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There has been a renewed interest in professional and academic discourse in the reconceptualisation of social work with adults as a human rights-based approach. This is compatible with the social model of disability, which philosophically adult social workers make claims to align with. This was recently argued for when the Department of Health in England piloted a named social worker for adults with learning disabilities, whose behaviour challenged services. This paper discusses the conceptualisation of rights-based practice, its relevance and appropriateness for contemporary social work policy. Drawing on the recognition theory literature, it shall be shown that the meta-theory of rights-based practice may have relevance to contemporary social work practice with adults with learning disabilities. The paper shall also consider the renewed interest in normative reconstruction in social work practice and influencing factors such as drives towards individualism and marketisation. It will consider how these impacted on the adoption into UK policy of social work as a positive intervention to address structural inequalities, perhaps more accurately described as disablism, experienced by adults with learning disabilities, which ultimately is concluded to be a 'wicked problem'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'war on terror' signalled a new type of warfare--one that accorded with the features of what Surkov argues is non-linear war (Pomerantsev, 2014). Traditional war that takes place in a particular geographical location, with an identifiable enemy, is no more. Instead, warfare is a more fluid phenomenon. The paper argues that Surkov's concept can be usefully applied to current developments in social work practice in the UK. We trace the origins of key anti-terrorist policy developments in the UK (PREVENT and CHANNEL) from the war on terror and argue that such policies have serious implications for social work. We argue that there is an increasing securitisation approach in addressing modern social problems. We describe these as reflecting conflationary rhetorical logic, notably the linking of Troubled Families programmes with 'terror'. The paper concludes that social workers need to first recognise tactics at play in the state of non-linear war, second become critically aware of conflationary rhetorical turns in political discourse, third actively resist securitised discourses and lastly reject discriminatory notions of so-called dangerous people and communities. In other words, we should actively reengage with and promote social work values and social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the political system in Great Britain, the criticism over poverty and race relations in the migration debate and the vulnerability and hostility of the immigrants.

The policy of personalisation in adult social care was initially associated with the New Labour government. It was presented as a way of simultaneously ensuring the fuller engagement of service users and improving the quality and appropriateness of care outcomes while also being economically efficient. In the later stages of New Labour's period in government, local authorities were required to make positive steps to implement the policy, which it was claimed would ‘transform’ social care. However, the role that social work could play in this policy was never made explicit. Following the general election of 2010, a Conservative-led Coalition government was established. The Coalition subsequently announced that one of its overriding priorities was to reduce the deficit in public expenditure within a five-year period. This paper explores the implications of this for both service users and social workers by examining a number of related factors. It will begin by discussing the key features of personalisation including an identification of a number of ways in which the policy can be criticised. It will then focus on the continuing lack of clarity about the place of social work within these changes, before moving on to consider the impact of the austerity measures on service users and on social work. By examining the nature of British social work as a ‘state-mediated’—and hence politically dominated—profession, the paper will argue that there is no certainty that social work will be considered as critical to a full implementation of the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on a literature review undertaken for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2004 (Buchanan et al., 2004) on the impact of government policy in England and Wales for children aged from birth to thirteen at high risk of social exclusion as recorded up until May 2004. It describes the concept of 'social exclusion'; its meaning for children; the aims of government policy; the specific impact of government policy on vulnerable families and children in need (including children needing child protection and all 'looked after' children) as defined by the 1989 Children Act. The paper demonstrates that although progress has been made, there are still major areas of concern. The more discursive parts at the end of the paper reflect the views of the author and later thinking, and were not part of the original submission to the Social Exclusion Unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last 5 years, the UK government has increased support for and resources to community development projects and strategies. These interventions have been deployed to assist the state address key issues of social exclusion notably at neighbourhood level. The thrust for tackling social exclusion and therefore the growth in community development can be linked to New Labour's adherence to a neo-liberal agenda. The two articles and the working paper considered here reflect this expansion of activity and articulate some of the central issues and challenges facing community development. The central problem for community development appears to be that whilst it has secured a more prominent place within contemporary social policies, it is in danger of losing its ability effectively to address the expressed needs of local commnunitties. Hence the development we are witnessing can be considered to be a case of conditional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current agenda for change in the public sector challenges organisations to operate differently. Alongside managing severe cutbacks in investment, the UK social work sector faces a period of unprecedented change aimed at raising standards and improving practice whilst demonstrating value for money. Resulting in such a significant reform agenda and set within a climate of austerity, the UK government can be heard to call upon 'innovation' as the solution to achieving 'more for less' during such testing times. Whilst there is a body of literature examining the process of managing innovation, there remains an absence of