The article reflects on the acceleration of the process of pluralization of the Italian welfare system impressed by the crisis. Starting (conventionally) from 2008, on the empirical level, some organized forms of private funding to implement measures do not adequately covered by the State have increasingly spread out, while on the theoretical level has gained increasing centrality the principle of horizontal subsidiarity, albeit this has happened in different ways according to the country’s different social and cultural traditions. The hypothesis of the paper is that the principle of subsidiarity, which has historically constituted a specificity of the Italian welfare system, despite its different interpretations, can be identified even more in these recent years as a sort of “Italian way” to welfare reform. Throughout the paper this hypothesis is developed by trying to identify the conditions under which this path of reform can be accomplished.
This article offers a reflection on the concept of second welfare. The analysis starts from the challenges to the traditional welfare state to investigate whether second welfare can be regarded as a solution aiming to propose interventions and programs that complement and add to the traditional welfare system. The article proposes a definition of the concept of second welfare, outlining the theoretical boundaries and by placing solutions and measures at the crossroads of new social needs and new actors: private entities that overlook the arena of welfare feeding the linkage between welfare, growth and development. The article concludes by highlighting the reasons that makes Italy a fertile ground for the second welfare.
The article faces the question of social powers’self-regulation that emerge as a result of processes related to globalization, both at global, national and local level. In particular, the article analyzes the complex elements resulting from the institutionalization of new professions in the field of personal services. The author analyzes the way in which such powers could selfregulate up to have access to their “civil constitutionalization”, thus defining a self-regulated social profession, through “polyarchic” and “reflexive” forms of governance. The article offers a reflection on the way it is outlined the complex of rights and duties of third sector organizations.
It is increasingly recognized that empirical research which illuminates what social workers actually do when present with children and families in real time has barely begun (Forrester et al., 2008; Hall - Slembrouck, 2009). Research into child protection practice has been predominantly focused on “what have to social workers in child protection” and “how they talk about their cases” (Banks, 2008; Cirillo, 2005; Dalrymple, 2011; Di Blasio, 2005; Horwath, 2012; Raineri, 2013), but few research studies have given attention to analyze what practitioners factually realize to help vulnerable families and children. The article speaks about a project research realized in collaboration with the municipality of Milano. The aim of the study was collect data about social work practices in Child protection, in particular social workers opinions and activities in the work field. The data were collected through a survey created ad hoc and applied to 87 social workers involved in the research. Findings presented in this contribute show relevant information about social workers socio-demographic profile, abilities and competences required, training needs, professional interventions, workload, well-being and burnout perceptions and these could be used to orient practices, education and policies.