Making Child Protection Policy: The Crime and Misconduct Commission Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Foster Care in Queensland

Internationally as well as in Australia, public inquiries have become one of the dominant means of scrutinising child protection services. As such, inquiries have become a policy mechanism for defining the problem of child abuse, and developing possible solutions. This article examines the 2004 Crime and Misconduct Commission Inquiry into the Abuse of Children in Foster Care in Queensland. It discusses both the problems and potential of public inquiries in promoting positive change in a contested policy field like child protection.     

The Use of Rental Housing Assistance by Immigrants in the United States and New York City

Abstract

The large influx of immigrants to the United States and New York City from poorer countries has sparked considerable debate as to whether immigrants are becoming a “public charge” to American society. Most arguments have centered around immigrants’ use of cash assistance programs. This article compares immigrants’ receipt of rental housing assistance with that of native‐born Americans.

Bivariate analyses reveal that immigrants, as a group, are no more likely than native‐born households to use any form of rental housing assistance. Indeed, in most instances immigrants are less likely than native‐born households to receive assistance, with two exceptions: immigrants who have been in the United States since 1970 and immigrants from the former Soviet Union in New York City. Multivariate analyses reveal similar results, except that immigrants who have been in the United States since 1970 are no more likely than other immigrants to receive housing assistance when we control for other factors.     

Contesting belonging and social citizenship: the case of refugee housing in Armenia

Using the example of the right to housing, this article addresses the ways in which the practice of social citizenship, including popular claims and expectations and actual state provisions, has changed in post-Soviet Armenia. It examines the claims of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan to state-provided permanent housing, which they consider the key condition for becoming ‘citizens’ and ‘locals’ in Armenia, and the Armenian state's solutions to the housing issue following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It demonstrates how the Soviet-era housing policy has left its mark on current notions and practices of social citizenship in Armenia. Even though social rights in general have decreased, notions of social citizenship are still present not only in the expectations and claims of needy refugees and citizens without housing but also in the state's acknowledgement of responsibility for its citizens' welfare (though currently providing only for those in extreme need), and in the equalising effect, the state housing programme has had for the majority of refugees who participated in it.     

Well-Being in the Welfare State: Level Not Higher, Distribution Not More Equitable

The terms well-being and welfare are Often bracketed together, especially well-being and state welfare. The level of well-being is believed to be higher in welfare states, and its distribution more equitable. This theory is tested here in a comparative study of 41 nations from 1980 to 1990. The size of state welfare is measured by social security expenditures. The well-being of citizens is measured in terms of the degree to which they lead healthy and happy lives. Contrary to expectation, there appears to be no link between the size of the welfare state and the level of well-being within it. In countries with generous social security schemes, people are not healthier or happier than in equally affluent countries where the state is less open-handed. Increases or reductions in social security expenditure are not related to a rise or fall in the level of health and happiness either. There also appears to be no connection between the size of state welfare and equality in well-being among citizens of the state. In countries where social security expenditure is high, the dispersion of health and happiness is not smaller than in equally prosperous countries with less social insurance spending. Again, increases and reductions in social security expenditure are not linked with equality in health and happiness among citizens. This counterintuitive result raises five questions: (1) Is this really true? (2) If so, what could explain this lack of effect? (3) Why is it so difficult to believe this result? (4) How should this information affect social policy? (5) What can we learn from further research?     

新中国成立以来社会福利制度的演变与发展——基于社会权利视角的分析

新中国成立70年来,社会福利制度体系经历了深刻的变迁。尝试从社会权利视角出发,通过构建福利资格准入、福利制度安排和福利结果的解释框架,对四个历史阶段的社会福利制度演变进行梳理和分析,可以发现:新中国的社会福利制度经历了国家主义统揽、发展主义主导、新世纪初期政策扩张和新时代政策深化的变迁过程,并面临严峻的现实挑战。为了建构新时代中国特色社会福利制度体系,应该克服福利发展上的认知悖论,重视福利制度安排的积极作用,着力解决福利责任主体不清的问题,形成多元的社会福利供给模式,并通过改变社会福利制度碎片化格局,构建统一公民身份的社会中国。     

