ABSTRACT
Perhaps; but there was a time (see Chapter 1) when virtually all social work was a form of community work. Indeed, until quite recently, most qualifying courses had a community work element, but only in Northern Ireland is competence in community development a requirement of the professional qualification. The question arises however: to what extent are social workers now generally involved in such pursuits? Certainly the adjective is everywhere: we have community mental health teams; community support teams, even ‘community punishments’ (which remind one a little of the stocks), but is this, as Pinker thought, so much heart-warming, sepia-toned sentimentality? We shall try to answer this question, but first we will conduct a short survey of the literature, in which the following themes are present:
1 Some books, and many more articles, celebrate the idea that the onerous responsibilities with which social work is charged (e.g. community care in mental health, community care to enable frail, elderly people to live at home, Sure Start) envisage a community organization element to the work. That is, the planned involvement of extended families, neighbours, voluntary groups and volunteers. The problem, and it is very evident, is that this is often supposed to happen via some catalytic process, without allowing professionals the time to get involved in a supportive capacity.
