Böcker utgivna av Policy Press

This textbook provides a straightforward introduction to the concept of agency and how it can usefully inform the practice of social welfare. Demonstrating a model of achievable change, it traces the origins of agency and explores the contributions of key thinkers from sociological and social policy perspectives.

Published in association with the Community Development Foundation (CDF)Making spaces for community development offers an account of the key changes to the context and practice of community development since the 1970s, told through the experiences and insights of a group of highly experienced practitioners.

This report is the first evaluation of the structural means by which the meaning of partnership is being operationalised at local level, through the development of local compacts. Using detailed case studies of the development of compacts, the report highlights some of the major barriers to, and key lessons for, effective partnership working

The report presents the conclusions of a major research programme on strategic, city-wide urban regeneration. Building on case studies in Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh, it proposes an agenda of organisational innovation for the 21st century. Innovations include a long-term process of neighbourhood visioning as a right of all citizens.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. This book explores the lived realities of people with disabilities from across the developing world and examines how the coping strategies of individuals and families emerge in different contexts.

This report demonstrates the urgent need to re-evaluate our understanding of poverty and home ownership. Drawing on data from the Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey of Britain, it presents a detailed picture of the realities of home ownership at the margins, providing evidence in support of radical policy for sustainable home ownership.

This original and timely text is the first published research from the UK to address the neglected topic of the increasing (and largely enforced) settlement of Gypsies and Travellers in conventional housing. It highlights the complex and emergent tensions and dynamics inherent when policy and popular discourse combine to frame ethnic populations within a narrative of movement. The authors have extensive knowledge of the communities and experience as policy practitioners and researchers and consider the changing culture and dynamics experienced by ethnic Gypsies and Travellers. They explore the gendered social, health and economic impacts of settlement and demonstrate the tenacity of cultural formations and their adaptability in the face of policy-driven constraints that are antithetical to traditional lifestyles. The groundbreaking book is essential reading for policy makers; professionals and practitioners working with housed Gypsies and Travellers. It will also be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, social policy and housing specialists and anybody interested in the experiences and responses of marginalized communities in urban and rural settings. Royalties for this book are to be divided equally between the Gypsy Council and Travellers Aid Trust.

This report draws together the findings of a two-year study of developments in the provision of visible policing in England and Wales, combining an overview of national developments with a detailed analysis of six focused case studies.

This report charts the changing role and nature of geographical mobility in organisational strategies and career development. It explores the work and family life experiences of employees and partners who have faced job-related geographical mobility.

Children, family and the state examines different theories of childhood, children's rights and the relationship between children, parents and the state.

Estates of multi-storey housing present some of the most intractable problems for urban policy. Shelter is not enough is an up-to-date evaluation of the issues. Drawing on an analysis of past practice, a 'model framework' is defined which can help to create successful approaches for the regeneration of multi-storey housing.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of assessment and intervention planning with young people who offend .

This report presents an evaluation of a programme to integrate drug and alcohol treatment with mental health services, education, training and employment support. It provides an invaluable insight into the challenges and difficulties of integrating services in this way and highlights important lessons for central and regional government.

A timely consideration of the development and content of the Conservatives' approaches to social policy and how they inform the Coalition's policies.

Written in an accessible style, this book highlights the distinctive aspects of social work policy and practice in Northern Ireland.It will be essential reading for academics and students of social work and social policy in Northern Ireland and a valuable resource for practitioners and policy makers.

This book examines the meanings of gender that underpin policies in the Scandinavian welfare states, historically and today, and raises the question whether the hallmark of the Scandinavian welfare model is a special combination of gender equality and gender differentiation.

Local urban high streets have the potential to meet policy aspirations with regard to sustainability and social inclusion, yet they have frequently been neglected. Drawing on case-studies in three different locations, this report provides a wealth of findings produced from a variety of sources. A free pdf is available at www.jrf.org.uk

This book provides a rigorous and challenging review of recent research in the realms of communication and cultural diversity. Focusing on health communication interventions concerning service users who may lack fluency in English, it shows that meeting the needs of all health service users depends on both structures and processes of communication.

New Labour has concentrated many of its social policy initiatives in reinvigorating the family, community and work. But just how 'new' are the ideas driving policy and practice? This book shows how New Labour has drawn on the ideas and premises of functionalism, which dominated British and American sociological thought from the 1940s to the 1960s.

This engaging and accessible text offers a concise overview of social work which will appeal to anyone needing a quick introduction to social work as a discipline. It contains essential information for all prospective and new social work students, the theories and policy and practice frameworks as well as current issues facing social work today. Illustrated with many examples from practice, it covers social work with many service user groups including children and families, adults, older people, disabled people and people with mental health problems as well as specialist areas of practice.

As the prospect of a legal right to advocacy inches closer, so the need to scrutinise its key values and practices becomes urgent. Although widely acclaimed as a 'good thing', there is little agreement as to how advocacy should be implemented, funded or evaluated. This book offers the first comprehensive analysis of the benefits of advocacy.

There is a growing recognition that people over the age of fifty experience discrimination in the labour market. This ground-breaking report provides new evidence that ageism and discrimination are also having devastating effects on the lives of people as young as forty, with a cost to the economy of up to GBP31 billion per year.

With the growth in the use of restorative justice and restorative approaches, this book takes an in-depth look at their applicability in the environment of children's residential care homes.

Mixing policy discussion and empirical work by leading researchers in the field, "Changing local governance, changing citizens" aims to explain what debates about local governance mean for local people.

Written by leading academics in the field of local governance, this book provides a broad framework in which to analyse the impact of the financial crisis on public services and local government.

This highly practical book, written by experienced practitioners and academics, is a core text about the practice of residential childcare, where workers and children share a common lifespace.

This book explores the economic, religious, political and personal forces that led to some 80,000 British children being sent to Canada between 1867 and 1915 and provides a vivid look at one aspect of the history of child welfare practices.

There has been considerable recent policy debate and community concern on street sex work in local neighbourhoods. This report examines how residential areas characterised as areas of female street sex work are shared by different sections of the community and considers community and policy responses. Free pdf version available at www.jrf.org.uk

This review of research and development initiatives intended to help disabled people get (or stay in) work, takes views of disabled people as a yardstick by which to assess good practice. It pinpoints gaps in existing research, and highlights the varying requirements of disabled people, employers and service providers as users of research.

This book makes an original contribution to current debates around welfare reform through a qualitative investigation of the opinions and experiences of welfare users. Competing philosophical, political and academic perspectives on citizenship and welfare are also analysed and discussed, making this book important reading for students and teachers.