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Historically, the welfare state of the 20th century, which was built on the foundation of an industrial economy, seems poorly adapted to a 21st-century information age. Socially, profound demographic shifts--especially an aging population, increasing numbers of women in the labor force, and surging immigration--pose challenges for traditional programs. Economically, the legacy of social entitlements, which has been addressed through deficit spending, is untenable insofar as they squeeze out essential discretionary programs. Politically, the demise of the Left, signified by Brexit, the election of Donald Trump to the presidency, and less successful populist movements in Europe and Australia, continues a conservative vector in social policy. The confluence of these factors increases the likelihood of reform of a nation's social infrastructure. The Investment State provides a template for future social policy, which can be adapted to cities, states, nations, and international trade agreements. It serves as a sequel to the author's previous book, The Dynamic Welfare State (OUP, 2016)--which included a theory of welfare state decline--by envisioning a new paradigm for social programs.
This book identifies specific changes to bring U.S. social policy in accord with the Information Age of the 21st century, in contrast to the policy infrastructure of industrial America. Welfare State 3.0: Social Policy after the Pandemic acknowledges the existing social infrastructure, considers viable options, and provides supporting data to suggest social policy reform by four strategies: consolidating programs, harmonizing applications, expanding equity, and conducting experiments. The book favors discreet, poignant proposals of social programs. In 12 chapters, the text provides an analysis that honors past accomplishments, recognizes the influence of established stakeholders, and concedes program inadequacies, while plotting specific opportunities for policy improvement. In contrast to liberalism’s tendency toward idealism, the book adopts a realpolitik appreciation for social policy. Written by one of the most respected academics of U.S. social policy, this book will be required reading for all undergraduate and postgraduate students of social policy, social work, sociology, and U.S. politics more broadly.
Research has already been a significant factor in child welfare policy in recent years, but this essential new volume demonstrates that it has taken a leading role in the field to spur and guide change. In the incisive chapters gathered here, some of the field's top investigators present their work and assess its effect on the full spectrum of child welfare services. Future generations of researchers, as well as students, practitioners, and service providers, will find the resulting text indispensable. Edited by Duncan Lindsey and Aron Shlonsky, two of the discipline's most articulate voices, the book covers every base. The opening chapters situate child welfare research in the modern contex...
The essays in this book discuss the evolution of the profession of social work in the twentieth century. Its specific focus is the relationship of the professional social worker to the poor. Attempting to avoid the usual retelling of the standard narrative of the social work profession, The Professionalization of Poverty provides a perspective that goes beyond the typical boundaries of liberal/conservative paradigms and suggests that social work incorporate intellectual and methodological elements compatible with both.
Explore significant—but often-overlooked—aspects of aging policy! This unique addition to the literature on aging policy will help you understand devolution—the decentralizing of service provision—and the roles that state/local government and private organizations now play in addressing the needs of our aging population. It will show you how to initiate innovations and make positive changes in aging policy through state and local initiatives, collaborations between the federal government and other government agencies, public/private collaboration, and strictly private initiatives. From the editors: “Around the world, the ground rules are being questioned about the role of national ...
This book introduces the concept of financial capability and assembles the latest evidence from ground-breaking innovations with financially vulnerable families, and links it to education, policy, and practice. This book is a key resource for those interested in improving financial education and financial products and services for low-income families.
What should be the roles and behavior of administrators to meet the challenges facing social service agencies today? Here is a thought-provoking book that provides a great deal of insight into administrative leadership, an essential component in the survival and effectiveness of social service agencies. In response to the enormous challenges that social service agencies are facing, including justification of their mission, mobilization of resources, and responsiveness to new social needs, experts present theoretical and empirical studies on administrative leadership in the social services, reviewing the most recent theories and research on the relationship between leadership and service effe...
Social services have typically addressed equality and diversity issues through the lens of race and ethnicity, while the faith identities of minority ethnic communities have been largely bypassed. But in our contemporary world, there is a strong need for policies and services that are sensitive to faith in general and to Islam in particular. This unique book enables social work practitioners to gain a deeper understanding of how Islamic principles inform and influence the lives of Muslim populations. Designed to support work with families and faith communities, it examines religious precepts, cosmologies, philosophies, and daily practices, while acknowledging cultural variants and population...
The second edition of Policy Practice for Social Workers expands the concept of policy practice in social work settings and illustrates how significant policy change may be achieved at a local, community, state, and national level. Guided by an ethic of care approach, this textbook is intended to raise readers’ awareness about policy practice and its fundamental relationship with the aims of the social work profession, offers a foundation for key skill development, and contextualizes the work of policy practitioners in the larger political-economic settings in which they work. This textbook is divided into two parts. First, readers will expand their understanding of policy practice, its be...
Over the last two decades new arrangements have emerged for the finance and delivery of social welfare in the United States and other industrial democracies. Moving beyond the conventional paradigm of the welfare state, these arrangements form an alternative model. This study details a fresh vision of social welfare transfers--how they are delivered, and whom they benefit. The authors explore the use of private enterprise and market-oriented approaches to the delivery of social provisions, and examine how welfare benefits are derived from the full range of modern social transfers including tax expenditures, credit subsidies, and those induced by regulatory activity. Reappraising the modern boundaries of social welfare, this book provides insights into the structure and dynamics of a novel social model that will open new avenues for scientific study and public debate.