Social welfare workers are frequently motivated by a desire to 'work with people', to 'bring about change' or to 'make a difference'. This valuable book explores some of the difficulties and dilemmas faced by those who deliver welfare in a changing policy context.
This book seeks to develop an analytical skills-based approach to understanding the role and importance of social policy in social welfare practice, and will encourage and enable readers to understand, analyse and engage with policy. It will be of great value to students of social work and other welfare professions, and their teachers.
Introduction: The ideas behind the book; From the care of the poor to service users: experts by experience; From caseworkers to networks: partnership and collaboration; From state-led provision to 'choice'; The mixed economy of welfare and political priorities; Social inequalities and the welfare professional; The decline of the 'union' and the rise of the 'manager'; Economic theories; Globalisation; Political choices; Engaging in policy-orientated practice; Using skills to understand the policy stereotypes; Reclaiming a radical agenda.
