Social work was a progressive profession at its founding, and social workers sought to transform ... more Social work was a progressive profession at its founding, and social workers sought to transform people’s lives through wide-ranging reforms and work with individuals and communities. Over time, social work has evolved into a more conservative profession. Social workers have perpetuated oppressive policies, structures, and practices that marginalize vulnerable populations. This paper revisits the history of our profession and presents a human rights approach toward justice in social work practice and education that is more in line with its roots and the intentions of its founders. This renewed approach requires the participation of communities and the full inclusion of client voices, creating an atmosphere supportive of human rights, different curricular methods of delivering human rights and justice content, and new skill development in courses and fieldwork. This paper demonstrates how a rights-based approach bridges the divide between macro and micro practice and permeates all pr...
weather events, will exacerbate the severity of the ‘hunger season’ afflicting many vulnerable So... more weather events, will exacerbate the severity of the ‘hunger season’ afflicting many vulnerable South Asian populations. Government and civil society responses to hunger will therefore need to build seasonality into their food security planning and programming (pp. 211–213). Chapter 21 (Kamara et al.) documents in detail the link between food import dependence and hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing information on the extent of different countries’ vulnerability to future price shocks. Finally, some chapters provide regional-scale documentation of how small-holders are adapting to food price volatility. Marambanyika (Ch. 22) describes how small farmers in Zimbabwe have improved household income and nutrition through vegetable production. Unfortunately, there are a number of weak entries in Global Food Insecurity. Some lack analytical depth and rigour, and others are poorly edited, with frequent spelling, grammatical and editing mistakes. The value of the book would have been enhanced by a more judicious selection of contributions. In addressing the global food crisis, we need both the kind of radical, paradigmatic thinking associated with food sovereignty as well as careful, detailed analyses of policy options. The challenge may be to get the two worlds to talk to one another.
A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy Analysis, 2016
In this chapter, social issues are recast from charity-based and needs-based approaches that have... more In this chapter, social issues are recast from charity-based and needs-based approaches that have dominated our thinking to understanding social issues based on human rights instruments. Rights-based framing reveals the roots of social issues and problems as interdependent and exposes the inequities within societies. Understanding social issues from this perspective calls for the synergistic efforts of diverse stakeholders including governments to resolve these issues. The use of basic international, regional, and national human rights instruments is reviewed as well as the international customary law, general comments, and mechanisms to monitor the implementation of human rights by the United Nations and the self-monitoring of countries. Using child marriage as an example, the chapter then illustrates how to apply the basic rights-based principles of participation, accountability, nondiscrimination, and transparency toward the understanding of social issues. A discussion of the challenges that arise follows as well as the types of analyses that may be used. The chapter ends with a suggested exercise of reframing homelessness in the United States from a human rights approach.
China’s recent abolition of its one-child policy has provided a major impetus to formally restruc... more China’s recent abolition of its one-child policy has provided a major impetus to formally restructure its Maternity Leave policy. Confronted by shifting socio-demographics and changing roles of government and employers as a result of a transition to a market economy, China needed to adjust the demographic structure of the country and address social expectations of family composition and caring. To motivate parents to have more than one child, Maternity Leave has been lengthened nation-wide and Paternity Leave introduced in some areas. This chapter reviews the evolution of modern Maternity Leave policy in China beginning in 1951 and traces how Maternity (and most recently Paternity) Leave policies have unfolded in response to changing political, socio-economic and demographic goals. In its earliest period, China’s leave policy was driven initially by socialist ideals, then largely by economic reasons and women’s rights from the 1980s into the new century. The most recent shift in family policy was primarily led by social research raising concerns about demographic changes and economic growth. The chapter ends with a discussion of how current changes may affect future directions.
