Social Policy

Using a case example of how Pennsylvania Blue Shield trained, hired, and retained several hundred welfare recipients on its work force, this book offers a success story and a broad discussion of welfare reform, public policy, and corporate social responsibility. It also offers a practical explanation of the specific steps needed to establish such a program, including corporate tax incentives, business and government collaborations, and the special needs of welfare recipients. The book demonstrates that it is possible for corporate America to combine bottom-line goals with socially responsible goals.

Immigration occurs in the wealthy nations of the global north and the not-so-rich countries of the global south; it involves individuals who arrive with substantial human capital and those with limited human capital. Immigration has far-reaching implications for a nation's economy, public policy, social and health services and culture. While human migration is as old as humankind itself, factors such as ease of transportation, globalization of the world market, changing political borders and international immigration policies, growing forced migration populations, and the challenge of undocumented immigrants, suggest that immigration worldwide is a phenomenon toward which the social sciences across the globe must pay close attention. This book explores current patterns and policies of immigration in 25 countries across the globe and the European and African Unions, with analyses of implications for the countries, immigrant populations, and global perspectives. It presents a theoretical model for the study of immigration and is an in-depth study of the phases, stages, and processes involved in immigration and integration. This comprehensive and rigorous analysis of a global phenomenon is derived from existing empirical research and theories undergirding the research. The volume is designed to explore how country conditions, policies, values, politics, and attitudes influence the process of immigration and subsequently affect immigrants, migration, and the country itself. Trends and comparative concepts are highlighted in the analysis, which also discusses policy responses in different countries. Thus, this book is at once a source book and an applied model of immigration studies.

Developmental social work, which is also known as the social development approach to social work, emphasizes the role of social investment in professional practice. These investments meet the material needs of social work’s clients and facilitate their full integration into the social and economic life of the community. Developmental social workers believe that client strengths and capabilities need to be augmented with public resources and services if those served by the profession are to live productive and fulfilling lives. Although developmental social work is inspired by international innovations, particularly in the developing countries, the book shows that it also has relevance to the United States and other Western nations. It also contends that developmental social work practice is not confined to community organization or other macro-practice interventions, and that developmental ideas can be implemented in mainstream fields of social work practice such as child welfare, mental health, aging, social assistance and correctional social work. The editors and contributors to this book (most of whom are associated with the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley) offer a highly original exposition of developmental social work theory and practice. They draw widely on innovative examples from the United States and other countries to show how developmental ideas can be implemented in everyday social work practice.