The 2008 global economic crisis has led to a new age of austerity, based more on politics than economics, which threatens to undermine the very foundations of the welfare state. However, as resistance to the logic of austerity grows, this important book, the second of a three-book series, argues that there is still room for optimism.

In a social and political environment that has become more accepting of gender equity, women's health issues have emerged in the forefront of the social policy agenda of the United States. The organized women's movement has been successful in many of its endeavors to improve opportunities for women in society in areas such as education, business, sports and the professions. As this book shows, they also have been successful in changing the definition of women's health and placing many elements of health care needs on the nation's policy agenda. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, abortion rights emerged as a central concern for many women's rights activists, some of whom took on women's other health issues. The Politics of Women's Health Care in the United States shows how the evolution of the women's health agenda has been a reaction to the empowerment of women in the years after the emergence of the contemporary women's movement in 1966 and the subsequent 'social reconstruction' of women from dependent to advantaged population.

This book assesses financing strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean, in pursuance of the United Nations' millennium development goals (MDGs) and their achievement in 2015. It looks at how to make public policies more conducive to support sustained growth and reduce the still widespread poverty and inequality in the region.

U. S. Social Welfare Reform examines pivotal changes in social welfare for low-income families in the United States between 1981, the advent of the Reagan administration, and 2008, the end of the G.W. Bush administration. It focuses on the change from the Federal-state open entitlement Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program to the time-limited state run Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program which Congress authorized with passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. The book also focuses on the development of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program, enacted in 1975 against the backdrop of failed efforts to nationalize AFDC which aimed at providing a basic income to all poor families, but which blossomed with continued bipartisan support in the 1990s. This book also explores alternative strategies to assist low-income families, including job training programs. It present original research on the educational and economic well-being of youth from low-income families who participated in government sponsored job training programs in the late 1970 and early 1980s.

The book seeks a middle ground between general and technical social policy texts. It provides more depth than is available in the more general social policy texts. Further, while the more comprehensive texts often rely on government documents and reports relying on Current Population Survey data to profile program use, this book relies on panel data from the National Longitudinal Surveys and presents original research that builds upon prior related research and scholarship about the role of the federal government in social welfare provisioning in general and AFDC/TANF and EITC use in particular and on school-to-work transition programs. It presents related technical material in a narrative style better suited to professionals and policy makers who may lack expertise in quantitative analysis.

Published in association with the SPA, Social Policy Review 27 draws together international scholarship at the forefront of addressing concerns that emphasise both the breadth of social policy analysis, and the expanse of issues with which it is engaged. Contributions to this edition focus on the effects of financialisation on services and care provision, policies to address deficiencies in housing and labour markets, and ways in which the study of social policy may need to develop to respond to its changing material concerns. A themed section explores the place of comparative welfare modelling in the context of change over the last quarter of a century to consider where scholarship has been and where it might be going.

We live in a world that is increasingly characterised as full of risk, danger and threat. Every day a new social issue emerges to assail our sensibilities and consciences. Drawing on the popular Economic Social and Research Council (ESRC) seminar series, this book examines these social issues and anxieties, and the solutions to them, through the concept of moral panic. With a commentary by Charles Critcher and contributions from both well-known and up-and-coming researchers and practitioners, this is a stimulating and innovative overview of moral panic ideas, which will be an essential resource.

Moves to assist or protect the vulnerable now play a crucial role in welfare and criminal justice processes. This distinctive book draws on in-depth research with marginalised young people and the professionals who support them to explore the implications of a 'vulnerability zeitgeist', asking how far the rise of vulnerability serves the interests of those who are most disadvantaged.

This book examines the practice of community engagement in museums through the notion of care. It focuses on building an understanding of the logic of care that underpins this practice, with a view to outlining new roles for museums within community health and social care. This book engages with the recent growing focus on community participation in museum activities, notably in the area of health and wellbeing. It explores this theme through an analysis of the practices of community engagement workers at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums in the UK. It examines how this work is operationalised and valued in the museum, and the institutional barriers to this practice. It presents the practices of care that shape community-led exhibitions, and community engagement projects involving health and social care partners and their clients. Drawing on the ethics of care and geographies of care literatures, this text provides readers with novel perspectives for transforming the museum into a space of social care. This book will appeal to museum studies scholars and professionals, geographers, organisational studies scholars, as well as students interested in the social role of museums.

