Daphne Statham

First published in 1978, Radicals in Social Work by Daphne Statham challenges traditional social work theories, urging professionals to question institutional norms. Statham advocates for radical social workers to engage with broader societal movements, using alternative analyses, like family dynamics, to influence practice. This thought-provoking study emphasizes raising critical questions over offering solutions, encouraging social workers and students to rethink their role within the socio-economic order and contribute to meaningful change.

This book describes how social work teams can respond to social problems in a way that both deals with immediate need and helps build community capacity. The authors recognise the need to respond appropriately to crisis where vulnerable children and adults are at risk, but argue that an inappropriate response can compound and perpetuate people's problems. They suggest that social care organisations need to go beyond operating as aid agencies focusing on the needs of individuals, and should increase their development capacity by working with other agencies and citizens to make communities more supportive and inclusive for vulnerable and excluded people.

In this second edition of a classic text, the changes in the lives of women using social services and women working in them are sensitively charted with the aim of reflecting on how non-sexist women-centred practice can be nurtured and developed. Retaining its original emphasis on attitudes, values and the social welfare context, the text explores the core areas of poverty, work (including providing support for children and adults), violence and familial relationships, but with a stronger emphasis on the important diversities created by age, disability and employment, as well as by race, class and sexuality.