Welfare and Society – serie

Listening to the Welfare State presents, for the first time in English, central research findings from recent studies of the welfare systems of Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. The book’s contributors are leading investigators of face-to-face encounters between welfare professionals and clients in these systems. All have collected their data through ethnographic observations as well as taped recordings of these meetings. By subjecting their data to conversation and discourse analyses, these researchers provide a richly detailed empirical picture of the various forms of talk-at-work constituting the core activity of a variety of street-level bureaucracies. Their findings provide a well-rounded body of knowledge about what happens when professionals meet persons seeking financial assistance, child protection, employment, vocational counselling, treatment, rehabilitation and related services. Essential reading for both professional and students, this book will provide a wealth of insights into and understandings of, the micro-level workings of welfare state systems.

The past few decades have brought to light increasing evidence of systemic and repeated institutional abuse of children and young people in many western nations. Government enquiries, research studies and media reports have begun to highlight the widespread nature of sexual, physical and emotional abuse of vulnerable children and young people. However, while public attention has focused on 'episodic-dramatic' representations of institutional abuse, comparatively little emphasis has been given to the more mundane, routinized and systemic nature of abuse that has occurred. This book documents comprehensively a full range of abuse occurring in 'caring' and 'protective' institutions, with particular reference to the Australian case. The dominant theme is 'betrayal' and in particular the ways in which agencies charged with the care and protection of children and young people become the sites of abusive practices. The authors draw on a range of theoretical frameworks to explore issues of trust and betrayal in the context of the professional and ethical obligations which workers have to those in their charge. The authors argue that it is not sufficient merely to report on accounts of institutional abuse or the consequences of particular practices; rather it is necessary to locate the prevalence of institutional abuse in the wider context of institutional practices as they relate to the 'governance' of particular sections of the population.

The issue of child sexual abuse has gained widespread attention over the last three decades, but minimal attention has been paid to sexual abuse by women. Victims of female sex offenders have been virtually ignored or neglected from serious study. Consequently we have little knowledge of the experience of victims or of professional perspectives on female sex offending. Myriam Denov fills these critical gaps in the literature by examining the life histories and experiences of both male and female victims of female sex offenders, and by investigating the impact and consequences of the sexual abuse. She also explores professional responses to female sex offending and the ways in which police officers and psychiatrists have understood, portrayed and managed such cases. In addition to filling the substantial empirical void that surrounds the issue, the book contributes to policy and practice issues relating to victims and to the training of different professional groups involved in child sex abuse.

Discussing key contemporary issues in residential and foster care for children, this theoretically and empirically rich volume draws on new research from across Europe and Canada. Contributions stem from a broad spectrum of researchers and practitioners in the field, engaging in comparative international perspectives of problems of enduring relevance. This book particularly focuses on anti-oppressive practice, foster care, mainstreaming in education, ethnic origin, competency level and research as a tool in residential care. The book will make a significant impact to the literature on social work and child and family welfare.

In this work Maurice Vanstone provides an authoritative and original account of the history of probation. This invaluable reference tool offers readers a new way of reading probation history and presents an original context for thinking about current policy and practice. While the study is essentially UK-focused, it also provides a comparative perspective by exploring the history of probation in the USA. The author’s research has produced the only history of probation practice that does justice to the mixture of influences on the early probation service and paves the way for today’s more evidence-based approach. The work is based in part upon original documents and interviews with retired and serving officers. Supervising Offenders in the Community will greatly interest criminologists and criminal justice, social policy, social history and social work academics and postgraduate students.

Across the traditional welfare states of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada there has been increasing emphasis on 'activation' by the unemployed as a tool for fighting unemployment. The core idea of activation programmes is the integration and empowerment of jobseekers through active work-related measures rather than passive income support. However, the empirical evidence of the efficacy of activation programmes is far from conclusive and there have been no systematic studies of the effects of activation programmes on the lives of the unemployed people who come into contact with them. This book is based on a detailed ethnographic study of the highly praised Swedish rehabilitation organization Samhall. The result is a key volume for those working and studying within welfare, poverty, disability and special needs.

This fully revised and expanded edition provides an authoritative and original account of the history of probation. A steadfast and invaluable reference tool, this book offers new ways of reading probation history and presents an original context for thinking about current policy and practice.Based in part upon original documents and interviews with retired and serving officers, this second edition includes a substantially revised introduction and conclusion, minor revisions to original chapters, and two new chapters —'Political Pathways to Privatised Practice and Beyond' and 'Theory and Practice in a Time of Uncertainty.' This predominantly UK-focussed study also provides a comparative perspective by exploring the history of probation in the USA and acknowledges the wider international story, while continuing to be the only history of probation practice that does justice to the mixture of influences on early probation services.This important volume will be of particular interest to criminologists, academics and students of criminal justice, social policy, social history, social work, and those with lived experience of probation services.

The issue of child sexual abuse has gained widespread attention over the last three decades, but minimal attention has been paid to sexual abuse by women. Victims of female sex offenders have been virtually ignored or neglected from serious study. Consequently we have little knowledge of the experience of victims or of professional perspectives on female sex offending. Myriam Denov fills these critical gaps in the literature by examining the life histories and experiences of both male and female victims of female sex offenders, and by investigating the impact and consequences of the sexual abuse. She also explores professional responses to female sex offending and the ways in which police officers and psychiatrists have understood, portrayed and managed such cases. In addition to filling the substantial empirical void that surrounds the issue, the book contributes to policy and practice issues relating to victims and to the training of different professional groups involved in child sex abuse.

Across the traditional welfare states of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada there has been increasing emphasis on 'activation' by the unemployed as a tool for fighting unemployment. The core idea of activation programmes is the integration and empowerment of jobseekers through active work-related measures rather than passive income support. However, the empirical evidence of the efficacy of activation programmes is far from conclusive and there have been no systematic studies of the effects of activation programmes on the lives of the unemployed people who come into contact with them. This book is based on a detailed ethnographic study of the highly praised Swedish rehabilitation organization Samhall. The result is a key volume for those working and studying within welfare, poverty, disability and special needs.

Listening to the Welfare State presents, for the first time in English, central research findings from recent studies of the welfare systems of Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. The book’s contributors are leading investigators of face-to-face encounters between welfare professionals and clients in these systems. All have collected their data through ethnographic observations as well as taped recordings of these meetings. By subjecting their data to conversation and discourse analyses, these researchers provide a richly detailed empirical picture of the various forms of talk-at-work constituting the core activity of a variety of street-level bureaucracies. Their findings provide a well-rounded body of knowledge about what happens when professionals meet persons seeking financial assistance, child protection, employment, vocational counselling, treatment, rehabilitation and related services. Essential reading for both professional and students, this book will provide a wealth of insights into and understandings of, the micro-level workings of welfare state systems.