Central‐local tensions in the decentralization of social policies
Street‐level bureaucrats and social practices in the Netherlands
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11197488 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Erik Jansen (0000-0001-9618-1034, School of Social Studies HAN University of Applied Sciences Nijmegen The Netherlands, corresponding author), Jana Javornik (0000-0002-6103-1359, Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change Leeds University Business School Leeds UK), Annica Brummel (0009-0004-0815-5477, School of Social Studies HAN University of Applied Sciences Nijmegen The Netherlands), Mara A Yerkes (Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science Utrecht University Utrecht the Netherlands), Mara Yerkes (0000-0002-5480-4878, Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science Utrecht University Utrecht the Netherlands) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1262-1275 |
| Publication date | 2021-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Policy and Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0144-5596 • E-ISSN: 1467-9515 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/spol.12722 |
| OpenAlex | W3143664564 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 34 |
European welfare reforms often involve the decentralization of social care services. This potentially creates central‐local tensions for professionals implementing and delivering policies on the ground. Using the capability approach (CA) as a conceptual frame, this article compares local professionals' experiences in the decentralization of social work and care services in an urban and a rural mid‐sized municipality in the Netherlands. It offers a missing insiders' perspective on central‐local tensions, focusing on front‐line workers' capabilities to effectively implement policy on the ground. It finds that perfect policy implementation is hardly achievable locally and that policies are translated through implementation and on‐the‐ground delivery. This leads to central‐local tensions and the absence of reflective space for professionals to deal with normative dilemmas. We conclude that the CA is both useful for identifying these tensions as well as providing a normative framework to guide professionals in reflecting on and negotiating street‐level issues
Decentralization · Economic growth · Economics · Front line · Negotiation · Normative · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Social Welfare · Sociology · Work (physics · Engineering · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
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Street-Level Workers and the Construction of Social Infrastructure in Suburban Neighbourhoods
Food Insecurity in Amsterdam Noord
The nexus between welfare rescaling and administrative burden
Cities, Local Social Policy, and Critical Human Security in Times of Turbulence
Comparative Measurement of Citizens’ Perceptions of Local Policies
From citizen to patient
Rural social work in the wake of the Covid ‐19 pandemic
The context-specific nature of rural social work practice
Care Circles’ as an entrepreneurial land policy instrument for age-appropriate housing provision in densification projects
Perspectives from the frontline
Signing Globally, Implementing Locally
Frontline professionals' experiences of navigating boundaries in a layered care and support system for individuals with complex care needs in the Netherlands
Social Services Disrupted
Social Policy and the Capability Approach
Making Social Science Matter
From communities of practice to mycorrhizae
Creating Capabilities
Rescaling Social Policies
Key Concepts in Social Research
Inequality Reexamined
Meeting (or not) at the street level? A literature review on street‐level research in public management, social policy and social work
The economics behind the move to 'localism' in England
Explaining differences in women's working time in European cities
A New Way to Compare Horizontal Connections of Policy Sectors
Differences That Matter
Methodological Challenges for Comparative Welfare State Research
Citizen‐agency versus state‐agency at the frontline in prisons and probation services
From Provider to Enabler of Care? Reconfiguring Local Authority Support for Older People and Carers in Leeds, 2008 to 2013
Linking macro‐level mechanisms to street‐level accountability practices. A cross‐national case study of street‐level accountability of social workers in government funded homeless shelters
De)familialization and (De)genderization – Competing or Complementary Perspectives in Comparative Policy Analysis
Street-level bureaucrats as strategy shapers in social and health service delivery
The Interpretation of Cultures
The New Public Service Revisited
Social Equities and Inequities in Practice
Evidence translation
The role of middle managers in the implementation of national public policy
Co-designing collaboration
Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice
The Capability Approach
Expanding Capabilities in Integrated Service Areas (ISAs) As Communities of Care
| Citations per year | 3.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |