Time for and timing in social work with vulnerable families: Responding to needs in neoliberal times

In Denmark, neoliberalism has translated into an intensified focus on economic productivity and cost-effectiveness. The notion is that it should be possible to create more and better welfare for the same or less resources. Innovation focuses on how to gain and win time despite having less time to do social work and on the potentiality of fostering individual change more effectively. The research question in this article is: In the context of current governmental focus on economic productivity and cost-effectiveness, what is the time for care in social work with vulnerable children and their families and how does this connect to the attention to needs and the timing of care? The article is part of a three year Danish research project involving ethnographic field studies closely following and observing how social workers practice and reflect on the forms and possibilities for care across statutory social casework, home based counselling and family treatment. Findings show that social workers’ knowledge and skills are employed in, rather than eliminated from, the governance of vulnerable families and that a governmental emphasis on economic considerations and cost-effectiveness affects the timing of care and weighs heavily when social workers interpret, prioritise, and respond to needs.