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Reclaiming Information and Communication Technologies for Empowering Social Work Practice

University of Keele, England

Iolo Madoc-Jones

University of Wales, Wrexham, Wales, jonesim{at}newi.ac.uk

• Summary: This article argues that ICT has been viewed with suspicion and has been narrowly used in social work primarily for managerial and monitoring purposes. In light of the emphasis within social work on empowerment, the potential of ICT to facilitate empowering practice is explored

• Findings: The article argues the social work profession should more actively challenge and resist the limited use made of ICT, and promote the appropriate use of ICT to improve social work practice and empower service users.

• Applications : The article provides a rationale for using ICT in social work to address issues of service user powerlessness and economic and social exclusion. The potential uses to which ICT might be put within social work are discussed and examples are given of innovative social practice using ICT that could be usefully developed more widely.

Key Words: empowerment • information technology • social work

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