This book explores a key phenomenon that has been accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis, namely, the crossroads at which social welfare professionals find themselves. This is a crossroads where, on the one hand, there is an accelerated digitalization process and a reorganization of social programs, while on the other hand, we are confronted by the basic challenge of designing social policies and their methods of evaluation, that is, the generation of robust data that will allow better evaluation of social projects and programs.

Rigorously analyzing the crossroads at which social welfare programs find themselves and the new demands for the education of professionals involved in social welfare programs, several key issues can be discerned;

• the theoretical debate surrounding the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the process of redefining globalization in which we are immersed.
• the challenges to be met by welfare programs, and the good practices that are being implemented.
• the key issue of how to generate more robust data in the field of social services and social protection.
• how to increase the competencies of professionals through education in schools of social work.

Providing 15 newly written chapters drawn from both the global north and the global south, it offers a set of recommendations to address the challenges of inequality and social inclusion in the coming years.

It will be of interest to all academics, students and practitioners working in the fields of social work, social welfare and social development.

This is the first book to show how digitalisation and the better provision of information and communication technologies (ICTs) can improve access to a wide-range of social services, as well as make them more inclusive. Overcoming disparities across social groups using contemporary digitalisation models will have lasting consequences on social well-being and human welfare.

Reflecting on current trends the authors vividly illustrate the collective, global nature of the challenge that digitalisation represents for providers, administrators and users of welfare services. It is important, therefore, to bear in mind the following for research design and practice:

• Citizens' rights must be protected
• Consideration should be given to how the services provided can be improved by more effective use of ICTs
• Digital interventions require better service coordination in the setting of priorities and specific training in digital skills for service providers and service users

The chapters in this book address these problems and challenges in great depth, analysing the role of ICTs in promoting social inclusion and social welfare, drawing on examples of successful ICT applications around the world. The book contains country case-studies from the United States, Brazil, India, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong (China), Zimbabwe, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Singapore and will be of interest to all scholars and students of social policy, to social work educators, and social care providers.

Future social work practice requires a holistic framework to deal effectively with the great social and economic disruptions of this unprecedented time. Innovation and creativity are indispensable to empowering social workers and social service organizations to make an impact on the lives of people and societies in today's world. This book provides a range of innovative practices of social work drawing from alternate theories and with a global orientation. It is forward-looking with a focus on social resilience, social inclusion and recovery. Using a strengths perspective, discussions in the chapters provide useful insights in restructuring social life and social services at the individual as well as community and societal levels for meeting the challenges of a new global era.

The chapters draw on the experiences of the authors in their academic and practice engagements and focus on a variety of arenas of social work education and practice to enrich the understanding of the present and future of the field. Authors discuss theoretical and conceptual models to review social work education and practice of engaging in a fast-changing global era and complex contexts. Topics explored include:

• New Era for Social Work in the Global Future
• Remaking Social Work by Applying an Anti-oppressive Lens
• Vulnerability and Resilience of Refugee Women and Children
• Critical Green Social Work as Futuristic Social Work Practice
• Globalisation and the Future of Social Work Practice and Education
• Equipping Social Workers for a New Global Era

Remaking Social Work for the New Global Era is an essential resource to inform practice, enrich teaching, and direct future research for social work academics, researchers, educators, students, and field supervisors, as well as social care, social work and social service practitioners in both clinical and policy settings. The book also wouldbe of interest to mental health and community professionals in various practice contexts across the globe.