Social Policy for Social Work, Social Care and the Caring Professions

Since devolution in 1999, social policy within Scotland has burgeoned. The Scottish Parliament has a range of powers in relation to key policy areas including social work, education, health, child care, child protection, law and home affairs, and housing. These powers and the existence of a distinct legal tradition in Scotland means that social work practice has developed a distinctive style, attuned to the particular needs of Scotland. Scottish distinctiveness however, has rarely been properly represented in textbooks on either social policy or social work. This innovative text offers comprehensive coverage of the discipline of social policy and its central relevance to social work, social care and related practice in Scotland. Designed to complement teaching and study associated with the new Honours degree in Social Work (Scottish Executive 2003), it fills a notable gap in the literature on this subject and will be essential reading for students, professionals and academics within a variety of health and social care occupations.

Steve J Hothersall is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. He has previously worked as a manager and practitioner in social work and nursing. His recent publications include Social Work with Children, Young People and their Families in Scotland (2008) and (with Mike Maas-Lowit and Malcolm Golightley) Social Work and Mental Health in Scotland (2008). Janine Bolger is Senior Lecturer in Social Work in the Scottish Institute for Residential Childcare, based at the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. Prior to entering academia she worked in Child Protection, and was Assistant Principal of a residential special school.

Introduction; I: Context; 1: What is social policy?; 2: A history of social policy; 3: Ideology: How ideas influence policy and welfare; 4: People, policy and practice; II: Themes and issues; 5: Poverty and social exclusion; 6: Risk, support and protection; 7: Changing patterns of care; 8: Welfare rights; 9: Social policy perspectives on empowerment; III: Policy for practice; 10: Health and health inequalities; 11: Mental health; 12: Older people; 13: Disability: A question of perception; 14: Children and their families; 15: Education and training in Scotland; 16: Substance use and social policy in Scotland: The struggle to make sense of things; 17: Social policy in the criminal justice system; 18: Asylum and immigration; 19: Housing and homelessness; 20: Conclusions: Onwards and upwards?