Focuses on values and the historical impact of socio-economic structures Understanding Social Welfare: A Search for Social Justice is presented in an organized, comprehensive, and scholarly manner, including social policy concepts. It is accessible to students and helps them acquire the basic tools for understanding, analyzing, and evaluating social welfare policies and programs. This text focuses on the impact of social structure on people's lives, emphasizing the current concerns of diverse client populations and the search for social justice. It places U.S. welfare in philosophical, political, economic, and international contexts, and includes the latest discussion of policy issues related to gay men and lesbians. A better teaching and learning experience This program will provide a better teaching and learning experience--for you and your students. Here's how: Improve Critical Thinking - Challenges readers to make their own decisions as they encounter policies and programs with enhanced knowledge and analytic skills. Engage Students - Presents the historical evolution of social welfare and focuses on issues, trends, and conflicts in the context of influential societal developments and values. Explore Current Issues - Includes the latest discussion of policy issues related to gay men and lesbians. Support Instructors - An Instructor's Manual and Test Bank, Computerized Test Bank (MyTest), Blackboard Test Item File, and PowerPoint presentations are included in the outstanding supplements package.