The Role of social workers in Welfare-to-Work programs: international perspectives on policy and practice

Welfare-to-work is an important arena for understanding the changing nature of social policy and practice in Australia, the UK, Hong Kong, and the United States. This article discusses some key policy and practice issues, particularly in respect of social work professional training and practice. Welfare-to-work programs focus on ‘active’ measures and stress the importance of ‘responsibilities’ for all people of working age to support themselves through employment. The programs are being implemented in different ways across these different countries but in all cases the focus is increasingly on groups of people who may require substantial levels of assistance to meet their needs and to help them find and sustain employment.