The Changing Role of Social Care

Introduction and overview, Bob Hudson. Part 1 The changing role of social care: new approaches to local governance, John Stewart; changes in the statutory sector, Nirmala Rao; changes in the private sector, Brian Hardy and Gerald Wistow; changes in the voluntary sector, Jeremy Kendall; human resources in social care, Sue Balloch; the changing role of users and carers, Julia Twigg. Part 2 Working across boundaries: social care and housing, Murray Hawtin; social care and social security, Geoff Fimister; central-local relations - the changing bureaucratic balance of direction vs. discretion in social care, Melanie Henwood. Part 3 Comparative perspectives: UK variations in social care, Alison Petch; who pays? who provides? towards a comparative approach to the study of social care, Michael Hill; conclusion - ''modernizing social services'' - a blueprint for the new millennium?, Bob Hudson.

A comprehensive and compelling account of the development of social care policy and provision with a particular emphasis on the last decade... As it is there is so much to admire and recommend. It is a DipSW or social policy student's paradise, replete with evidence from research, lucidly showing the main threads of government policy and presenting information with accessible graphs and charts and a collective style which is never less than clear and resonant. Its topicality will also encourage practitioners to reflect on real issues of role and relationships.