Policy & Practice
Policy Press publishes policy review and polemic books that aim to challenge policy for, or thinking about, a certain field of policy or practice as well as books aimed at a practice audience. These books are written in an accessible style whilst being academically sound and appropriately referenced.
People in low-paid informal work
'Need not greed'
This study examines the relationship between poverty and informal work. Exploring the experiences of people in low-paid informal work, it contends that unless government seeks to include the informal economy in its strategies, it will never be able to reach its employment or anti-poverty targets.
Free pdf version available at www.jrf.org.uk
Patterns of poverty across Europe
Using new EU-wide data, this report shows very different patterns of poverty across Europe, depending on the benchmark used. The findings have important implications for the spatial distribution of poverty within and between countries (including the UK) and for the development of anti-poverty policy across the EU.
Pathways to Recovery and Desistance
The Role of the Social Contagion of Hope
Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Using case studies and a strengths-based approach Best puts forward a new recovery and reintegration model for substance users and offenders leaving prison which emphasizes the importance of long-term recovery and the role that communities and peers play in the process.
Past it at 40?
A grassroots view of ageism and discrimination in employment
There is a growing recognition that people over the age of fifty experience discrimination in the labour market. This ground-breaking report provides new evidence that ageism and discrimination are also having devastating effects on the lives of people as young as forty, with a cost to the economy of up to £31 billion per year.
Parents, Poverty and the State
20 Years of Evolving Family Policy
Naomi Eisenstadt and Carey Oppenheim explore the radical changes in public attitudes and public policy concerning parents and parenting, arguing that a more joined-up approach is needed to improve outcomes for children: both reducing child poverty and improving parental capacity by providing better support systems.
Parental Conflict
Outcomes and Interventions for Children and Families
The book shows how children are affected by conflict, explores why they respond to conflict in different ways, and provides clear, practical guidance on the best ways to ameliorate the effects.
Organisations, careers and caring
With the increase in mothers' employment both the government and many employers are promoting flexible working policies to improve work-life 'balance'. This report considers the effects of these changes on the lives of both women and men. It examines three employment sectors in detail - banking, grocery retail and local authorities.
The opportunities of a lifetime
Model lifetime analysis of current British social policy
This report uses a revolutionary new research tool, LOIS (the Lifetime Opportunity and Incentives Simulation programme), to assess the impact of current government social policy on our lives from cradle to grave.
FREE pdf version available online at www.jrf.org.uk
On the edge
Minority ethnic families caring for a severely disabled child
This report presents the findings of the first ever national survey in the UK, in which nearly 600 parents took part and which looked at the needs and circumstances of minority ethnic families caring for a severely disabled child. The quantitative survey was then compared with data on the circumstances and experiences of white families.
New policies for older workers
Against a background of population ageing, policy makers in the majority of industrialised countries are developing policies aimed at extending working life and promoting the benefits of employing older workers. This report reviews developments in several countries and offers recommendations for public policy.
A New Health and Care System
Escaping the Invisible Asylum
This book outlines a new, human focussed model for public services – an approach focused on achieving and maintaining wellbeing, rather than on reacting to crisis or attempting to ‘fix’ people.
A new deal for children?
Re-forming education and care in England, Scotland and Sweden
Important reforms are taking place in children's services in the UK, with a move towards greater integration. In England, Scotland and Sweden, early childhood education and care, childcare for older children, and schools are now the responsibility of education departments. This book is the first to examine this major shift in policy.