knowledge relating to the tail end of the process concerned with moving from piloting to achieving sustainability. Drawing upon case examples of innovation in practice, this paper is unique in applying this literature to a social work setting. It sets out what is meant by innovation, what we know about diffusion and managing innovation, and presents a new framework that can be applied to assist with improving the process of replication in order to support sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents findings from the first-ever study of kinship care in the UK using census micro data. We show that, in 2001, over 173,000 children in the UK were living with relatives, without their parents. The majority of these children were living in poor and deprived circumstances. There were significant differences in the likelihood of a child being in kinship care between socio-economic groups and geographic areas. The paper presents the first reliable, nationally representative estimates of kinship care and its patterning, which will form a baseline for future studies and for comparisons with international data. The findings presented have important implications for policy, particularly with regard to the needs of kinship carers for financial, emotional, practical and other support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debates surrounding the ostensibly ‘transformative’ potential of personalisation for social work services, and service users, have variously illustrated the risks and opportunities this presents, although the implications for criminal justice social work services have received comparatively limited attention. By extending the concept of ‘service user’ to include not only offenders, but wider stakeholders (victims and communities), this paper considers the practical application of theories of personalisation and co-production by reviewing proposed and extant strategies for maximising stakeholder involvement in criminal justice services. It is argued that, in progressing beyond the more individualistic interpretations of this somewhat controversial reform agenda—in prioritising not only the individual, their rights, strengths and subjective identities, but locating the individual in situ, in the concrete realities and textures of their lives and communities—the strength of the personalisation agenda rests in its potential to develop and strengthen the collective organisation of service users, service providers and communities in a co-productive endeavour. It is argued that both this reading and the principles underpinning it resonate more widely with the empirical and theoretical literature on just and effective penal practices and, in so doing, this paper exposes the complexities that lie behind the apparent simplicity of this argument. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The scope of protection from harm and abuse is rapidly expanding, and practice frameworks have tended to transfer and adapt child protection procedures for the protection of other groups. However there has been little in-depth analysis of the theoretical perspectives that underlie interventions within particular fields and almost nothing across areas such as significant harm to children, elder abuse and domestic violence. Scant attention has been paid to different time periods and national contexts. This paper, which draws on material presented and discussed during an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) seminar series, adopts a lifespan approach to understanding harm and abuse and explores how this can reveal insights for a more generic understanding and practice in protection services. The paper provides varying social constructions and varying recognition of concepts of harm and abuse, not least by ‘victims’, who frequently reject that role. Examining responses to harm and abuse suggests that formal systems tend to assume clear ‘victims’ and ‘perpetrators’ and that service categories can be unhelpful as they may not reflect experiences or address the wider contexts in which these are embedded. The lifespan approach provides a means for comparing and contrasting issues raised within specific areas of need and service delivery. It is an orientation which raises new questions about understanding harm and abuse and helpful insights which have implications for both policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports on the first ever national study in the UK of the needs of disabled women experiencing domestic violence and of the services available to meet these needs. The study found that, in general, support services frequently overlook or respond inappropriately to disabled women in this situation. The overall findings of the research were very wide-ranging, as were the resultant recommendations for statutory agencies, disability organisations, domestic violence services and wider strategic and commissioning frameworks. In this paper, the general findings are discussed briefly, followed by a discussion of abuse by paid carers/personal assistants in the context of the personalisation agenda, with a focus on issues for adult care services. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The introduction of policies to transform adult social care, combined with scrutiny of social workers' roles and functions, has created considerable uncertainty about the future of social work with adults. This paper explores the implications of these policy changes, arguing that a number of dilemmas for practitioners—the balance between a preventative focus and tight budgets, autonomy and protection, safeguarding and capacity—will exist in the changed policy framework. In addition, it suggests that the various core functions of social work—assessment, advocacy and brokerage, safeguarding and capacity—also contain elements of conflict and incompatibility. As a result, the future of social work in this policy area runs a strong risk of becoming both fragmented and isolated. This could be reflected in the education requirements for social workers where, both historically and as a result of recent bitter experiences, the key priorities clearly relate to child protection rather than adult social care. To counter this, the paper suggests a number of core areas of practice that are common across social work, and that therefore continue to argue for the maintenance of a generic qualification. In addition, it specifies particular aspects of practice with adults that should continue to be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Internationally, interest is developing in the challenges of developing evidence-based guidelines for social work practice. The paper reports on the process of establishing the UK's first joint health and social care evidence-based practice guideline, which is in dementia care. The paper addresses the methodological and procedural challenges of reviewing, meta-analysing and synthesizing knowledge for health and social care