The Reluctant Welfare State: American Social Welfare Policies--past, Present, and Future

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Brooks/Cole/Thomson Learning, 2001 - Public welfare - 475 pages
Much more than a historical look at America's social welfare system, this acclaimed book offers insights into our ambivalent social welfare policy and its impact on specific out-groups-African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, women, and others-that are often overlooked in other texts. In addition to comprehensive coverage of the historical development of the welfare system, author Bruce S. Jansson also analyzes its limits, strengths, and policies...how its evolution and structure compare with systems in other countries...and the effects of policy changes on the future of the social work profession. As they explore Jannson's highly respected text, your students will see how understanding historical events can be powerfully relevant to the study of current social welfare policy and the profession of social work. The book analyzes the evolution of the American welfare state from colonial times to present and places social policy in its political, cultural, and societal context. Using social policy as a catalyst, Jansson invites students to think critically about issues, developments, and policies in prior eras and in contemporary society. He encourages students to become social reformers and to develop their own policy identities.

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Contents

Conspicuous by Their Policy Reforms for Women and Children 137
2
A Reluctant Welfare State
3
Policy Eras in U S History
10
Copyright

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About the author (2001)

Bruce S. Jansson (MA, University of Chicago and Harvard University; PhD, University of Chicago) is Professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Southern California (USC). He joined the USC faculty in 1973 after working in Michigan as a community organizer and planner for tenant rights. His scholarly interests focus on advancing case advocacy and policy advocacy in social work, as well as examining the history and practice of social welfare policy. He also has served as the Moses Distinguished Research Professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Jansson is probably most well-known for the book THE SIXTEEN TRILLION DOLLAR MISTAKE: HOW THE U.S. BUNGLED ITS NATIONAL PRIORITIES FROM THE NEW DEAL TO THE PRESENT (2001). The author of several other titles, Jansson is currently working on two books. One discusses how social workers and other staff in the health and human services can link case and policy advocacy in different sectors including mental health, child welfare, corrections, education, and civil rights. The other analyzes why the United States has not significantly reduced health disparities in the last five decades, and whether the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 will achieve this result.

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