Families, care and work-life balance services. Case studies of best practices

Under what conditions can a family service be considered a good practice? This volume assumes a relational outlook to answer this crucial question. In this perspective, personal social services must be relational and reciprocal, i.e. on a provider-user-provider sharing basis. Social problems, in fact, have a relational origin, as they arise from lack of agency capability by relational networks. Thus, the actual definition of any problem to be tackled must involve all stakeholders. Their dialogue must accompany the whole process, through constant control of the effects of the decisions made, to redefine the size of the interventions, if needed, and/or involve other network subjects as make themselves available. Out of the large number of studies on good practices, this volume gathers seven of the most recent. The essays are grouped in two sections: the first collects four case studies of good family-work reconciliation practices; the second includes three case studies on difficult family transitions. Summarising the findings of all the illustrated case studies, a personal and family services practice is good if it re-generates family, community and general social capital by increasing relationship networks and the trust circulating within them, as well as reciprocity and a cooperative orientation.