The aim of this study is to provide a survey of systematic reviews that have evaluated the effects of psychosocial interventions for adult people with intellectual disabilities and/or an autistic syndrome with concurrent mental health problems. Reviews for inclusion were identified through searches of 10 electronic databases. The authors found that 3 out of 126 published reviews met the inclusion criteria for interventions, population, and being considered a systematic review. The results imply a weak scientific support for behavioral therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and some forms of integrated care and support. However, the primary studies included in the reviews have several methodological shortcomings. The results suggest future research initiatives in the direction of more effectiveness studies of good quality and reproduction of high-quality systematic reviews.

A B S T R AC TClinical utility of an assessment instrument can provide important information about the potential value of that instrument when used in practice. The aim of this study was to describe social work practitioners' experiences of the clinical utility of a Swedish version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory. Because knowledge of clinical utility in this area is scarce, a qualitative method based on semi-structured interviews was used to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. Data were collected through 16 interviews and then analysed by qualitative manifest content analysis. The analysis yielded five categories: improves quality of child protection investigations, supports practitioners, HOME has drawbacks and difficulties, certain issues are important for future applications and basic conditions are crucial. The findings supported the clinical utility of the HOME Inventory though some critical issues have to be addressed, especially concerning the category basic conditions are crucial. A thorough education, the possibility to practice activities related to the administration of the method and support from management were found to be essential. Replication and further studies are needed in the Swedish context to confirm the applicability of the HOME Inventory.

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Co-operation in a child welfare case: a comparative cross-national vignette study Samarbete i ett socialt barnavå rdsä rende: en jä mfö rande tvä rnationell vinjettstudie Johan GladThe purpose of this article is to explore how social workers co-operate around a case where a four-year-old child is exposed to hardship or abuse in the family. The empirical data were collected using a vignette technique in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, the state of Texas (USA) and Britain. The data show that it is common to discuss, as well as work jointly, with others in an obviously serious child welfare case, and that different professional expertise is involved. Discussions of a case are generally held within the agency rather than with external specialists. Moreover, there is a positive relationship between the severity of the case and the degree of collaborative working. The data show that there are differences in the answers between the countries under study. One cause contributing to differences might be variation in organisation of the social services in the countries. Another explanation could be the extent to which legislation affects co-operation at the single case level. To be able to establish regular co-operation between different agencies, it seems to be important that co-operation is integrated in the process of the practice in social work.Syftet med denna artikel är att belysa hur socialarbetare samarbetar i ett fall med ett fyraårigt barn som är utsatt för vanvård. Fallet beskrevs som en så kallad vinjett*en fiktiv men realistisk beskrivning av ett skeende. Det empiriska materialet samlades in i Danmark, Tyskland, Sverige, Storbritannien samt i delstaten Texas i USA. I ett allvarligt barnavårdsärende visar materialet att det är vanligt att både diskutera och arbeta tillsammans med en mängd andra experter från olika professioner. Diskussionerna om ett ärende hålls i allmänhet inom myndigheten snarare än med externa specialister. Det finns ett positivt samband mellan hur allvarligt ett fall är och graden av samarbete. Materialet visar också att det finns skillnader i svaren mellan de länder som ingår i studien. En bidragande orsak till skillnaderna kan bero på hur det sociala arbetet är organiserat i de olika länderna. En annan förklaring kan vara hur lagstiftningen reglerar samarbete i individärenden. För att kunna etablera ett reguljärt samarbete mellan olika verksamheter verkar det vara viktigt att samarbetet är en integrerad del i det sociala arbetet.

The aim of this pilot study was to explore psychometric properties of two versions of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory in a Swedish social service sample. Method: Social workers employed at 22 Swedish child protections agencies participated in the data collection. Both classic test theory approaches and Rasch analysis were used. Seventy-five (46 double) protocols of the Early Childhood version and 65 (43 double) protocols of the Middle Childhood version were obtained. Results: The interobserver reliability and Rasch reliability displayed acceptable results. Targeting was satisfying for the middle and more adequate home environments. However, there were mixed results concerning model fit. Conclusion: The scores may be used to identify families with inadequate home environments where children may be at risk.