A critical examination of the social capital debate, which establishes a foundation for progressive reform in community development practice and local government. In response to the ongoing debate over the role social capital plays in the creation and continuation of a healthy civic culture, Community-Based Organizations in Contemporary Urban Society studies the close relationship that social capital shares with local context, social organization, and institutional structure. The book's timely analysis illuminates the institutional barriers currently affecting the mobilization of social capital and establishes a foundation for social and political reform in the future. All components of capital formation--including human, financial, and cultural capital--are identified and considered as they relate to the community development process, as well as how social capital relates to race, class, gender, and religion in urban society. Community-Based Organizations in Contemporary Urban Society offers vital extensions to existing literature on social capital and allows the reader to consider this topic from multiple perspectives through its broad spectrum of interdisciplinary essays by sociologists, political scientists, and urban planners. The essays discuss important steps in the mobilization of social capital, as well as its role in microfinance programs, community development corporations, homeowners associations, religious institutions, and neighborhood associations. Individual chapters present an array of theoretical arguments, empirical analysis, and applied case studies that are of interest to academics, practitioners, and activists in the community development field.

The need for consultation and evaluation among nonprofits and government agencies has soared in recent years, as funders have demanded accountability and agencies are ill-equipped to provide the types of data-based information needed. Consulting and Evaluation with Nonprofit and Community-Based Organizations fills a critical gap in the academic literature for nonprofit management. This unique text is a collection of advice and voices from a diverse group of successful, practicing consultants who work with nonprofits and government agencies. Through surveys and interviews, these experts relate detailed information on how they got started in consulting, what types of services they provide, what types of clients they serve, the biggest challenges they face, and much more. The book also integrates current topics from a wide variety of sources so that interested readers can easily access important information all in one book. Book jacket.

Europe's "Black Death" contributed to the rise of nation states, mercantile economies, and even the Reformation. Will the AIDS epidemic have similar dramatic effects on the social and political landscape of the twenty-first century? This readable volume looks at the impact of AIDS since its emergence and suggests its effects in the next decade, when a million or more Americans will likely die of the disease. The Social Impact of AIDS in the United States addresses some of the most sensitive and controversial issues in the public debate over AIDS. This landmark book explores how AIDS has affected fundamental policies and practices in our major institutions, examining: How America's major religious organizations have dealt with sometimes conflicting values: the imperative of care for the sick versus traditional views of homosexuality and drug use. Hotly debated public health measures, such as HIV antibody testing and screening, tracing of sexual contacts, and quarantine. The potential risk of HIV infection to and from health care workers. How AIDS activists have brought about major change in the way new drugs are brought to the marketplace. The impact of AIDS on community-based organizations, from volunteers caring for individuals to the highly political ACT-UP organization. Coping with HIV infection in prisons. Two case studies shed light on HIV and the family relationship. One reports on some efforts to gain legal recognition for nonmarital relationships, and the other examines foster care programs for newborns with the HIV virus. A case study of New York City details how selected institutions interact to give what may be a picture of AIDS in the future. This clear and comprehensive presentation will be of interest to anyone concerned about AIDS and its impact on the country: health professionals, sociologists, psychologists, advocates for at-risk populations, and interested individuals.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Using stories and exercises from grassroots organizing experience ... [this book] walks you through the steps of starting a new group or strengthening an old one - to build a better world.-Back cover.

This global encyclopedic work serves as a comprehensive collection of global scholarship regarding the vast fields of public administration, public policy, governance, and management. Written and edited by leading international scholars and practitioners, this exhaustive resource covers all areas of the above fields and their numerous subfields of study. In keeping with the multidisciplinary spirit of these fields and subfields, the entries make use of various theoretical, empirical, analytical, practical, and methodological bases of knowledge. Expanded and updated, the second edition includes over a thousand of new entries representing the most current research in public administration, public policy, governance, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, and management covering such important sub-areas as: 1. organization theory, behavior, change and development; 2. administrative theory and practice; 3. Bureaucracy; 4. public budgeting and financial management; 5. public economy and public management 6. public personnel administration and labor-management relations; 7. crisis and emergency management; 8. institutional theory and public administration; 9. law and regulations; 10. ethics and accountability; 11. public governance and private governance; 12. Nonprofit management and nongovernmental organizations; 13. Social, health, and environmental policy areas; 14. pandemic and crisis management; 15. administrative and governance reforms; 16. comparative public administration and governance; 17. globalization and international issues; 18. performance management; 19. geographical areas of the world with country-focused entries like Japan, China, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, North America; and 20. a lot more. Relevant to professionals, experts, scholars, general readers, researchers, policy makers and manger, and students worldwide, this work will serve as the most viable global reference source for those looking for an introduction and advance knowledge to the field.

"This book will serve as a comprehensive resource to study the different dimensions of the pandemic from multi-stakeholder's perspectives, analyzing the forces that determine how and to which extent that stakeholders contribute during a Pandemic, what are the successful models and where are the chances of improvement"--

When middle-class residents fled American cities in the 1960s and 1970s, government services and investment capital left too. Countless urban neighborhoods thus entered phases of precipitous decline, prompting the creation of community-based organizations that sought to bring direly needed resources back to the inner city. Today there are tens of thousands of these CBOs—private nonprofit groups that work diligently within tight budgets to give assistance and opportunity to our most vulnerable citizens by providing services such as housing, child care, and legal aid. Through ethnographic fieldwork at eight CBOs in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Bushwick, Nicole P. Marwell discovered that the complex and contentious relationships these groups form with larger economic and political institutions outside the neighborhood have a huge and unexamined impact on the lives of the poor. Most studies of urban poverty focus on individuals or families, but Bargaining for Brooklyn widens the lens, examining the organizations whose actions and decisions collectively drive urban life.

Faith-based organizations continue to play a significant role in the provision of social work services in many countries but their role within the welfare state is often contested. This text explores their various roles and relationships to social work practice, includes examples from different countries and a range of religious traditions and identifies challenges and opportunities for the sector. Social Work and Faith-based Organizations discusses issues such as the relationship between faith-based organizations and the state, working with an organization’s stakeholders, ethical practice and dilemmas, and faith-based organizations as employers. It also addresses areas of debate and controversy, such as providing services within and for multi-faith communities and tensions between professional codes of ethics and religious doctrine. Accessibly written by a well-known social work educator, it is illustrated by numerous case studies from a range of countries including Australia, the UK and the US. Suitable for social work students taking community or administration courses or undertaking placements in faith-based organizations, this innovative book is also a valuable resource for managers and religious personnel who are responsible for the operation of faith-based agencies.

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.