given the contrasting histories of the two sectors in relation to the emergence of evidence-based practice, Dementia care is a complex domain within which social and clinical perspectives intersect, reinforcing the desirability of producing 'joined up' health and social care practice guidelines that are relevant to integrated services. It is suggested that the exemplar of producing a joint health and social care guideline for dementia may be a model for future development of practice guidelines. Some of the main recommendations are presented to illustrate the character of the joint guideline, lessons are drawn for future guideline development, and implications for policy and practice implementation are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2003, the UK government placed a mandatory responsibility on local authorities offer direct payments to eligible people. Given the extent to which the government committed to extending the number of people using cash payments and research that shows the enormous benefits to users, then some areas of research into the take up are sadly neglected. For example, is it the case, as some literature suggests, that direct payments are by being disproportionately utilized by middle-class, affluent disabled people, effectively creating a two-tiered system in social care? The research in this paper provides some insight into this question by reporting a unique study to look statistically significant differences in the financial situation of direct payment users compared with users of traditional services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers how far the New Labour educational policy represents a clear shift in focus from the policies of the Conservative administrations of the 1980s and 1990s. As in other areas of social policy, the paper concludes that current government policy owes as much—if not more—to ‘New Right’ ideology than to that of the ‘Old Left’. With a new emphasis on social inclusion, the paper considers the contribution of, and implications for, contemporary developments in education policy and practice for child and family social work in general, and education social work in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, research was undertaken to examine social workers' confidence, understanding and awareness of child sexual abuse (CSA) as it was suggested that a decline in numbers of reported incidents might be due to a decline in levels of understanding and awareness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-five first-line, middle and senior managers and two chairs of local safeguarding boards across six local authorities in England. Focus groups were conducted with fifty-four social workers. Key themes revealed a complex array of issues, ranging from the diverse forms of CSA and exploitation that social workers are required to address, the variable support and training available, and the inter-disciplinary nature of much of the work. Although social workers undertake this important work with a strong sense of commitment and concern for children, they face a number of challenges. Paradoxically, whilst their work on these cases is the source of intense scrutiny, the training, support and supervision, and role clarity required to undertake this work well are often overlooked. The aim of this paper is to discuss the research findings and to identify implications for social work practice, training, multi-agency work and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social investment does not yet appear to have entered the social work lexicon yet reflects a shift toward early intervention and prevention and policies relating to early childhood education and care across the world. Recently, the prime minister of Australia announced new measures relating to childcare to ease the burden on working families and ensure high-standard care for pre-school children. Also announced was a mental health check to be administered by general practitioners for children as young as three years old. This change in social policy follows closely on the heels of the backlash against ameliorative welfare and move toward the preventive end of the social care spectrum. This paper examines developments leading to the social investment approach. It begins by defining social investment and providing an overview of key theorists contributing to our understanding of what ‘social investment is investing in’ and ends with a discussion of its implications for social work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Prompted by findings from the Munro Review of Child Protection, this paper provides a critical analysis of the combination of changes that appear to have undermined social workers' ability to develop strong partnerships with children and their families. Here, we engage with a number of now familiar lines of critique that have exposed the negative consequences of aspects of New Labour's modernisation agenda (such as excessive standardisation). However, we challenge our readers to think more broadly about the political foundations of the New Labour project and, in particular, to consider how neo-liberal policies have in the past and are likely in the future to lead to the intensification of inequalities, thus undermining effective family work. Efforts to deal with excessive rules and procedures, or the revision of performance targets, as suggested in the Munro Review, will not mitigate the corrosive effects of rising social inequality. If we are to think systemically, as Munro suggests, then we must consider the likely regressive impact of impending public sector and welfare cuts and challenge any moves to sideline family support and restrict social work to a narrow focus on child protection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The interface between parents and child protection agencies has long been a cause of concern. This paper examines the challenge that the child protection system faces from the perspective of responsive regulation theory (Braithwaite, 2002). The analysis suggests that management of compliance, though rarely discussed in the literature, has a significant impact on investigations. An emphasis on assessment, especially formal risk assessment, places an emphasis on a particular type of compliance: ‘assessment compliance’. Research on the experiences of parents suggests that overemphasis on assessment compliance has a number of disadvantages: it risks alienating families, it focuses attention on a questionable indicator of parents' willingness to make changes, increases the degree of coercion used in interventions and disempowers families and their communities. It is argued that formalistic use of assessment undermines the effectiveness of investigations because managing compliance within assessment procedures comes to dominate the response of workers. More families could be successfully engaged if the principles of responsive regulation were applied to assessment within investigation processes. A family engagement pyramid, based on responsive regulation theory, is proposed as one way of achieving this. