This encyclopedia provides readers with basic information about the history of social welfare in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The intent of the encyclopedia is to provide readers with information about how these three nations have dealt with social welfare issues, some similar across borders, others unique, as well as to describe important events, developments, and the lives and work of some key contributors to social welfare developments.

Annotation. The Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North Amercia is a unique reference book that will provide users with basic information about the history of social welfare in North America, including Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Since many themes and issues are similar in the three nations, entries will provide comparative information about common as well as distinctive concerns and developments. Significant events, influential persons, legislation, social problems, and societal responses are described in detail. Editors include specialists in the social welfare history of each nation, and they have collaborated with scholars from a variety of academic disciplines to prepare entries of varying length addressing these issues. Included in each entry are suggestions for further reading that will guide readers to the rich resources available for learning about the history of North American social welfare. The encyclopedia also provides cross-references for important topics. This volume will be a unique reference tool for students at all levels, for teachers, and for libraries serving anyone with an interest in the history of North American social welfare. Topics covered include: - Canada - Charity - Child welfare - Economic conditions and social welfare - Economics/tax policy - Health/Mental Health Policy - Landmark social welfare legislation - Mexico - Poverty - Race and social inequality - Social problems - Social security and income maintenance - Social welfare reform - Social welfare reformers - Social work - United States - Women and social welfare.

This book offers a wide-ranging view of religious, economic and political forces from prehistory, the Clinton administration, and the actions of the 104th Congress. This revised study reviews the history of social welfare in the USA, including that relating to women and minority groups. This edition emphasizes particularly the political and economic aspects of a global-international society. It also features a up-to-date critical analysis of the far-right backlash against social welfare and social programmes, through the US 104th Congress.

Over twenty-five years and through five editions, Walter I. Trattner's From Poor Law to Welfare State has served as the standard text on the history of welfare policy in the United States. The only comprehensive account of American social welfare history from the colonial era to the present, the new sixth edition has been updated to include the latest developments in our society as well as trends in social welfare. Trattner provides in-depth examination of developments in child welfare, public health, and the evolution of social work as a profession, showing how all these changes affected the treatment of the poor and needy in America. He explores the impact of public policies on social workers and other helping professions -- all against the backdrop of social and intellectual trends in American history. From Poor Law to Welfare State directly addresses racism and sexism and pays special attention to the worsening problems of child abuse, neglect, and homelessness. Topics new to this sixth edition include: A review of President Clinton's health-care reform and its failure, and his efforts to "end welfare as we know it" Recent developments in child welfare including an expanded section on the voluntary use of children's institutions by parents in the nineteenth century, and the continued discrimination against black youth in the juvenile justice system An in-depth discussion of Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein's controversial book, The Bell Curve, which provided social conservatives new weapons in their war on the black poor and social welfare in general The latest information on AIDS and the reappearance of tuberculosis -- and their impact on public health policy A new Preface and Conclusion, and substantially updated Bibliographies Written for students in social work and other human service professions, From Poor Law to Welfare State: A History of Social Welfare in America is also an essential resource for historians, political scientists, sociologists, and policymakers.

The first interdisciplinary reference to cover the socioeconomic and political history, the movements, and the changing face of poverty in the United States. Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and Policy follows the history of poverty in the United States with an emphasis on the 20th century, and examines the evolvement of public policy and the impact of critical movements in social welfare such as the New Deal, the War on Poverty, and, more recently, the "end of welfare as we know it." Encompassing the contributions of hundreds of experts, including historians, sociologists, and political scientists, this resource provides a much broader level of information than previous, highly selective works. With approximately 300 alphabetically-organized topics, it covers topics and issues ranging from affirmative action to the Bracero Program, the Great Depression, and living wage campaigns to domestic abuse and unemployment. Other entries describe and analyze the definitions and explanations of poverty, the relationship of the welfare state to poverty, and the political responses by the poor, middle-class professionals, and the policy elite. 300 A-Z entries on topics related to poverty and social welfare, including the political discovery of poverty, antipoverty policies, and debates about legislation Includes five introductory chronological essays covering U.S. poverty since the colonial era, giving a historical foundation to the entries in the book Contributions from over 200 distinguished scholars and experts Numerous illustrations and primary source documents dispersed throughout the work

This classic text describes and analyzes the ideas that have shaped the history of social welfare from the Colonial Period to the present day. The text provides a history of events and ideas that have shaped American social welfare policy, using original documents from each respective period. Coverage of economic developments also helps students to understand the context of social welfare movements and policies. This edition includes an expanded discussion of "welfare reform" since the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. The last chapter (Ch. 9) includes a detailed discussion of the fiscal, intellectual, and ideological forces that led to that Act. The impact of the voluntarism and privatization movements on social welfare is covered in the new edition. The final chapter also includes expanded coverage of the immigration debate and trends in the justice system.

Walter I. Trattner is Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.