Welfare, Law and Managerialism

Abstract

• Summary: This article examines the relationships between welfare, law and managerialism as key discourses in social work with children and families. It draws on empirical research into the relationships between local authority social workers, social services managers and lawyers in child care work in England. • Findings: Tensions between social workers and lawyers have, in the past, been seen as symptoms of a wider clash between welfare and law as paradigmatic approaches to the regulation of social life and professional activity. Likewise, the rise of managers and managerialism has widely been portrayed as being in conflict with welfare values. The relationship between law and managerialism, meanwhile, has often been treated as unproblematic — simply two sides of the same coin, the increasing regulation of social work. This study reveals a more complex picture of on-going and unstable overlaps and tensions between the three professional groups and discourses. • Applications : The study points to a more fluid understanding of the relationships between welfare, law and managerialism in social work, one that recognizes the dynamic nature of the inter-discursive and inter-professional relationships. The character of contemporary child care social work is constructed and constrained through these multi-layered interactions.

Why do Social Workers Leave? A Moderated Mediation of Professionalism, Job Satisfaction, and Managerialism

“…Some researchers equate managerialism in the public sector with "good management" and suggest that the right proportion of managerialism may be needed in the field of human service due to rising expectations, shrinking budgets, and increased competition [50,51]. This is considered the "hybridity" perspective [52].…”

‘Rogue’ Social Workers

“…With these large-scale movements, there has been a shift towards managerialism, which can be understood both as an ideology that includes the premise that better management will result from importing the values and methods of private industries into the non-profit environment, and a system of procedures to accomplish this (Clarke, 2004). Managerialism is characterized by attempts to ensure tight control over spending to eliminate excesses and inefficiencies, standardized work practices, increased management powers through the imposition of structures to monitor performance, working to targets, extensive documentation, and the erosion of professional autonomy (Banks, 2011;Clarke, 2004;Dickens, 2008).…”

“…One consequence of managerialism, in its orientation towards economy and efficiency, has been a proliferation of policies, procedures, and auditing systems (Banks, 2011;Clarke, Gewirtz, Hughes, & Humphrey, 2000;Dickens, 2008). The diverse and voluminous rules that have emerged must be followed to ensure compliance with these administrative structures (Dickens, 2008). An outcome to the number of rules in practice settings is that, as they have expanded in size, so has the likelihood of conflicting and irreconcilable practice requirements.…”

‘Voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ child welfare: Challenging the distinction

“…A further limitation is the degree to which the terminology and policy of the Finnish child welfare system communicates across countries as the division of voluntary and involuntary care orders is exceptional. Nevertheless, it is common that a full understanding of the country-specific features of child welfare systems requires a considerable amount of knowledge from inside (e.g., Dickens, 2008; Forkby, Höjer, & Liljegren, 2015).…”