Social Services Disrupted : Changes, Challenges and Policy Implications for Europe in Times of Austerity

Abstract

This book revives the discussion on public social services and their redesign, with a focus on services relating to care and the social inclusion of vulnerable groups, providing rich information on the changes that occurred in the organisation and supply of public social services over the last thirty years in different European places and service fields. Despite the persisting variety in social service models, three shared trends emerge: public sector disengagement, 'vertical re-scaling' of authority and 'horizontal re-mix' in the supply system. The consequences of such changes are evaluated from different perspectives – governance, social and territorial cohesion, labour market, gender – and are eventually deemed 'disruptive' in both economic and social terms. The policy implications of the restructuring are also explored.