Eugenics as cultural and historical context for social work with the family

The social discourse on the use of knowledge in the field of genetic research involving both supporters as well as opponents. First, pointing to the medical aspects, emphasize new possibilities for prevention and treatment of diseases. Others warn against the temptation associated with the manipulation of human nature through sex selection, genetic features children or patching or muscles. As stated Marek Drwięga the problem (and the related moral dilemmas) occurs when—instead of the treatment of diseases—people use gene therapy to ““improve their physical and mental faculties”“ to the consequences ““as a unit better to”“ find themselves ““above norm”„. The variety of positions and the lack of clarity in the expression of individual opinion partly due to the fact that technological progress is much faster than moral reflection. This leads—according to Michael Sandel—a situation in which people express their concern about reaching into the language of autonomy, justice and individual rights. Unfortunately, this ““moral”“ vision of the world does not bring relief to people and does not release them from anxiety, as they continue to answer the fundamental questions concerning, inter alia, the design of children or human cloning remain open. In the context of genetic engineering and biotechnology is increasingly appearing concept of eugenics—invented in the nineteenth century by Francis Galton3 and meaning ““well-born”“—which is the ““gate”“ to the in-vitro procedure. In today‘s world, where thanks to advanced technologies dominate pleasure, convenience and comfort, eugenics may be manipulating the eternal laws of nature in order to ““breed a man without any dysfunction and deficits, or to bring into being an artificial being, human-like in appearance only, and characterized by excellent physical and mental efficiency.”“ The purpose of our article is, therefore, a reflection on the risks associated with the formation of new sources of inequality and identity wounds, which is particularly important in the field of contemporary social work with the family.

Early education of children in Poland as an element of social policy

Article focuses on issues related to early care and education for children in the context of the current challenges facing social policy. Its aim is to show the importance of early care and education of children as part of the systemic impact in the area, forming part of the family and educational policy, and bringing tangible benefits to individual and social. The text points to the important role of education in society from the point of view of both the functionalist perspective, as well as the theory of conflict and education starting from the earliest years of a child’s life. Furthermore, the article shows the elements of the system of early care and education of children in Poland and its transformations, as well as the challenges faced by local authorities in ensuring the effective and efficient functioning.

Family as a problem, family as a solution

Surveys show a high degree of satisfaction with marital relationship and relationship between parents and children in Polish families. Family is invariably located on the top of the hierarchy of values for the Poles. They assess family policy of the state at less than a sufficient grade. The authors analyze social work with foster families in Myślenice and support for social workers working with families in Kraków. They are new forms of direct or indirect support for problem families. The assistance is now possible thanks to new laws on foster care and supervision for social workers.

Challenges to co-operation with parents in Centers for Early Education in Germany

The mandate of public services in early education and care is discussed in view of social inequalities in Germany. The paper focusses on the so called ‘educational partnership between professionals and parents’ and analyses its challenges and potentials under the given legal and social structures. Special emphasis is set on chosen life situations of children and families such as migration and poverty. Current approaches to parent-teacher partnership are discussed against the setting of historic development in parent cooperation. The paper closes with a critical acclaim of the challenges innate to the concept of parent-professional partnership.

Family Policy in Germany

The family policy of the past ten years has been influenced mainly by three (discourse) events: (1) by the discussion of demographic change and the continuing low birth rate of 1.4 children per woman on average, (2) by the debate on the link between educational success and social origin, particularly under the impression of the  negative results for Germany compared to other OECD countries in the PISA studies, and (3) by the challenges of increasing paid occupation among women and the insufficient compatibility of work and family life, which were communicated in the political sphere not least by EU targets as part of the Lisbon strategy.

Family policy in Germany has therefore advanced from a “niche subject” to an important policy field. In alignment with the “family policy triad” (BMFSFJ 2006) consisting of monetary benefits, infrastructure measures and time policy, various measures have been taken since 2005, whereby the first two fields (money + infrastructure) form the focus of the present article.

