At a time when the whole future of social work and social care is under threat from neoliberalism as never before, the Critical and Radical Debates in Social Work series strengthens critical and radical social work thought and provides a forum where new ideas, innovations and debates at the cutting edge of social work can be aired. This exciting and innovative series explores a range of current issues, developments and debates in social work, social care and social policy from a critical and radical perspective. Each of the texts in the series begins with a lead article by a well-known social work academic or practitioner, followed by responses from academics, practitioners, and service users and a final reply from the main author. A key aim of the series is to stimulate debate within social work and this is reflected in the range of respondents to the main paper. The series provides an accessible introduction and background to policy debates which can be used by students and frontline workers to inform their practice. Poverty and Inequality by Chris Jones and Tony Novak Neoliberalism and austerity have led to a growing inequality gap and increasing levels of poverty and social harm. Here, Chris Jones and Tony Novak look at consequences of poverty and inequality and the challenge they pose to the engaged social work academic and practitioner. There are many studies of poverty that look at competing definitions (and some of the consequences) of poverty in modern society. Here the authors argue that, especially for a profession with a claimed committment to values based on equality, social justice and meeting human need, poverty and immiserisation impose a requirement on social workers to speak out and not to collude with social policies that make the plight of the impoverished even harder and their lives even worse. Personalisation by Peter Beresford Personalisation has become the policy buzz-word of the twenty-first century. Supporters claim it offers service users choice and services attuned to meet their specific needs , moving away from ''one size fits all'' state services. Here, Peter Beresford, one of Britain''s foremost social work academics, challenges the personalisation agenda and its consequences on service users. Although critical of ''one size fits all'' services that deny service user voice, Beresford argues that personalisation turns service users into ''consumers'' of services within a care market and hence reinforces the commodification of care which sees vast profits made by a small number of providers at the expense of good quality services for those who use them. Adult social care by Iain Ferguson and Michael Lavalette Adult social care in Britain has been at the centre of much media and public attention in recent years. Revelations of horrific abuse in learning disability settings, the collapse of major private care home providers, abject failures of inspection and regulation, and uncertainty over how long-term care of older people should be funded have all given rise to serious public concern. Here, Iain Ferguson and Michael Lavalette give an historical overview of adult social care and locate the roots of the current crisis in the under-valuing of older people and adults with disabilities and in the marketisation of social care over the past two decades. They examine recent developments in social work with adults, including the personalisation agenda, and critically examine the prospects for adult social care and social work in a context of seemingly never-ending austerity. Mental health by Jeremy Weinstein Mental health social work is at an impasse. On the one hand, the emphasis in recent policy documents on the social roots of much mental distress, and in the recovery approaches popular with service users seems to indicate an important role for a holistic social work practice. On the other hand, social workers have often been excluded from these initiatives and the dominant approach within mental health continues to be a medical one, albeit supplemented by short-term psychological interventions. Here, Jeremy Weinstein draws on case studies and his own experience as a mental health social worker, to develop a model of practice that draws on notions of alienation, anti-discriminatory practice and the need for both workers and service users to find ‘room to breathe’ in an environment shaped by managerialism and marketisation. Ethics by Sarah Banks The past few years have seen a renewed interest in the subject of social work ethicsHere, Sarah Banks argues that this can be seen as reflecting two very different agendas. On the one hand, it is part of a progressive movement which offers a critique of New Public Management (NPM), or managerialist, approaches through emphasising the role of social workers as active moral agents working for social justice. On the other hand, the growth of interest in ethics can be viewed as part of NPM, with codes of ethics a means of regulating and controlling the conduct of professionals and service users. She emphasises the importance of reclaiming professional ethics for social work, and outlines a preliminary framework for a situated ethics of social justice. Children and families by Paul Michael Garrett Recent years have witnessed a number of ''child protection'' scandals where children, often from the poorest and most marginalised communities, have been on the receiving end of violence, abuse and social harm. Here, Paul Michael Garrett looks at the impact of marketisation of social work services in both Ireland and England. He argues that marketisation has had a negative impact on policy regimes, working conditions, social work practices and on the services for vulnerable children and young people. Leading researchers from across the globe contribute to the debate and provide additional evidence from a range of policy regimes that catalogue the negative impact neoliberalism has had on children''s services.
