The 1978 Constitution marks a tipping point for social policies. Likewise, as a professional, the social worker will experience fundamental changes in their training and in their ability to intervene.

We take our frame of reference to be the Welfare State within a mixed welfare system.

Social assistance as a derivative of the charity structure had a meaning associated with providing aid in the case of extreme necessity, and was somewhat ill defined with regard to scope during the Franco years in Spain. The cutting of political rights and freedoms was noticeable at this level, with its own peculiar connotations being felt in some aspects. Likewise, the role of Social Worker was consequently limited with respect to resources and constrained by certain dominant values.

The concept of the Social Services as a citizen s right, along with their scope and legal guarantees, plus the policies designed to foster social inclusion and cohesion, have been put in place and are now being applied across the board in a very different way than in the previous twenty years. The way is now open for them to be fully developed in the coming years.

It is interesting to offer students a perspective of analysis and reflection concerning such developments. However, rather than focusing on precedents , results and developments , which is the normal approach to history, instead we concentrate on the mutation of the species . In my opinion, this can help to fix and understand the nature and potential of social work today, avoiding any unwanted burdens.