Critical Social Work

Evidence-based practice has become an important approach to social work practice. This paper highlights some of the ethical dilemmas which may be implicated by this approach, and encourages social workers and social work researchers to carefully consider these potential quandaries.

I föredraget hedras en nybliven hundraåring: Paulo Freire. Utgångspunkten för föredraget är hans banbrytande bok De förtrycktas pedagogik, som just kommit i en rykande ny översättning. Vad är det i Freires filosofi och pedagogik som fortfarande har sådan aktualitet? Som ett sätt att möta samtidens utmaningar och peka ut alternativa färdriktningar inför framtiden?

Despite decades of practice and development, social work education in India is still Western-centric. Social work in India is still not well recognised: it does not have an accrediting body or professional recognition within the country. This study gives voice to a sample of social work students regarding some of the challenges they face, including the curriculum, pedagogy, recognition of the profession and the practicum. The study is based on interviews with students from five universities in India and includes concrete recommendations for improving the professional training of social work students.

Former BSW student: I’m really worried about this job interview. I know they are going to think I am too critical, too passionate, too much. How can I dumb myself down Jennifer? How do I get in the door so I can do the work I want to do? Maybe staying quiet will get me the job I need…maybe I should shut up about AOP? This was part of a conversation I had last week, with a passionate, anti-oppressive and critical former undergraduate student who had been told, on more than one occasion, that she was just “too much” for the ‘mainstream’ social work organizations to which she had been applying for employment. It was not the first time one of my graduates had shared such worries, for many had reported negative workplace reactions to their critical and anti-oppressive stance, nor would it be the last. As the literature reminds us, social workers are now labouring in a post-welfare context where critiques of power, racism, ageism, sexism, heterosexism and ableism will not make ‘best pract...

This paper outlines the development of the Transformative Consciousness (TC) of Oppression and Privilege (COAP) Scale created to address the conceptual and measurement limitations of the critical consciousness (CC) construct. Unlike prior CC measures, this scale was developed for the general population, integrates identities that are oppressed and privileged, incorporates the social-ecological framework, assesses cognitions, and attempts to reduce the impact of social desirability bias. Following DeVellis’ (2003) scale development process and Rubio and colleague’s (2003) process for content validity, this paper presents: a review of CC measurement literature and the lack of standardized conceptualization and measurement tools; an overview of TC theory; the COAP scale development process; and, a content validity study of COAP including quantitative and qualitative methods. An outgrowth of the first author’s conceptualization of Transformative Consciousness, the domain-specific and co...

It is perhaps regrettably so that one of the defining features of social work is its tendency to become embroiled in and mixed up with controversy. When social workers make the news, the news is usually bad. For publics outrage is often a dominant mode of engagement with social work. However, if controversy is prominent in perceptions of social work, it is nevertheless particular types of controversies. Cast in various guises as "crisis", "scandal", "moral panic", "failures" and "tragedy" social work is inevitably caught up in a complex set of inimical circumstances. It's a job that brings practitioners face-to-face with anger, abuse, cruelty and heartbreak. This  means social work is sometimes colloquially  referred to as "grunt work" or "dirty work" (Hughes, 1962; Flaherty, 2014).  In "A Profession Chasing its Own Tail-Again" (1990) Hartman warned that conflicts, controversy and rifts are a sad part of the professional history of social work. Alongside this emotive terms, phrases and concepts which invoke failure and controversy are often strategically deployed to manufacture doubt and suspicion about the credibility of social work as a profession. In the UK recently this has certainly been the case with the likes of parliamentarian Michael Gove and policy advisor Martin Narey casting doubt on the worthiness of social work education in preparing students for front-line practice.  Arguably, it only through a thorough investigation of controversy that we can come to understand what permits previously distant characters such as Grove and Narey access to the social work stage. For all the attention given to and preoccupation with these concerns there is no single analysis of the nature of controversy to be found in the social work literature.

North Americans consider companion-animals as family members and increasingly as attachment figures. Across the health sciences and professions, substantial qualitative and mounting quantitative research provides evidence of health benefits of human animal interactions across the life cycle regarding diverse issues. In replicating a ground-breaking U.S. study designed to measure exposure to information and levels of knowledge and integration of human animal bonds (HAB) into practice, this present study, funded by the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation, surveyed practitioners in Nova Scotia, Canada. Similar to the U.S. findings, this study revealed the majority of practitioners were uninformed about such benefits and about how they can be operationalized. As a result, the majority of practitioners in Nova Scotia are not including animals in practice, and notably, those who are, are doing so without the necessary education or training. The lack of preparation in human-animal inter...