Hong Kong has undergone rapid and substantial social, economic, political and demographic changes since the 1970s. This book examines critically the real impact of these changes on a single surname village in rural Hong Kong. It draws on anthropological fieldwork conducted during the late 1990s and the early 2000s. This ethnographic study demonstrates that kinship, particularly agnatic kinship, has remained a valuable resource for Pang villagers, enabling them to acquire key welfare entitlements, and to secure a good measure of economic and social well-being. Kinship affiliation has provided and still provides (admittedly differential) access to political patronage and legal entitlements, financial assistance and the substantial benefits of corporate property-holding, physical protection and political leadership, employment, care-giving and support networks, housing needs, old age security, a ritually-imagined community, with a sense of spiritual well-being. Agnatic kinship has been organized as a corporate institution and as a quasi-religious community through which substantial support, protection, and privileged access is provided for villagers. At the same time, reliance on this elaborate "localized culture of welfare" has maintained or reinforced the contours of stratification and inequality among Pang villagers, even as lineage identity has remained largely intact in the face of changing external circumstances.

Originally published in 1981, Automatic Poverty provides a much-needed alternative to the Radical Right's analysis. The book argues that Britain's economic decline is symptomatic of an advanced stage of industrialisation in which productive processes are increasingly mechanised, but output remains static. Under these circumstances workers become redundant, the income of the working class diminishes, and dependence on the state increases. The 'Ricardo phenomenon' has become long-term feature of the British economy, and the author shows that neither Keynesian nor monetarist policies can remedy its consequences. It reflects a critical stage in the development of capitalism.

Activists, policymakers, and scholars in the US have called for policy reform and evidence-based efforts to decrease the number of people in jail and prison, improve hostile police-community relations, and rollback the "tough on crime" movement. Given that poor people, particularly poor people of color, make up the majority of those under carceral control in Western, industrial countries, can technical solutions, gradual reforms, and individual-level programming genuinely change the deeply entrenched carceral state that has been expanding in the US for over 40 years? In this book, the authors offer an examination of the creative ideas that twelve US-based social justice organizations put forward for how participation in social change might spur not only individual-level change in young people, but community-wide mobilization against the harms resulting from the "tough on crime" movement and neoliberal policy. Using alternative programs grounded in political and social consciousness-raising, these organizations provide important and novel methods for how we might roll back carceral expansion. Their approaches resonate with scholarship in criminology and related fields; however, they sharply contrast with popular notions of "what works". The authors detail how community-based organizations must navigate not only these scientific forces, but the bureaucratic and financial ones consistent with neoliberal governance as well as the more formidable, less navigable political barriers that activate when organizations mobilize young people of color for social and carceral reform. While aware of the formidable barriers they face, the authors highlight the emancipatory potential of community-based social justice organizations working with the most marginalized young people across several major US cities. Written in an accessible way, this book will be of interest to scholars, students, progressive policymakers, practitioners, and activists and their allies who are deeply troubled by the class and racial disparities that pervade the carceral state.

Adult Protective Services (APS) is the social service system charged with aiding older people and disabled adults who are being mistreated by others or cannot meet their own basic needs for health and safety (self-neglect). These are America's most vulnerable citizens, and they often suffer for years, while remaining largely invisible to the greater world. Written from the inside of APS, Mark Mehler's memoir of his seven years as a crisis case manager reveals a world that very few people see, and addresses why and how people do this work, what they take away from it and the price that they pay to do it. Ranging from horrifying to uplifting and bizarrely funny, the stories recounted here witness human frailty and disaster, and the efforts of some dedicated caseworkers to stem that tide.

