Introduction

The term ‘social care’ was originally used to distinguish a range ofpractical services and functions of social services departments fromthe professional activity of social work (see Webb and Wistow,1981). For reasons outlined below, social care has now been recastto cover the entire spectrum of welfare provision within thepersonal social services includingsocial work. This breadth of activity makes it difficult tosummarise, but the problems do not rest here. Particularly as itrelates to social work, social care is a rather dubious name for therange of activities and responsibilities which cluster beneath thisumbrella term. This is because while ‘caring’ is a central theme,the care of some (such as vulnerable children) inevitably involvesthe control or policing of others (such as parents). In pursuinglong-term ‘caring’ goals, social care can entail activities thatrestrict people's liberties, such as interventions in the lives ofthose with serious mental illness (to protect them or others) andinterventions aimed at preventing recidivism (youth justice). Indecision-making terms, many of these functions rest with socialworkers.

The range of groups that fall within the scope of social care iswide, covering children and young people, older people, physicallydisabled people, the learning disabled, the mentally ill, and thehomeless. Viewing social care through a ‘problems’ lens, rather thana ‘client group’ lens, reveals a similarly broad range of problemsthat it encounters and/or seeks to address: abuse and neglect,substance misuse, mental illness, alcoholism, chronic physicalillness and disability, inadequate parenting, delinquency, to namebut a few. The services provided span residential and daycare, groupwork, domiciliary services, counselling and other forms ofintervention aimed at changing or improving behaviour, relationshipsor individual well-being. The focus of social care is also difficultto summarise succinctly. Generally speaking it is concerned withindividually manifested problems with a social dimension amenable tosocial intervention. However, history and bureaucratic happenstanceisolate some areas – such as education, transport, housing and manyaspects of healthcare – that might, were we to start afresh,properly be seen as social care.

In the UK there is a large statutory sector (local government socialservices departments) which operates on the basis of statutoryresponsibilities and duties, coupled with a wide range of permissorypowers.