This collection of essays addresses a topical subject of current importance, namely the impact of the EU on national welfare state systems. The volume aims to question the perception that matters of social welfare remain for Member States of the EU to decide, and that the EU's influence in this field is minor or incidental. The various essays trace the different ways in which the EU is having an impact on the laws and practices of the Member States in the area of welfare, looking at issues of social citizenship and the influence of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as at the impact of EU economic freedoms - competition law and free movement law in particular - on both 'services of general economic interest' and on national health-care systems. The significance of the so-called Open Method of Coordination in developing a new compromise on 'social Europe' is discussed, as well as the tensions between market liberalization and social protection in the specific context of this transnational political system are examined. While the various authors clearly have different views on the likelihood of a robust form of European social solidarity developing, the book as a whole suggests the emergence of a distinctive, although partial and fragmented, European Union welfare dimension.

How do young people get by in hard times and hard places? Have they become a "lost generation" disconnected from society's mainstream? Do popular ideas about social exclusion or a welfare-dependent underclass really connect with the lived experiences of the so-called "disaffected," "disengaged" and "difficult-to-reach"? Based on close-up research with young men and women from localities suffering social exclusion in extreme form," Disconnected Youth? will appeal to all those who are interested in understanding and tackling the problems of growing up in Britain's poor neighborhoods.

This book introduces the concept of new social risks in welfare state studies and explains their relevance to the comparative understanding of social policy in Europe. New social risks arise from shifts in the balance of work and family life as a direct result of the declining importance of the male breadwinner family, changes in the labor market, and the impact of globalization on national policy-making. They differ from the old social risks of the standard industrial life-course, which were concerned primarily with interruptions to income from sickness, unemployment, retirement, and similar issues. New social risks pose new challenges for the welfare policies of European countries, such as the care of children and the elderly, more equal opportunities, the activation of labor markets and the management of needs that arise from welfare state reform, and new opportunities for the coordination of policies at the EU level.
The book includes detailed and up-to-date case studies of policy development across these areas in the major European countries. These studies, written by leading experts, are organized in a comparative framework which is followed throughout the book. They highlight the way in which national welfare state regimes and institutional arrangements shape policy-making to meet new social risks.
A major feature of this volume is the analysis of developments at the EU level and their interaction with national policies. The EU has been largely unsuccessful in its interventions in old social risk policy, but appears to have more success in its attempts to coordinate policy for new social risks. Experience here may provide lessons for future developments in EU policy-making.
The comparative framework of the book seeks to inform an understanding of the development of new social risks in Europe and of the particular political opportunities and challenges that result. It provides an original analysis of pressing issues at the forefront of European welfare policy debate and locates it at the heart of current theoretical debates.

Recent government legislation requires local authorities to provide secure accommodation for unintentionally homeless 16- and 17-year-olds. Many local authority housing departments are therefore facing the challenge of how to adequately support this group of young people for the first time. been developed for 16- and 17-year-olds living in Newcastle. It provides vital indicators to other authorities and nominated RSLs of the approaches that they can take to increase successful tenancies and independent living among this age group. policy changes; reports on the first research into the factors affecting the success of young people's tenancies; examines the varied experiences of young people housed by local authorities; provides a framework for objectively evaluating the success of such tenancies; highlights good practice for supporting young people in independent housing. housing departments and nominated RSLs, as well as for students on professional housing courses and academics interested in housing policies, responses to homelessness and issues for young people.

Black women have traditionally represented the canvas on which many debates about poverty and welfare have been drawn. For a quarter century after the publication of the notorious Moynihan report, poor black women were tarred with the same brush: "ghetto moms" or "welfare queens" living off the state, with little ambition or hope of an independent future. At the same time, the history of the civil rights movement has all too often succumbed to an idolatry that stresses the centrality of prominent leaders while overlooking those who fought daily for their survival in an often hostile urban landscape.
In this collective biography, Rhonda Y. Williams takes us behind, and beyond, politically expedient labels to provide an incisive and intimate portrait of poor black women in urban America. Drawing on dozens of interviews, Williams challenges the notion that low-income housing was a resounding failure that doomed three consecutive generations of post-war Americans to entrenched poverty. Instead, she recovers a history of grass-roots activism, of political awakening, and of class mobility, all facilitated by the creation of affordable public housing. The stereotyping of black women, especially mothers, has obscured a complicated and nuanced reality too often warped by the political agendas of both the left and the right, and has prevented an accurate understanding of the successes and failures of government anti-poverty policy.
At long last giving human form to a community of women who have too often been treated as faceless pawns in policy debates, Rhonda Y. Williams offers an unusually balanced and personal account of the urban war on poverty from the perspective of those who fought, and lived, it daily.

