SWAN is a network of social work practitioners, academics, students and social welfare service users united in their concern that social work activity is being undermined by managerialism and marketisation, by the stigmatisation of service users and by welfare cuts and restrictions.

SWAN promotes a model of social work and social care practice which is rooted in the value of social justice. This model seeks to advocate alongside, and on behalf of, service users and carers. It values both individual relationship-based practice and collective approaches.

It works towards these objectives through regular conferences and campaigning activities, and to strengthen the radical voice within social work practice, education and wider social policy debates.

SWAN works alongside existing social care, service user and carer organisations, including UNISON and Unite, to promote strong collective organisation and, wherever possible, to campaign jointly.

Critical and Radical Social Work journal

Critical and Radical Social Work is an exciting new journal that will promote debate and scholarship around a range of engaged social work themes. The journal publishes papers which seek to analyse and respond to issues, such as the impact of global neo-liberalism on social welfare; austerity and social work; social work and social movements; social work, inequality and oppression, and understanding and responding to global social problems (such as war, disasters and climate change).

Save Dudley Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)

Please support us to reverse the decision to close down the LAAC (Looked After and Adopted Children) Psychology Service at Dudley CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services). This service provides dedicated therapeutic support for looked after and adopted children in the Dudley borough as well as support, consultation and training to parents, foster carers, social workers and other professionals.

Listening to survivors: child abuse and the establishment

Below, Liz Davies of London Metropolitan University writes on organised crime against children and investigations following Tom Watson MP’s Prime Minister’s Question and important links to social media as the main source of information about current investigations. Liz encourages you to add supportive comments to the sites listed below. You can contact Liz with any information you have which relates to these enquiries or any questions. She is working with Tom Watson’s small team which is collating the evidence coming to light.

Change the course of social work

The next SWAN national conference is the eighth. It takes place in London at London South Bank University University on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th April 2012. We will regularly update the SWAN website with information about speakers and booking. You can find these pages in the Conference 2013 section. Please email SWAN London at swanconf2013 (at) gmail.com if you have questions about the conference; you can book a place at the conference here.

The title of the 2013 SWAN Conference is ‘Defeating the politics of austerity: creating an alternative future.' This is the first time that a national SWAN conference has been held in London and we hope it will be the biggest ever SWAN event. It will link up social workers (in practice, education, research and training), service users and carers, trade unions, user-led groups, anti-cuts organisations, pressure groups, the disabled people and women's movements to unite to defeat the Coalition Government's social policy direction. Just as importantly we will debate, promote and celebrate alternative models and visions of social care.