The Impact of Housing Submarkets and Urban Form on the Foreclosure Crisis in U.S. Urban Counties

In this article, the authors introduce a novel way to define and measure housing submarkets in relation to foreclosures. Instead of the traditional methods of identifying submarkets a priori, this study uses an approach that empirically delineates housing submarkets based on spatial contiguity and housing attributes. The spatial clustering algorithm developed for this study identified submarkets in each of the urban counties. A spatial regression model was then used to assess the impact of submarket structure on foreclosure rates. In addition, the study also incorporates a measure of sprawl in its analysis. It was found that sprawling counties are not more likely to have higher rates of foreclosures compared with average rates. However, the counties with smaller and more fragmented housing submarkets are likely to have lower rates of foreclosures. The results suggest that urban form is less consequential than housing market structure in affecting U.S. housing market dynamics.     

Housing vouchers in the United States,great Britain,and the Netherlands: Current issues and future perspectives

Abstract

We compare the current U.S. housing voucher program with the British housing benefit and the Dutch housing allowance programs. After presenting the theory behind income‐related housing support, which underpins both the U.S. and European systems, we compare the three programs with respect to their scope (the budgeted versus the entitlement approach), the relationship between housing support and rent levels, the poverty trap, moral hazards, and administrative problems.

The United States can learn from Great Britain and the Netherlands that a full entitlement program can best promote equity, but given the present political and economic climate, it is unlikely that Congress will adopt such a program anytime soon. Great Britain and the Netherlands can learn from the United States how to design a more efficient tenant subsidy program, one that provides incentives to find less expensive units and promotes family self‐sufficiency through enhanced job‐seeking behavior.     

Australian Child Support Reforms: A Case Study of the Use of Microsimulation Modelling in the Policy Development Process

Child support is always a difficult area of public policy, balancing the sometimes competing needs of children, resident and non‐resident parents and the state. This article provides a relatively rare insight into some of the processes involved in developing the new Australian Child Support Scheme (CSS), which will commence full operation in July 2008. In particular, this article shows how microsimulation modelling was used by the Ministerial Taskforce on Child Support and the government in the policy reform process. The availability of such sophisticated distributional analysis and modelling allowed the development of a comprehensive picture of how the reforms would affect CSS clients, thereby facilitating the adoption of major policy change. This article also provides a blueprint for policy‐makers of how modelling can facilitate their policy development processes.     

农村留守青少年成长问题及社会工作应对策略分析——以《学校社会工作》课程的实践为例

农村留守青少年属于新式的弱势群体。该群体的成长问题事关和谐社会的持续发展和社会的稳定。由于父母亲情的缺失所引起的种种问题已得到学术界和政府相关部门的关注,但就针对该群体成长危机方面的解决措施而言,始终缺少一个合理、持久和有效的力量来协助该群体解决成长必须应对的危机。尝试在留守青少年集中的中学引入社会工作者,通过开展相关的社会工作实务活动后发现,学校社会工作者的介入能很好地解决这个问题。学校社会工作者充当多重角色,能充分利用多理论的指导和多种方法的交互运用,能及时、有效地关注并解决青少年成长过程中的心理需求和行为规范。     

Safety Considerations in Political Decisions: A Case Study of Changes to the Norwegian Aviation System

Following the international deregulation act of 1994, the structure of the Norwegian aviation system has undergone several important changes. This paper describes the terms dictated by the political environment and the different administrations for implementing the changes. Our analysis addresses the inclusion of safety considerations in the specific decisions, and questions whether safety evaluations have had any impact on the change processes. The changes included the restructuring of airlines, new terms of competition, regulatory changes, the separation and relocation of the civil aviation authority, and privatization and efficiency reforms in the new infrastructure company. Safety in aviation and the risk of aviation accidents were not issues that featured prominently during the early change management processes. These aspects were first considered when the parties realized that changes were imminent and conflicts began to emerge. The different parties involved used the safety concept in various ways to legitimize or counteract changes. Our analysis concludes that risk is a complex concept that is difficult to communicate in a rational political decision process, but the emotive element in the risk concept opens for political speculations that facilitate discussion of ethical responsibilities.