Karen R. Fisher – författare

Without access to a public social welfare system in parts of China, some families face invidious decisions about the lives of their children with disabilities. In other places, children with disabilities can now expect to participate in their families and communities with the same aspirations as other children. Understanding how Chinese policy has changed in the places that have addressed these stark situations is vital for the rights of the children and their families who still struggle to find the support they need.

This book examines family experiences of child disability policy in China, and is the first to compile research on this area. It applies a child disability rights framework in four domains – care and protection, economic security, development and participation – to investigate families’ experiences of the effectiveness of support to fulfil their children’s rights. Questioning how families experience the interrelationships between these rights, it also considers what the further implications of the policy are. It includes vivid case studies of families’ experiences, and combines these with national data to draw out the likely future policy directions to which the Chinese government has said it is committed.

Bringing together a wealth of statistical and qualitative data on children with disabilities, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese social welfare, social policy, society and children''s studies, as well as policy-makers and NGOs alike.

Without access to a public social welfare system in parts of China, some families face invidious decisions about the lives of their children with disabilities. In other places, children with disabilities can now expect to participate in their families and communities with the same aspirations as other children. Understanding how Chinese policy has changed in the places that have addressed these stark situations is vital for the rights of the children and their families who still struggle to find the support they need.

This book examines family experiences of child disability policy in China, and is the first to compile research on this area. It applies a child disability rights framework in four domains – care and protection, economic security, development and participation – to investigate families’ experiences of the effectiveness of support to fulfil their children’s rights. Questioning how families experience the interrelationships between these rights, it also considers what the further implications of the policy are. It includes vivid case studies of families’ experiences, and combines these with national data to draw out the likely future policy directions to which the Chinese government has said it is committed.

Bringing together a wealth of statistical and qualitative data on children with disabilities, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese social welfare, social policy, society and children''s studies, as well as policy-makers and NGOs alike.

Expansive in scope, the Handbook illustrates how language, law and concepts about human rights impact the way that disability policy is framed and implemented. Chapters use the lenses of human rights, welfare, health and economic inclusion to address contemporary policy questions such as globalization and technology. Grounded in lived experiences, the Handbook interweaves personal narratives from people with disabilities which provide important insights into how policy impacts opportunity and point to future possibilities for the influence of human rights on policy change. As narrative author Karla Garcia Luiz reflects, ‘We often share situations that make us feel lonely, exhausted, insecure, questioning ourselves.... When we share, we realize that these feelings are collective and, [in]naming them we re-signify them and, thus, we strengthen ourselves for political action’.

Informed by international, comparative experiences, this Handbook will be an engaging and perceptive resource for students and scholars of sociology and social policy, health and welfare studies and disability policy. With diverse examples from across the Global North and South, it will also appeal to people working in social policy who are looking to develop and reform policies to be more inclusive, accessible and progressive towards people with disabilities.