Looking Back and Forward

Abstract

As we reflect upon the contributions in Volume 46 (2022), we express our continued appreciation to you as authors, reviewers, and readers of the journal. The quality of your contributions can be seen in the research articles, guest editorials, and Learning from the Field cases displayed this year. We note in particular the invaluable service provided by our 2021–2022 peer reviewers, whose names are listed below and whose perspectives have been essential in improving the papers in the journal. Our reflections also involve reappraisal in the service of supporting a community of scholars, researchers, and practitioners. One form of reappraisal can be seen in single-topic literature reviews, as exemplified by the article by Graham and colleagues that focuses upon organizational change in human service organizations (Graham et al., 2022). Another form of reappraisal involves multi-topic or cumulative literature reviews, as exemplified by the paper by Kang and colleagues that identifies major scholarly themes across 40 years of this journal (Kang et al., 2022). A third form can be seen in the celebration of life that Austin (2022) share in response to the passing of Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Rino J. Patti. Each form of reappraisal is essential. Single-topic and cumulative literature reviews contribute to the articulation of conceptual and practical frameworks, by identifying where core concepts and topics may be resonant or absent, and by suggesting opportunities and needed directions for future theory, empirical research, and practice. In addition, commentaries on esteemed scholars provide an opportunity to appreciate their many contributions – as scholar-researchers, mentors, colleagues, boundary spanning leaders, and public servants – from different vantage points. These forms of reappraisal have at their core an emphasis upon scholarship to the benefit of a diverse community. Because our journal strives to reflect academic and practice audiences, it is critical to create collaborative spaces for both to be well represented. For example, Kang et al. (2022) note that their literature review aims to stimulate “innovative future research on human service organizations that could further reduce the gaps between management practice and research” (p. 11). Similarly, Graham et al. (2022) argue, “Knowledge on organizational change should be approachable for diverse stakeholders to foster broad and shared understanding and help support consensus building from theorizing through implementation” (p. 50). In addition, Austin (2022) identify Rino Patti’s gentle and constant leadership in advancing the integration of macro practice and research, to the benefit of students, scholars, and practitioners in university and civic spaces. We also look ahead to the issues comprising Volume 47 (2023). Looking forward involves appreciating the articles in our current issue. In “Predicting Retention for a Diverse and Inclusive Child Welfare Workforce,” Zeitlin and colleagues draw upon multisite survey data to find that the factors predicting job retention and job satisfaction differed for staff of color vs. other staff across child welfare agencies; they identify the need for specific leadership development platforms for workers of color. In “‘At One Point We Had No Funding for Paper’: How Grants and the COVID Crises Have Shaped Service Provision in Child Advocacy Centers,” Addison and Rubin identify how the programmatic efforts of Child Advocacy Centers to address increased child, parent, and family needs were negatively impacted by unpredictable and overly restrictive public funding; they argue for sufficient and flexible funds to advance multidisciplinary team supports. In “Working Overtime in Social Work Settings: Associations with Burnout, Person-organization Value Congruence and Turnover Intentions among Chinese Social Workers,” Jiang and colleagues analyze the China Social Work Longitudinal Survey to describe how burnout and person-organization value congruence inform the relationship of working overtime and turnover intention among social workers; they propose methods to reduce overwork and enhance work flexibility. In “Implementing Equity and Equality at the Frontline in Two HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS: MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP & GOVERNANCE 2023, VOL. 47, NO. 1, 1–8 https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2022.2153515