The values that made America a great and respected nation are in decline causing consequences across all segments of our society. In this passionate and deeply personal account, author John W. Zimmerman Sr. issues a call to all Americans to take up this challenge and preserve America s promise, dream, and survival for all who follow. A roadmap and workable solutions to reclaiming our country, "America Adrift-Righting the Course," is a wake-up call for young, old, and everyone in between.

John Zimmerman s analysis of moral relativity in our culture is beyond question. Unlike other writers who only trade in self-righteously denouncing our culture, he sensitively describes the problems and offers inspiration and practical suggestions to turn people around, so that they can develop themselves, achieve their goals, and make a lasting contribution to others. It is a book I would want to give to my children and to my retiree friends.

Ted Schroder, pastor, Amelia Plantation Chapel, Amelia Island, Florida

People and cultures are always confronted with change which can be represented from impending doom to opportunity waiting to be seized. In these troubled times when we all feel apprehension for what is coming next down the road, John shows us a light at the end of the tunnel. He tells it like it is, how it can be, and what it takes to get there. I highly recommend this book for everyone regardless of age or social standing.

Bill Gower, president and founder, MATRIX Resources, Inc.

I am donating my profits from this book to Boys and Girls Clubs of America. They do so much to develop the values of young people to make them respected and contributing adults.

In the gripping first-person accounts of High Rise Stories, former residents of Chicago's iconic public housing projects describe life in the now-demolished high-rises. These stories of community, displacement, and poverty in the wake of gentrification give voice to those who have long been ignored, but whose hopes and struggles exist firmly at the heart of our national identity.

Medical expenditure has become a heavy burden on the public sector and the family system in many countries. Expanding the coverage and reimbursement of medical insurance has become a common way to reduce the burden. This book will elaborate on how medical insurance may increase the burden instead. It explains why the existing medical insurance system results in increased medical costs, where higher costs may offset the benefits of certainty brought by medical insurance, forming the "paradox of medical care insurance". This assumption is verified by empirical evidence in China, through a new method developed to find out the actual medical costs, using two parameters: ratio of self-payment of medical insurance and the level of monopoly in the supply of medical services. The book also describes the history, the current situation, and the reform of the health care system in China.

For anyone studying childhood or families a consideration of the state may not always seem obvious, yet a good critical knowledge of politics, social policy and social theory is vital to understanding their impacts upon families' everyday lives. Accessibly written and assuming no prior understanding, it shows how key concepts, including vulnerability, risk, resilience, safeguarding and wellbeing are socially constructed. Carefully designed to support learning, it provides students with clear guidance on how to use what they have read when writing academic assignments alongside questions designed to support the develop of critical thinking skills. Covering issues from what the family is within a multicultural society, through issues around poverty, social mobility and life-chances, this book gives students an excellent grounding in matters relating to work with children and families. It features: * 'using this chapter' sections showing how the content can be used in assignments; * tips on applying critical thinking to books and articles - and how to make use of such thinking in essays; * further reading.

For millions of Africans, the social situation is dire. Over half of the population of Sub-Sahara Africa do not have access to improved sanitation facilities, and about a quarter are undernourished. If factors such as armed conflicts in the region, the impact of climate change, or the widespread presence of a broad range of infectious agents are considered, it shows a large number of Africans living in very fragile circumstances, highly vulnerable to any kind of shock or rapid change. Small, informal community groups deliver the majority of social protection services in Africa, but most of these are disqualified from official recognition, support or integration with state systems because they do not "fit" the modern management model of accountability. The studies in this book challenge that verdict. This book outlines insightful and valuable research generated by teams of established scholars. It is divided into nine studies exploring the governance of non-state actors in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. It examines the numerous self-help groups and their effectiveness, and argues that if the modern management model is right - why do so many Africans avoid interacting with it? The book provides a warning against undermining what is possibly the single greatest social protection resource throughout Africa in the name of "reform", and suggests that the modern welfare establishment needs to adapt to (and learn from) self-help groups - not the other way around. Non-State Social Protection Actors and Services in Africa will be of interest to donors, policy makers, practitioners, and students and scholars of African Studies, social policy and politics.