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Contemporary welfare is closely linked to policies designed to foster individual responsibility and self-development. This agenda, however, encounters problems when adults lack the capacity to make decisions about their lives, and/or are unable to protect themselves from the malign actions of their fellow citizens. These problems are addressed by the 2005 Mental Capacity Act (England and Wales) and adult safeguarding procedures. Specifically, the 2005 Mental Capacity Act (England and Wales) (MCA) introduced a statutory advocacy service, which empowers local authorities to appoint an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) to represent the interests of adult lacking capacity to make decisions about adult safeguarding procedures. This paper presents (i) a general overview of the development of adult safeguarding and the introduction of the MCA's IMCA service into these procedures; (ii) findings from a research project investigating the integration of IMCAs into these procedures; and (iii) a discussion of the challenges facing IMCAs involved in adult safeguarding procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The post-devolution settlement in 1999 created the environment for major national policy and legislative reform across all dimensions of Scottish life. This paper seeks to understand better the place of child and family-oriented social work in post-devolution Scotland. Scottish social work policy in general and children's services policy in particular are analysed to consider where policy makers appear to locate social work resources. An alternative reading of these post-devolution policies suggests that a policy ‘effect’ is being produced that appears to lock social work out of early intervention and prevention. Ambiguities and hidden elements reveal an identity for social work in policy that primarily aligns it with control functions where balancing care and control and the use of involuntary measures is to the fore—the ‘hard cases’. This analysis points to the importance of social work taking a critical distance to policy formation and what it may mean for its identity and contribution to meeting the needs of the most vulnerable children growing up in Scotland today. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper focuses on policy implementation and, in particular, the workings of ‘street-level bureaucracy’ in a small, marginalised area of welfare provision, namely post-care adults seeking access to their care records. The work arises from research mapping UK service provision in this area, via questionnaires and interviews with key actors in local authorities and voluntary organisations. The study was prompted by widespread but largely anecdotal evidence that practices and service provision for those seeking to access their care records varied enormously. While post-care adults may seek access to records for reasons similar to those of adopted adults (curiosity, information on birth family, medical information, care histories and experiences, search and reunion), there is a lack of comparable legal framework and service provision, with reliance instead on the 1998 Data Protection Act (DPA). The intersection of data protection and (child) welfare gives rise to a number of important tensions that are explored, such as those surrounding ‘ownership’ of files and their content, between rights to information and (paternalistic) welfare considerations, and whether the handling of requests should constitute an administrative or a social work task. Finally, we consider the findings, their wider contexts and implications for legal reform and policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to offer insight into the possible consequences of language developed at the political level by an authoritative body for the purpose of designing social policy that is then adapted as discourse in social care. The focus is on the UK government's policy toward the language of 'service user' in the context of New Public Management (NPM). It begins with a brief introduction on the importance of language. Next, it outlines the move towards NPM and changes that have facilitated the shift from 'client' to 'service user', presenting some of the implications these changes have had on social work in Britain. Finally, it details the possible detrimental effects of labelling language, and discusses research from other countries on preferred terms of reference for individuals who use health and social care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interface between two major UK Government priorities—reducing unwanted teenage pregnancies and supporting teenage parents, and improving the health and well-being of young people in and leaving local authority care—has been the focus of recent research. The overall aims of this study were to explore factors contributing to early pregnancy and parenthood among young people in and leaving local authority care; to determine the kinds of support available to these young people; and to identify what enables or prevents the delivery of the support they need. Via in-depth inter- views, and in four contrasting geographical areas, data were collected from young people and service providers across England. This paper analyses data of relevance to the experience of young fathers who have been looked after—to consider how the needs of these young men might be better addressed through policy and practice. In- depth interviews conducted with young fathers and service providers highlighted three key aspects of their experience that must be addressed if future needs are to be better provided for. These are: social exclusion, trust and more flexible forms of service provision. The implications of these issues for future policy and programme development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the condition of state social work in England today. It is based on interviews with experienced social workers employed by local authority social services departments across the north of England. These front line state social workers provide a penetrating insight into the diverse ways in which their work has been transformed and degraded and the manner in which the needs of clients have been largely ignored. From their perspective, the election of a Labour government in 1997 proved to be a massive disappointment and many social workers reported that it has further undermined state social work practice, workers and clients. The paper seeks to offer an explanation by noting the neo-liberalism of Labour's social policy and the dire consequences which flow from New Labour's fixation with waged work as the principal solution to social exclusion and poverty. Above all, it seeks to provide an opportunity for the views of front-line state social