When Social Services are Local: The Normanton Experience

In the early 1980s, the personal social services in Britain were criticized for being over-centralized, fragmented, and crisis-oriented. To address this, field teams within departments adopted community-oriented patterns of organization. This book, based on an eighteen-month study of Normanton (Wakefield MDC), provides the first systematic account of this approach. It examines how referrals and long-term work are handled, management of the team, and the views of workers, users, and other agencies. It demonstrates the potential of a community-centered approach to create more responsive and effective services, based on better knowledge of the population, easier access to the team, broader staff roles, and the active encouragement of local community initiatives.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 282 pages
Publication date: 05 November 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

In the early 1980s, Britain's personal social services faced increasing scrutiny. The establishment of large social services departments following reorganization in the early 1970s led to concerns about over-centralization, fragmentation, and crisis-oriented approaches. To address this, a growing number of field teams within the departments began adopting community-oriented organizational patterns.

This book, originally published in 1984, provides a systematic account of the operation of an area team in Normanton (Wakefield MDC). The team consisted of social workers, ancillaries, and domiciliary staff organized into neighborhood sub-teams. The authors examine how referrals and long-term work are handled, describe team management, and consider the views of workers, users, and staff from other agencies. While acknowledging the challenges of adopting a community-centered approach, the book offers convincing evidence of its potential to create more responsive and effective services based on better knowledge of the population served, easier access to the team, broader staff roles, and the active encouragement of local community initiatives.

As the most comprehensive account of an area team published to date, this book is essential reading for those concerned with improving the performance of personal social services at the time. It is particularly valuable for councillors, managers, planners, social workers, other field staff in social services departments, teachers, and researchers interested in social work and community development.

Weight: 530g
Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032054612