The Second Edition of Social Policy and Social Change is a timely examination of the field, unique in its inclusion of both a historical analysis of problems and policy and an exploration of how capitalism and the market economy have contributed to them. The New Edition of this seminal text examines issues of discrimination, health care, housing, income, and child welfare and considers the policies that strive to improve them. With a focus on how domestic social policies can be transformed to promote social justice for all groups, Jimenez et al. consider the impact of globalization in the United States while addressing developing concerns now emerging in the global village.

Reforming Social Policy: Changing Perspectives in Sustainable Human Development

Poverty declined significantly in the decade after Lyndon Johnson's 1964 declaration of "War on Poverty." Dramatically increased federal funding for education and training programs, social security benefits, other income support programs, and a growing economy reduced poverty and raised expectations that income poverty could be eliminated within a generation. Yet the official poverty rate has never fallen below its 1973 level and remains higher than the rates in many other advanced economies. In this book, editors Maria Cancian and Sheldon Danziger and leading poverty researchers assess why the War on Poverty was not won and analyze the most promising strategies to reduce poverty in the twenty-first century economy. Changing Poverty, Changing Policies documents how economic, social, demographic, and public policy changes since the early 1970s have altered who is poor and where antipoverty initiatives have kept pace or fallen behind. Part I shows that little progress has been made in reducing poverty, except among the elderly, in the last three decades. The chapters examine how changing labor market opportunities for less-educated workers have increased their risk of poverty (Rebecca Blank), and how family structure changes (Maria Cancian and Deborah Reed) and immigration have affected poverty (Steven Raphael and Eugene Smolensky). Part II assesses the ways childhood poverty influences adult outcomes. Markus Jäntti finds that poor American children are more likely to be poor adults than are children in many other industrialized countries. Part III focuses on current antipoverty policies and possible alternatives. Jane Waldfogel demonstrates that policies in other countries—such as sick leave, subsidized child care, and schedule flexibility—help low-wage parents better balance work and family responsibilities. Part IV considers how rethinking and redefining poverty might take antipoverty policies in new directions. Mary Jo Bane assesses the politics of poverty since the 1996 welfare reform act. Robert Haveman argues that income-based poverty measures should be expanded, as they have been in Europe, to include social exclusion and multiple dimensions of material hardships. Changing Poverty, Changing Policies shows that thoughtful policy reforms can reduce poverty and promote opportunities for poor workers and their families. The authors' focus on pragmatic measures that have real possibilities of being implemented in the United States not only provides vital knowledge about what works but real hope for change.

Social Security Policy in a Changing Environment analyzes the changing economic and demographic environment in which social insurance programs that benefit elderly households will operate. It also explores how these ongoing trends will affect future beneficiaries, under both the current social security program and potential reform options. In this volume, an esteemed group of economists probes the challenge posed to Social Security by an aging population. The researchers examine trends in private sector retirement saving and health care costs, as well as the uncertain nature of future demographic, economic, and social trends—including marriage and divorce rates and female participation in the labor force. Recognizing the ambiguity of the environment in which the Social Security system must operate and evolve, this landmark book explores factors that policymakers must consider in designing policies that are resilient enough to survive in an economically and demographically uncertain society.

Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World is an approachable and student-friendly text that links policy and practice and employs a critical analytic lens to U.S. social welfare policy. With particular attention to disparities based on class, race/ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation and gender, authors Shannon R. Lane, Elizabeth Palley, and Corey Shdaimah assess the impact of policies at the micro, meso, and macro levels.

Furthering social justice and human rights is a fundamental principle underlying the social work profession. Engaging in social policy formulation processes is a major route through which social workers can realise this goal. This type of social work activity has been termed ‘policy practice’. The aim of this book is to shed light on policy practice in social work discourse, education and practice in eight liberal democracies. This is the first effort to undertake a cross-national study of social worker engagement in social policy formulation processes. The book offers insights into questions such as ‘what is the importance attributed to social worker involvement in policy change in the social work discourse and education in different countries?’ and ‘how do social workers influence social policy in various national settings?’ These issues are relevant to social worker practitioners, students, educators and researchers, as well as to social policy scholars, who are interested in the role of professionals in social policy formulation.

The second edition of Social Work Policy Practice: Changing Our Community, Nation, and the World demystifies policymaking for social work students and demonstrates why policy practice is a critical dimension of social work. The text provides a comprehensive introduction to political advocacy, the political process, and how laws are enacted to inspire social work students to enter the field with a mind for political advocacy and social justice. The book is divided into three parts. In Part I, students learn a brief history of social welfare legislation in the United States and the role of social workers in policy development. Part II provides concrete information on how policies become law. It includes an overview of the levels and branches of government, in-depth descriptions of the policy change process, and various strategies advocates employ to enact change. Part III consists of real-world stories of advocates and advocacy organizations that have attempted to change policies on behalf of vulnerable populations. This edition includes up-to-date information regarding policy issues in child welfare, aging, healthcare, mental health, poverty and income equality, rights for racial minorities, and immigration. New material addresses policy issues pertaining to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter social movements. Engaging and accessible, Social Work Policy Practice is an ideal resource for courses that introduce policymaking to students of social work.

No one is content with the state of health and social programs in Canada today. The Right thinks that there is too much government involvement, and the Left thinks there is not enough. In Changing Politics of Canadian Social Policy James Rice and Michael Prince track the history of the welfare state from its establishment in the 1940s, through its development in the mid 1970s, to the period of deficit crisis and restraint that followed in the late 1970s and 1980s. Taking a historical perspective, the authors grapple with the politics of social policy in the 1990s. Globalization and the concomitant corporate mobility affect government's ability to regulate the distribution of wealth, while the increasing diversity of the population puts increasingly complex demands on an already overstressed system. Yet in the face of these constraints, the system still endures and is far from irrelevant. Some social programs have been dismantled, but the government has organized and maintained others. Greater democratization of welfare programs and social policy agencies could make the system thrive again. Changing Politics provides the much-needed groundwork for students and policy makers while also proposing real solutions for the future.

Social policy can be a powerful vehicle for positive social change. This book explores how social policy is made and by whom, focusing on debates about what counts as a social problem, and on conflicts over ideals, power and resources in the framing of policy solutions. Social policy is shown to be dynamic, flexible and provisional, and the opportunities for human service practitioners to engage in the processes of making and implementing social policy for social change are emphasised.

Public policy issues directly and indirectly affect many everyday aspects of the lives of all Americans. Yet, most of us don’t fully understand how policy evolves. Why do public policies exist? What different types of policies are there and how controversial have they become over time? How can we better understand the continuity and change in public policies? Expanding upon the first and second editions, the author uses theoretical and historical approaches to answer these questions and highlight changes that have occurred with public policies over the past decade. He explains the complex relationship of political and social theories that explain the modifications and restructuring of public policies that exist today. Through his engaging writing style, Wilson examines a variety of controversial issues and legal cases to deconstruct each aspect of public policy. His explanations provide detailed information in clear, comfortable language that encourages the reader to better understand and appreciate policies and theories. A list of referenced websites after each chapter allows for exploration outside of the text for up-to-date information on the ever-changing world of public policy.