Objetivo. Desarrollar una reflexión sobre cómo incorporar la dimensión espacial en el análisis que todo diseño de intervenciones sociales requiere. Metodología. A partir de la vinculación de la obra de Henri Lefebvre, con el campo de trabajo social y la experiencia docente en una escuela de trabajo social chilena, se elabora una propuesta teórico-metodológica propia. Resultado. Se plantea una forma de análisis general que considera lo espacial como consustancial a lo social, desde una perspectiva trialéctica. Esta integra las dimensiones material, subjetiva y social en escalas macro, meso y micro. Conclusiones. Se estima que la propuesta desarrollada permite superar miradas ingenuas o conservadoras y aquella perspectiva que concibe lo territorial como un mero nivel de intervención. Adicionalmente, se indican un conjunto de desafíos que surgen a partir de esta propuesta. Palabras clave: espacio, análisis, teoría, metodología, intervención social, trabajo social. Abstract Objective. To develop a reflection on how to incorporate the spatial dimension in the analysis that all design of social interventions requires. Methodology. Based on the connection between the work of Henri Lefebvre and the field of Social Work, and the teaching experience in a Chilean school of social work, an own theorical-methodological proposal is elaborated. Results. A general form of analysis is proposed that considers the spatial as consubstantial to the social, from a trialectics perspective. This proposal integrates material, subjective and social dimensions, on macro, meso and micro scales. Conclusions. It is considered that this proposal allows overcoming naive or conservative views, and perspectives that conceive the territorial area as a mere level of intervention. Additionally, a set of challenges that arise from this proposal are indicated.

The paper highlights the fundamental functions of the role of the internal manager –
planning, human resources management, staff support, and internal and external
communication (Reggio, 2008) – and presents an advanced version of the Internal
Management Multidimensional Model (IM3). Attention is paid to the role that internal
managers play in pursuing, managing, and synthesizing the extraordinary complexity of
internal and external processes, dynamics, and issues in which every residential care
centre is involved. Managers’ core competence is identified as an ability to address every
dimension of their role (planning, organisation, staff leadership, relations with
commitments, institutions, external agencies and the community, and the development of
a professional culture) based on a ‘child-centred’ approach from a social pedagogy
perspective (Cameron & Moss, 2011). It may seem particularly challenging to take on
responsibilities in a time of uncertainty and crisis, but in this situation, and particularly in
the caring professions, it is important that there should be a figure who connects and
guides the various professionals in such a way that fatigue and discouragement do not
completely undermine the effectiveness of their interventions.

This exciting new book aims to engage with students, practitioners, researchers, policy makers, service-users and associated professionals to critically reflect on the importance of professional identity as a matter of concern for social work. It encourages readers to reflect on, compare and contrasts the diverse dimensions of professional identity across several international contexts. Contributing authors including leading international researchers in the field. These talented authors, along with the editor, Stephen A. Webb - one of the world’s leading writers in the field - aim to enrich your understanding of some of the central problems facing social work today and the way these are intimately bound up with matters of professional identity.

“As we know, well-led groups provide many member benefits: feelings of universality, a sense of hope, altruism, acquisition of knowledge and skills, and mutual support...This text is affordable, easy to use, and very suitable for providing group work material in BSW or MSW practice courses.”

— Greg Tully, West Chester University



AN EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH TO GROUP WORK
Second Edition

Rich Furman, University of Washington, Tacoma
Kimberly Bender, University of Denver
Diana Rowan, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

An Experiential Approach to Group Work is not your typical group work text! Using dozens of exercises that build practice-tested skills, the authors' approach is in perfect step with CSWE's competence-based education requirements. The book is organized into three sections—the first addresses stages of group practice, the second looks at major types of groups, and the final section looks at examples of group work practice with special populations.

Features of the Second Edition

    Expanded! Discussion of the theory of group process and dynamics
    New! Content regarding Canadian, British, and Australian group work practices
    New! Chapters on anti-oppressive practice, group work with immigrants, and macro-practice group work
    New! Content on the use and development of technology to aid group work
    Contains customized exercises for each group work topic, designed to build the student and practitioner’s skills for use in group work sessions
    Special emphasis on how to bring individual sessions or groups to closure
    Provides examples of group work in specialized settings: conflict resolution groups within elementary schools, pregnant teens, Latinos, and HIV/AIDS clients

"Abstract

Many healthcare finance mechanisms involve transferring uncertain costs to healthcare providers in lieu of fixed payments or global capitation. Global capitation violates basic principles of risk management through insurance. Risk-theoretic analysis of capitation shows that risk disaggregation forces efficient providers to become inefficient insurers. Risk-assuming providers face lower profitability and increased exposure to operating losses, and must reduce patient benefits. Global capitation causes inefficiency, increases healthcare costs, and threatens patient-provider relationships."

