Sarah Maiter
Assistant Professor
B.S.W. - Universtiy of Durban-Westville (South Africa)
M.S.W. - University of Toronto
Ph.D - University of Toronto

Dr. Maiter has extensive practice experience in child and family welfare (both child protection and children's mental health services). Her teaching and research interests include: Anti‑racist and social justice approaches to social work; race, culture, and ethnicity and child welfare policy and practice; client‑centered practice in child welfare; including the voices of diverse populations into social work theory, research and practice; and developing prevention and social support programs for diverse populations and for immigrants and refugees.

As principal investigator of a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funded study, Dr Maiter, with colleagues explored factors that bring ethnic minority families to the attention of the child welfare system and the professional responses to these families.  Dr Maiter was co-Investigator of the completed SSHRC funded Community University Research Alliance (CURA) study Partnerships for Children and Families.  She is currently co-investigator of a SSHRC funded CURA study: Taking Culture Seriously in Community Mental Health.  This is a five year participatory action research project that brings together a variety of university and community partners in Toronto and Waterloo Region. The overall purpose of the study is to explore, develop, pilot and evaluate how best to provide community-based mental health services and supports that are effective for people from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Selected Publications

Professor Maiter has co-authored a range of articles and book chapters dealing with children and families, diversity and social work practice, immigration and social services, and social supports and client-centered practice.  More recent publications include:

Articles

Maiter, S.; Stalker, C.; & Alaggia, R. (forthcoming). The Experiences of Minority Immigrant Families Receiving Child Welfare Services: Understanding How to Reduce Risk and Increase Protective Factors.  Families in Society.

Maiter, S., Simich, L., Jacobson, N., & Wise, J. (forthcoming) Reciprocity: An ethic for Participatory Action Research. Action Research.

Maiter, S., Palmer, S., & Manji, S., (2006).  Strengthening Social Worker-Client Relationships in Child Protective Services: Addressing Power Imbalances and
‘Ruptured’ Relationships.  Qualitative Social Work. Vol 5(2): 167-186.

Palmer, S., Maiter, S., & Manji, S., (2006).  Parents’ experiences with child protective services.  Child and Youth Services Review. Vol. 28(7): 812-824.

Manji, S., Maiter, S., & Palmer, S. (2005).   Community and informal support for recipients of child protective services.  Child and Youth Services Review. Vol. 27(3): 291-308

MacFadden, R. J., Herie, M. A., Maiter, S., and  Dumbrill, G. (2005). High touch in high tech: Exploring the subjective experiences of web-based learners in human services. Technology and Social Work Education, special edition.

MacFadden, R. J., Herie, M. A., Maiter, S., and  Dumbrill, G. (2005). Achieving High Touch in High Tech: A Constructivist, Emotionally-Oriented Model of Web-Based Instruction. Journal of Teaching in Social Work Vol. 25, Numbers1/2, pp.21-44

Maiter, S. (2004). Considering context and culture in child protection services to ethnically diverse families: An example from research with parents   from the Indian sub continent (South Asians). Social Work Research and Evaluation. Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 63-80

Maiter, S., Alaggia, A. & Trocmé, N. (2004). Perceptions of Child Maltreatment by Parents from  the Indian Sub-Continent: Challenging Myths about Culturally Based Abusive Parenting Practices. Child Maltreatment, 9(3).

Maiter, S. & George, U. (2003). Understanding context and culture in the parenting approaches  of immigrant South Asian Canadian mothers. Affilia Journal of  Women and Social Work. Vol 18, No. 24.

MacFadden R. J., Maiter, S & Dumbrill, G. C. (2002) High Tech and High Touch: The Human Face of Online Education in Journal of Technology in Human Services, Vol.20, no. 3/4

MacFadden, R. J., Dumbrill, G. C., &  Maiter, S. (2000). Web-based Course  Delivery in a Graduate Faculty of Social Work: Crossing the New Frontier. New Technology in the Human Services, Vol.13. Issue 1/2.

Dumbrill, G. C., & Maiter, S. (1996). Developing cultural and racial equity in social work practice. The Social Worker, 64 (3), 89-94.

Book Chapter

Maiter, S. (forthcoming).  Services for diverse populations in child welfare in. S. Strega and J. Carriere.  Anti-oppressive and anti racist approaches to child welfare practice.  Fernwood Press

Alaggia, R. & Maiter, S. (2006).  Domestic violence and child abuse: Issues for immigrant and refugee families.  In R. Alaggia and C. Vine, Cruel but not Unusual: Violence in Canadian Families.  Wilfrid Laurier University Press. 

Maiter, S. (2005). From Cultural Sensitivity to Anti-Oppressive Practice.  In B. Lee & S. Todd (Eds.). Community practice: Problems and strategies. Mississauga: Common Act Press.

MacFadden, R. J., Herie, M., Maiter, S., Dumbrill, G.C., (2005). Achieving high touch in high  tech: A constructivist, emotionally-oriented model of web-based instruction. In Beaulaurier, R., and Haffey, M. (Eds.). Technology and Social Work education. NY: Haworth.

Maiter, S. (2003). The Context of Culture: Social Work with South Asian-Canadians. In  Alean Al-Krenawi  & J. Graham (Eds.), Cross-Cultural Social Work Practice with Diverse Ethno-Racial Communities in Canada. Toronto: Oxford University Press. (55 pages).

MacFadden, R. J., Maiter, S., & Dumbrill. G. C. (2002). High Tech and High Touch: the human face of online education. In P. S. Anderson & H. Resnick (Ed.), Innovations in technology and human services: Practice and education. 2nd edition. New York: Haworth Press.

Last updated: October 5, 2007.