Originally published in 2005. In Great Britain, the reduction of social exclusion has been at the forefront of New Labour's social policy since 1997. However, there is ambiguity about what the notion of social exclusion actually encompasses, caused in part by the limited extent of attempts to measure and understand social exclusion empirically. This key work addresses this problem, employing data from a nationally representative survey of British households to quantify levels of social exclusion and the composition of the socially excluded population. It also incorporates data from a European Commission-funded household survey to compare social exclusion in Great Britain with eleven other countries in the European Union. In the book, Matt Barnes argues that social exclusion refers to enduring disadvantage on a wide range of living standards, not just those that reflect economic values. As well as looking at standard measures of poverty he looks at more relational measures of disadvantage such as neighbourhood discontent and social isolation, in order to determine exclusion from the economic, social and cultural systems that determine the integration of a person in society.

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 books offers a unique comparative perspective on the development of service programs for victims of four major violent crimes: child abuse, spouse abuse, rape, and crimes against the elderly. The study analyzes the evolution of federal policy in each area and examines the ways in which federal initiatives and federal funding affected the focus and financial stability of victim service programs. This book argues that the four issues were profoundly affected by the public policy process, the varied definition of the issues shaped by ways in which public funding was distributed. The book takes a broad view of the policymaking process--to include all branches of the federal government, as well as state and local government, the courts, and voluntary grass-roots organizations. This books offers a unique comparative perspective on the development of service programs for victims of four major violent crimes: child abuse, spouse abuse, rape, and crimes against the elderly. The study analyzes the evolution of federal policy in each area and examines the ways in which federal initiatives and federal funding affected the focus and financial stability of victim service programs. This book argues that the four issues were profoundly affected by the public policy process, the varied definition of the issues shaped by ways in which public funding was distributed. The book takes a broad view of the policymaking process--to include all branches of the federal government, as well as state and local government, the courts, and voluntary grass-roots organizations. While offering concrete information about four specific victims' policies, the book also presents very important theoretical generalizations about the policymaking process and about the effect, over time, of that process on the definition and articulation of social problems in general.

Almost everywhere across the world, economic inequality has been rising within and across national borders. The vision of a fairer world embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is being assailed by the advance of conservative ideology aided by vitriolic right-wing populism sweeping across the globe. Neoliberal ideology has had a profound impact in the shaping social work and human services at the frontlines. This book contributes to scholarship in critical practice and theory. It does so by exploring a practice approach steeped in the critical tradition that has hitherto received inordinately nominal attention in social work literature. The book features accounts of consciousness-raising in a variety of contexts - caste relations, race and religion, gender and sexuality, disability and social class. The narratives are meant to tease out conceptions and potential applications of consciousness-raising as an approach for critical practice. It will be of interest to practitioners, educators and students of social work, community development, social development and social pedagogy as well as those engaged in the promotion of human rights and social justice.

Adult social care in Britain has been at the centre of much media and public attention in recent years. Revelations of horrific abuse in learning disability settings, the collapse of major private care home providers, abject failures of inspection and regulation, and uncertainty over how long-term care of older people should be funded have all given rise to serious public concern. In this short form book, part of the Critical and Radical Debates in Social Work series, Iain Ferguson and Michael Lavalette give an historical overview of adult social care. The roots of the current crisis are located in the under-valuing of older people and adults with disabilities and in the marketisation of social care over the past two decades. The authors critically examine recent developments in social work with adults, including the personalisation agenda, and the prospects for adult social care and social work in a context of seemingly never-ending austerity.

Six million workers in America are tipped workers, relying on a subminimum wage and the whims of customers to feed themselves and their families. Over a million of them are immigrants, and the unpredictability of tips combined with the unpredictability of life as an immigrant creates an unstable, uncertain future. Tipped points to a new future in which immigrants are welcome and the service sector can prosper with, not off of, its immigrant workforce.