A Limited Partnership: The Politics of Religion, Welfare, and Social Service

Bob Wineburg

Published by Columbia University Press 2001

A Limited Partnership

The Politics of Religion, Welfare, and Social Service

Bob Wineburg

https://doi.org/10.7312/wine12084

Overview
Contents

About this book

By charting the effects of Reagan budget cuts and the resulting pressure on religious congregations and local agencies to provide more social services, Wineburg presents a vivid picture of the social chaos that has ensued.

Ranging from the Reagan years to the present—a crucial period in both social welfare policy development and the history of religious involvement in social services—A Limited Partnership explores an important undercurrent in the new welfare policy. Robert Wineburg argues that the present policy, with its emphasis on services increasingly being delivered by the faith community, simply cannot work the way its architects envisioned. He calls for rationality in finding solutions to the complex problems of poverty and the division of responsibilities for helping those in need at the local level.

Using almost twenty years of data from Greensboro, North Carolina, as a long-term case study, the author examines how the budget cuts of the Reagan era, the Bush era, and the Clinton era altered the relationships among religious congregations and other agencies. The book presents a vivid picture of the chaos caused by these policy changes at the level of service delivery and clearly demonstrates that the religious community cannot be the sole provider of social services but instead must remain an important but limited partner with a special role in delivering social services.

Wineburg's study provides a fresh perspective on a policy debate that genuinely lacks understanding of how politics, religion, and a complicated web of social services operate at the community level.

Author / Editor information

Robert Wineburg is a professor of social work at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He was a member of the Governor of North Carolina's Task Force on Community Initiatives regarding Welfare Reform, has consulted with Partners for Sacred Places in Philadelphia, and was a consultant on Catholic Charities USA's Catholic Identity Project.

Reviews

Elizabeth King Keenan:
[This] book seeks to garner support for a 'limited partnership' between social work and religion that would counter government devolution... [it is] of interest to social workers and religious leaders in general for it provides past and future visions of collaboration.

Dr. Lawrence Ressler:
A timely book. To be commended for giving attention to a long neglected phenomenon. The book is worth reading and will hopefully stimulate additional research and writing which is greatly needed.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Devolution or Devilution Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
2. A Blip in History or a Slip in the Academy? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
3. Budget Cuts or Buttercups Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
4. If It Can’t Be Counted It Doesn’t Count Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
5. Is The Future Now? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
6. The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be, Or Is It? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
7. A Thought Experiment Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
8. Being Honest, Being Decent, Being Informed Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
9. Some Evolving Partnerships in a Changing Environment Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	185
10. Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	219

Language: English
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 320

eBook

Published: February 14, 2001
ISBN: 9780231506649