Changing Practice: Participation, Rights and Community Care

Participation is a key term in current debates about social services, reflecting often contradictory concerns with consumerism and rights. Drawing on findings from the Social Work in Partnership research and development project (funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation), this paper explores the possibilities for participation in the field of community care. It argues that a clear framework of rights for service users must be accompanied by practice strategies which ensure those rights in the day to day contacts between users and professionals.