A progressive resurgence is happening across the United States. This book shows how long-lasting coalitions have built progressive power from the regional level on up. Anchored by the "think and act" affiliate organizations of the Partnership for Working Families (PWF) these regional power building projects are putting in place the vision, policy agenda, political savvy, and grassroots mobilization needed for progressive governance. Through six sections, the book explores how Partnership for Working Families projects are a core part of the defeat of the right-wing in states such as California; the challenge to corporate neoliberalism in traditionally "liberal" areas; and contests for power in such formally solid red states as Arizona, Georgia, and Colorado. This book considers how these PWF groups work on economic, racial and environmental justice challenges, equitable development, and other critical issues. It addresses how, at their core, they bring together labor, community, environmental, and faith-based organizations and the coalitions and campaigns that they developed have won and continue to win substantial victories for their communities. Igniting Justice and Progressive Power will be of interest to activists and concerned citizens looking to understand how lasting political change actually happens as well as all scholars and students of social work, urban geography, political sociology, community development, social movements and political science more broadly.

A "New York Times" Notable Book
"Casts a searing eye on the labyrinth that is the American foster care system." -- NPR's "On Point"
Who are the children of foster care? What, as a country, do we owe them? Cris Beam, a foster mother herself, spent five years immersed in the world of foster care looking into these questions and tracing firsthand stories. The result is "To the End of June," an unforgettable portrait that takes us deep inside the lives of foster children in their search for a stable, loving family.
Beam shows us the intricacies of growing up in the system--the back-and-forth with agencies, the rootless shuffling between homes, the emotionally charged tug between foster and birth parents, the terrifying push out of foster care and into adulthood. Humanizing and challenging a broken system, "To the End of June" offers a tribute to resiliency and hope for real change.
" A] powerful . . . and refreshing read." -- "Chicago Tribune"
"A sharp critique of foster-care policies and a searching exploration of the meaning of family." -- "Publishers Weekly," starred review
"Heart-rending and tentatively hopeful." -- "Salon"

This book analyzes housing policy in terms of the quality of housing, theoretically and empirically. The analysis is prompted by the Japanese government's success in increasing the volume of housing through interest rate policy, as is shown by Vector Autoregession (VAR) analysis in this book; consequently, the focus of housing policy in Japan is now the quality of housing. This is the first book to analyze and propose housing monetary policy and housing subsidy policy to improve the quality of housing, which increase the number of houses that are barrier-free and earthquake resistant. This book is also the first to focus on appropriate valuation of housing using hedonic price function and the quality of houses. Using the method of valuation developed and proposed in this book, market clearing prices of houses can be calculated without analytical and theoretical error. Toward this end, the disclosure of information - the offer prices and attributes - of houses is proposed as a housing policy. In addition, in this research the author has developed a method to estimate the hedonic price index and rent index using the quality of houses for the first time in Japan. With hedonic price and rent functions, the author shows the extent to which differences in home ownership investment are caused by differences in information about the property. This finding shows the need to explore an appropriate method of valuation of houses. The propositions of this book can help companies benefit from the use of the hedonic housing valuation and hedonic price and rent indexes.

This best-selling text has been used by countless students, practitioners and researchers as a key reference on child protection issues. The book demystifies this complex and emotionally-charged area, outlining research, history, social policy and legislation, as well as the theory and practice underpinning child protection work. Written by influential academics and practitioners, this updated edition looks at child protection practices in a global context and provides: * The latest research and thinking on the causes and consequences of child abuse, including new insights about the relationship between deprivation, poverty and abuse and neglect * An overview of child protection practices, ranging from the 19th Century to recent policy and practice changes, including the widespread adoption of practice models and attempts to improve the quality of social work services Using examples to highlight key discussions and points, this book will enhance the confidence, knowledge and skills of practitioners, supervisors and managers. "This is an important, varied, well-structured, and interesting academic contribution to the area of child protection, neglect, and child abuse. The authors draw on a range of literature, theories, and the extant evidence-base to present a breadth of chapters, from global perspectives on child abuse, to the history of child abuse, to reflections for the future of child protection work. This book will add value to a wide range of professionals in this important field." Dr Karen Treisman, Clinical Psychologist, Trainer "This is an important addition to the child abuse and child protection literature. Drawing from a variety of current research carried out by professionals and academics from a range of disciplines, this book will be an excellent companion for students, academics and practitioners working in this challenging but important area of work." Dr Elena Martellozzo, Online child protection expert. Middlesex University, UK "This is a comprehensive text which explores the legislative, cultural and historic context in which today's child protection has been shaped. Building on previous editions, it provides a valuable and up-to-date insight into contemporary child protection practice." Rebecca Avery, Education Safeguarding Advisor (Online Protection), The Education People "How did we get to where we are in our response to child abuse - and what might the future hold? This book provides a timely, comprehensive and thoughtful response to this question; demonstrating the importance of understanding our journey to present day practices if we are to improve the protection of children in the future. Integrating historical, sociological, psychological and biological perspectives, and grappling with the ethical as well as practical challenges of child abuse responses, the authors provide us with an overview upon which we must learn from past successes, as well as tragedies, as we utilise and further build an evidence base for confident social work practices around the world. " Dr Carlene Firmin, Principal Research Fellow in Contextual Safeguarding, University of Bedfordshire, UK

