Social Work with Families and Children

seminar

Social Work with Families and Children

in Europe and in the United States

University of Calabria

Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy.

May 9 - 13, 2011

Students presentations

Social Problems in Italy & America

by

Rosamaria Trunzo, Valentina Fuoco, Ottavia Clerici, Giulia Notari,

Rachel Warsaw, Kristin Reid, Karen Finstad

Group A

Seminar at University of Calabria

May 13, 2011

Introduction (Guilia)

In social work, we encounter multi-problematic families in our daily work. Our group was assigned to provide a summary of the social problems that were discussed during the seminar. At the end of the five days, we have a broader view of the common difficulties in Italy and in America. The main problems we are discussing are found under the categories of disintegration of the family structure, education, and employment. We considered what we knew about each problem before and after the seminar. Although each social problem is discussed in separate categories, we found them all to be interrelated.

Disintegration of Family Structure (Rosamaria & Karen)

As Americans, before coming to this seminar, the view of divorce was thought to be low or non-existent. This belief came from the understanding that Italy was a country run by the Catholic Church. Since in the Catholic Church it is considered a sin to divorce, it was interesting to learn that Italian divorce is actually more prevalent than previously thought. Related to this, it was surprising to find out that the number of single family homes is high at about 25%. Regarding family structure, previously coming to this seminar, it was thought that Italian families were also large with multiple children. While this was prevalent in the past, according to Annamaria Campanini’s lecture, there have been many changes in the family structure in Italy recently that we did not know about. In particular, the one child family is increasing. Actually, there are 45.8% of single child families. In addition, regarding gender roles before coming to the seminar, it was our understanding that the man was very protective of his family and that he was the head of the household while the wife stayed at home and took the traditional role of family caretaker. We learned after the seminar that there are new tensions in the gender relationships because women are working more often. In fact, 57% of women work in Italy.

Before the seminar, we thought that the American families were more breakable than the Italian’s because of the society’s changes. As Italians, the view of American divorce was very high. Many authors that we study talk about how the precarious relationship between man and woman reflects modern society. After this experience, we understand that there are a lot of other problems connected with the disintegration of the family structure. At first, poverty is a high risk factor for children and families. The lack of financial resources is a big problem that means bad conditions, including nutrition and housing for children and parents. There is no possibility to cure this because in America, because the health care is not free. We also thought that the stereotypes of America include the lack of ability to find a job.

Education (Rachel & Ottavia)

In the south of Italy, there are higher rates of poverty and fewer resources available to citizens. This can be displayed by the higher proportion of young adults joining black market activities or eventually being unemployed. They are not receiving the full educational opportunities of their Northern counterparts. A low motivation to succeed academically may also be attributed to a poor or strained relationship between students and teachers.

For these particular reasons, agencies such as San Pancrazio and Madre Teresa di Calcutta are very important. Their approaches are strengths-based and provide the nurturance and individualized attention that schools and teachers are not equipped to provide. These agencies also provide tutoring services to the children as well as parental education. They stress the integration between the family and the school, so they include parental educational programs.

Madre Teresa di Calcutta is very poorly funded and only receives £2000 per year from the government. There are also only twenty children that are enrolled in the program. This came as a surprise to us because we had assumed that because it is the only program of its kind in the area, we thought the government would have been able to afford to provide them with better funding so they would be able to help more families.

Before the seminar, we thought that American schools had a lot of services that students need. This assumption was influenced by the media. Instead, after the seminar, we know that in American schools, there is a lack of resources and good teachers. Concerning the phenomena of the high drop-out rate of students, we thought that it was not a big problem while after the seminar we discovered that the drop-out rate is high due to the policies to support students. Concerning the low motivation of students to study, we thought that only immigrant children had this problem, but now we know that this situation is due to both the weaknesses of parents help during homework and the presence of problems in the family.

Employment (Kristin & Valentina)

Before coming to Italy, we thought Italians had sufficient employment. This country is rich with culture and strong family ties which led me to believe the majority had a job within a family business. The working conditions never really crossed our minds because we believed that within the family business, there would be a standard. We knew however, across the world, there is the “the good, the bad and the ugly” of any employment entity. Along with working conditions, under employment did not seem like a problem. Since being very based in the family structure, jobs were family oriented. The “mom and pop” stores and restaurants drove the Italian culture. However, coming to the country and learning from the Italian natives, we see that our knowledge was wrong. There are people who suffer from bad working conditions, under employment and the affects of illegal activities.

By communicating with the Italian students, we have learned that their working conditions are inhumane. Similar to America, the immigrants who migrate to Italy have it very bad with employment. The people who come from North Africa and Eastern Europe work in horrible conditions for little to no money. The Italians call it the “black market.” Along with the immigrant people, the young Italians from southern Italy are unable to find jobs. Since the economy is bad now, the young Italians are unable to find work. If they are unable to find work, illegal activities are now on the rise. Illegal selling of drugs and mob activities has plagued southern Italy for many years now. However, there are agencies to help with the working conditions of the immigrants and the stopping of illegal activities. Many Italians are becoming social workers in order to help their people.

Before the seminar, we thought that in America, poor conditions and poor families caused the bad working conditions. In our opinion, under employment did not affect a large range of people. We thought that the American market gave the possibilities to its citizens the opportunities to work. Also, the Illegal activities that plague America are controlled by the rich like in Italy. However, after speaking and learning from the American students, there are some differences and similarities America and Italy share.

