Full Description
This revised second edition analyses social policy in Scotland since devolution in 1999 and reflects the nascent and distinctively Scottish policy agenda. Along with updated chapters, there are two new inclusions: a chapter analysing post-devolution Scotland and a chapter on the likely impacts of Brexit on and within Scotland.
Providing diagrams, tables and a range of activities, the book maintains an innovative and pedagogic emphasis to introduce students to a wealth of materials, ideas and practical responses to the increasingly complex and diverse situations faced by social workers and other professionals. Part 1 of the book looks at what social policy is, how and why it is made and highlights the importance of the relationship between social policy and the law. Part 2 refers to specific themes of social exclusion, poverty and (more visible for this revised edition) austerity, considering their complex and multidimensional forms and discussing the range of policies currently extant that aim to combat such disadvantage. Part 3 provides a comprehensive overview of policy for practice, considering concepts of health inequality, mental health, older people, disability, children and families, education, substance use, criminal justice, asylum and immigration and homelessness.
This book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as post-qualified professionals seeking to understand the complexities of the social policy landscape in Scotland, and its influence on social work and related forms of professional practice.
Contents
Part 1: Context 1. What is social policy? 2. A history of social policy 3. Ideology: how theories and ideas influence policy, people, welfare and practice 4. People, policy and practice 5. From devolution to Brexit Part 2: Themes and issues 6. Poverty, austerity and social exclusion 7. Protecting people across the lifespan 8. Care and caring in Scotland: evolution, growth and development 9. Welfare rights 10. Social policy perspectives on empowerment Part 3: Policy for practice 11. Health and health inequalities 12. Mental health 13. Social policy for social work: a gerontological perspective 14. Impairment and disability 15. Children and their families 16. Education and training in Scotland 17. Substance use and social policy in Scotland: the struggle to make sense of things 18. Social policy in the criminal justice system 19. Asylum and immigration 20. Housing and homelessness 21. Conclusions: policy and practice for an uncertain world in uncertain times