The traditionally high financial and tax-related benefits used in family policy (regulated via federal laws) have been modernized in part (e.g. child benefit, parental benefit), yet also continue the classic direction of the federal German model (e.g. income splitting for tax purposes for married couples, contribution-free insurance for  marriage partners, double system of child benefit and tax allowance for children). Particularly the inability to tackle child poverty effectively and the strong focus on marriage in German federal family policy remain largely untouched.

With regard to infrastructure measures (competencies on the state level, implementation by local authorities), since 2005 the act for the expansion of daycare and the child support act on the federal level have introduced the expansion of public childcare for children under three in particular, thus launching further-reaching steps towards early-childhood education and improved compatibility of working and family life. Here too, however, alongside questions of social selectivity in the field of early-childhood education and quality assurance for care outside the home, the objective must be to link paid employment with needs and necessities for care work for women and men, and to ensure high quality care.

At least three weak points in the construction of German federal family policy are responsible for these desiderata: firstly, the conflict of competencies within the federalist structures, between the federal, state and local authority levels; secondly, the lack of coordination between family policy and other policy fields such as labour market, education and equality policy; and thirdly, the historically caused insufficient tackling of social inequalities in German family policy.

Social Work with Foster Families. The Colaboration of Foster Families and Families of Origin

The care for foster children has been an important mode of support in almost any era and society. Until todays, it is a meaningful field of social work with children and families. Foster families provide reliable and stable familial settings for children, who are unable to stay within their families who are in need. They help these children to cope with experiences of neglect, violence and abuse.

Family as an issue for academic journals of social work. Focus points in academic contributions between 1994 and 2014

The article provides an overview on focus points concerning family social work in academic journals between 1994 and 2014. On the basis of categorizations to the data base “SoLit” by the German central institute for social issues the shift of foci in social work sciences and adjoining fields of research are reconstructed.

Social Work – Social Policy – Family Contexts

Family issues are combining diversified factors, viewpoints, directions of analysis. As such they reflect different levels of social structure, functioning, and related professional activities. In the first place it means micro-social reality but also other components influencing our understanding of family life, including macro-social ones. On the other hand we should look at family through the prism of particular disciplines – and in this paper both social work and social policy are starting points. They are treated as exceptionally important tools of family research and practice.

Parent and Child Migration – Challenges and Solutions for Social Support System

According to the most recent demographic data, Poland remains a country of net emigration, with population outflows significantly higher than the numbers for the incoming flows. A high ratio of 75% of the temporary migrants has remained abroad for 12 months and longer becoming residents of immigration countries. Intensive international movements of Poles lead to changes in social relations and in family functioning and often to it temporary or permanent restructuring. They generate the full range of problems which in many cases require not just the extemporary reactions of social care institutions but the design of entire social security system to help and support families and children themselves. This article is focused on two significant challenges. First one is the situation of children whose parents (one or both) migrate and which are colloquially and stigmatizingly called Euro-orphans. The second one – connected mostly with education system – is the help for children returning to Poland and to the Polish school after a period of staying abroad.

Consequences in family systems if couples bind themselves bicultural

With an empiric research we tried to find answers to the question, with which social and familial situations couples with multicultural background have to argue in an increasingly globalizing country. More than 30 pair relations and also many experts who work professionally with this personal group were questioned about it, as well as interviews of parents with bicultural married children carried out. The respective results offer three perspectives of this increasingly returning to normal phenomenon.

Thus the couples on varied ways meet, they communicate in extremely different kinds with each other, with members and their environment, they form their everyday life, in particular with their children, astonishingly creatively and they handle with individual, family and social conflicts confidently. On the other hand the experts experience such pairs and families mainly in conflict situations, like with separation and divorce or with education problems. From the advisers point family constellations reveal themselves which promote a success or also hinder just. The questioning of parents with adult, bicultural married children proves an other perspective which can be called basically supporting, however nevertheless also as anxious must be called, above all if the own child stays abroad and also if it approaches more or adapts (adjusts) of the family in law then the questioned parents favour it. Selected results and single pair biographies, e.g., German-Polish couples, are presented and discussed with look at consequences in the family system.