After our five days with one another, we discovered that one cause of bad working conditions affects the immigrant population. The Mexican natives cross the border and try to get work in America illegally. Americans hire the illegal immigrants and work them hard and pay them little to no money. Under employment is widespread across America. Rich people can find jobs easier than those who are at or below poverty level due to the opportunities afforded to them. They have money in order to allow them to get access to more than those who are poor. The government helps the people who live in poverty by giving them “link” cards. This card allows for the families to buy food every month. The people who fall on the poverty level are mainly people of color or minorities. They tend to break the law because they have little to nothing of their own. So they turn to violence and selling of illegal drugs. This is a means of employment to these people. This is a sad consequence of the bad working conditions and under employment. However, social workers and other government entities are helping minorities to stop the crime. They are giving them resources to find jobs and to learn trades. Italy and America is very similar with the issues that affect the people.

In conclusion, we found many differences between children and families in Italy and America. Although there are significant differences, we also found that Italy and America have many common social problems. To overcome these social problems, social workers must focus on the positive relationships between themselves and the clients. Thus, social work in both Italy and America are important to our countries.

Social Work with Families and Children in Europe and in the United States

Social Policies: United States and Europe

University of Calabria, Rende (Cs), Italy – May 13th 2011

Group 2:

1. Michelle Daniel;

2. Cristina Kroeze,

3. Katie Zabinski,

4. Francesca Crociani,

5. Antonio Frulio,

6. Chiara Pancirolli,

7. Maria Vesci.

During our seminar at University of Calabria we studied social policy for children and families. There were several countries whose policy was discussed. Among the countries discussed were: Italy, United States, Switzerland, and Czech Republic. During these presentations we found many similarities and differences in social policy between the countries. For this paper our group was asked to focus on what we knew before the seminar and what was learned after the seminar. Our group consisted of four Italian students and three American students. The Italian students talked about many different things that they knew prior to seminar about American policy. One policy discussed was healthcare in America. The Italian students were aware that healthcare in America is not free and there are both public and private sector for healthcare services. The Italian students were not aware that doctors and\or clinics can turn patients away if they are uninsured unless it is an emergency situation. In any case where medical services are provided payment will be requested as well as demanded from any physician or clinic. If patients do not make payments they will be turned into a collection agency where legal action can then be taken and payments may be garnished from any income. Also, this situation can damage a persons credit rating and affect there future chances for getting any line of credit. The next policy that the Italian students were aware of is the citizenship requirements in America. The Italian students knew that any person born on US soil would automatically become a US citizen. Another aspect of policy that the Italian students knew prior to seminar was that America has many more private social service agencies than in Italy. Lastly, the Italian students talked about the stigmatization of clients in America receiving social services. Citizens in America are looked down on for accepting social services and are very often labeled as lazy, poor, and incompetent. The Italian students also pointed out that America is a very multicultural nation compared to Italy. In America social workers have many challenges of diversity to face which can sometimes lead to poor administration of social services if significant culture barriers are present. In Italy the focus is more on the Italian culture and there are not as many barriers presented by diversity. However, immigration is on the rise in Italy because of conflicts in North Africa and challenges of diversity may present to Italian social workers in the future. Policies may need to be created in the future to better address the increase of immigration to meet the needs of a more diverse society. In Italy social workers are not able to provide clinical therapy services as this is seen as the role of a psychologist. If a social worker in Italy was to provide clinical therapy services they would be in violation of their social work code of ethics and could be reported and as a result lose their certification on the national registry as a social worker. Currently in Italy psychologists are viewed as the clinical providers and the social workers expectations are that they only practice true social work roles. If a social worker wants to do therapy they must go back to school for additional training to become a psychologist. As a social worker in Italy you are expected to provide services for food, housing, abuse, neglect, disability services, mainstreaming special needs children with other children in the schools, assistance with job placement, transportation, and home care services. The American students did not have much knowledge related to social service policy in Italy prior to the seminar. One of the American students was aware that Italy had a universal healthcare system. The other two American students had the assumption that Italian healthcare was more similar to American healthcare policies. All of the American students were very aware that there was not as much diversity in Italy than in America. The American students also knew that catholicism was a large part of the Italian society and there was a strong influence of religion on their social service policies. They also knew that there is a strong sense of family in Italy and this also plays a role in social policy. The American students were aware of the relaxed culture in Italy which could negatively play a role in social policy implementation. Because of this relaxed culture it is easier for them to sit back and observe rather than act on some of the issues. An important part of social policy that the American students learned is that children who are born in Italy do not automatically become Italian citizens until age 18. Children can receive basic healthcare and basic social services if they are not citizens but there parents cannot. The American students also learned that there are not as many social service agencies but there are a lot of volunteers who provide assistance to marginalized populations. Some of these organizations are: Red Cross, Green Cross, UNICEF, Catholic churches, and Caritas. Policies in Italy are not always written to include certain services because it is assumed that the Catholic churches will provide those services. This concept is more of an unofficial rule rather than a written standard in the Italian society. The American students also learned about how the different areas of Italy are seperated by province, region, and municipality. In southern Italy the regions have much more control over the implementation of social policy and the administration of social services. There are many differences between regions and there are currently no social policies in place as a country. There are many different policies that have been created for the administration of social services but many of these policies have not been implemented and\or enforced by the municipalities. There are also many policies at this time that are incomplete. Another very interesting fact that the American students learned was that the foster care and adoption services are a newer concept only from the 1980s. The American students learned that currently in foster care children can stay for a maximum of 24 months and then it is preferred that the children be adopted out if unable to return with their biological families. Formally in Italy there are no institutions left for children and families. Most services are provided out in the community. The homes that children go to for social services are now much smaller and usually only have 5-8 children in one home. The history of this is that children and families use to be placed in institutions. Some of the differences between America and Italy is that Italy has less funds for social service agencies and programs but they are able to meet some peoples needs through volunteers. There are many more religous agencies in Italy than in America. Overall, there are still unmet needs for people in both countries and there will always be a need for policies to be researched and revised