China’s recent abolition of its one-child policy has provided a major impetus to formally restruc... more China’s recent abolition of its one-child policy has provided a major impetus to formally restructure its Maternity Leave policy. Confronted by shifting socio-demographics and changing roles of government and employers as a result of a transition to a market economy, China needed to adjust the demographic structure of the country and address social expectations of family composition and caring. To motivate parents to have more than one child, Maternity Leave has been lengthened nation-wide and Paternity Leave introduced in some areas. This chapter reviews the evolution of modern Maternity Leave policy in China beginning in 1951 and traces how Maternity (and most recently Paternity) Leave policies have unfolded in response to changing political, socio-economic and demographic goals. In its earliest period, China’s leave policy was driven initially by socialist ideals, then largely by economic reasons and women’s rights from the 1980s into the new century. The most recent shift in family policy was primarily led by social research raising concerns about demographic changes and economic growth. The chapter ends with a discussion of how current changes may affect future directions.
Using time series and survey data, this article explores public commitment to children and their ... more Using time series and survey data, this article explores public commitment to children and their families from 1980 through 2001 in 21 industrialized countries. Despite the shrinking child population in all countries and the slowed growth of the welfare state in most, the authors find that spending on children and families has increased in most countries. The authors conclude that the instruments and goals of the family benefit and service package have changed over time and that future public spending on children is increasingly likely to go toward helping families balance their responsibilities as workers and parents and toward enhancing the development of young children. Given the aging of populations, falling fertility rates, and changing econ-omies, there is growing concern regarding the ability of industrialized countries to afford the social benefits created during the last century. The challenges to financing social benefits come at a time when needs are expanding, particular...
A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy Analysis, 2016
One of the challenges in adopting a rights-based approach in social policy analysis is identifyin... more One of the challenges in adopting a rights-based approach in social policy analysis is identifying indicators that capture the ability of policies to promote or hinder the realization of human rights. Human rights indicators must account for outcome measures as called for by more conventional forms of policy analyses, but should also evaluate the process of developing and implementing policies. This chapter describes expectations for the implementation of different types of rights and the United Nations’ systems for monitoring and measuring human rights. It introduces a framework for monitoring progress on civil and political rights and economic, social, and cultural rights using structural, process, and outcome indicators. An example from child welfare is used to demonstrate how these indicators may be used. Sources for potential indicators are included. End of the chapter exercises offer opportunities to consider the use of rights-based indicators pertaining to long term care for older persons and the right to cannabis use for the general population.
A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy Analysis, 2016
This chapter takes a social issue and analyzes it from the rights-based framework presented earli... more This chapter takes a social issue and analyzes it from the rights-based framework presented earlier in the book. A case study is used to illustrate gaps in parental and family leave policies in the United States. Effects of current public policies are also discussed.
As defined by the International Federation of Social Workers, social work is a human rights profe... more As defined by the International Federation of Social Workers, social work is a human rights profession. This is explicitly stated in the professional codes of ethics in many nations. However, the most recent version of the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers continues to exclude any mention of human rights, fitting in with the history of U.S. exceptionalism on this subject. Social workers around the world have a long history of working for the achievement of human rights, including an explicit grounding of practice in human rights principles: human dignity, nondiscrimination, participation, transparency, and accountability. Utilizing these principles, U.S. social workers can move from the deficit model of the needs-based approach to competently contextualizing individual issues in their larger human rights framework. In this way, social work can address larger social problems and make way for the concurrent achievement of human rights. This article explains ...
The history of social work is deeply rooted in helping vulnerable populations improve their well-... more The history of social work is deeply rooted in helping vulnerable populations improve their well-being, and children have been at the forefront of these efforts since the inception of the profession. Health is long understood to be critical to children’s well-being. Social workers who are skilled in integrating different systems can play pivotal roles in engineering new and improving existing health-care infrastructures and can act as advocates for fusing health-service systems with other social infrastructures to optimize outcomes for children. This entry reviews trends in children’s health throughout the world, particularly in the United States. It describes the dramatic improvements in reducing infant mortality, child mortality and morbidity from many infectious diseases as well as accidental and environmental causes, and the unequal progress in realizing children’s health. The challenges that lie ahead that pose risks to children’s health are discussed, including the health inequities created among and within countries by social, economic, and political factors. An argument for a comprehensive, integrated, evidence-based, and cross-disciplinary approach to improve children’s future health is presented.
