Families in Society
The Journal of Contemporary Social ServicesSocial Services | Social Work Practice (General) | Working with Parents, Families & Communities
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.
Submit your manuscript today at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/FIS.
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?
| Cristina Mogro-Wilson | University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT, USA |
| Jeremiah W. Jaggers | University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Jody Levison-Johnson | Social Current, USA |
| Kirstin Anderson | Social Current, USA |
| 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 |