ABSTRACT
This chapter uses a feminist ethics of care lens to examine the policy shifts that are being enacted by governments committed to either reducing or constraining the cost of social welfare through the development of both privatised and personalised service delivery models. For women, as service users, social workers and other human service workers, and informal carers, there are potential gains to be made under the new arrangements. The chapter argues the risks accompanying new market-driven human service delivery models are understated, under-recognised and under-discussed. It suggests that a feminist ethics of care provides a useful framework for a sustained deeper analysis of the new human service delivery system. The political and practical developments in the delivery of human services involved in the movement to consumer-directed care give expression to a particular neo-liberal philosophical position about the nature of social policy and human services. The marketisation of human services has also had significant impact on the re-conceptualisation of service users.
