Issues in social policy : selections from The CQ Researcher.

Format:

Book

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--Social policy--1993-.

United States.

Social policy.

Social problems--United States.

Social problems.

Physical Description:

x, 198 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : CQ Press, [2000]

Summary:

These selections, in the tradition of nonpartisan reporting and analysis that is the hallmark of Congressional Quarterly, present readers with balanced accounts of issues on the public agenda. CQ staff writers provide background as well as current analysis. A pro-and-con feature sparks classroom discussion, while the annotated bibliography points interested readers to additional sources. Each selection also incorporates the voices of people in the thick of the policy process: people from lobbies, nonprofits, think tanks, academia and government.

Issues in Social Policy is organized into five broad issue areas: Education, Health Care, Welfare and Social Services, Criminal Justice and Civil Rights. The articles address every level of government--federal, state and local--and every branch of government. The in-depth, objective and forward-looking reporting that characterizes these articles is designed to encourage discussion, to help readers think critically and actively about these issues and to facilitate further research.

Contents:

Education

1 School Vouchers 1

Will vouchers force public schools to improve? 3

Are voucher programs that include religious schools constitutional? 5

Will vouchers hurt religious schools? 7

Movement's Origins 8

Voucher Proposals 8

War in Milwaukee 12

Current Situation 12

Action in the States 12

Outlook 14

Universal Vouchers? 14

More Reforms 17

2 Zero Tolerance 21

Are zero-tolerance policies effective? 23

Are zero-tolerance policies constitutional? 25

Are zero-tolerance policies fairly and constitutionally applied? 26

'We need to Get Tough' 28

'Broken-Windows' Approach 31

Is Violence Declining? 32

Current Situation 33

Alternative Schools 33

Amending IDEA 34

Zero-Zero Tolerance 36

Outlook: Ebb and Flow 37

Health Care

3 Managing Managed Care 41

Should managed care legislation strip away decision-making power from insurers? 44

Will tougher regulations lead to a rationing of health care? 45

Should physicians and hospitals be subject to performance ratings or guidelines? 47

Cost Concerns 48

Search for Solutions 50

Current Situation 52

'Managed Competition' 52

Drop in Care Denials 54

Outlook: Rx for Medicare? 57

4 Embryo Research 61

Is the use of stem cells from embryos morally or ethically wrong? 64

Should stem cell research be eligible for federal funding? 65

Are the potential benefits of stem cell research being over-sold? 67

Early Breakthroughs 68

Unanswered Questions 70

Oversight System 71

Current Situation 72

Startling Discovery 72

Outlook: Future of Cloning 73

Welfare and Social Services

5 Social Security 79

Can the existing system survive without major reforms? 82

Should individual savings accounts be included in any reforms? 85

Should the retirement age be raised? 87

Belated Action 88

Signs of Trouble 90

Current Situation 91

Political Football 91

Outlook: Impact of Saving 92

6 Welfare Reform and Child Poverty 97

Has welfare reform helped reduce child poverty? 99

Would increasing the minimum wage help alleviate child poverty? 101

Should faith-based solutions be relied on more to solve the child-poverty problem? 103

War on Poverty 106

Reform Movement 108

Current Situation 109

Unspent Funds 109

Minimum Wage Bills 110

Outlook: The Hard-to-Employ 110

Criminal Justice

7 Death Penalty 117

Should recent restrictions on the right to appeal be rolled back? 118

Should behavior in prison be considered in decisions to carry out executions? 120

Should minors be subject to capital punishment? 121

Early Reforms 125

Abolition Movement 125

Support for Executions 126

Current Situation 129

Questions of Fairness 129

Anti-Terrorism Law 130

Outlook: Piecemeal Reforms? 132

8 Prison-Building Boom 135

Should some of the resources being devoted to building prisons be redirected to educational and other social spending? 137

Should mandatory sentencing, three-strikes statutes and similar laws be repealed or scaled back? 140

A Rising Population 142

Rehabilitation 144

Current Situation 146

Prisons for Profit 146

Parole Under Fire 148

Outlook: Shift in Priorities 150

Civil Rights

9 Racism and the Black Middle Class 153

Is racism still a big obstacle to advancement for many black professionals? 155

Do members of the black middle class have an obligation to other blacks to live in predominantly African-American neighborhoods, especially in poorer areas in the inner city? 157

Do middle-class African-Americans need affirmative action to have equal opportunities at school and work? 158

The Migration North 160

Civil Rights Era 162

Affirmative Action 164

Current Situation 165

Economic Gains 165

The Asset Gap 166

Outlook: Guarded Optimism 166

10 Gay Rights 171

Should same-sex relationships be legally recognized? 173

Should the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy be changed? 174

Are additional laws needed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation? 175

Birth of a Movement 177

Successes and Setbacks 177

'A Seat at the Table' 178

Current Situation 180

Debating 'Civil Unions' 180

'Disturbing' Harassment 182

Playing Politics 183

Outlook: Marching in Washington 184.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page 189) and index.

ISBN:

1568026196

OCLC:

44683576