Making Sense of Risk

Social Work at the Boundary between Care and Control

Bibliographic Data

ID20511183
AuthorsRavit Alfandari (0000-0003-4054-6262, University of Haifa, corresponding author), Brian J Taylor (0000-0002-3833-1986, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland), Mary Baginsky (0000-0002-8763-2363, NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce, Policy Institute, King’s College London, London, UK), Jim Campbell (0000-0002-2702-1122, Social Work, University College Dublin, Ireland), Duncan Helm (0000-0003-0728-7158, Social Work, University of Stirling, Scotland), Campbell Killick (0000-0002-8421-2005, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland), Paul McCafferty (0000-0003-4324-995X, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland), Judith C Mullineux (0000-0001-6631-0720, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland), Jane Shears (0000-0002-7618-1456, Development, British Association of Social Work (UK), and Approved Mental Health Professional, Northamptonshire County Council, England), Alessandro Sicora (0000-0002-7944-8144, University of Trento), Andrew Whittaker (0000-0003-4686-1079, Social Work, London South Bank University, UK)
Year2023
Volume25
Issue1-2
Pages75-92
Publication date2023-02-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Risk & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-8575 • E-ISSN: 1469-8331
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13698575.2022.2147904
OpenAlexW4309791294
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited72

‘Risk’ has become a central concept for social work practice in countries with more developed social welfare systems. As argued by Hazel Kemshall and colleagues, ‘risk’ has often replaced ‘need’ as the main driver for social work interventions as societies seek to avoid harm to citizens. This shift of focus raises a tension between care (support for the individual or family in their own right) and control (seeking to prevent harm to themselves, each other or other citizens). This article considers some of the key developments in the 25 years since the above article, including the development of risk communication; the growing familiarity with both likelihood and severity concepts of risk; the assessment of risk as part of organisational arrangements to manage risk; and theoretical developments linking social work assessment, ‘working with risk’ and decision-making. In the first part of the article, we explore the care versus control boundary through focussing, in turn, on child and family social work, adult care services, mental health social work and criminal justice social work, and their respective developments. We then further extend two key foci regarding assessment and care planning as well as the use of professional knowledge at the care and control boundary. Our analysis of these developments points towards more nuanced approaches to managing risk and making decisions at these sometimes contentious boundaries

Harm · Health care · Management · Political science · Psychological intervention · Public relations · Risk assessment · Sociology · Engineering · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Medicine · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Nursing · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work