In answer to popular demand from students and practitioners alike, Braye and Preston-Shoot have produced a guide to understanding the complex area of community care. What are the core components of the Government's community care policy? What do terms like partnership, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice mean? This book provides a simple exposition of the concepts and value-base underpinning community care policy and practice. Written in a jargon-free style, it goes beyond the how-to approach of much of the existing social care literature and examines the principles and values on which professionals involved in welfare provision base their work. It addresses issues of power and partnership in professional practice and identifies dilemmas arising from the relationship between Needs, Rights and Resources, between Autonomy, Paternalism and Empowerment. It tackles the choices and uncertainties faced by those making decisions about service provision, and offers survival strategies to professionals under stress.

This book provides a simple exposition of the concepts and value-base underpinning community care policy and practice. Written in a jargon-free style, it goes beyond the how-to approach of much of the existing social care literature and examines the principles and values on which professionals involved in welfare provision base their work.

owerment.

This social work book is the first of its kind, describing practical steps that social workers can take to shape and influence both policy and politics. It prepares social workers and social work students to impact political action and subsequent policy, with a detailed real-world framework for turning ideas into concrete goals and strategies for effecting change. Tracing the roots of social work in response to systemic social inequality, it clearly relates the tenets of social work to the challenges and opportunities of modern social change. The book identifies the core domains of political social work, including engaging individuals and communities in voting, influencing policy agendas, and seeking and holding elected office. Chapters elaborate on the necessary skills for political social work, featuring discussion, examples, and critical thinking exercises in such vital areas as: Power, empowerment, and conflict: engaging effectively with power in political settings. Getting on the agenda: assessing the political context and developing political strategy. Planning the political intervention: advocacy and electoral campaigns. Empowering voters Persuasive political communication. Budgeting and allocating resources. Evaluating political social work efforts. Making ethical decisions in political social work. Political Social Work is a potent reference for social work professionals, practitioners, and students seeking core political knowledge and skills to practically advance their work. For specialists and generalists alike, it solidifies political action as vital for the evolution of the field.

Now in its fourth edition, completely revised and updated, this book continues to offer in-depth coverage spanning both conceptual debates about empowerment and a range of practice issues. The text provides social workers with a clear framework for critical and empowering practice with service users and carers. The author offers an account of the development of empowerment and participation in practice, considering all dimensions, from work with individuals and groupwork, through to organisational, community and political aspects. The clarity and accessibility, as well as new examples reflecting varied global contexts and material on empowering children and adults, make it an essential resource at all levels of study. New to this Edition: - Strong emphasis on the needs of service users and a clear focus on how social workers may encourage service user and carer prticipation - Internationally diverse case studies and practice examples, reflecting global concerns as well as the changing service and practice terrains in the UK - New and extended material on empowering children and adults