A new perspective on the role of social work professionals and government institutions in the ’90s, the pieces presented here examine the possible collaborative roles available to social work professionals who wish to promote personal autonomy and community self-reliance. As the 1990s begin, we see massive cuts in funding to social services and a concurrent re-emergence of a their personal desires for autonomy, joining forces and effecting change from within. No longer is the state and its institutions automatically called upon to intervene and deal with social problems. In this new climate of change, it is imperative for social work professionals to re-examine and redefine their roles. The action or participatory research paradigm offered in this volume offers them new tools to help individuals and communities help themselves. With the exception of Jean Panet-Raymond’s Community Action, published in translation, very little of Québec social work theory has found its way to English audiences. But the Québec experience contributes an important new perspective to the work being done in North America.

Jacques Alary's profile page

Susan Usher's profile page

Jacques Alary was a professor at the School of Social Services at the University of Montreal, of which he was also the director for many years. Along with Jacques Beausoleil and Claude Larivière, he established GRARSPI (Groupe de recherche-action sur les réseaux de soutien et les pratiques institutionnelles/ Research-Action Group on Support Networks and Institutional Practices).

The Governor General's Award jury said of this book: "An outstanding accurate translation that altogether faithfully presents the content of the original. The translator's lucid style renders the work accessible not only to specialists but to the interested general reader."