Emerging Directions in Public Sector Management in New South Wales

This article describes some of the changes taking place within the NSW public sector to enable it to meet efficiently the future demands of a diverse community. It features a range of major reforms that are under way across legislative, administrative and financial frameworks to enhance the sector's ability to cope with technological advances and enhance service delivery.     

The reunion of adoptees and birth relatives

An increasing number of adult adoptees are insisting that they have a constitutionally based civil right to have access to their sealed birth records which would reveal the true identity of their natural parents. This study investigated the outcome of 11 cases of reunion between adoptees and birth mothers. The majority felt that they had personally benefitted from the reunion even though in some of the cases the adoptees were disillusioned and disappointed in their birth relatives. There are many reasons why an adoptee feels a need to search for more information on his birth parents or to seek out a reunion; in many cases, the true purpose remains unconscious. It would appear that very few adoptees are provided with enough background information to be incorporated into their developing ego and sense of identity. Feelings of genealogical bewilderment cannot be discounted as occurring only in maladjusted or emotionally disturbed individuals.Received M.D. from the University of Miami (Florida) and psychiatry training at UCLA. Private practice of adult and child psychiatry in Encino, California. Interests lie in identity problems of young adults, adoption, and the training of psychology paraprofessionals.Received M.S.W. from the University of Southern California. Prior experience in adoption, working with children, birth parents, and adoptive parents, and in supervision. Interests lie in specific problems related to adoption, working with adolescents, and legislative aspects of child welfare.Received M.S.W. from Columbia University, New York. Interests lie in work with unwed fathers, adoptions, problems related to illegitimacy, and residential treatment.     

Geschlechtergleichheit oder „exklusive Emanzipation“? Ungleichheitssoziologische Implikationen der aktuellen familienpolitischen Reformen*

Focusing on gender and social inequalities, we analyse two current reforms in German family policy: the 2007 parental leave reform and the discussion on a reform of the joint taxation of married couples. These reforms lead to changes in policy instruments and objectives that are not adequately described by the thesis of a change towards an adult worker model. Rather, so our first argument, the reforms lead to a thoroughgoing change of the interplay between (de-)familialization and (de-)commodification, as they not only put a stronger focus on labour market activation, but also try to increase birth rates via financial incentives. However, both reform projects mainly provide incentives for higher labour market participation and birth rates among highly qualified women, which means an important shift away from the objective of redistribution that has been an important impetus for German familiy policy so far. This development has severe consequences for social inequalities, as it promises an ?exclusive emancipation“ for highly qualified women only.     

Granting the Right to Vote for the European Parliament to Resident Third‐Country Nationals: Civic Citizenship Revisited

The EU grants rights to third‐country nationals (TCNs) and strives to approximate their rights to those of Union citizens. Up to now, the approximation has extended to social and economic matters. This article investigates whether political rights, notably voting rights for the European Parliament (EP), should also be approximated. To this end, the analysis applies Dahl's democratic principles of ‘coercion’ and ‘all affected interests’ as well as Bauböck's principle of ‘stakeholding’ to the position of TCNs in the EU. Against that background, it explores the relevance of arguments for and against granting TCNs the right to vote in European elections and submits that voting rights should be granted to long‐term resident TCNs. The author then proposes including TCN voting rights in the legal framework for EP elections and concludes by suggesting the use of the concept of civic citizenship to express political approximation of TCNs to EU citizens.     

Coping with the Cuts? The Management of the Worst Financial Settlement in Living Memory

The scale of the cuts to local government finance, coupled with increasing demand for services, has led to unprecedented ‘budget gaps’ in council budgets. Arguably, two competing narratives of the trajectory of local government have emerged in which contrasting futures are imagined for the sector – a positive story of adaptation and survival and more negative one of residualisation and marginalisation. Drawing on case study evidence from three English local authorities, the paper distinguishes and provides examples of three strategic approaches to managing austerity – efficiency, retrenchment and investment. It demonstrates how and why the balance of these strategies has shifted between the early and later phases of austerity and considers the extent to which the evidence of the case studies provide support for either the survival or marginalisation narrative. The paper concludes by arguing that a third narrative – responsibilisation – captures more fully the trajectory of local government in England.     

Symposium Introduction: Local Responses to ‘Austerity’

This introduction to the symposium sets out the context for local government in the United Kingdom at the current time. It outlines the scale of the reductions in funding since 2010, showing how uneven these cuts have been across the country and the reasons for this. It also describes the increased exposure to risk of both local government and of the citizens and communities it serves. The central question for the papers which follow is how local government is responding to these twin challenges. The papers provide insights from a number of detailed studies of individual authorities, exploring the strategies adopted to manage in response. The analyses focus on the distributive consequences for individuals and communities, but they also reflect on the wider consequences for local government itself. A particular concern is whether local responses are changing as austerity moves from its initial to its later phase.     

Negotiating barriers,navigating the maze: First Nation peoples' experience of medical relocation

This study documents the policy framework that shapes First Nations' experience of relocating to access medical care. We analyzed policy documents and government websites, interviewed individuals who have experienced relocation, family members, healthcare providers, health administrators, and conducted two focus groups with government representatives. Federal and provincial program managers interpret policies, make decisions on eligibility, to extend or deny coverage. Decisions are shaped by shrinking budgets, fragmented program coverage, and jurisdictional confusion. Provider advocacy can help, but also perpetuate perceptions of arbitrariness and distrust. National policy renewal is required to redress this issue.