Synopses & Reviews
There is an increasing emphasis on social workers and social care professionals developing more effective approaches to working in neighborhoods and with local residents. This is partly a response to government policies centered on service-user participation but it also stems from the recognition that social problems are multifaceted, requiring close integration of services at local level.
Going Local explains how social workers can develop approaches to neighborhood work, engage with users and their locality, and contribute to strengthening local communities. It combines an emphasis on the practice of delivering neighborhood services that work well with critiques of major concepts, perspectives and policies that are driving the new localism. The book discusses the key concepts of 'neighborhood', 'community' and 'social cohesion' and explains how to: gather relevant information about a specific neighborhood, maximize the involvement of local people, develop partnerships with organizations and overcome local religious and ethnic division.
Synopsis
"Going Local" helps to explain how social workers can develop valuable skills essential for neighborhood work, engage with users and their locality, and contribute to strengthening local communities. Combining an emphasis on the practice of delivering neighborhood services that work well with critiques of major concepts, this book analyzes the perspectives and policies that are driving the new localism.
Discussing the key concepts of neighborhood, community and social cohesion, this core text describes how to:
- gather relevant information and knowledge about a specific neighborhood
- maximize the involvement of local people
- develop effective partnerships with other organizations
- overcome local religious and ethnic divisions.
- Showing how these principles work out in practice in specific services relating to health and social care, "Going Local "presents essential information in a clear and accessible manner, including a series of case exercises to help the reader consolidate what has been learned.
Synopsis
Going Local explains how social work students and practitioners can develop approaches to neighbourhood work, to engage communities and neighbourhoods more purposefully and to work with citizens and other mainstream and community service providers to build the capacity of neighbourhoods to tackle social problems on their own. Each chapter includes objectives and key points, as well as case studies and activities where appropriate, and the topics discussed include:
- what we can learn from past social work practice
- principles, skills and tools to enhance local working
- joined up practice
- care and services for children, families, young people, older people and other vulnerable adults
- social cohesion and the role of practitioners in overcoming local religious and ethnic division.
Going Local will appeal to practitioners working in neighbourhood based services, and is essential reading for students of social work, youth and community work, and probation work.