Social work can help to restore a balance towards humanity. We are and always have been critical thinking innovators with a comprehensive grasp of issues, a thorough knowledge of human situations and environments. We also possess the ability to craft policy that is meaningful while at the same time realize a moral obligation towards ourselves and to the populations we serve.

The Latino population is the fastest growing group in the United States; thus, it is imperative that social workers and other mental health practitioners be knowledgeable about the current literature on how to effectively serve this population. This article elucidates key issues and knowledge, such as immigration and migration concerns; discusses how to assess for levels of acculturation; examines cultural values; and highlights salient work issues and health disparities that Latinos experience. Recommendations on how agencies and universities can recruit and promote bilingual practitioners are introduced. Finally, culturally responsive strategies for professional use of self and fostering the therapeutic alliance are discussed.

This paper will argue that wealth and income inequality are among the most pressing issues for contemporary social work. Despite this, social work as a discipline and profession has, in the main, been slow to respond to this growing problem. Critical approaches to social work, however, have always included a commitment to eliminating poverty, promoting equity and addressing both the causes and consequences of socio-economic disadvantage as a core priority. This paper will discuss the contributions critical social work can make to socially informed and ethical responses, particularly through its critical pedagogic, reflective and activist practices in contesting wealth and income inequality.

Nepal is a developing country and education in social work is still very young. Nepalese social workers are the change agents of Nepalese society. Educational institution is a place from where social workers gain knowledge and skills to transform the society.  It is important to know the challenges faced as well as opportunities accessed by social work learners in the academic and field sectors.
Social work educational institutions should be equipped with the basic necessities of education such as qualified professors, experienced field supervisors and sufficient books, as well as opportunities for skills lab, seminars, conferences, and so on. The researcher observed that in Nepal, many students are not able to sufficiently access these resources although they do have a limited opportunity for network building, integration of theory and practice, problem identification and engagement in problem solving process. All of them are not getting opportunity to be trained by experienced social workers.
So far no research studies have been undertaken on social work trainees in Nepal. Hence the researcher wanted to explore the opportunities and challenges faced by social work trainees of Nepal.

This text constructs a new way of thinking about social work based on contemporary social theory and taking into account recent changes in social work. Working in a counter-tradition that is suspicious of a number of governing ideas and practices in social work, it draws on themes in the work of theorists such as Foucault, Giddens, and Rose. It looks at risk, trust, regulation, identity, and governmentality to explore the impact of risk society and neoliberalism on social work. It draws out the way social work is constituted by the twin rationalities of security and regulation.

Intended both as an introduction to the thought of the Italian philosopher Roberto Esposito and as a mapping of current biopolitical analysis, this chapter traces the contributions of recent Esposito scholarship to widen perspectives in social work education and critical pedagogy to the nuances of contemporary theory. The chapter offers a summary of Esposito's insight into the biopolitical nature of social work and its implications for pedagogy. As one colleague recently remarked to the author "social work is the biopolitical project par excellence". Social work is a striking illustration of the neoliberal biopolitical strategy of governing "from below" whereby agents of the state are intimately connected with calculation or control and direction as micro practices of self-reflection. Social work articulates neoliberalism's normative attempts of mobilising social agents as reflective instruments of control. It will be shown how adopting a critical pedagogical approach among social work educators, researchers and students can educate and strengthen tactics of resistance (Webb, 2019). Drawing on Esposito's work, this can be achieved by a pedagogy that critiques professional normalisation as a negative protection, and the way this conditions front-line power relations with service users and carers. As a part of this biopolitical regime, a primary function of social work is to safeguard (negatively) individual, family and community life. From an education standpoint biopolitical analytics can focus social workers on investigating the network of power relations, knowledge practices and modes of subjectification evident in change processes and modes of surveillance.