The politics of the Third Way reflects an attempt by many contemporary social democracies to forge a new political settlement which is fitted to the conditions of a modern society and new global economy, but which retains the goals of social cohesion and egalitarianism. It seeks to differentiate itself as distinct from the political ideologies of the New Right and Old Left. Though commonly linked to the US Democratic Party in the Clinton era, it can also be traced to the political discourses in European social democratic parties during the mid-1990s, most notably in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In social policy terms the model attempts to transcend the old alternatives of the state and the market. Instead, civil society, government, and the market are viewed as interdependent and equal partners in the provision of welfare, and the challenge for government is to create equilibrium between these three pillars. The individual is to be 'pushed' towards self-help, and independent, active citizenship, while business and government must contribute to economic and social cohesion.
This book provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of 'Third Way' social policy and policy processes in the welfare systems of industrialized economies, and examines the extent to which 'Third Way' ideology and institutional structures converge or vary in different national settings. It examines substantive areas of public policy in a broad comparative context of key trends and debates. By assessing the extent to which the post-war social contract in developed welfare states is being renegotiated, the text contributes to a better understanding of the current restructuring and modernization of the State. Finally the book explores the implications of the new politics of welfare for theorizing inequality, social justice, and the future of welfare.

The politics of the Third Way reflects an attempt by many contemporary social democracies to forge a new political settlement which is fitted to the conditions of a modern society and new global economy, but which retains the goals of social cohesion and egalitarianism. It seeks to differentiate itself as distinct from the political ideologies of the New Right and Old Left. Though commonly linked to the US Democratic Party in the Clinton era, it can also be traced to the political discourses in European social democratic parties during the mid-1990s, most notably in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In social policy terms the model attempts to transcend the old alternatives of the state and the market. Instead, civil society, government, and the market are viewed as interdependent and equal partners in the provision of welfare, and the challenge for government is to create equilibrium between these three pillars. The individual is to be 'pushed' towards self-help, and independent, active citizenship, while business and government must contribute to economic and social cohesion.
This book provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of 'Third Way' social policy and policy processes in the welfare systems of industrialized economies, and examines the extent to which 'Third Way' ideology and institutional structures converge or vary in different national settings. It examines substantive areas of public policy in a broad comparative context of key trends and debates. By assessing the extent to which the post-war social contract in developed welfare states is being renegotiated, the text contributes to a better understanding of the current restructuring and modernization of the State. Finally the book explores the implications of the new politics of welfare for theorizing inequality, social justice, and the future of welfare.

Reach children and families and help them navigate the child welfare system

Case planning is one of the fundamental steps in working with dependent children, yet it is also one of the most challenging. Essentials of Child Welfare presents the key information clinical social workers, child advocates, family law attorneys, and other human services personnel need to work successfully with children and families in the child welfare system.

Essentials of Child Welfare is packed with step-by-step guidelines for intervening proactively with foster care children and their caretakers. Techniques are presented for handling a number of related topics, including attachment issues, substance abuse, sexual abuse (victim and perpetrator), suicidal ideation, eating disorders, learning disabilities, juvenile delinquency, domestic abuse, and many more.

As part of the Essentials of Social Work Practice series, this book offers a concise yet thorough overview of child welfare, numerous tips for best practices, and a prioritized assembly of all the information and techniques that must be at one's fingertips to practice knowledgeably, effectively, and ethically. Each concise chapter features numerous callout boxes highlighting key concepts, bulleted points, and extensive illustrative material, as well as "Test Yourself" questions that help you gauge and reinforce your grasp of the information covered.

