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Families in Society

Families in Society

The Journal of Contemporary Social Services
Published in Association with Social Current

eISSN: 19451350 | ISSN: 10443894 | Current volume: 105 | Current issue: 3 Frequency: Quarterly

Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services (FIS), the first journal of social work research, has been published for over 100 years and has made an enduring impact on innovation and inquiry into the art, science, and practice of social work. A core journal in the field, FIS focuses on micro and macro practice that fosters whole-person well-being and helps individuals, families, and communities to thrive.

Stewarded by Social Current (formerly Alliance for Strong Families and Communities) and published by SAGE Publishing, FIS was created by Mary E. Richmond in 1920 to capture the first systematized methods of social work. The journal has a long-standing focus on biopsychosocial and systemic factors that affect functioning, well-being, and opportunity across the lifespan. Included are analysis, theory, and investigation; quantitative and qualitative studies; direct-practice issues; and assessment of service delivery and management. Content might be explanatory, instructive, reflective, or provocative.

Over the years, the journal has had four titles:

  • The Family (1920-1946)
  • The Journal of Social Casework (1947-1949)
  • Social Casework (1950-1989)
  • Families in Society (1990 to present)

FIS prioritizes content on social work’s person- and family-in-environment approach to health and safety, growth and development, and autonomy and self-determinism. The interdisciplinary readership of the journal represents social services, child welfare, health care and behavioral/mental health, education, workforce development, housing, and many other allied fields.

100 Years of Editorial Leadership

Year

Editor-in-Chief

1920

Mary E. Richmond and Helen P. Kempton

1921–1925

David H. Holbrook

1926–1939

Margaret E. Rich

1940–1942

Maurine Boise LaBarre

1943–1947

Florence Hollis

1948–1950

Cora Kasius

1951

Mildred Frank

1952–1964

Cora Kasius

1965–1969

Elinor P. Zaki

1970–1977

Margaret M. Mangold

1978–1981

Jacqueline M. Atkins

1982–1986

Robert Elfers

1987–1997

Ralph Burant

1998–2000

Howard Goldstein

2001–2011

William E. Powell

2012–2014

Susan E. Mason

2015–2022

Sondra J. Fogel



About Social Current:
The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and Council on Accreditation have joined to form Social Current. Together with thousands of social-sector leaders, we will activate the power of the sector to create a unified, intrepid, just, and purposeful network so that all people can thrive. We are partners working toward a common goal to ignite change for an equitable society.

As it works to expand the impact of its national network, Social Current also pursues an agenda of systemic reform rooted in social justice and equity. It advances policy recommendations at the national and state levels, and strategically mobilizes its network to influence the systems and sectors that can together ensure that all people have the opportunity to live safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives.

Visit social-current.org for more information.

Aims and Scope

Advancing translational research in social work scholarship, Families in Society focuses on micro and macro practice that fosters whole-person well-being and helps individuals, families, and communities to thrive. Examined are the biopsychosocial and systemic factors that affect functioning, health, equity, and opportunity across the lifespan, with areas of inquiry that include analysis, theory, and investigation; quantitative and qualitative studies; direct-practice issues; and innovation in service delivery and agency management. Content might be explanatory, instructive, reflective, or provocative.

Published by SAGE Publishing in partnership with Social Current (formerly Alliance for Strong Families and Communities), the journal prioritizes research that should be accessible and applicable to all who wish to co-create positive change with and for children, youth, and adults everywhere. Practical knowledge should ideally increase the effectiveness of program development and evaluation, professional learning, and performance quality improvement.

The journal is receptive to many forms of inquiry including quantitative and qualitative. Beyond the relevance of the study itself, a major criterion for publication is the study’s applicability to practice and policy concerns and its accessibility to a variety of professionals in the social work field and related disciplines. Examples might include:

  • Issues in family and community social work, such as innovation in an outcomes-to-impact approach to working with families, elevating prevention in ecological practice, evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence paradigms, and culturally responsive practice and policy.
  • Service delivery, systems, and participant engagement. Topics related to the delivery of services are also relevant, such as person and family-centric programming, community engagement, training and supervision trends, legal and ethical issues, program evaluation and performance measures, policy development, technology associated with practice, and interdisciplinary and interagency practice.
  • Making practice better. Of particular interest are critical examinations on the state of the art, the strengths and challenges of professional practice, the adequacy of formal education, the limitations of social policy, ethics, and future needs. How can a true integration of data, theory, and practice—i.e., translational knowledge—be achieved?

 

Editor-in-Chief
Cristina Mogro-Wilson University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT, USA
Associate Editor
Jeremiah W. Jaggers University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Editorial Board
Adugna Abebe University of Gondar,Ethiopia
Kess Ballentine Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
Anita P. Barbee University of Louisville, KY, USA
Carenlee Barkdull University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA
Carol L. Cleaveland George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
Angelique Day University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Robert L. Hawkins North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Wynne Korr University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA
Alysse M. Loomis The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Kristina Lovato University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
Christina N. Marsack-Topolewski Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, USA
Branden A. McLeod University of Illinois Chicago, IL, USA
Mary Sormanti Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Fred Wulczyn Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Methodological Review Committee
Kess Ballentine, Chair Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
Hui Huang University of Texas at Arlington, TX, USA
Alysse M. Loomis The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Kristina Lovato University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
Melanie Sonsteng- Person University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Abha Rai Loyola University Chicago, IL, USA
Svetlana Yampolskaya University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Social Current – President and CEO
Jody Levison-Johnson Social Current, USA
Social Current – Director, Knowledge and Insights Center
Kirstin Anderson Social Current, USA
Social Current – Board of Directors
Annette Rodriguez Around the Corner Consulting
Gary Blau The Hackett Center for Mental Health
Reuben Rotman Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
Adria Johnson Metro United Way
Bob Bailey Truth Collective
Ralph Bayard Casey Family Programs
Father Steven Boes Father Flanagan's Boys Home
Alexandra Cawthorne Gaines JP Morgan Chase Policy Center
Richard Cohen Philadelphia Public Health Management Corp.
Melissa Devlin National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families
Sam Jackson Lincoln International, LLC
Donald Layden NCR
Charles Montorio-Archer One Hope United
Arabella Perez National Association of Social Workers
Edgar Ramirez Chicago Commons
Michelle Sanborn Children’s Alliance
Tracy Wareing Evans American Public Health Human Services Association
  • Clarivate Analytics: Social Science Citation Index
  • EBSCO
  • ProQuest
  • PsycINFO
  • Scopus
  • Manuscript submission guidelines can be accessed on Sage Journals.

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