Social Welfare Policy Analysis and Choices gives you a thorough introduction to social welfare policy analysis. The knowledge you'll gain from its pages will enable you to understand and evaluate individual policy issues and choices by exploring the possible choices, the effects and implications of each alternative choice, and the factors that influence each choice. Social Welfare Policy Analysis and Choices provides frameworks for making basic social policy choices and applying them to specific instances. You'll find its depth of insight into the larger framework in which social policy decisions are made--beliefs, values, and interests--and its historical perspective on current "new" issues unique and invaluable. The book's approach is to develop a framework for looking at the underlying issues, ideologies, social and economic forces, culture, and institutionalized inequalities that are constant within this changing mass. Specifically, SocialWelfare Policy Analysis and Choices provides frameworks for looking at beliefs about: human nature the nature of society ways of thinking values and the moral and ethical implications of those values roots of those values in religion, culture, historical traditions, myths, and rationalized self-interests The insight offered in Social Welfare Policy Analysis and Choices will allow you to determine your own positioning; understand for strategic purposes what direction opponents, potential allies, and others are coming from; and develop a priorities perspective to guide compromises when the optimum policy is not attainable.

The field of social policy has produced numerous academic studies, most of which either introduce social policy and welfare programs, or focus on advocacy strategy and tactics. In this work, Hobart Burch takes the much less common approach of examining and explaining the thought, reasons, and philosophy behind social policy and the policy choices that must be made. In a broad-based and eminently readable way, Burch applies general philosophical principles to real-world issues and choices, relating our traditional notions of equality, fairness, and liberty to such practical problems as poverty, social welfare, and the welfare state.

Blending perspectives from several different professions, Burch provides frameworks for analyzing fundamental social policy issues and choices. He draws on concepts and choices from both recent and historical policies and programs, identifying the timeless issues that continually present themselves in slightly different forms. To enable the reader to analyze each new situation and develop creative responses, each chapter identifies a different set of issues and the alternative values and principles that can apply. Burch also offers a step-by-step model for analyzing these issues and reaching a decision. Among the topics covered are socioeconomic systems, the welfare state, civil rights and entitlements, and policies of taxation and redistribution policies. This book will be an important new resource for scholars and policy makers in social work, social planning and philosophy, and policy issues, as well as a useful addition to both academic and public libraries.

In Basic Social Policy and Planning, Burch presents a generic process for professional intervention and social work leadership that is required of those who desire to achieve improvements in the lives of those they serve. Burch developed this text and guide so that even persons with no prior formal training in social planning can apply these principles in their practices. Because few social workers are content with simply repairing the damages caused by inequities, inadequacies, and injustices in society, Basic Social Policy and Planning offers a usable set of guidelines on how to change lives for the better, in small and occasionally large ways, from within any setting--agency, community, and public policy.Social workers, nurses, teachers, and other human service professionals spend their lives relating to the social and emotional needs and problems of people. Burch converts sophisticated policy and planning concepts and techniques into a form which experts and non-experts can understand, relate to, and apply in their practices. He supplies these workers with approaches, methods, models, ways of thinking, and techniques for planning. He covers: VIBES (Values, Interests, Beliefs, Ethics, and Slants): Understanding where you and others are coming from and toward what destination you and they are heading Systems theories and worldviews: Understanding how these affect planning Logical analysis of all ways of thinking--scientific and experiential, bounded and nonbounded Different approaches to planning--comprehensive rational analysis; disjointed incrementalism and satisficing; mixed scanning; strategic, decentralized, contingency, transactional, and advocacy planning Global, strategic, tactical, and project management levels of planning Needs assessment and participation of those who will be affected Quantitative and economic planning approaches: Understanding basic ideology and assumptions Quantitative and economic approaches--measurement, pricing, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis, decision analysisWhen used as a text, the first priority of this book is to give BSW and MSW students the training which they will need and want later in their careers. This training is consistent with Council on Social Work Education's required BSW/MSW foundation courses as well as advance practice courses in most programs. When used as a guidebook for the many practitioners who have learned, since graduation, that they need more skill in setting and achieving policy, agency, and community goals than they learned in school, Basic Social Policy and Planning can enhance the "left brain" in social workers, who as a group tend to be stronger in the "right brain" direction with chapters that walk the reader step-by-step through a generic rational planning model and tell why, whom, when, and how to involve others in planning. Because the substance of the book is rooted in advance interdisciplinary planning theory and practice, this book is just what the doctor ordered for a doctoral first course in policy and planning--it provides the "hard" background in planning for professors of policy and macro practice. It is also highly appropriate for new PhDs who are assigned to teach such courses with limited background with its chapters on foundations of policy and planning, various approaches to planning, and quantitative techniques related to costs, benefits, and uncertainties in planning.

