Informal Networks of Care: Issues Raised by Barclay

Abstract

In calling for the creation of ‘community social work’, the Barclay Report argues that social workers should aim to develop informal caring networks. This entails exploiting an individual's informal social contacts, such as kin, friends, and neighbours, to provide care. This paper firstly examines the assumptions and thinking behind the concept of informal caring networks. It then assesses the feasibility of using different informal relations in care provision by analysing the normative patterning and exchange content underlying them. It concludes that strategies like Barclay's are unlikely to be successful because they entail a transformation of these relationships that is incompatible with their normal organisation.