This paper examines how normative technologies of power are emerging in social work that depend on the hardening of a risk rationality and strategies of social insurance against dangerous, vulnerable, troubled and marginal populations. Taken together, it will be shown how these radical changes amount to a reconfiguring of social work through forms of governmentality that is referred to as actuarialism. Actuarialism refers to the suite or programme of risk calculation techniques that underpin social interventions in advanced liberal societies. This suite of techniques in social work centre on various apparatus of calculative reason, or “centre’s of calculation” as Latour  (1987) refers to them, which permit actions at a distance. They constitute a very consistent field of intervention in social work especially with groups such as sex offenders. A new pole has been constituted for social work, focusing on the activity of regulating marginal and challenging populations, characterized by the question “How do we insure ourselves against the risk of certain populations today?”

"The Criminalization of Immigration: Contexts and Consequences explores these competing narratives and the consequences of criminalizing immigration in the United States and abroad. It examines the impact of national, state, and local legislation on the psychosocial well being of immigrants. The book explores key ways in which immigration is criminalized, and examines how the problematization of immigration becomes a political tool. The first chapters of the book explore the criminalization of immigration through the lens of pacification and the theater of cruelty. In both chapters, the authors seek to understand the process of “othering” members of the immigrant population to exact social control and to mollify the public. These front chapters set the tone for remainder of the book. They provide the impetus for why states have enacted, or have attempted to enact state level immigration laws that make it nearly impossible for the undocumented to live within the boundaries of these states. In section two, three U.S. states are highlighted: Arizona, Alabama, and Indiana. While the chapters on Arizona and Alabama summarize key aspects of state laws, author Sujey Vega highlights the life of one undocumented immigrant as she navigates life in the Heartland.

The book then turns its focus to the criminalization of immigration in a socio-political context. Here, four chapters provide explorations of the criminalization of immigration on labor standards enforcement, immigrant detention, the right wing perspective in the United States and in Europe, and white supremacy. Labor standards impact the rate by which undocumented immigrants are paid, which in turn impacts their health and safety within and outside the workplace, protections from workplace discrimination, and collective activity protections. The criminalization of immigration erodes many of the workplace and labor protections that we have come to view as essential. Similarly, the privatization of corrections has influenced the incarceration and detention of many undocumented immigrants and has even influenced the very laws described in section two of this book. If not for the possibility of profiting off of the detention of the undocumented, many of immigration related laws would not have come to fruition.

The next section of the book provides a transnational and international context to the criminalization of immigration. With chapters focusing on human rights violations, the transnational dimensions of Mexican migration, the making of the Maras, and the criminalization of immigration in the United Kingdom, these chapters ask the reader to examine the criminalization of immigration from a broader perspective. The reader learns how national issues become international and, likewise how international immigration issues influence national policy.

The final chapters of the book put the human face on the criminalization of immigration. Each chapter represents a case study of a specific aspect of the criminalization of immigration. They approach the issue from the viewpoint of a day laborer, an undocumented woman who has become a victim of domestic violence, a child whose parents are undocumented, and a detention officer who wrestles with his decisions to continue his job. Regardless of which chapters one reads, the raw emotion felt by placing oneself in each context is overwhelming.

Overall, The Criminalization of Immigration: Contexts and Consequences provides a complete examination of an issue that cuts through emotional value conflicts. It provides the facts and knowledge essential for a fair and balanced debate"

This agenda setting text explores a broad range of value perspectives and their impact on and contribution to social work thinking on ethics. Including new perspectives, such as Islam, and drawing on international contributors, this is essential reading for all social work students studying ethics and values.

"‘Destined to become a 'must-read', this book injects titanium levels of excitement and promise to all those in social work seeking not just to study the world, but to change it.' - Donna Baines, Professor of Labour Studies and Social Work, McMaster University, Canada

'Do not expect to agree with everything you read here. Indeed, that is precisely why you should read it. It is time to shake up the social work conversation.' - Sue White, Professor of Social Work (Children and Families), University of Birmingham, UK

'This book is a gem' - Linda Briskman, Professor of Human Rights, Swinburne Institute for Social Research, UK

'An important and extremely timely book which will be of great value to all those concerned to place the challenges of inequalities and injustice at the heart of social work.' – Brid Featherstone, Professor of Social Care, The Open University, UK

Fundamental to social work are the values of justice and equality. But it has long been felt that these values are being eroded under a system of capitalist power. Serving to reactivate and refresh social work’s radical tradition to form a new political agenda, The New Politics of Social Work:

• Brings together leading international authors to deliver a critical exploration of the impact capitalism has had on social work

• Paves the way for students and practitioners of social work to take a more transformative, radical approach

This is an important and authoritative book for both advanced level undergraduate and postgraduate students of Social Work."