Understanding the historical development of pensions is critical to the future of retirement systems around the world. "A History of Public Sector Pensions in the United States" offers a comprehensive assessment of the political and financial dimensions of public sector pensions from the colonial period until the emergence of modern retirement plans in the twentieth century. The authors emphasize how retirement plans can help achieve human resource objectives, how public sector pension policy has sometimes been influenced by other government objectives, and how early pension plans were funded.After discussing the economics of retirement plans, A History of "Public Sector Pensions in the United States" reviews the history of European retirement plans, beginning with their use in the Roman Empire, and then moves on to early American pension systems. The authors explore the development and management of U.S. army and navy pension plans during the nineteenth century, drawing on original records of participants, retirees, and plan finances. They document the struggle to establish a federal civil service retirement system and trace the growth of state and local retirement plans. This history is inextricably linked to broader developments in U.S. financial markets, offering rich insights into political debates, including current debates surrounding plan design and plan funding."A History of Public Sector Pensions in the United States" will be of significant interest to financial market and pension experts, labor and corporate pension sponsors, policymakers, public sector plan participants, and others who want to know how and why pensions emerged.

The modern welfare state is under threat from a variety of fronts. Changing demographic patterns, declining public trust, interest group demands and growing international competition for capital and labor are presenting modern states with intense pressures. This volume examines these competiting pressures and offers a coherent analyses of both institutional resilience and institutional change. Adopting an evolutionary approach, this innovative volume demonstrates both how past practices and policies significantly affect the current options and how social and economic forces impinge upon each of these societies in surprisingly different ways. Cross-national in scope and unified in approach, Restructuring the Welfare State examines core issues facing the contemporary welfare state while at the same time significantly advancing historical institutionalist theory.

The Political Economy of Social Welfare Policy in Africa: Transforming policy through practice is a groundbreaking text that uses a political economy and human rights lens to analyse and critique social welfare policy in selected countries in Africa. Tracing the political transformation of South Africa and other sub-Saharan countries, it provides the reader with critical insight into how social welfare policy evolved during periods of colonial and post-colonial governance regimes and the contemporary period characterised by neoliberal globalisation. The text focuses on the interdependence of economic and social development policies and processes to advance human development and protect the basic human rights of all, especially the poorest and most marginalised.

This textbook analyses the changing nature of public policy over the last thirty years, looking at the impact of governance and offering a theoretically and critically informed account of the changing nature of the state. The text also draws on a wide range of interviews conducted with Conservative and Labour ministers, civil servants and pressure group representatives, providing solid primary empirical material with which to illuminate each of the chapters.

Denmark is one of the most progressive countries in terms of family support policies. This book, however, reveals a backdrop of diminished rights, inequalities and family violence in the lives of vulnerable lone mothers. If this is the case in Denmark, what is the situation in other countries, including the USA, the UK and other EU member states? Diminished rights is a unique qualitative study that documents the daily lives of vulnerable lone mothers and their children in Denmark. Loss of rights, gender and ethnic inequality, and family violence all emerge as key themes, with far-reaching international implications. The book: * presents vivid case stories to illuminate the voices and experiences of the women involved in the study; * identifies lone mothers as part of an emerging post-modern underclass in Denmark; * highlights the disturbing prevalence of domestic violence that pervades many lone mothers' lives; * raises questions around legal and child custody rights and the lack of redress in a patriarchal justice system. Policy and practice recommendations are made with wide-ranging applications for an international audience of policy makers, practitioners and academics.

While the future shape and direction of housing policy is uncertain, the process of transformation looks set to continue. A wide range of housing policy initiatives emerged during the first term of the New Labour government and 2000 saw the publication of the first major policy statement on housing for over 10 years - the government's much anticipated Housing Green Paper. This book makes a distinctive and innovative contribution to the debate. Bringing together leading scholars from the fields of housing law and housing policy, it aims to engage with the central concerns of policy and to demonstrate that the parallel debates of housing studies and socio-legal studies can be strengthened by a fuller exchange of ideas. Each chapter examines a key theme in contemporary housing policy and seeks to locate policy in relation to broader theoretical debates about the provision of social welfare. Two steps forward is essential reading for academics, students and policy makers with an interest in housing policy and law, as well as students on wider social policy, public administration, policy and management courses.