Changes in the international environment, from the stagflation of the 1970s to the globalization of capital markets in the 1990s, have challenged the ability of all advanced welfare states to maintain postwar achievements of full employment, social security and social equality. Nevertheless, national responses and actual performance differed greatly. This two-volume study examines the adjustment to external economic challenges over three decades in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom Volume I presents comparative analyses of differences in the vulnerabilities and capabilities of these countries, in the effectiveness of their policy responses, and in the role of values and discourses in the politics of adjustment Volume II presents in-depth analyses of the experiences of the countries, including special studies on the participation of women in the labour market, early retirement, the liberalization of public services and international tax competition.

This book provides up to date discussion and evidence about inequalities, social divisions and stratification. Its innovative style engages readers and encourages them to reflect upon the many dimensions of social inequality. This updated third edition contains: Three new chapters on employment, sexualities and migration Updated coverage of intersectionality throughout Thirteen new in-depth case studies (one per chapter) This is a must read as a key introductory companion for students who wish to understand the dynamics of contemporary social inequality. Louise Warwick-Booth is a Reader at the School of Health, Leeds Beckett University

Working in teams sounds simple but the reality is often more difficult within complex health and social care systems. This revised edition of this essential book brings together cutting-edge thinking about teamworking, and considers how this can be turned into practice within the context of interagency settings. It introduces a range of theories, models and research to demonstrate the benefits - and pitfalls - inherent in teamworking in collaborative settings. This is a practical and accessible guide focused on how inter-agency teams may be made to function more effectively, illustrated through real-life examples. Its no-nonsense approach will appeal to students, practitioners, team leaders, managers and policy-makers across the health and social care system.

The Joy of Stats offers a reader-friendly introduction to applied statistics and quantitative analysis in the social sciences and public policy. Perfect as an undergraduate text or self-study manual, it emphasizes how to understand concepts, interpret algorithms and formulas, analyze data, and answer research questions. This brand new edition offers examples and visualizations using real-life data, a revised discussion of statistical inference, and introductory examples in R and SPSS. The third edition has been extensively reorganized with shorter chapters and closer links between concepts and formulas, while retaining useful pedagogical features including key terms, practice exercises, a math refresher, and playful inserts on "the mathematical imagination." The Joy of Stats also places a strong emphasis on learning how to write and speak clearly about data results. Supported by a companion website with data sets and additional resources, The Joy of Stats is a superb choice for introducing students to applied statistics and for refreshing and reviewing stats as a social scientist, public policy professional, or community activist.

Just Care is Akemi Nishida's thoughtful examination of care injustice and social justice enabled through care. The current neoliberal political economy has turned care into a business opportunity for the healthcare industrial complex and a mechanism of social oppression and control. Nishida analyzes the challenges people negotiate whether they are situated as caregivers, receivers, or both. Also illuminated is how people with disabilities come together to assemble community care collectives and bed activism (resistance and visions emerging from the space of bed) to reimagine care as a key element for social change. The structure of care, Nishida writes, is deeply embedded in and embodies the cruel social order-based on disability, race, gender, migration status, and wealth-that determines who survives or deteriorates. Simultaneously, many marginalized communities treat care as the foundation of activism. Using interviews, focus groups, and participant observation with care workers and people with disabilities, Just Care looks into lives unfolding in the assemblage of Medicaid long-term care programs, community-based care collectives, and bed activism. Just Care identifies what care does, and asks: How can we activate care justice or just care where people feel cared affirmatively and care being used for the wellbeing of community and for just world making?

Using an approach that combines transnational and comparative social policy analysis with international relations, this book assesses various global social policy actors and compares their ideas and prescriptions about national health care systems. It highlights the importance of considering health policies across multiple scales.