Social work was a progressive profession at its founding, and social workers sought to transform ... more Social work was a progressive profession at its founding, and social workers sought to transform people’s lives through wide-ranging reforms and work with individuals and communities. Over time, social work has evolved into a more conservative profession. Social workers have perpetuated oppressive policies, structures, and practices that marginalize vulnerable populations. This paper revisits the history of our profession and presents a human rights approach toward justice in social work practice and education that is more in line with its roots and the intentions of its founders. This renewed approach requires the participation of communities and the full inclusion of client voices, creating an atmosphere supportive of human rights, different curricular methods of delivering human rights and justice content, and new skill development in courses and fieldwork. This paper demonstrates how a rights-based approach bridges the divide between macro and micro practice and permeates all pr...
weather events, will exacerbate the severity of the ‘hunger season’ afflicting many vulnerable So... more weather events, will exacerbate the severity of the ‘hunger season’ afflicting many vulnerable South Asian populations. Government and civil society responses to hunger will therefore need to build seasonality into their food security planning and programming (pp. 211–213). Chapter 21 (Kamara et al.) documents in detail the link between food import dependence and hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing information on the extent of different countries’ vulnerability to future price shocks. Finally, some chapters provide regional-scale documentation of how small-holders are adapting to food price volatility. Marambanyika (Ch. 22) describes how small farmers in Zimbabwe have improved household income and nutrition through vegetable production. Unfortunately, there are a number of weak entries in Global Food Insecurity. Some lack analytical depth and rigour, and others are poorly edited, with frequent spelling, grammatical and editing mistakes. The value of the book would have been enhanced by a more judicious selection of contributions. In addressing the global food crisis, we need both the kind of radical, paradigmatic thinking associated with food sovereignty as well as careful, detailed analyses of policy options. The challenge may be to get the two worlds to talk to one another.
A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy Analysis, 2016
In this chapter, social issues are recast from charity-based and needs-based approaches that have... more In this chapter, social issues are recast from charity-based and needs-based approaches that have dominated our thinking to understanding social issues based on human rights instruments. Rights-based framing reveals the roots of social issues and problems as interdependent and exposes the inequities within societies. Understanding social issues from this perspective calls for the synergistic efforts of diverse stakeholders including governments to resolve these issues. The use of basic international, regional, and national human rights instruments is reviewed as well as the international customary law, general comments, and mechanisms to monitor the implementation of human rights by the United Nations and the self-monitoring of countries. Using child marriage as an example, the chapter then illustrates how to apply the basic rights-based principles of participation, accountability, nondiscrimination, and transparency toward the understanding of social issues. A discussion of the challenges that arise follows as well as the types of analyses that may be used. The chapter ends with a suggested exercise of reframing homelessness in the United States from a human rights approach.
China’s recent abolition of its one-child policy has provided a major impetus to formally restruc... more China’s recent abolition of its one-child policy has provided a major impetus to formally restructure its Maternity Leave policy. Confronted by shifting socio-demographics and changing roles of government and employers as a result of a transition to a market economy, China needed to adjust the demographic structure of the country and address social expectations of family composition and caring. To motivate parents to have more than one child, Maternity Leave has been lengthened nation-wide and Paternity Leave introduced in some areas. This chapter reviews the evolution of modern Maternity Leave policy in China beginning in 1951 and traces how Maternity (and most recently Paternity) Leave policies have unfolded in response to changing political, socio-economic and demographic goals. In its earliest period, China’s leave policy was driven initially by socialist ideals, then largely by economic reasons and women’s rights from the 1980s into the new century. The most recent shift in family policy was primarily led by social research raising concerns about demographic changes and economic growth. The chapter ends with a discussion of how current changes may affect future directions.
