Wynne S. Korr

Measuring quality of life in the mentally ill

It has been our experience that it is easier to measure quality of life among persons with serious mental illness than it is to intervene to improve it. This article presents background and historical context of service delivery to persons with severe mental illness. We then examine approaches to assessing outcomes of services, especially quality of life. We conclude with an illustration and discussion of dilemmas in measuring quality of life in this vulnerable population.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: implications for social work education:

Children’s rights were a concern of the League of Nations as early as 1924. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of Rights of the Child in 1959 (United Nations, 1959). While the Declaration set out ideals, it did not have the status of a treaty. During the International Year of the Child in 1979, Poland proposed developing a treaty on children’s rights. The result is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations General Assembly, 1989), the first comprehensive treaty covering the rights of persons up to age 18. By 1993, over 150 nations had ratified the treaty. The non-signatories include the United States, Japan, India and countries not known for human rights Iran, Iraq, Libya and South Africa. The Convention’s 41 substantive articles follow no conceptual model or logical sequence. After defining a child as anyone under 18 years of age (thereby avoiding the issue of rights of the fetus), the Convention describes each right. The remaining articles detail the process for ratification and monitoring adherence to the treaty. This paper first provides a conceptual model for children’s rights as a framework for presenting the contents of the Convention. For countries that are parties to the Convention, the model helps understand issues related to implementation. For countries still considering ratification, the model is a concise way to present the key provisions of the Convention. Next, preliminary data are presented to demonstrate how an assessment of students’ attitudes towards children’s rights is useful to stimulate class discussion and has