Austerity as Public Mood explores how politicians and the media mobilise nostalgic and socially conservative ideas of work and community in order to justify cuts to public services and create divisions between the deserving and undeserving. It examines the powerful appeal of these concepts as part of a wider public mood marked by guilt, nostalgia and resentment - particularly around the inequalities produced by global capitalism and changes to the nature of work. In doing so, the book engages with urgent questions about the contemporary political climate. Focusing on the UK, it challenges accounts of neoliberalism which frame it as primarily an individualising force and localist definitions of community as mitigating its damaging effects. Finally, it explores how resistance to austerity can challenge these tendencies by offering a politics of solidarity and hope, and a forum for experimentation with alternative forms of collectivity.

This book unravels the lives, needs and experiences of Nigerian and Ghanaian women working in prostitution in Brussels. This volume casts a light on the working conditions and the experiences of 38 women of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin, whose daily struggles and challenges are recalled from interviews in the field. Working within the red-light district of Brussels, an area with high crime rates and lacking in basic healthcare provision, the women are faced with a number of issues on a daily basis, ranging from security and health-related concerns, to work-related stress, discrimination and perceived stigma. Full voice is given to their stories, as well as contributions from state actors and local inhabitants, with the chief aim of building safe and healthy places for both residents and workers alike. The authors conclude in presenting clear recommendations and tools for practitioners and policy makers, designed to improve the outcomes of migrant women working not just within the red-light district of Brussels, but also within wider European and global contexts. This book will be of particular interest for researchers and students of Migration Politics, Development Studies, Social Work and Sociology, as well as a useful guide for policy makers and practitioners in the field.

Persistent Disparity provides a comprehensive examination of the magnitude and scope of racial economic disparity in the United States. The authors directly assess the extent of black economic progress in the US since World War II and address the controversy of whether the racial income gap is closing or widening as America approaches the 21st century. Darity and Myers explicitly make the connection between what the theory of racial inequality espouses and corresponding policy recommendations for remedying such disparity such as affirmative action and reparations. The authors challenge the cultural-genetic explanation and advance a new theoretical explanation that incorporates a more expansive characterization of the nature and role of discrimination. They also conclude that conventional anti-discrimination efforts are unlikely to be sufficient to close the gap. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in US social and economic history, political economy, African-American studies, and public policy.

Social policy reforms driven by profound social changes have been a popular and pressing topic worldwide in recent years in both policy and academic circles. In this book, prominent social policy scholars from Europe, North America, and Asia discuss the history of social policies, compare different social development models, and analyze the challenges facing these economies' social policy reforms. The book provides comprehensive and comparative perspectives and updated data on social development and social policy reforms in the world's major economies, and particularly, in mainland China.

Few policies have had a more profound impact on the modern British housing system than the wholesale transfer of public housing to new social landlords. In the past two decades over a million homes have passed from council ownership to housing associations, and the management of another million has been outsourced by local authorities. "After Council Housing" provides a compelling account of its causes, methods and consequences. Rejecting the claim that the process of stock transfer is a simple case of damaging privatization, the authors argue instead that Britain's new social landlords have contributed to a more business-like, consumer-focused and tenant-influenced social housing sector.

This book explores practical examples of co-production in criminal justice research and practice. Through a series of seven case studies, the authors examine what people do when they co-produce knowledge in criminal justice contexts: in prisons and youth detention centres; with criminalised women; from practitioners' perspectives; and with First Nations communities. Co-production holds a promise: that people whose lives are entangled in the criminal justice system can be valued as participants and partners, helping to shape how the system works. But how realistic is it to imagine criminal justice "service users" participating, partnering, and sharing genuine decision-making power with those explicitly holding power over them? Taking a sophisticated yet accessible theoretical approach, the authors consider issues of power, hierarchy, and different ways of knowing to understand the perils and possibilities of co-production under the shadow of "justice". In exploring these complexities, this book brings cautious optimism to co-production partners and project leaders. The book provides a foundational text for scholars and practitioners seeking to apply co-production principles in their research and practice. With stories from Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, the text will appeal to the international community. For students of criminology and social work, the book's critical insights will enhance their work in the field.

Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation. How do these unintended consequences come about and how can we avoid them? By applying conventional thinking to complex social problems, we often perpetuate the very problems we try so hard to solve, but it is possible to think differently, and get different results. Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to contribute more effectively to society by helping them understand what systems thinking is and why it is so important in their work. It also gives concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning without becoming a technical expert. Systems thinking leader David Stroh walks readers through techniques he has used to help people improve their efforts to end homelessness, improve public health, strengthen education, design a system for early childhood development, protect child welfare, develop rural economies, facilitate the reentry of formerly incarcerated people into society, resolve identity-based conflicts, and more. The result is a highly readable, effective guide to understanding systems and using that knowledge to get the results you want.

