Transformations in social wefare regimes and their impacts on Social Work

Abstract

This article based on the idea that it is not possible to understand the Social Work profession separate from the process of institutionalization of social policies. Therefore, the analysis of the profession today cannot be conducted without considering the changes that social welfare regimes, consolidated since the end of the Second World War, have been suffering since the late 1970’s. These changes, have repercussions in the way that social services and policies are administered and managed that are manifest in the processes of privatization and decentralization as well as in the participation of civil society in the provision of social welfare. These changes also influence the profession itself. These impacts are divided into two large organized groups: those which are linked to social policies concerned with creating opportunities for the provision of social goods and services and those concerned with creating opportunities for professional insertion.