workers to be heard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under a regime of quasi-markets, UK public sector occupations are having to promote themselves as enterprising and argue their case for a share of public spending. Much of this takes place through the news media. In order to do this effectively, some kind of professional grouping is essential. The paper reviews the failure of non-probation social work to achieve a professional formation thus far. Rejecting explanations rooted in attitudes, values and gender, it argues that the core problem since the early 1970s has been the shifting nature of social services work because of central government policy changes. Now that the profile of social services tasks is more settled, it is time for social workers to abandon their reluctance to claim distinctive expertise and set about developing a more confident set of intellectual skills and thus an effective voice. In a postmodern age of sceptical consumers they need not fear élitism as they will, rather, be judged by their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Welfare systems are becoming ever more conditional, with access to state support increasingly rationed via a legion of legally-defined and financially-driven restrictions and rules. Civic protection and economic rights for older citizens within Western policy systems are subsequently diminishing and continue to give way to neoliberal discursive practices which prioritise welfare activation, autonomy, participation, asset-based yet precarious self-care, the aversion of health-centred risks, and much higher levels of eligibility for support. This article looks at welfare conditionality and its relationship to older people, ethics and governance within social care. By using three examples of welfare conditional reforms from the UK, it is highlighted that strains typically persist between the altruistic components of some ethical frameworks and the everyday experiences of many older people. The relative gatekeeping powers of welfare professionals and expectations placed on family members and carers have also increased, especially upon older people with higher needs and who may lack economic and cultural capital. This is despite rhetorical policy-led claims of increasing choice and control, and allowing support to be more asset-based and personalised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors comment on the call for innovations for social work research. They discuss the impact of funding bodies such as the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the major funder of academic social science research in Great Britain, on the call for innovations. A definition of innovation in social work research is given. They explore the parallels between research innovation and policy innovation.

We report findings of a mixed-method evaluation of Local Area Coordination (LAC) in one English Local Authority—an approach that draws on principles of earlier intervention, and place-, asset- and strengths-based activity. We drew on documentary materials, unstructured observation and qualitative interviews. In total, fifty-five qualitative interviews were conducted with professional stakeholders (including Coordinators, statutory agencies and community organisations), and a purposive sample of individuals supported by LAC. Positively, LAC is operating as intended. It is a flexible and agile approach, and one that is less constrained by the expectations and methods associated with traditional service delivery. Reported impacts include: tackling isolation and loneliness; building a positive vision of the future; identifying non-service solutions and being heard. We discuss the ongoing conceptual and methodological challenges to building the LAC evidence base, fostering professional support and understanding, and managing expectations of individuals and communities in furthering development. Resolving these would allow LAC to move beyond being a promising, local and small-scale transformative development for individuals and families. Its future trajectory is enmeshed in the implications of COVID-19 for individuals, families and communities: rising poverty and widening inequality, a fragile Third Sector, and concerns about community fatigue and erosion of trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the concept of legitimacy as applied to the use of power in statutory social work with children and families in the UK. It draws on literature from police studies and criminology, in which the concept is a stable one that continues to be heavily researched and analysed. Police and social workers bear comparison in respect of legitimacy because of the significant powers they use on behalf of the state with direct implications for the civil and human rights of their fellow citizens. The article defines legitimacy in theoretical terms before applying the concept to social work. Here, perceptions of fairness in the distribution of resources, the quality of treatment people receive, and the quality of decision-making are critically examined. The article then proposes a democratising agenda across the three domains of social work research, policy, and practice. Through challenging social work's legitimacy and analysing its relationship to social democracy, it is argued that new ways may be found to realign practice with the values of human rights and social justice that are said to underpin the profession. Given the severe socioeconomic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on many families, these questions acquire a particular urgency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present a Poverty-Aware Paradigm for Child Protection (PAPCP). The increasing scholarly recognition of the damaging impact of poverty, inequality and the neoliberal politics of 'risk' on child protection policy and practice, has highlighted the need for a justice-based and poverty-aware analytical framework for child protection social work. In order to create such a framework, we build upon Krumer-Nevo's Poverty-Aware Paradigm (PAP)—that was first presented in a previous issue of the British Journal of Social Work —and adapt its paradigmatic premises to the context of child protection social work. By addressing ontological, epistemological and axiological questions underpinning the construction of risk and the practices utilised to deal with it, the article provides a clear, practical and applicable link between critical theories and everyday child protection practice. The PAPCP is presented against the background of the risk-focused paradigm currently dominating the child protection systems in both the authors' countries—Israel and England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While an adverse childhood experience (ACE)-informed approach to child protection and welfare has become influential in USA, it has had markedly less influence in UK, this despite growth in adoption of ACE research