Modernisation and the role of agency social workers
Modernisation and the role of agency social workers
Since the 1980s, social work in the United Kingdom has been increasingly subject to scrutiny and managerial control, a considerable body of literature having charted the shifts within state social work as it has changed from being a ‘bureau-profession’, a hybrid model accommodating both professional and bureaucratic ideologies, to being a profession operating in the context of ‘new managerialism’ and being subject more recently to ‘modernisation’. One aspect of the modernised social-work environment has been the rise of agency social work, a system whereby private recruitment agencies supply contracted qualified social workers to what are predominantly statutory settings. Drawing on literature from social work, health, and business, this chapter examines the core issues surrounding the role(s) of agency social workers. It analyses the nature and value of the contribution made to social work by agency social workers within the context of the modernised service. First, The chapter traces the development of nursing agencies and social-work agencies, the emergence of agency social work, and agency social work and models of social work.
Keywords: United Kingdom, modernisation, managerialism, social work, social workers, health, business, nursing agencies, social-work agencies
Policy Press Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
