Social Work and Poverty: A Critical Approach

Social work and poverty
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
1. Poverty and social work: the historical context
	Poverty before capitalism
	Reform of the Poor Law
	The Poor Law (Amendment) Act 1834
	Consequences of the Poor Law (Amendment) Act 1834
	The Poor Law and charity
	Summary
2. Social work and the concept of poverty
	Definitions
	Measuring poverty
	Different approaches to measurement
	Theories of poverty
	Summary
3. The reform of welfare?
	Welfare Reform Act 2012
	Changes to Housing Benefit
	Implications for social work
	From Incapacity Benefit to Employment and Support Allowance
	Implications for social work
	Impact of Universal Credit
	Social work and a living wage
	Summary
4. Service users and the experience of poverty
	The experience of poverty
	The consequences of living in poverty
	Fuel poverty
	Narratives of fuel poverty
	Summary
5. Social work and poverty: ethics and practice
	Working in partnership
	Empowerment
	Critiquing anti-oppressive approaches to service users in poverty
	Summary
6. Social work organisations: responding to poverty
	Social work organisations and poverty
	Markets and social care
	Markets and residential care
	The Children Act 2004: policy, procedure and poverty
	Social work and family support
	Discretion and professional social work
	Summary
7. Poverty: social division and service users
	Social division and service user status
	Poverty, child neglect and abuse
	Food and nutrition
	Foodbanks: a social work dilemma?
	Obesity
	Substance misuse and poverty
	The impact of problematic drug use
	Children and families and misuse of drugs
	Summary
8. Globalisation, social work and poverty
	Globalisation
	Globalisation defined
	Globalisation and social work
	Human trafficking and forced labour
	Practice issues
	Migrant labour and global care
	Summary
Conclusion
References
Index