Search results for ‘Subject term:"social policy"’ Sort:
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Literature review: the new right and the professions
- Authors:
- ALASZEWSKI A., MANTHORPE J.
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 20(3), June 1990, pp.237-251.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Examines the impact of the new right ideology on the legal, medical and social work professions.
Comparative political economy of long-term care for elderly people: political logic of universalistic social care policy development
- Author:
- HIEDA Takeshi
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 46(3), June 2012, pp.258-279.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Despite there being common socio-demographic pressures across industrialised countries, the public elder care programmes tend to vary. This study explored the causal relationship between political institutions and public long-term care programmes. It examined time-series and cross-section data of advanced democracies, from 1980 until 2001. It argued that countries with fragmented party systems have difficulties in developing universalistic public elder care programmes, whereas countries with party-vote-oriented electoral systems and cohesive party systems are likely to develop better elder care programmes. For whilst the former types of political institutions prioritise patronage-based, particularistic benefits, the latter types encourage political actors to appeal to broader constituencies through universalistic welfare programmes. The empirical results suggest that politicians' reliance on personal votes obstruct the expansion of public spending for elder care.
Welfare regime debate: past, present, futures?
- Authors:
- FERRAGINA Emanuele, SEELEIB-KAISER Martin
- Journal article citation:
- Policy and Politics, 39(4), October 2011, pp.583-611.
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
In his seminal work, Esping-Andersen (1990) developed a typology of welfare regimes based on 3 ideal types: social democracy; Christian democracy (conservatism) and liberalism. Since then, various contributions have confirmed his typology, while others have challenged and expanded it from substantive and methodological perspectives. The aim of this article is to review 23 qualitative studies analysing welfare regimes, employing the concept of ideal types, in order to examine the validity of ‘the three worlds of welfare capitalism’ (TWWC). The results of the literature review confirm the existence of TWWC; all the countries (with the exception of the Netherlands and Switzerland) are classified in more than 50% of the studies in one of the 3 original worlds. The article proposes a classification of rich democracies on a continuum from the most purely social-democratic (Sweden) to the most liberal (the US). In addition, the article suggests new directions for research in 3 areas: improving measurement validity by linking macro and micro data to overcome assumptions; assessing the reliability of typologies over time; and systematically integrating both the work-welfare as well as the care-welfare dimensions.
An evidence base for the delivery of adult services
- Author:
- PETCH Alison
- Publisher:
- Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 60p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
This independent evidence review was commissioned by the Association of Directors of Social Work to inform current debates on the future delivery of adult services. It sought to ground such debate in a firm understanding of the conclusions that can be drawn from initiatives evaluated both within the UK and elsewhere, ensuring that any future developments can be based on a clear understanding of the likely impact. The debate is motivated by the aspiration to establish the optimum conditions for the provision of support to the 650,000 people in Scotland who have contact with social services. Key conclusions highlight the need to ensure the most effective configuration for the delivery of adult health and social care is imperative given the current financial and demographic challenges. It has a high profile within the current policy context, exemplified by the Reshaping Care for Older People agenda. Social services for adults have delivered major achievements over the last two decades. There have been major shifts in the models of support from dependency and institutionalisation to greater choice and control by the individual. At the same time there has been recognition of key areas such as the needs of family carers and the demands of dementia that were previously invisible. The large majority of those receiving care and support express high levels of satisfaction.
Unfolding social work research to address the COVID-19 impact: a text mining literature analysis
- Authors:
- CASQUILHO-MARTINS Ines, BELCHIOR-ROCHA Helena, MORO Sergio
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, early cite February 2022, p.bcac025.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article aims to contribute to understanding the main social impacts of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 by highlighting the present and future challenges of social intervention and proposing a research agenda for social workers. Based on main indicators collected from international reports, the researchers categorise the terms associated and analyse 284 Scopus articles that address social work issues in face of the COVID-19 through a text mining literature analysis. By applying topic modelling, the researchers are able to identify relations within the body of knowledge between the main indicators. The results enable to highlight the current trends of research, contributing to leverage knowledge in social work in face of a complex and uncertain society. This study found that most articles are focused on professional practice, as well as areas such as health, education and employment. In contrast, this paper argues that issues related to women or migrants have been less explored. These aspects could bring new perspectives in future research within the pandemic context. (Edited publisher abstract)
Social policy in the face of a global pandemic: policy responses to the COVID‐19 crisis
- Authors:
- BELAND Daniel, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 55(2), 2021, pp.249-260.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
How have welfare states responded to the coronavirus pandemic? In this introductory article, we provide a synopsis of papers that comprise this special issue on social policy responses to COVID‐19, an overview of some of the key questions they raise, and some provisional answers to these questions. Our conclusions are threefold: first, these social policy responses, while entailing new developments in many countries, nonetheless reflect, at least in part, existing national policy legacies. Second, these responses can be understood as a form of “emergency Keynesianism,” which is characterized by the massive use of deficit spending during economic crises, with the aim of to supporting rather than challenging core capitalist institutions. Third, there are clear differences in terms of the nature of the reforms enacted during the initial phase of the COVID‐19 crisis as compared to reforms enacted as a response to the 2008 financial crisis. (Edited publisher abstract)
Contemporary debates in safeguarding children: national and international implications
- Author:
- HIGGINS Martyn
- Journal article citation:
- Practice: Social Work in Action, 31(5), 2019, pp.349-358.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
There is a saying that if one wants to understand a people, it is best to visit first, their nurseries. How we bring up, nurture and keep safe children can reveal how a country is formed and works. The aim of this article is to review contemporary safeguarding of children in the United Kingdom. The Children Act 1989 brought together separate legislation into a single act. Since 1989 there have been numerous changes and developments, including subsequent legislation. However, the Children Act 1989 remains the main legislation for social work in England. The relationship between social work in England and the other nations (Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales) will be discussed later in the article. (Publisher abstract)
Reconsidering value perspectives in child welfare
- Author:
- SMITH Roger
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 48(3), 2018, pp.616-632.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article offers a conceptually informed review of current trends in child welfare policy, drawing on the ‘value perspectives’ typology originally formulated by Fox Harding. The article introduces the typology and provides examples of its previous application. It goes on to consider the relationship between alternative value positions and the potential conflicts associated with these, before moving on to consider contemporary issues in children’s policy and practice. Recent trends towards an increasing emphasis on adoption and in parallel a greater reliance on authoritarian measures to protect children and promote responsible parenting are discussed, as are the relative weakening of policy commitments to the promotion of children’s rights or investment in services to provide support to families. These developments viewed in combination can thus be viewed as representing a systemic shift away from welfare and rights-based approaches in child welfare to those which rely on measures grounded in the authoritative exercise of state power, from above. This, the article concludes, can be associated with a progressive degradation of the principles of partnership and collaboration which are viewed as desirable by many of those directly engaged in working with children and families. (Edited publisher abstract)
Social workers' policy engagement: a review of the literature
- Author:
- WEISS-GAL Idit
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 26(3), 2017, pp.285-298.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The notion that social workers should engage in the policy process to further social justice is embedded in the professional discourse. However, little is known about social workers’ actual engagement in policy processes. This article presents a scoping review of the research literature published in English in order to understand the nature of current research and ascertain what is known about three modes of social workers’ policy involvement: voluntary political participation, holding elected office, policy practice. The review identified 51 studies published between 1964 and 2015. The studies focus mainly on social workers’ levels of involvement, their activities and the factors associated with the level of engagement. The review describes the main findings emerging from the research and underscores some methodological limitations in the existing studies and the continuing gaps in our knowledge on the policy engagement of social workers. Implications for future research, practice and education are presented. (Publisher abstract)
Pervasive interactions: a purposive best evidence review with methodological observations on the impact of housing circumstances and housing interventions on adult mental health and well-being
- Author:
- JOHNSON Robin
- Journal article citation:
- Housing Care and Support, 16(1), 2013, pp.32-49.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
There is a widespread view, derived primarily from the lived experience of mental health service staff and service users, that housing has a significant impact on mental health. The aim of this purposive review is to describe the current state of evidence on the effect of housing circumstances, and housing-related interventions, on adult mental health and well-being. The review covers the entire range of health from chronic illness to positive thriving, and both individual and community-level/public health. It gives priority to research relevant to public policy considerations, in particular to the UK context. The complexity of methodological issues emerges as a key challenge for research in this field, and for the prospect of evidence-based national policy. The limited available evidence gives conditional support to: policies accentuating empowerment at individual and community levels; early intervention; locality or place-based interventions; and integrated working practice.