Social working without borders: challenging privatisation and complicity with the hostile environment

Abstract

Social Workers Without Borders is a UK social work charity established in early 2016 to provide direct support to migrant children and families, and to scaffold this through the development of social work education and activism reflecting the principles of human rights and social justice. Reflecting on Social Workers Without Borders’ model of practice, Lauren Wroe, co-founder and trustee of Social Workers Without Borders, discusses the charity’s recent campaign against Capita and the implications of privatisation for asylum-seeking and migrant families, as well as for the ethical value base of the profession. Positioning Social Workers Without Borders as a voluntary network that ‘fills the gap’ in state services, the author discusses campaign strategies to defend the profession, and the families it supports, from the rolling back of state welfare and the rolling out of state hostility through the deregulated outsourcing of social care services.

Social work with refugees: Examining social workers’ role and practice in times of crisis in Greece

“…The limited and repressive options available for refugees, the lack of resources and a cost-led target culture are mostly a result of 'technocratic' social work methods, which focus on instrumentalizing the bureaucratic procedures instead of employing empowering approaches (Guhan and Liebling-Kalifani, 2011;Humphries, 2004;Jönsson, 2014;Masocha, 2014;Robinson, 2013Robinson, , 2014Wroe, 2019). Much of this method is conceptualized within the literature of social work practice concerning work with migrants.…”

“…Others have been involved in political campaigns and social movements with community action and support (e.g. Briskman, 2020;Ferguson, 2008;Lavalette and Ferguson, 2007;Lavalette and Penketh, 2014;Marston and McDonald, 2012;Robinson, 2013;Wroe, 2019) or have even engaged in symbolic refusals and covert resistance (e.g. Marston and McDonald, 2012;Robinson and Masocha, 2017).…”

More than words can say: Why health and social care policy makers should reconsider their position on informal interpreters

“…This issue is not restricted to interpreting, but to racial discrimination and inequality more broadly. Wroe (2019) describes contracting of multi-nationals such as CAPITA as responsible for ‘creating a hostile environment for migrant and non-migrant individuals and families alike’ (Wroe, 2019). The involvement of such organisations in working towards racist targets compounds the intersectional disadvantage associates with LEP and is a practice that must be challenged.…”

“…In addition, Colley and Guéry (2014) identified occasions where NRPSI registered interpreters felt unable to adhere to the Code's requirements. This is an increasing concern, as the commissioning out of interpreting services to multi-national organisations known to militate against professional ethics (Wroe, 2019). Even where regulatory bodies ensure registered professionals adhere to a code of conduct, individuals with LEP do not always experience their care in this way (Parkinson et al, 2018).…”

Reflecting on Early Help with Migrant Families: A View from Practice

“…Second, to highlight a practitioner's view of support for families with NRPF. There is a small but growing literature on NRPF social work which explores practice in the context of 'everyday bordering' (Farmer 2017), children's experiences of neglectful legislation (Jolly 2018), and the ethical tensions of professional complicity with harmful and exclusionary immigration policies (Farmer 2021;Wroe 2019;Humphries 2004). However, this is the first reflection from a local authority social work practitioner perspective, and therefore presents a unique window into social work practice at the uneasy intersection of child welfare and immigration control.…”