A framework for social work practice: Usma Child and Family Services

• Main Author: Lucas, Linda
• Other Authors: Brown, Leslie
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: Aboriginal Social Work; Child Welfare; UVic Subject Index::Humanities and Social Sciences::Sociology::Public welfare; Usma; First Nations
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/1101

This exploratory study examines social work practice at Usma Child and Family Services and provides a descriptive understanding of social work practice within the Nuu chah nulth communities. An interpretive analysis explores participants’ views about social work practice in a First Nations child welfare context. Qualitative interviewing and thematic analyses provide the basis for theme identification, which includes: Historical and political influences; Family and extended family; Building relationships; Children in care: knowing where they are from; and Helper’s values. The study concludes with a discussion of Aboriginal social work practice as a decolonizing framework.