ABSTRACT
In this chapter I shall consider the influence of social work on the development, shape and functioning of family centres. I shall look at various strands of social work, especially family therapy and community work, and assess their influence on the development of family centres. Social work will be seen as having relative autonomy in the marketplace of ideas, and as a profession characterized by several segments of varying influence and ideology. I have already noted that social work's task is changing, moving beyond the traditional character work with ‘problem families’ to the development and ‘support’ of informal caring in family and community. Social work is currently caught in a pincer movement: the low level of public daycare and community care services makes the task of supporting families harder; at the same time, public interest in child abuse raises the stakes for social work, especially as the material factors which may exacerbate child abuse – poverty, poor housing – are themselves growing. In this context, how has social work influenced the development of family centres, the translation of policy into practice, and what are the implications for their – mainly women – users?