as a basis for understanding population needs and aligning service delivery amongst policymakers and other professional groups. In this article, we note the development of ACE research and draw out implications for social work with children and families. We argue that current organisational and practice preoccupations, drawing on the example of the Signs of Safety programme, together with antipathy to ACEs in some quarters of the social work academy, have the effect of reifying a short-term and occluded view of the developing child's needs so as to obstruct the systemic analysis and changes necessary to ensure that the child welfare system is redesigned to meet such needs. This suggests that post-Kempe era child welfare services are no longer conceptually or systemically adequate to protect children beyond immediate safety outcomes and consequently we need to reimagine their future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative child welfare administrative data from each of the four jurisdictions of the UK (Scotland, England, Northern Ireland (NI) and Wales) were analysed over a ten-year period to examine rates and patterns of public care. Scotland followed by Wales has the highest rates of children in out-of-home care, followed by England and NI with similar lower proportions. Despite strong links between deprivation and higher chances of becoming looked after, this national variation appears more a reflection of differing legal and operational practice than higher levels of need for public care. Notwithstanding differing devolution settlements, a convergence in the direction of policy across the UK towards early intervention, extensive use of kinship care and adoption as an exit route from public care is apparent. This convergence is most apparent in the increased entry of very young children to public care in Scotland, NI and Wales. The lack of any systematic collection of data by governments on the social and economic conditions of children reflects a missed opportunity to examine separately their influence on rates of children in public care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last twenty years, successive welfare policies have undermined gerontological social work as a specialist area of social work practice. The UK's ageing population offers an opportunity for gerontological social work to rebuild itself. Increasing numbers of older people with long-term conditions, significant growth in the population of family carers and enhanced community-based living for people with long-term needs combine to reposition social work as--potentially--playing a crucial role in the achievement of key policy goals. The particular skill and knowledge set of social workers uniquely equips them to manage the intersection of issues that currently challenge health and welfare services: complex needs, risk, transitions, end of life, carer stress and frailty. That older service users value the approach, input and expertise of social workers and that social workers have greater capacity to deliver sustainable support are also relevant. For gerontological social work to have a future, not only is it required to reclaim its specialist role, but it must re-establish its commitment to social justice, invest in building an evidence base of effectiveness and embed ageing-related teaching in the social work curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central tenet of Street-Level Bureaucracy (Lipsky, 1980) is that, from the service user's point of view, the discretionary interpretation of policy by front line practitioners effectively becomes the policy. The managerialisation of social services in the UK has sparked debatesoverwhether it is still possible for practitioners toexercise ‘professional' discretion in any meaningful way. However, Evans (2010) has argued that, in a managerialised world, not only do practitioners retain discretion in important areas of work, but managers also exercise significant discretion inhowpolicy is implemented. Evans therefore claims that to understand policy implementation in social services requires going ‘beyond street-level bureaucracy' as originally formulated by Lipsky. Based on a case study of how older people’s care home placements are reviewed, it is proposed that, in a sector that has been fragmented by both marketisation and privatisation, to understand fully how policy is mediated at the point of delivery, we need to go even further beyond the examination of the practices within a single bureaucracy. In this specific setting, the exercise of discretion is multi-layered and dispersed among multiple stakeholders, blurring accountability for decision making and making the task of empowering older care home residents more complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sets controversies surrounding Anti-Oppressive Practice (AOP) and the current standing of the social work profession in a comparative framework to support our central hypothesis that the social politics of social work are related to the welfare regimes in which they are embedded. The article suggests that professional social work ‘practice identities’ in liberal-type welfare regimes, such as Great Britain and Ireland, develop in the context of residual-type welfare regimes, while social work ‘practice identities’ in social democratic-type welfare regimes, as exemplified by the Nordic countries, are embedded in universal-type welfare regimes and social care systems. The article suggests that these welfare contexts enable and constrain the manner in which social work is practised. From a comparative perspective, we contend that it is in the interfacing of welfare regime ideologies and social work/social care practice ideologies that the breadth and possibilities of transformative AOP are embedded and contested. The analysis of AOP contained in this article also addresses relevant contemporary issues in international social work, including globalisation and global care chains. A Taxonomy of Transformative Social Work Practice is offered as a framework for anti-oppressive social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws from research carried out in Australia, but makes connections with policy and practice in the four countries that comprise the UK into the relationship between the use of day clubs, sometimes referred to as day centres, and enhanced social connectedness, resilience, and mental and physical health. As part of this process, interpretations of commonly used terminology such as ‘care’, ‘protection’ and ‘vulnerability’ are subject to critical review. In addition, the tensions that exist between self-defined forms of well-being and support service assessment criteria, which prioritise ‘risk’ and particular aspects of physical safety, are subject to interrogation. The purpose of this article is to explore how a form of service often associated with maintenance can be reconfigured to promote shared ownership and counter social