Tourse, Mooney, and their contributors argue that schools alone can no longer meet the complex needs of children and adolescents. The overwhelming needs of school children require that schools institute massive coordinated and collaborative efforts among various disciplines and agencies. The authors propose a restructuring of schools and social service systems to respond to the needs for interprofessional collaboration.

While they focus primarily on the collaboration of social work and education, they look beyond that to relationships with other allied disciplines in public schools and explore collaborative linkages with nursing, law, counseling, pastoral counseling, and other agents of society. The collection culminates with an examination of the realities of interprofessional collaboration in urban and suburban communities. This is an important guide for researchers, policy makers, and professional educators involved with school reform and systems change in the United States.

Creates a new theory of social work which values entanglements of human life, non-human life and the natural environment. Contains 17 chapters written by leading experts. Edited by two leading researchers of critical posthumanism.

This book presents the welfare regime of societies of Chinese heritage as a liminal space where religious and state authorities compete with each other for legitimacy. It offers a path-breaking perspective on relations between religion and state in East Asia, presenting how the governments of industrial societies try to harness the human resources of religious associations to assist in the delivery of social services. The book provides background to the intermingling of Buddhism and the state prior to 1949; and the continuation of that intertwinement in Taiwan and in other societies where live many people of Chinese heritage since then. The main contribution of this work is its detailed account of Buddhist philanthropy as viewed from the perspectives of the state, civil society, and Buddhists. This book will appeal to academics in social sciences and humanities and broader audiences interested by the social role of religions, charity, and NGOs, in social policy implementation. It explores why governments turn to Buddhist followers and their leaders and presents a detailed view of Buddhist philanthropy. This book contributes to our understanding of secularity in non-Western societies, as influenced by religions other than Christianity.

In Our Veterans, Suzanne Gordon, Steve Early, and Jasper Craven explore the physical, emotional, social, economic, and psychological impact of military service and the problems that veterans face when they return to civilian life. The authors critically examine the role of advocacy organizations, philanthropies, corporations, and politicians who purport to be "pro-veteran." They describe the ongoing debate about the cost, quality, and effectiveness of healthcare provided or outsourced by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). They also examine generational divisions and political tensions among veterans, as revealed in the tumultuous events of 2020, from Black Lives Matter protests to the Trump-Biden presidential contest. Frank and revealing, Our Veterans proposes a new agenda for veterans affairs linking service provision to veterans to the quest for broader social programs benefiting all Americans.

This book examines the ways in which the welfare state impacts levels and distributions of political participation and democratic support in Western democracies. Going beyond the traditional contextual accounts of political behaviour, which primarily focus on political institutions or the socio-economic climate, this book looks specifically at the impact of public policy on a variety of political behaviours and attitudes. Drawing on the theoretical insights from the policy feedback approach, the author argues and empirically demonstrates that generous social policy offerings can not only foster democratic citizenship by promoting a more inclusive political culture, but are most beneficial to citizens who are otherwise excluded from political life in many other societies. This book will appeal most to scholars in the fields of political science and sociology who are especially interested in the welfare state, public policy, political sociology, and inequality.

Provides an accessible and comprehensive guide to the field of social marketing via 100 case studies from around the world related to multiple sectors including public health, injury prevention, environmental protection, community engagement, financial well-being, and education. Utilizes a common structure for each case study to give the reader a clear sense of how success in social marketing may best to achieved in a wide variety of disciplinary and national contexts. Issues addressed include public health (opioid use, mental health, COVID-19) , injury prevention (gun violence, youth suicide, texting while driving), environmental protection (wildfires, bicycle transportation in urban areas, food waste), community engagement (homelessness, racially motivated violence, voting) financial wellbeing (microfinance, savings, employment), and educational achievement (early childhood education, college applications, female participation in STEM programs), to name but a few.

Key social and emotional milestones during adolescence are often directly related to the abilities to initiate and maintain intimate relationships, maintain physically maturing bodies, and manage personal sexuality. Most adolescents with developmental disabilities have particular difficulty expressing sexuality in satisfying ways, consequently facing issues such as limited intimate relationships, low self-esteem, increased social isolation, deregulated emotional maintenance, reduced sexual functioning, and limited sexual health. Appropriate sexual knowledge assists not only in achieving personal fulfillment, but protection from mistreatment, abuse, unplanned pregnancies, or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). It also works to help solve problems of loneliness and problems with self-esteem. This book will address this but also much more. Issues of physical and cognitive development will be discussed, including appropriate sexual development/urges and brain development, and innate similarities and differences of sexuality that could occur between people with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual or developmental disabilities, including the complexities of physical disabilities. The authors will also consider special considerations for group homes and recreational facilities, and specifically focus on concepts of ethics and models of consent (medical, legal, social, and educational), as well as how to deal with uncertainty.