Innovation is promoted to improve performance and increase the quality of services provided by public service organisations. Managing public services innovation provides the first in-depth exploration of innovation and the management of innovation in the housing association sector. Drawing on longitudinal case studies and data sets, including the Housing Corporation's Innovation and Good Practice database, Managing public services innovation: indicates that housing associations have innovative capacity and classifies innovation in the sector; identifies the 'innovative housing association' and its key characteristics; explores the way innovation has been managed in housing associations making recommendations for best practice; develops techniques to develop evidence-based policy in the housing association sector; discusses the implications of innovating in regulated public service industries. Managing public services innovation is essential reading for housing industry and public management professionals, policy makers and academics in housing, business and public management departments.

Issues of 'difference' are on the agenda right across the social sciences, and are encountered daily by practitioners in policy fields. A central question is how the welfare state and its institutions respond to impairment, ethnicity and gender. This book provides an invaluable overview of key issues set in the context of housing. Touching on concerns ranging from minority ethnic housing needs to the housing implications of domestic violence, this broad-ranging study shows how difference is regulated in housing. It deploys a distinctive theoretical perspective which is applicable to other aspects of the welfare state, and bridges the agency/structure divide. Housing, social policy and difference: brings disability, ethnicity and gender into the centre of an analysis of housing policies and practices; offers a new approach to housing, informed by recent theoretical debates about agency, structure and diversity; develops the ideas of 'difference within difference' and 'social regulation'; looks beyond the concerns of postmodernism to create an original account of difference and structure within the welfare state. The book will be an important text for students and researchers in housing, social policy, planning, urban studies, sociology, disability studies, gender studies and ethnic relations. It will also interest practitioners committed to greater equalities of opportunities and a fairer society.

Analyzing the critical juncture of family-centered policy and practice, this book places the universal institution of the family in a global context. By including a conceptual framework as well as practice components, the authors offer an original multimodal approach toward understanding family-centered policy practice from an international perspective. It provides grassroots strategies for activists and practical guides for both students and practitioners and includes cutting-edge interpretations of the impact of globalization on families, social workers, and other helping professionals and advocates.

With contributions ranging from academic and professional theorists and policy developers to independent social workers, this book explores the development of family-centered services, the processes by which these services are implemented, the problems the field now faces, and prospects for the future. Multi-faceted examinations of the field show how family-centered services and child well-being can be linked on a daily basis to better the lives of both parents and children.

Since the 1970s social security in the European Union has been dominated by attempts at reform and cost control. In the last decade of the twentieth century these attempts have been strengthened by the coming European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This book offers an overview of the social security system and its development in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. The national contributions are preceded by an introduction on the development of social security in Europe till the present day, with special reference to the postwar process of European integration and its effects. The book is concluded by two essays. The first examines the danger and opportunities of European integration for social security. The second discusses ethical aspects: what effect will European integration have on the quality of social security in Europe?

When parents must rely on public assistance and family shelters to provide for their children's most basic needs, they lose autonomy. Within a system of public assistance that already stigmatizes and isolates its beneficiaries, their family lives become subject to public scrutiny and criticism. They are "parenting in public."

This book is an in-depth examination of the realities of life for parents and their children in family shelters. The author uses the Massachusetts family shelter system to explore the impact of asset and deficit-oriented help-giving approaches as they are experienced by mothers and service providers.

The format of the book is unique. Following each chapter are the "reflections" of a mother who has parented in a shelter, a front-line worker, and a shelter director. The author and contributors propose a "Power With" policy and practice framework that runs counter to the prevailing "Power Over" cultural policy trends.

Contributors include Rosa Clark, Brenda Farrell, Deborah Gray, Michele Kahan, Margaret A. Leonard, Mary T. Lewis, Nancy Schwoyer, and Elizabeth Ward.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. This volume is the second of three addressing a wide range of policy issues relating to the role of public action in combating hunger and deprivation in the modern world. It deals with the background nutritional, economic, social, and political aspects of the problem of world hunger. Volume 2 deals with famine prevention, paying particular attention to sub-Saharan Africa. The topics covered include: the problems of early warning and early action; the politics of famine prevention; the influence of market responses; the role of cash support and employment provision in protecting threatened food entitlements; and long-term issues of reduction of famine vulnerability. In addition to general analyses, the book contains a number of case studies of failures and successes in famine prevention, both in South Asia and in sub-Saharan Africa. Taken together, these essays provide a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of the problem of hunger and deprivation, and an important guide for action.

