This month's Solace Foundation Imprint, published in association with Public, focuses on Scotland and its approach to social work.
With child protection back in the headlines due to the Baby P scandal, it would appear that lessons from Lord Laming's report into the death of Victoria Climbié have not been taken fully on board in some areas.
Scotland is a world leader in social welfare, writes Sir Michael Bichard in his foreword to Creating Positive Outcomes Through Social Work Services.
In 1968 Lord Kilbrandon's Social Work (Scotland) Act was hailed as visionary for its recommendation of inter-agency working and the need for a director who could advise local authorities about social needs.
Councillor Bob Winter, the Lord Provost of Glasgow, gives a unique personal perspective of the changes brought about by the new law.
He was a young director of social work in the Glasgow area and he talks about launching a new social services department ''by issuing each worker from two welfare departments, two children's departments and one probation service with a mixed caseload".
From the outset, he writes, the professional challenge was to balance the major advantages of unification in tackling multifactorial individual and family problems against the need to develop specialist expertise and joint working with other agencies. This is sometimes described as "generalism versus specialism", he explains.
In 2002 the Scottish government introduced free personal care for older people and Annie Gunner Logan, director of Scotland's Community Care Providers, writes about the radical approach to the greening of social work services.
She says that to support a healthy society it depends on the environment in which it lives. The Scottish government's Getting it Right for Every Child policy is a good example: it looks to a future where all children are safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, included, responsible and included.
She also writes that the people most vulnerable to climate change are those who are already deprived by their quality of health or level of income.
David Hume, chief executive of Scottish Borders Council, says it's everyone's job. He says that its social work managers are visible and accountable, but elected members of the council also take pride in their social work staff and the job that they do. Social work, cannot make an impact in a poorly-performing organisation and it is essential that basic professional and business practice is achieved from top to bottom.
There are also contributions by Graham Robertson from NHS health Scotland and Alexis Jay, chief social work inspector, Scotland.
The pamphlet ends with a first for SFI - a poem by Edwin Morgan about the human suffering of those in care.
Scotland's social welfare policy is the envy of other English authorities and also some European countries. This work continues today and as well as operating across government agencies, Scottish social workers have also formed effective partnerships with the voluntary and private sector.
There is much to learn from the Scottish way and this pamphlet is a timely and engaging reminder of the work being carried out by social services north of the border.