isolation and limitation and research carried out by Fawcett (2011) is used as a case study to illustrate the currency of well-being in policy and practice. The article can also be seen to have a wider brief which is to examine the policy to practice interface and the ways in which the delivery of care services can so easily disable rather than enable and lead to the erosion of autonomy and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In both the UK and Australia, many thousands of children experience life in public care. Such experience usually takes place in foster-care. Less commonly, it takes place in residential care or sometimes a combination of foster and residential. However, the experience of growing up in public care is not solely located in childhood. Evidence from various sources shows that it can have a significant impact across a person's entire life course. Children in care will have had files kept on them. As adults, such former children in care often seek to address later concerns, or merely to assuage curiosity about their origins. Access to their child-care records can be a very important route to constructing a fuller account of their life and can help to resolve outstanding identity issues. This article outlines and analyses the differing policy and practice regimes for accessing these records in the UK and Australia—two countries that have seen significant developments in this area of work in recent decades. It also identifies future research needs, policy priorities and practice improvements in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There are long-standing concerns in many developed countries about high workforce turnover within social work and the associated negative impact on service users and agencies. While much research has focused on establishing the antecedents to turnover and retention, less attention has been given to establishing the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce undesirable turnover. A systematic review of research in social work, teaching and nursing identified and appraised the evidence. Of the 699 unique references identified, fifteen studies were included in this review (all but one from the USA); the lack of consistency in definitions and outcome measurement precluded meta-analysis, but twelve studies were deemed to be of sufficient quality for narrative synthesis. In general, interventions addressing organisational and administrative factors (rather than individual employee factors) produced stronger effects, reinforcing current policies in England and previous research into the determinants of turnover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1970s saw social work as the rising star of the human service professions in the UK. Since then, the profession has been under attack from the media and politicians, this coinciding with changed ideological, political, economic and social circumstances. Practitioners’ expertise and effectiveness were questioned and they were blamed for scandals, notably in relation to abused children. There have been changes in their organisation and practice whereby a profession based on knowledge, understanding and skills has become a so-called profession with managers now dominating what practitioners do. Relationship-based work has been transformed into a bureaucratic focus on the assessment of risk and rationing of resources and services, together with a more controlling, moral policing role. Focusing on developments in England in relation to children and families, I argue that, although what remains is a limited version of social work's possibilities, there remains scope for a radical/critical practice that involves working alongside users on the problems they face. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Devolution has increased the divergence in law and policy, and this has impacted on the social work services as part of the welfare state. It has led to debate about the changing nature of social citizenship within the UK. Many adults who come to the attention of social work services already have conditional citizenship by virtue of poverty, environment, illness and disability. This article demonstrates how this can be further compounded by the welfare agencies themselves by comparing the mental health law frameworks for Scotland and England. It argues that differences in participation ultimately led to the different civil and social rights being enshrined in law. However, law is just one ingredient that defines citizenship; the political ethos and the public service culture are two other key ingredients. This article will demonstrate that these have also been significant in creating divergence. Finally, the article will explore whether this social citizenship model for mental health has a wider relevance for all people who use social work services. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Professionals involved in assessing the needs of children and young people are required to make sense of complex information. Judgements may be made intuitively or through more explicit, analytical thinking. Judgements are required in relation to risk and need and will impact on children and young people's lives in the immediate future and ultimately across the lifespan. While there are many demands placed on those developing best practice in assessment, two themes appear consistently from studies of serious case reviews and inspections. The quality of assessments has improved but there is a persistent difficulty with levels and quality of analysis in assessments. Also, there is a repeated failure amongst professionals to pay sufficient attention to what children and young people may be saying about their own needs and experiences. There are tensions between policy and practice in the exercise of analysis and judgement. Neither governance nor good intentions may be sufficient to address current weaknesses in practice and practice can benefit from further study of judgement in child welfare and protection. Contemporary policy and practice developments may be a connecting contributor to ongoing professional failure to analyse and failure to represent the child's lived experience accurately and empathically in assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Local authorities across England and Wales have been purchasing fostering placements from the independent sector for their children in care since before the start of the New Labour era in the mid 1990s. Significant developments have occurred since then with a clear policy steer towards public sector commissioning of all children's, including fostering, services from private and voluntary organisations. This article explores, with reference to a recent study, how policy directives from central government have impacted upon the practice of six local authorities and six independent fostering agencies in respect of the commissioning and provision of long-term and permanent fostering placements and related services. It examines the experiences and views of key commissioners and providers in these agencies and sets these alongside each other. In so doing, a number of themes are apparent and, from these, a new policy direction may be emerging. At a time of imminent public finance constraints and an emerging political consensus, the requirement for local authorities to outsource fostering services from the non-governmental sector looks increasingly likely. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The provision of timely and effective services for older people with health and social care needs is dependent on the collection of accurate assessment information being shared with relevant agencies and accepted by them. This requires an integrated assessment approach capable of spanning the longstanding institutional separation between health and social care agencies present in England. This article considers the extent to which this has been achieved following the introduction of a policy initiative (the Single Assessment Process) that aimed to integrate assessment through the use of shared tools and procedures. The nature of implementation at the local level is considered in relation to national guidance. Indicators of integration include the existence of protocols and agreements, linkage with other processes and settings, joint training programmes, information sharing systems and the nature of professional involvement. Data are derived from a national survey conducted in 2006. Findings suggest that some aspects of the policy have been taken up more than others and that whilst there is commitment to an integrated approach, this has been hampered by disjointed information sharing initiatives and by lack of involvement from some sectors. The issues raised are relevant to future proposals that seek to promote integrated assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social workers are classic street-level bureaucrats. This article provides a critical examination of Michael Lipsky's account of discretion within street-level bureaucracies. While concurring with the main thrust of Lipsky's critique of management control of discretion, I argue that he gives insufficient attention to the role of professionalism in his analysis and the impact this has on the relationship between front line managers and workers and the nature of discretion. I employ a qualitative case study of adult social work within a local authority to illustrate and develop this argument. The study, which draws primarily on interviews with local managers and practitioners, suggests that the professional status of social workers influences both the nature of their discretion and the way in which this is managed. I conclude that Lipksy's work needs to be augmented by an understanding of the role of other perspectives, such as professionalism, in examining manager–worker relations and discretion in the street-level bureaucracies within which social workers practise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We outline selected central results from a formative evaluation of four pilot sites in England and Wales of the Integrated Children's System (ICS) - one part of the UK's e-Government strategy. We concentrate on the aspiration of the ICS towards 'integration' and 'systematization' of services within children's services, at local and national levels. We look in turn at, the use of the ICS as a foundation for aggregate statistical profiles; the experience and views of the social workers; and the implications of ICS for social work practice as exemplified in social workers' use of time. The evidence suggests substantial problems in accomplishing government policy aspirations in each of these areas. We review the likely reasons for these problems, and recommend a review of the ICS on the grounds that the difficulties are inherent rather than transitory, and have arisen at least in part from uncertainty as to whether the ICS is fit for purpose. The authors seek to promote the open and thoughtful debate that a major innovation of this nature requires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of the 2005 Mental Capacity Act in England and Wales heralds a new era for social work practitioners and researchers. Protecting and empowering vulnerable adults--an important element of adult-care social work--relies on a legal framework that attempts to balance adults' rights with the desire to protect them. The new Act is part of that framework, addressing the fundamental issue of when and how decisions can be made on behalf of people who lose decision-making abilities ('capacity'). The Act encompasses the meaning of incapacity and best interests, advance directives concerning treatment, managing people's affairs and making decisions for them, overseeing the delegation process, and research. In explaining how the Act addresses some of these challenges, the article alerts practitioners and researchers to the key areas in which the Act will make a major impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health policies of the Labour Government of 1997–2001 included an increased emphasis on social services departments' (SSDs) contribution to promoting health. Three dimensions of this policy shift are discussed: first, the drive towards organisational fusion between elements of the NHS and SSDs; second, the new mechanisms for conjoint funding of health and social services; and, finally, the new policy focus on tackling health inequalities by combating social inequalities on a national and locality basis. In each case, the touchstone of our analysis is the consequences for the health and well-being of SSD service users as members of socially disadvantaged groups. We conclude that New Labour has taken some steps, particularly reducing child poverty, which will have long lasting health and social benefits for actual and potential service users. However, inadequate funding of SSDs undermines their effectiveness as a partner in integrated health and social care. As signalled by service user initiatives, SSDs potential for promoting more equal chances of health and well-being in ill-health will also not be realised without substantial changes to current SSD policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates the extent of institutional sexual abuse of children in Great Britain. It presents the results of a study of abuse cases referred to policy in local authority areas, and discusses the government response to the problem on institutional abuse, the average number of cases per annum and the proliferation of institutional abuse in the public sector.

Focuses on the implementation of purchaser/provider market mechanism structure for children and families services in Great Britain. Adoption of the model by local authorities; Impact of the structure on social services; Benefits of purchaser/provider structure; Effectiveness of the model for the coordination and service delivery.