In Basic Social Policy and Planning, Burch presents a generic process for professional intervention and social work leadership that is required of those who desire to achieve improvements in the lives of those they serve. Burch developed this text and guide so that even persons with no prior formal training in social planning can apply these principles in their practices. Because few social workers are content with simply repairing the damages caused by inequities, inadequacies, and injustices in society, Basic Social Policy and Planning offers a usable set of guidelines on how to change lives for the better, in small and occasionally large ways, from within any setting--agency, community, and public policy.Social workers, nurses, teachers, and other human service professionals spend their lives relating to the social and emotional needs and problems of people. Burch converts sophisticated policy and planning concepts and techniques into a form which experts and non-experts can understand, relate to, and apply in their practices. He supplies these workers with approaches, methods, models, ways of thinking, and techniques for planning. He covers: VIBES (Values, Interests, Beliefs, Ethics, and Slants): Understanding where you and others are coming from and toward what destination you and they are heading Systems theories and worldviews: Understanding how these affect planning Logical analysis of all ways of thinking--scientific and experiential, bounded and nonbounded Different approaches to planning--comprehensive rational analysis; disjointed incrementalism and satisficing; mixed scanning; strategic, decentralized, contingency, transactional, and advocacy planning Global, strategic, tactical, and project management levels of planning Needs assessment and participation of those who will be affected Quantitative and economic planning approaches: Understanding basic ideology and assumptions Quantitative and economic approaches--measurement, pricing, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis, decision analysisWhen used as a text, the first priority of this book is to give BSW and MSW students the training which they will need and want later in their careers. This training is consistent with Council on Social Work Education s required BSW/MSW foundation courses as well as advance practice courses in most programs. When used as a guidebook for the many practitioners who have learned, since graduation, that they need more skill in setting and achieving policy, agency, and community goals than they learned in school, Basic Social Policy and Planning can enhance the "left brain" in social workers, who as a group tend to be stronger in the "right brain" direction with chapters that walk the reader step-by-step through a generic rational planning model and tell why, whom, when, and how to involve others in planning. Because the substance of the book is rooted in advance interdisciplinary planning theory and practice, this book is just what the doctor ordered for a doctoral first course in policy and planning--it provides the "hard" background in planning for professors of policy and macro practice. It is also highly appropriate for new PhDs who are assigned to teach such courses with limited background with its chapters on foundations of policy and planning, various approaches to planning, and quantitative techniques related to costs, benefits, and uncertainties in planning.

The purpose of this book is to help you make ethical decisions about what should be done in a given instance, whether individual or related to a broad policy. It does not do this by telling you but rather by giving you tools to decide for yourself. The book offers not so much an ethical map as a a gyroscope: offering awareness, perspective, and ability to work out your judgments on two levels, 1) appropriate ethical frameworks, and 2) real life applications which may coincide with, differ from, or go beyond the standard rules, practices, and policies where you are. It even includes a chapter on "gray area ethics" situations: even if you are sure of what is "right," it is not actually possible to be purely ethical, because there are "negative costs" to every available choice. You find yourself having to make the best choice rather than the ideally right choice. The book is in two parts. The first half explores alternative established frameworks for guiding social ethics and their roots. Within each, pros, cons, and variations are discussed. All are good. Some may be better than others. That is for you to decide. You may well develop your own hybrid framework which is better than any classic one. Or you may develop your own hierarchy, in which you apply this framework to the extent that it doesn't conflict with or subvert that "higher" one. Built on this foundation the second half discusses several, applied issues or policies. Each offers different, often conflicting, ethical vantage points. The purpose is twofold. One is to address several important social and economic issues. The other is to develop skills for you to apply to dilemmas we face when we apply abstract social ethics to "real life." This book is good to read and think by yourself. It may be even better if you can find others - a friend, a group, a seminar - with whom to explore "What's Right?"