American Social Welfare Policy

Howard Karger is professor, Hawai’i Pacific University, School of Social Work.  David Stoesz is professor, Flinders University/Carnegie Mellon University—Australia.  Howard and David have been friends and colleagues for more than three decades. In addition to eight editions of American Social Welfare Policy, they have coauthored three other books.

• Brief TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I. AMERICAN SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY Social Policy and the American Welfare StateA Brief History of the American Social Welfare StateSocial Welfare Policy ResearchDiscrimination in American SocietyPoverty in AmericaPART II. THE VOLUNTARY AND FOR-PROFIT SECTORS The Voluntary Sector TodayPrivatization and Human Service CorporationsPART III. THE GOVERNMENT SECTOR The Making of Governmental PolicyTax Policy and Income DistributionSocial Insurance ProgramsPublic Assistance ProgramsThe American Health Care SystemMental Health and Substance Abuse PolicyCriminal JusticeChild Welfare PolicyHousing PoliciesThe Politics of Food Policy and Rural LifePART IV. THE AMERICAN WELFARE STATE IN PERSPECTIVE The American Welfare State in International PerspectiveDETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I. AMERICAN SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY Social Policy and the American Welfare State Definitions of Social Welfare PolicySocial Problems and Social Welfare PolicySocial Work and Social PolicyValues, Ideology, and Social Welfare PolicyThe Political Economy of American Social WelfareThe U.S. Economic Continuum Keynesian EconomicsConservative or Free Market EconomicsThe Global Financial Crisis (GFC) • Democratic SocialismThe U.S. Political Continuum Liberalism and Left-of-Center MovementsClassical Conservatives and the Far RightThe Welfare Philosophers and the Neoconservative Think TanksConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesA Brief History of the American Social Welfare State Early Antecedents of Welfare Statism Judeo-Christian Doctrine and Social WelfareThe English Poor LawsThe Poor in Colonial AmericaSocial Welfare in the Civil War EraIndustrialization and the Voluntary Sector Social DarwinismReligion and Social WelfareCharity Organization SocietiesSettlement HousesAfrican American AssociationsThe Social Casework AgencyThe Progressive MovementThe Great Depression and the Modern Welfare StateThe Post-World War II Welfare StateThe Languishing Social Welfare StateConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesSocial Welfare Policy Research A Proposed Model for Policy Analysis Historical Background of the PolicyProblems That Necessitate the PolicyPolicy DescriptionPolicy AnalysisResearching and Analyzing a Social Policy Assignment Social Policy Research and the InternetConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesDiscrimination in American Society DiscriminationRacismThe Minority Middle ClassAfrican Americans The Demography of African AmericansAfrican Americans in PovertyThe “Diswelfare” of African AmericansHispanic Americans Hispanic Poverty and IncomeDiversity in the Hispanic PopulationAmerican IndiansAsian AmericansImmigrants and Immigration Immigration-Based Discrimination in EuropeWomen and Society Violence and SexismThe Feminization of PovertyMyths around Women and WorkIncome and Job Disparities between Men and WomenDay Care: A Barrier to Female EmploymentOther Obstacles Faced by Working WomenAbortion and Women’s RightsGender Discrimination and Violence in an International ContextGays and Lesbians: Two Populations at Risk Gay RightsGays and Lesbians in the MilitaryGay and Lesbian Family LifeAIDS and the Gay CommunityAgeism Elderly Poverty and Social ProgramsHealth Care and the ElderlyPeople with DisabilitiesLegal Attempts to Remedy Discrimination Desegregation and the Civil Rights MovementAffirmative ActionConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesPoverty in America Theories on Poverty Culture of PovertyEugenics and PovertyThe Progressive Understanding of PovertyWho Makes Up the Poor?Measuring Poverty Measuring the Depth of PovertyFamilies and Poverty Child Support EnforcementChildren in PovertyPoverty and the ElderlyThe Rural PoorWork and Poverty A Profile of the Working PoorWhy Are There Working Poor?Underemployment and UnemploymentDual Labor MarketsWages and PovertyStrategies Developed to Combat Poverty IDAsThree Approaches to Combat PovertyAmerica’s Fringe Economy The Unbanked and the Functionally PoorCredit and the PoorTransportation in the Fringe EconomyWorld PovertyConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesPART II. THE VOLUNTARY AND FOR-PROFIT SECTORS The Voluntary Sector Today Traditional ProvidersThe Independent SectorAdvancing Social Justice The United WayElite PhilanthropyThe Future of the Voluntary Sector CommercializationFaith-Based Social ServicesSocial EntrepreneurshipIssues Facing the Voluntary SectorConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesPrivatization and Human