Among the issues addressed are: challenges from the state in the form of inquiries, reviews and new legislative initiatives, including the Children Act and community care legislation; challenges posed by criticisms from social workers themselves, clients and potential clients about the ways in which power and control are exercised in social work; and challenges arising from the social and cultural diversity of needs which social work must meet, including issues of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and disability.

Produced in large format and illustrated for effective student teaching, A Crisis in Care? is a course book on the Open University course Family Life and Social Policy (D311).

`Casts a sharp analytic eye over a profession facing challenges and undergoing change. The result is a book set to become a key text for students of social work and social policy′ - Hilary Graham, University of Warwick

`Reports the unvarnished truth about what has happened to social work, and what is likely to happen to it in the future. It does not make for consoling reading... at last someone is examining the real state of affairs′ - Community Care