As the ranks of the elderly continue to swell and their social welfare becomes a complex and contentious policy issue, how will the United States balance the conflicting demographic and economic demands of providing for its older citizens -- especially in light of the anticipated economic burden of the baby boom generation's impending retirement? These problems place the destiny of Social Security and health care at the epicenter of political discussion and debate, making a balanced perspective on these issues essential -- particularly as the lives of millions of future Americans will be affected. "The Generational Equity Debate" offers social workers, policy analysts, political scientists, and sociologists, as well as general readers concerned about the fate of the elderly, a complete range of viewpoints on this vital subject.

Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre's 2010-2011 Report on Food Security in South Asia is a valuable contribution towards the conceptual and empirical analysis of food security in South Asia. It analyses the issues of availability and access to food for all South Asians, especially the poor. Ensuring adequate food at affordable prices to all people at all times is the duty of each government. The high prices of food and fuel and economic crisis of recent years have put half a billion South Asians in poverty, millions of children out of school and into work, and over 300 millions of South Asians malnourished. The Report presents critical analyses of food production, distribution, and access for three South Asian countries, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The Report also assesses food security from the perspectives of women and climate change. The Report critically reviews the public food distribution system and social safety net programmes. The Report argues that to give economic growth a human face, South Asia needs to seriously address the effectiveness of its food security initiatives. The objective of all development programmes must be the people and their wellbeing, and food security is the main lifeline of the people.

"This latest installment in the Pension Research Council series brings together a wealth of information for those concerned with public policy options. . . .The book is substantive. . . . It provides data, estimates, models, and a framework to help readers think about the underlying problems in the system."--"Industrial and Labor Relations Review" The United States social security system is the nation's largest social insurance program. As such, it has a far-reaching impact throughout the economy, influencing not only old-age economic security but also many behaviors, including corporate employment policy, retirement patterns, and personal saving. In the past, the system's universal coverage and generous benefits ensured popular support to a degree enjoyed by no other form of "big government" social spending. Yet over two-thirds of all Americans today believe that the social security system will face bankruptcy by the time they retire. The question of social security reform--how to reform the system or whether the system needs reform at all--is the subject of heated debate at all levels of government, in the media, and among workers, pensioners, and employers. "Prospects for Social Security Reform" informs the debate by exploring why the system is at a crossroads today and what to do about it. Contributors detail the size and nature of the problem, explain views of key "stakeholders" regarding reform options, and report new evidence on how reform might affect the economy. Research findings and public opinion polls are analyzed, as are lessons from other countries experimenting with new ways to deliver old-age benefit promises. No other volume includes as diverse and expert a set of perspectives on reform and privatization as those gathered here from economists, actuaries, employers, investment managers, and representatives of organized labor. Among its chapters is the path-breaking study "Social Security Money's Worth," the 1999 winner of the TIAA-CREF's Paul A. Samuelson Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security. Olivia S. Mitchell is Executive Director of the Pension Research Council and Professor of Insurance and Risk Management at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Robert J. Myers is a Special Consultant to the Social Security Division of William M. Mercer, Inc. and former Chief Actuary of the Social Security System. Howard Young is a former Special Consultant to the President of the United Auto Workers Union and former Adjunct Professor of Mathematics at the University of Michigan.

How has America's social welfare network benefited families living in poverty? In what ways has it failed to provide for their needs? The system of social welfare in the United States has been in place for most of this century-and although it has had lasting impact on the lives of many people in need, it is far from perfect in its handling of the nation's poor. Fragile Families, Fragile Solutions presents a historical perspective on one of the central components of the U.S. social welfare network-family services-and provides a unique look at the advances this service network has achieved, problems it has confronted, and where it is likely to go in the future.

Beginning with an exploration of the nineteenth-century roots of family services and the emergence of family casework at the beginning of this century, Halpern ranges through the 1920s and 1930- charting the influence of psychoanalytic theory in social service work and government responses to the Depression. He surveys the following two decades, when policymakers attempted to respond to changing inner-city populations. An extended section focuses on the 1960- a critical reform period. Covering a wide spectrum of contemporary issues in policy and organization, as well as escalating crises in such areas as child welfare, Halpern brings readers up to date on this complex subject.

Offering policy recommendations for the future, Halpern inspires social workers and policymakers alike with a symbolic goal of constructing a more positive vision of the potential of social services, and a pragmatic objective of designing an efficient, effective family services network to care for Americans in greatest need of support.