Wharf, Brian

Social policy shapes the daily lives of every Canadian citizen and should reflect the beliefs of a majority of Canadians on just approaches to the promotion of health, safety, and well-being. Too often, those on the front lines'social workers, nurses, and teachers?observe that policies do not work well for the most vulnerable groups in society. In …

'I think this book, in assembling the views of a distinguishedgroup of professionals, can have a profound effect on child welfaretheory and practice. These practitioners, critics and academics havemuch to say. I for one am grateful that their views are nowconveniently available to all of us in this book.' -- from theforeword by Thomas R. Berger, Ch …

Community Work Approaches to Child Welfare presents a number of case studies that illustrate alternative approaches to child welfare that recognizes the strengths and tenacity of families who live in resource poor and essentially unfriendly environments (and that would drive middle class professionals to distraction!). The strengths of these famili …

In Connecting Policy to Practice in the Human Services Wharf and McKenzie argue that, as currently developed, policy seldom responds to the needs of service users. While well-intentioned in their efforts, policy makers in the head offices of human service organizations just can't get it right!For their part, practitioners are frustrated in their at …

People, Politics, and Child Welfare in British Columbiatraces the evolution of policies and programs intended to protectchildren in BC from neglect and abuse. Analyzing this evolution revealsthat child protection policy and practice has reflected the prioritiesof politicians and public servants in power. With few exceptions,efforts to establish eff …

This book challenges the ideologies and policies that presently shape child welfare services. It argues that caring for children is work of the highest priority. Neglect, the authors argue, should no longer be a reason for investigating and apprehending children, and the entire resources ofchild wefare agencies should be devoted to assisting and su …

Social problems are usually the result of a variety of factors ranging from the private to the public in nature, yet social workers all too often deal only with the problems of individuals. Social Work and Social Change in Canada challenges this and urges social work practitioners to assumeresponsibility for facilitating structural changes by worki …