Models For Analysis Of Social Policy

This book traces the historical development of social policy analysis, emphasizing the factors that promoted its development, the need for social policy analysis, and the fields of application for social policy analysis.

From formulation to implementation, an approach to the analysis of social policy through the lens of research Analyzing Social Policy prepares professionals and students to make better informed decisions related to identifying and understanding the intricacies and potential impact of social policymaking and enactment on their organization as well as their individual responsibilities, goals, and objectives. Authors Mary Katherine O'Connor and F. Ellen Netting thoroughly examine various approaches to the analysis of social policies and how these approaches provide the knowledge, multiple perspectives, and other resources to understand and grasp the nuances of social policy in all its complexity. Comprehensive and based on research, Analyzing Social Policy explores: An overview of the practice of social policy analysis The role of research in guiding policy analysis The idea of policy analyses as research Themes, assumptions, and major theories that undergird rational models of policy analysis Nonrational themes, assumptions, and major theories informing nontraditional interpretive and critical approaches to policy analysis Strategies for applying selected models and approaches when engaging in policy analysis as research Providing practitioners and students with a set of tools that can be used to enhance an understanding of what constitutes policy as well as acceptable standards for critical analysis of policy, this resource enables policy advocates—regardless of their level—to be political, strategic, and critical in their work.

This brief resource sets out a rights-based framework for policy analysis that allows social workers to enhance their long-term vision as well as their current practice. It introduces the emerging P.A.N.E. (Participation, Accountability, Non-discrimination, Equity) model for evaluating social policy, comparing it with the traditional needs-based charity model in terms of not only effectiveness and efficiency but also inclusion and justice. Recognized standards for human rights are used to identify values crucial to informing policy goals. Exercises, key documents, and an extended example illustrate both the processes of creating empowering social policy and its best and most meaningful outcomes. Included in the coverage: Rights-based and needs-based approaches to social policy analysis. Regional and international human rights instruments. Grounding social policies in legal and institutional frameworks. Conceptualizing social issues from a human rights frame. Measuring progress on the realization of human rights. Rights-based analysis of maternity, paternity, and parental leaves in the United States. For social workers and social work researchers, A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy Analysis gives readers a modern platform for achieving the highest goals of the field. It also makes a worthwhile class text for social work programs. ​

This book reviews the uses and abuses of microsimulation models--large, complex models that produce estimates of the effects on program costs and who would gain and who would lose from proposed changes in government policies ranging from health care to welfare to taxes. Volume 1 is designed to guide future investment in modeling and analysis capability on the part of government agencies that produce policy estimates. It will inform congressional and executive decision makers about the strengths and weaknesses of models and estimates and will interest social scientists in the potential of microsimulation techniques for basic and applied research as well as policy uses. The book concludes that a "second revolution" is needed to improve the quality of microsimulation and other policy analysis models and the estimates they produce, with a special emphasis on systematic validation of models and communication of validation results to decision makers.

This popular and practical text explores the basics of social policy and program analysis, including how to design new programs or evaluate and improve upon existing ones. Highlights of the Fourth Edition Provides students with the criteria for judging the effectiveness of current programs, enabling them to apply what they've learned to improve existing programs or to create new ones. Features a model chapter that uses child welfare legislation to highlight methods of analysis and the results of the analysis, demonstrating for students the practical applications of theoretical concepts (Chapter 10). Outlines a method for analyzing personal social services generally provided by social workers, such as counseling and therapeutic, supportive assistance, as well as "hard benefits," such as food stamps, cash, or housing vouchers. What Reviewers Think: ""I found the text easy to follow...and practical in its identification of skills and information useful for practitioners in a variety of professional settings."" Carla M. Curtis, Ohio State University ""Social Policy and Social Programs provides a simple and concise model for analyzing social policies."" William E. Buffum, Barry University Don't Miss These Other Special Value Pack Option: Research Navigator(TM) "Research Navigator(TM)" can be a student's best friend when they're facing a large research project. Especially helpful with the toughest challenge--getting started--"Research Navigator(TM)" offers a comprehensive, step-by-step walk-through of the research process, along with access to some of the most respected source databases available. Access to "Research Navigator(TM)"--a $15 value--is FREE when packaged with a new Allyn & Bacon Social Work textbook! If this text did not come packaged with "Research Navigator(TM)," look for it in your bookstore or visit http: //www.researchnavigator.com today to purchase immediate access. Career Center Allyn & Bacon's "Career Center" offers registered students eight 30-minute sessions with a career specialist. This $25.00 retail value is FREE when packaged with any Social Work textbook. For more information visit www.ablongman.com/careercenter or contact your local Allyn & Bacon representative. Contact your local Allyn & Bacon representative and request a special packaging code to take advantage of these great offers.

The first edition of The Dynamics of Social Welfare Policy reinvented the standard social welfare policy text to speak to students in a vital new way. This second edition builds on its strengths, with a more accessible graphic design and a thorough update of the effects of recent political and legislative changes on social welfare programs. The book begins by discussing how social problems are constructed. After an analysis of social welfare policy, its purposes, and functions, a unique policy model bolsters the text's overarching progressive narrative. Through this model, students learn how five key social forces-ideology, politics, history, economics, and social movements-interact both to create and to change the social welfare system. By applying this model to five critical social welfare policy issues-income security, employment, housing, health, and food-the text demonstrates to students that every kind of social work practice embodies a social welfare policy. The model is also telling in identifying the triggers of social change and the effects of race, class, and gender. By applying the policy model to the latest developments in social welfare, the chapter-long case studies in this second edition equip students with knowledge about social welfare policy and the tools for comparative analysis. With this knowledge, students begin to understand that both the whole and the parts of the social welfare system affect what they actually do as social workers. Once they grasp this concept, they'll understand why it is so important to learn social welfare policy. The Dynamics of Social Welfare Policy 2E captures the fluidity and change inherent in social policy like no other textbook. Its approach remains the most invigorating, forward-thinking one available. Highlights from this edition include: * Revised data in text, charts, and graphs show how government policies are proving the points made throughout the chapters *Exhaustive statistics are included about every major social program's budget, benefits, and participants *Underlying policy model has been updated in response to the evolving political environment *Content and writing style are appropriate to both bachelor's- and master's-level programs *More graphics and attractive new two-color interior design make debates easier to grasp and the book easier to navigate Visit www.oup.com/us/dynamics for access to the instructor's manual and test bank.

Policy Analysis for Social Workers offers a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to understanding the process of policy development and analysis for effective advocacy. This user-friendly model helps students get excited about understanding policy as a product, a process, and as performance—a unique “3-P” approach to policy analysis as competing texts often just focus on one of these areas. Author Richard K Caputo efficiently teaches the purpose of policy and its relation to social work values, discusses the field of policy studies and the various kinds of analysis, and highlights the necessary criteria (effectiveness, efficiency, equity, political feasibility, social acceptability, administrative, and technical feasibility) for evaluating public policy.