assess its relevance when understanding both the experiences of people with disabilities and their families and the possible implications for policy and programme efforts to promote inclusion. Preliminary findings from two studies of the experiences and social networks of people with disabilities and their families in communities in regional and rural Australia are presented. It is argued that to date, people with disabilities and their families have largely been excluded from the broader social capital debate and that social capital thinking has had minimal influence on efforts to achieve the inclusion of people with disabilities into community life. It is further argued that new paradigms of support are needed that build capacity and social capital through working alongside individuals and families to influence not only outcomes for them, but also for the communities on which they live. The local area coordination model as it has developed in Australia since 1989 provides some instructive signposts for integrating individual, family and community approaches. It is concluded that social capital theory can make a contribution to inclusion theory and practice but we should use it with circumspection.

Building resilient communities: Social work practice and rural Queensland

Abstract This paper applies the notion of community resiliency to rural and regional Queensland and explores the role of human services and practitioners in developing this resiliency. Communities can be considered as being ‘resilient’ when they respond to crises in ways that strengthen communal bonds, resources and the communitys capacity to cope. Increasingly, community resiliency has become the focus of international research (Kulig and Brown 1996; 1997), In our work, we have been exploring alliance-building between practitioners and their communities in several research projects in rural and regional Queensland. We argue that these alliances contribute significantly to the building of resiliency and are a potential site for further work in strengthening and sustaining rural communities. The implications of community resiliency for social work practice are discussed.

Aging mothers and aging daughters: life-long caring and intellectual disability.

ABSTRACT While aging and caring are well-discussed in academic literature, the association among aging, caring and intellectual disability is less well documented. This paper draws on a recently completed Australian study which focuses on such mother/daughter relationships and whose narratives form the framework for an argument for a re-imagining of the concept of care for aged people with intellectual disability. Specifically, using a genealogical approach, the paper describes how powerful discourses at the time of the daughters birth (1940s and 1950s) -associated with eugenics, institutional care and motherhood -are framing the way in which aging mothers are now contemplating the future care for their adult (and also aging) daughters.

Community, Communion, and Drought in Rural Australia

Australias rural communities have traditionally exhibited characteristics of community and, at times, communion as their members have united in collective action. However, community has been dependent on the maintenance of a balance between forces that ensure social solidarity and those that would promote division. The definition of drought and changes to government policies for drought draw attention to this balance by threatening the status of drought as a cultural symbol and a common threat that has provided a bond for rural communities. Moreover, while drought is diminishing as a source of social cohesion, drought policies, along with economic decline, are creating conditions that foster social division. Results are reported here of focus groups and an interview survey to assess threats to rural local community in the context of deteriorating economic and environmental conditions in rural Australia. This research reveals complex tensions between factors that bind communities and the socially disrupti...

Re)Valuing Relationships in Child Protection Practice

Relationship-based social work practice with Australian Indigenous families, within an anti-oppressive framework, is considered effective in child protection work. However, procedural and legalistic approaches to child protection, as well as limited cultural competence, can limit the capacity of workers to develop relationships and take action that empowers vulnerable Indigenous families and communities to care safely for their children. This qualitative study, conducted in Australia, examines the inter-relationships between practitioners, agencies, families and community members expressed in day-to-day child protection practice with Indigenous families. There were tensions and constraints on relationship-building between practitioners and clients, between Indigenous and non-indigenous practitioners, and between government and non-government agencies. The findings support arguments to re-value and strengthen the concept of relationship-building as a foundation for practice. All practitioners must have greater support to build the culturally respectful relationships required for positive change, and more scope to work in partnership with families.