Service Corporations Privatization Issues CommercializationPreferential SelectionDual Levels of CareCost-EffectivenessOligopolizationThe Challenge of PrivatizationUnions and the Private SectorSocial Contributions of BusinessCorporate Influence on Social Welfare PolicyThe Future of Corporate Involvement in Social WelfareHuman Service CorporationsConsolidation and Growth in New HumanService Markets Nursing HomesHospital ManagementHealth Maintenance OrganizationsChild Care 159Home Health CareCorrectionsPublic WelfarePrivate Practice The Future of Private PracticeConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesPART III. THE GOVERNMENT SECTOR The Making of Governmental Policy Technical Aspects of the Policy ProcessA Critical Analysis of the Policy ProcessThe Policy Process Social StratificationFormulationLegislationThe Fiscal Cliff and SequestrationImplementationEvaluationMarginalizationSocial Work and Advocacy Organizations Advocacy Organizations and the New Policy InstitutesPolitical PracticeConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesTax Policy and Income Distribution History of U.S. Tax PolicyFederal TaxesTaxes, Spending, and the DebtTax Policy and Special InterestsIncome DistributionState Tax Policy and the PoorThe Efficiency of Tax Policy in Reducing Poverty Tax Expenditures as AntiPoverty PolicyThe Anti-Tax MovementThe Debate over Economic InequalityConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesSocial Insurance Programs Definition of Social InsuranceThe Background of Social InsuranceThe Financial Organization of Social InsuranceKey Social Insurance Programs OASDIUnemployment CompensationWorkers’ CompensationThe Social Security Dilemma Arguments against the Current Social Security SystemArguments for the Current Social Security SystemSocial Security in TroubleThe Long-Term Prospects for Social SecurityMedicare (Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance)Lingering Problems in the Social Security SystemReforming Social Security Privatizing Social SecurityPension Systems in Selected Industrialized Countries Canada’s Retirement Income SystemRetirement in the United KingdomThe Chilean Experiment in Privatizing Social SecurityGermany’s Social Security SystemThe Greek Pension SystemThe Australian Retirement SystemConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesPublic Assistance Programs Assumptions and Myths about Public AssistanceAid to Families with Dependent Children The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996Has the PRWORA Worked • Teenage PregnancySupplemental Security Income (SSI) Problems in SSIGeneral AssistanceTrends and Issues in Public Assistance The Transformation of Welfare Policy into Labor PolicyWelfare to Work (Workfare)Welfare BehaviorismConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesThe American Health Care System The UninsuredThe Organization of Medical ServicesMajor Public Health Programs: Medicare, Medicaid, and S-CHIP 250 MedicareMedicaidThe Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)The Health Care Crisis Overview of U.S. Health Care ExpendituresExplaining the High Cost of U.S. Health Care Hospital CostsPhysicians’ SalariesThe Pharmaceutical IndustryCutting Health Care Costs Managed CareThe UnderinsuredGun Violence and Health Care Policy The Debate around Gun ControlWhat Can Be DoneU.S. Health Care in International Perspective Comparative Analysis: Health Care in Canada, the United Kingdom, and AustraliaReforming U.S. Health Care National Health ServiceNational Health InsuranceIncremental ReformThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148)ConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesMental Health and Substance Abuse Policy Mental Health ReformThe Community Mental Health Centers ActsDeinstitutionalizationThe Advent of Psychotropic MedicationThe Psychopharmacological ScandalChildren’s Mental HealthMental Health and Substance Abuse FundingParity for Mental Health CarePost-Traumatic Stress DisorderSubstance Abuse Alcohol AbuseDrug AbuseConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesCriminal Justice History of U.S. Criminal JusticeThe Criminal Justice SystemJuvenile JusticeThe New Jim CrowThe War on DrugsThe Underclass and “Moral Poverty”The Prison Industrial ComplexLegalization of DrugsPolice ViolenceConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesChild Welfare Policy History of U.S. Child Welfare PolicyProtective Services for ChildrenFoster Care for ChildrenAdoptionHead StartEmerging Issues in Child Welfare Day CareMaternal and Child HealthTeen PregnancyConclusionDiscussion QuestionsNotesHousing Policies Overview of Housing LegislationThe Federal Government and Low-Income Housing ProgramsIssues in Housing Policy Trends in U.S. HousingProblems in Home OwnershipHomeownership and the Subprime Mortgage CrisisThe Downside of HomeownershipProblems in Finding Affordable Rental HousingGentrificationOvercrowded and Deficient HousingOther Factors Affecting HousingHomelessness Characteristics of the Homeless Population