How does critical engagement with the concept of individualism as it relates to social work take on a European dimension? Is there anything specifically European about a social work which elevates a particular conception of the individual?

The common conditions within and between European societies for the emergence of social work have at least what can be called complex socio-cultural and economic dimensions resulting in two distinct organizational complexes that are significant in the development of modernity: the nation-state and systematic capitalist production (Giddens, 1991). Moreover, modernity invented not just Europe but a ‘Eurocentric Europe’, that is a Europe of exclusively Western origin, together with its own ‘European’ cultural tradition. This European tradition has significant symbolic meanings that impacted on social work, symbolizing modernity as science, civilization and citizenship, moral development and improvement, individual liberties and State welfare. In Europe, individualism provided the behavioural core of laissez faire economic theory and justification for political liberalism. It had profound implications for the way in which societies went about defining, explaining and solving social problems. And, ultimately, as will be shown, had a significant effect on shaping the culture of social work.

Resumen
El Trabajo Social Comunitario, que había dejado de lado su labor de organización y desarrollo social de las comunidades, reaparece como un enfoque complementario, técnicamente viable y éticamente necesario, como respuesta a la mercantilización de lo social, en un escenario global de políticas sociales de austeridad que priorizan un trabajo social exclusivamente individual y asistencial. Frente a las políticas neoliberales que priman la responsabilización del individuo, culpabilizándolo por su exclusión, el Trabajo Social está apostando, como vía complementaria de actuación y de posicionamiento ético, por una nueva dimensión comunitaria que exige una renovación metodológica y que necesita de nuevas competencias profesionales. Mediante un análisis comparativo de cuatro experiencias de intervención, señalamos al Trabajo Social Comunitario como una herramienta para la generación de políticas públicas capaces de recuperar derechos sociales, y de ofrecer un modelo de gestión más eficaz, eficiente y sostenible. Las intervenciones comunitarias analizadas, concluimos, eluden la competencia entre los actores de lo social; favorecen una comunicación fluida entre administradores políticos, recursos técnico-profesionales y ciudadanía; e incorporan la evaluación y la sistematización de la práctica profesional, contribuyendo a una mayor cohesión social, mediante la reflexión colectiva y solidaria sobre soluciones comunes.
Abstract
The Community Social Work, having left aside its fundamental role in the organization and social development of communities, reappears as a complementary approach, technically viable and ethically necessary, thus giving response to the commercialization of The Social, in a global scenario of Social Policies based on austerity, which prioritize an exclusively individual and care oriented Social Work. Contrary to the neoliberal policies focussing on the responsibility of the individual in his-her own exclusion, Social Work is betting, as a complementary way of acting and ethical positioning, for a new community dimension. This demands a methodological renewal thus requiring new professional skills. Based on a comparative analysis, we consider Community Social Work the right tool so as to generate Public Policies capable not only of recovering social rights but also offering a more effective, efficient and sustainable management model. We conclude that the analysed community-oriented interventions are bypassing competition among social actors, favouring a fluid communication involving political administrators, technical-professional resources and citizenship. Furthermore, they incorporate the evaluation and systematization of professional practice, thus contributing to a greater social cohesion, as well as to a collective and joint reflection on common solutions.

"Latinos are now the largest ethnic minority population in the United States and still they encounter a great deal of misunderstanding, prejudice, and discrimination. Utilizing a strengths-based perspective, Social Work Practice with Latinos addresses the unique needs of this diverse population.

Written by practitioners and scholars from many disciplines, this book discusses social issues of consequence to Latinos and specific strengths and risk factors of the Latino community. They then offer methods that utilize these strengths to ensure a culturally-competent approach to practice with Latino populations. Each chapter is accompanied by key questions for personal and group reflection to facilitate discussion and understanding of these vital themes.

The editors have nearly three decades of combined experience working with Latino populations inside and outside the United States. Drawing on this experience, they integrate these varied perspectives to prepare students and practitioners for practice with this richly diverse community."

Numerous social workers discuss the importance of critical reflection and refer to its capacity as an educational tool to improve practice, yet there is relatively little evidence to support the claims made about the benefits of critical reflection by its proponents. This paper contributes to addressing this gap by reporting on the critically reflective educational process undertaken by one practitioner. The transformative learning gained by this practitioner provides a concrete example of how critical reflection improved her thinking about practice by increasing congruence between her espoused theoretical framework and her actual practice, and by creating opportunities for emancipatory practice within a context where she felt constrained to achieve critical practice aims. The paper suggests critical reflection is an important component of social work education.

