Although personalisation and person- centred support are seen by some as anti-social work, Peter Beresford and Suzy Croft explain how professionals can respond positively and meet service user aspirations
F 18 SOCIALWORKMATTERS MAY12
aced with reduced resources and a perception of a switch in priorities away from them, many adults’ social workers regard themselves as the ‘Cinderellas’ of the caring professions.
But there is one constant in adult care: the high value that service users place on good practice. The catch lies in the diffi culties accessing and retaining social work support rather than it not having a special role to play. The reframing of social work with adults
as care management, with its preoccupation with assessment and rationing, has been particularly obstructive. The social worker has often been part of a process of denying rather