Resisting neoliberal social work fragmentation: The wall-to-wall alliance

Resisting neoliberal social work fragmentation: The wall-to-wall alliance

By: Strier R.
Published in: Social Work (United States)
SDGs : SDG 10  |  Units: Social Welfare & Health Sciences  | Time: 2019 |  Link
Description: Worldwide neoliberal policies are transforming the landscape of social work. Studies have shown that these policies incr eased social workers’ caseloads, regulated welfare expenditures, impaired public services’ capabilities to attend to the needs of growing demand, transformed social services delivery by implanting new public management methods, and often also worsened working conditions and deteriorated the professional status of social workers. Moreover, these policies have raised both poverty and inequality levels and left their negative marks on social work education, by prioritizing academic disciplines more attuned with the needs of neoliberal regimes. This article seeks to encourage schools of social work, social workers in the social services, and people living in poverty to challenge the harmful impact of this context by engaging in meaningful alliances focused on the fight against poverty and social exclusion. This article presents a long-term partnership project between a school of social work, local public social services, and groups of active clients, to tackle the issue of poverty in Israel. The article describes the project, introduces the theoretical and methodological principles, analyzes achievements and challenges, and finally discusses the potential contribution of such partnerships for the future of the profession. © 2019 National Association of Social Workers.