
Fragile Families, Fragile Solutions
A History of Supportive Services for Families in Poverty
Robert Halpern(Author)
Columbia University Press
Will be published approx. on 25. September 1998
Book
Paperback/Softback
312 pages
978-0-231-10667-2 (ISBN)
Description
How has America's social welfare network benefited families living in poverty? In what ways has it failed to provide for their needs? The system of social welfare in the United States has been in place for most of this century-and although it has had lasting impact on the lives of many people in need, it is far from perfect in its handling of the nation's poor. Fragile Families, Fragile Solutions presents a historical perspective on one of the central components of the U.S. social welfare network-family services-and provides a unique look at the advances this service network has achieved, problems it has confronted, and where it is likely to go in the future. Beginning with an exploration of the nineteenth-century roots of family services and the emergence of family casework at the beginning of this century, Halpern ranges through the 1920s and 1930* charting the influence of psychoanalytic theory in social service work and government responses to the Depression. He surveys the following two decades, when policymakers attempted to respond to changing inner-city populations. An extended section focuses on the 1960* a critical reform period.
Covering a wide spectrum of contemporary issues in policy and organization, as well as escalating crises in such areas as child welfare, Halpern brings readers up to date on this complex subject. Offering policy recommendations for the future, Halpern inspires social workers and policymakers alike with a symbolic goal of constructing a more positive vision of the potential of social services, and a pragmatic objective of designing an efficient, effective family services network to care for Americans in greatest need of support.
Covering a wide spectrum of contemporary issues in policy and organization, as well as escalating crises in such areas as child welfare, Halpern brings readers up to date on this complex subject. Offering policy recommendations for the future, Halpern inspires social workers and policymakers alike with a symbolic goal of constructing a more positive vision of the potential of social services, and a pragmatic objective of designing an efficient, effective family services network to care for Americans in greatest need of support.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Weight
425 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-10667-2 (9780231106672)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Robert Halpern
Fragile Families, Fragile Solutions
A History of Supportive Services for Families in Poverty
Book
09/1998
Columbia University Press
€89.76
Article exhausted; check different version
Person
Robert Halpern is professor at the Erikson Institute for Advanced Study in Child Development at Loyola University, Chicago.
Content
Introduction The Emergence of Supportive Social Services Formative Strands: Settlements, Casework, and Mothers' Aid Trial by Fire The Quiet Before the Next Storm Service Reform as a War on Poverty Developments in Aid to Families with Dependent Children The 1970s: Struggle for Renewal in a Shifting Environment Retrenchment Without Renewal New Paradigms, Old Problems Where to From Here?