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Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World
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Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World

Second Edition


January 2025 | 608 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World, Second Edition 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 S. Palley, and Corey S. Shdaimah assess the impact of policies at the micro, meso, and macro levels. The authors provide students with a brief foundation in history, the policy process, and theory, while primarily focusing on helping students recognize the many ways that policy affects their lives and the lives of their clients and communities. Connecting description, theoretical analysis, and advocacy, this new text challenges readers to examine the development, consequences, and future implications of core policies. Students will come away with a newfound understanding of how to use the political process to address social justice issues and enact meaningful policy change.

 
1. Social Work A Value-Based Profession in Historical Context
Policy Practice and Me: Values, Ethics, and History of Social Work

 
A Brief History of US Social Welfare Policy

 
 
2. The Making of Race and Structural Oppression in the United States
Oppression

 
Social Construction of Race and Racism

 
US History, Race, Ethnicity, Racism, and Oppression

 
Policies to Address Racial Discrimination

 
 
3. How Policy is Created and Influenced
The Policy Process

 
Current Structure of US Government

 
Political Parties and Ideologies

 
Intervention Methods: How to Engage with the Policy Process

 
 
4. Practical Theories for Understanding and Analyzing Policy
Background on Vaccines

 
Policy Analysis Theories

 
Interest Group Politics

 
Using Frameworks for Analysis

 
Application of Theories

 
 
5. Environmental Policy
The History and Social Construction of US Environmental Policy

 
Current Environmental Policies

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
6. Family Policy
History and Social Construction of US Family Policy

 
Current Family Policy

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
7. Child Welfare Policy
History and Social Construction of US Child Welfare Policy

 
The Modern Child Welfare System

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
8. Early Childhood Education and Care Policy
History and Social Construction of US Early Childhood Education and Care

 
Current Child Care and Early Education Policies

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
9. Education Policy, Kindergarten Through High School
History and Social Construction of US Education

 
Current Education Policy

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
10. Higher Education Policy
History and Social Construction of US Higher Education

 
Current Higher Education Policies

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
11. Work and Employment Policy
History and Social Construction of US Work and Employment

 
Current Work and Employment Policies

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
12. Policy for Older Adults
History and Social Construction of US Policy for Older Adults

 
Current Policies for Older Adults

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
13. Health Policy
History and Social Construction of US Health Care

 
Current Health Policy

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
14. Disability Policy
History and Social Construction of US Disability Policy

 
Current Disability Policies

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
15. Criminal Legal Policy
History and Social Construction of US Criminal Legal Policy

 
Current Criminal Legal Policies

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
16. Housing and Homelessness Policy
History and Social Construction of US Homelessness

 
History and Social Construction of US Housing

 
Current Housing and Homelessness Policy

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 
 
17. Immigration Policy
History and Social Construction of US Immigration Policy

 
Current Immigration Policies

 
Policy Informed by Alternative Lenses

 
Opportunities for Advocacy

 

The authors of the book have done a wonderful job. As those who acknowledge white privilege, the work is a testimony to intellectual honesty and an attempt to present the importance of policy in the social work arena. It further seeks to remind a new generation about the place of injustice as the cause of suffering.

Ezekiel Ette
Delaware State University
Draft Chapter Review

Any text attempting to cover the history and current state of social policy in the United States is faced with the Herculean task of balancing depth with breadth, and historical context with accessibility. This textbook provides a clear, comprehensible, organized approach to each of the major areas of social policy relevant to the field of social work. Students of both micro and macro inclinations will be able to trace the development of policy and how policy plays out at all systems levels. The historical context does not shy away from an honest accounting of the social work profession's role in creating and perpetuating various forms of oppression and structural racism. Additionally, the impact of oppression and structural racism is not "whitewashed", as it has been in other texts on the history of social welfare and social policy.

Jenifer Norton
Moravian University
Draft Chapter Review

This text involves a critical history of the interdependency of social constructionism and social welfare policy from the pluralistic viewpoints of marginalized populations. It makes a definitive argument for viewing historically systemic oppression as a socially constructed racial division, and not just an economic strategy to create and preserve power for White people. It helps the reader to understand how and why isms target cultures of color, gender, and difference, especially because these groups are historically defenseless and congenial. Finally, it demonstrates how the everyday practice of social work can become a catalyst for change when social workers advocate for social justice.

Cassandra Scott
Alabama A&M University
Draft Chapter Review
Key features

NEW TO THIS EDITION: 

  • A new chapter on the making of race and structural oppression in the United States
  • Updated alignment with the 2022 Council on Social Work Education EPAS
  • Completely updated references, data, and statistics to reflect the many changes in law and policy since the first edition

KEY FEATURES:

  • Vignettes in each chapter allow instructors and students to see how policies might play out in situated social work practice.
  • Exercises for reflection, discussion, and action guide students through the application of key concepts and challenge them to take action, connecting the ideas in the book to their practice.
  • Thorough descriptions of U.S. policy context with examples provide foundational information for students who may feel intimidated by the material with comprehensive information to satisfy more experienced students.
  • A solid historical foundation for each substantive area helps students understand the context for current policies and how we arrived at them.
  • While most texts focus on either theoretical analysis or description, a key innovation of this new text is combining the two.

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