This article examines Philippine social work under martial law. The article begins with an account of the assault on human rights under the Marcos regime. It then outlines
the response of the mainstream professional community to
the challenges under martial law and the implications for contemporary social work practice.

Eleştirel sosyal hizmet teorisi, sunduğu eleştirel düşünmeye dair çerçeve dolayısıyla sosyal hizmet uygulamalarının merkezinde yer almaktadır. Bu teori, bireylerin karşılaştıkları sorunları sosyal yapı ve hâkim gruplar ile ilişkilendirilerek ele alınmasını içeren eleştirel düşünme, eleştirel değerlendirme
ve uygulama çerçevesi doğrultusunda sosyal hizmetin sosyal değişim ve gelişim, insanların güçlenmesi ve özgürleşmesi ideallerinin gerçekleştirmesi için önemli bir yol sunmaktadır. Eleştirel sosyal hizmet radikal, yapısal, feminist, baskı
karşıtı, ayrımcılık karşıtı, ırkçılık karşıtı ve post modern yaklaşımlar gibi birçok yaklaşımı kapsayan temel bir anlayışa sahiptir. Eleştirel sosyal hizmet teorisi, günümüz koşullarında her geçen gün daha da ihtiyaç duyulan bir yaklaşım
olarak nitelendirilmektedir. Yapılan bu derleme çalışması ile eleştirel sosyal hizmet teorisi ve uygulamasına dair kapsamlı bir anlayış oluşturmak amaçlanmıştır. Bu kapsamda eleştirel sosyal hizmet teorisi sosyal hizmette eleştirel yanın gelişimine, eleştirel teoriden aldığı temel fikirlere ve uygulama süreçlerine dair bilgilerle ele alınmıştır.

由古至今，知識的發展，已是人類文明的基石。社會工作者更以社會知識來啟迪人文，或轉化社會知識，以情以理助人解困，或以社會知識集群眾之力建設家園、重建鄉土。為此，不少同道獻身其中，不斷更新社會知識以謀其果。若知識管理能提煉其精華，分類存放，保鮮保質，繼而分享共用，必有助以社會知識體現人文關懷的理想！

近年，實證主義心理治療師雖知無力於世情浮動，處境難測，仍盼讓常規說故事，求取折衷之道。而建構主義心理治療師為免再陷入「你說你真理」的死胡同，期望從故事探常規，尋找回歸真實之理。兩種主義彼此對話調和，來讓常規說故事，從故事探常規。或許，這種對話與調和的態度，兼容故事和常規的精神，能使知識管理不致淪為管理知識的工具，而是發展社會知識，啟迪人文的平台。

「甚麼是社會知識？」、「社會工作者用社會知識來做甚麼？」

This article will discuss how two theoretical frameworks can be useful in the analysis of conflict situations in social work practice. By viewing situations from the perspective of competing and differing values, social workers are able to come to respect the positions of those with whom they are in conflict. The respect that emanates from being empathic and validating towards another's values is crucial for negotiating resolution to difficult conflict situations.

As diferentes funcionalidades das políticas sociais remetem tanto a sua determinação hegemônica alterada pelas lutas sociais e pelos interesses hegemônicos presentes nos governos, como pelos limites estruturais que lastreiam as relações entre o Estado e o mercado dentro do modo de produção capitalista. A partir de fundamentos teóricos, objetivou-se analisar alguns paradoxos presentes nesta dinâmica, tendo como destaque a problemática relação entre as políticas sociais e a reprodução da força de trabalho na atualidade que, se de um lado, operam para a diminuição do custo de manutenção de vida do trabalhador, por outro lado, se conectam com a intensificação da precarização do trabalho. Palavras-chave: Serviço Social. Política Social. Força de Trabalho. Assistência Social. Precarização do Trabalho. (The different functionalities of social policies carry forward their hegemonic determination, altered by the social struggles and hegemonic interests present in governments and by the structural limits that form the base of relations between the state and the market within the capitalist mode of production. Based on theoretical foundations, this article analyses paradoxes in this dynamic, highlighting the problematic relationship between social policies and the reproduction of the labour power nowadays, which, on the one hand, operates to decrease the cost of maintaining the workers' life and, on the other, is linked to the intensifying precariousness of work.)