China’s recent abolition of its one-child policy has provided a major impetus to formally restruc... more China’s recent abolition of its one-child policy has provided a major impetus to formally restructure its Maternity Leave policy. Confronted by shifting socio-demographics and changing roles of government and employers as a result of a transition to a market economy, China needed to adjust the demographic structure of the country and address social expectations of family composition and caring. To motivate parents to have more than one child, Maternity Leave has been lengthened nation-wide and Paternity Leave introduced in some areas. This chapter reviews the evolution of modern Maternity Leave policy in China beginning in 1951 and traces how Maternity (and most recently Paternity) Leave policies have unfolded in response to changing political, socio-economic and demographic goals. In its earliest period, China’s leave policy was driven initially by socialist ideals, then largely by economic reasons and women’s rights from the 1980s into the new century. The most recent shift in family policy was primarily led by social research raising concerns about demographic changes and economic growth. The chapter ends with a discussion of how current changes may affect future directions.
Using time series and survey data, this article explores public commitment to children and their ... more Using time series and survey data, this article explores public commitment to children and their families from 1980 through 2001 in 21 industrialized countries. Despite the shrinking child population in all countries and the slowed growth of the welfare state in most, the authors find that spending on children and families has increased in most countries. The authors conclude that the instruments and goals of the family benefit and service package have changed over time and that future public spending on children is increasingly likely to go toward helping families balance their responsibilities as workers and parents and toward enhancing the development of young children. Given the aging of populations, falling fertility rates, and changing econ-omies, there is growing concern regarding the ability of industrialized countries to afford the social benefits created during the last century. The challenges to financing social benefits come at a time when needs are expanding, particular...
A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy Analysis, 2016
One of the challenges in adopting a rights-based approach in social policy analysis is identifyin... more One of the challenges in adopting a rights-based approach in social policy analysis is identifying indicators that capture the ability of policies to promote or hinder the realization of human rights. Human rights indicators must account for outcome measures as called for by more conventional forms of policy analyses, but should also evaluate the process of developing and implementing policies. This chapter describes expectations for the implementation of different types of rights and the United Nations’ systems for monitoring and measuring human rights. It introduces a framework for monitoring progress on civil and political rights and economic, social, and cultural rights using structural, process, and outcome indicators. An example from child welfare is used to demonstrate how these indicators may be used. Sources for potential indicators are included. End of the chapter exercises offer opportunities to consider the use of rights-based indicators pertaining to long term care for older persons and the right to cannabis use for the general population.
A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy Analysis, 2016
This chapter takes a social issue and analyzes it from the rights-based framework presented earli... more This chapter takes a social issue and analyzes it from the rights-based framework presented earlier in the book. A case study is used to illustrate gaps in parental and family leave policies in the United States. Effects of current public policies are also discussed.
As defined by the International Federation of Social Workers, social work is a human rights profe... more As defined by the International Federation of Social Workers, social work is a human rights profession. This is explicitly stated in the professional codes of ethics in many nations. However, the most recent version of the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers continues to exclude any mention of human rights, fitting in with the history of U.S. exceptionalism on this subject. Social workers around the world have a long history of working for the achievement of human rights, including an explicit grounding of practice in human rights principles: human dignity, nondiscrimination, participation, transparency, and accountability. Utilizing these principles, U.S. social workers can move from the deficit model of the needs-based approach to competently contextualizing individual issues in their larger human rights framework. In this way, social work can address larger social problems and make way for the concurrent achievement of human rights. This article explains ...
The history of social work is deeply rooted in helping vulnerable populations improve their well-... more The history of social work is deeply rooted in helping vulnerable populations improve their well-being, and children have been at the forefront of these efforts since the inception of the profession. Health is long understood to be critical to children’s well-being. Social workers who are skilled in integrating different systems can play pivotal roles in engineering new and improving existing health-care infrastructures and can act as advocates for fusing health-service systems with other social infrastructures to optimize outcomes for children. This entry reviews trends in children’s health throughout the world, particularly in the United States. It describes the dramatic improvements in reducing infant mortality, child mortality and morbidity from many infectious diseases as well as accidental and environmental causes, and the unequal progress in realizing children’s health. The challenges that lie ahead that pose risks to children’s health are discussed, including the health inequities created among and within countries by social, economic, and political factors. An argument for a comprehensive, integrated, evidence-based, and cross-disciplinary approach to improve children’s future health is presented.
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