The Careless State: Reforming Australia's Social Services by Mark Considine (Eng

Description: The Careless State by Mark Considine The lives of all Australians are profoundly affected by the quality of social services available, but a long list of royal commissions and public inquiries have revealed them to be failing. In The Careless State Mark Considine shows that the preferred model of reform has failed to adapt and improve. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description A powerful statement of how to fix Australias failing social servicesThe lives of all Australians are profoundly affected by the quality of social services available, but a long list of royal commissions and public inquiries have revealed them to be failing. In The Careless State Mark Considine shows that the preferred model of reform has failed to adapt and improve.In the 1980s Australian governments faced rapidly increasing demand for services in areas like employment assistance, aged care, childcare and vocational education and training; to respond to this challenge, governments led by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating pioneered the introduction of service markets, where private companies compete with public institutions and charities in newly constructed social services. This choice revolution was embraced and extended by the Howard government. Market choice continues to drive reform across a wide spectrum of programs and social services.Considines detailed investigation demonstrates conclusively that important aspects of the experiment with social service markets have failed. Weak quality control, systematic rorting and entrenched disadvantage have become the norm. Private business interests and shareholders interest have often displaced established charities and commitment to quality care for all. The service systems are careless, leaving clients to make choices without real information or protection.Considine points to alternative ways that reforms could be configured to get the best from both private and public agencies, and find a new approach to save these failing services. Author Biography Mark Considine is Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Melbourne. He is best known for prize-winning research on public sector reform, new methods of governance and the street-level delivery of public programs. He and his team have pioneered work on the long-run institutional impacts of different service delivery regimes. Mark has also had a significant career in leadership roles within higher education and as a contributor to policy innovation inside government and in civil society organisations. Review *The Careless State* is a timely and forensic examination of the failures of the Australian governments provision of social services. The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed-particularly through the publicised failures in aged care and employment services-the shortcomings in the way these services have been managed by successive governments. Following an introduction that grounds todays social services models in their historical context-primarily in reform programs begun in the 1980s-author Mark Considine methodically outlines how employment services, vocational education and training, aged care and childcare have evolved over the past 40-odd years and their failure to look after often the most vulnerable people in our society. In most cases, the programs are both expensive and bad at doing what they set out to do. The root cause, Considine convincingly demonstrates, is the overemphasis on personal choice as the rationale for opening up services to private agencies. The subsequent scale of rorting by private companies and their dereliction of the provision of basic levels of care are staggering. The final three chapters, as well as the conclusion, are more optimistic: Considine highlights the success of Australias worker health and safety and maternal and child health programs, teasing out the reasons they contrast so starkly with other services, and suggesting how they can work as models going forward. Appropriately for his role as a political science professor, Considine avoids rhetoric in place of data and evidence, and the scope of his research is impressive. Unfortunately, this means the book is a little dry and a bit of a slog for casual readers. The book wont have a universal audience but it is interesting for anyone curious about the failures of market interventions in the Australian public sector and a useful resource for advocates for humane social services. *Brad Jefferies is the digital editor of *Books+Publishing*.* Promotional "Headline" A powerful statement of how to fix Australias failing social services Description for Sales People A powerful and timely statement of the need for social services reform from a highly credible commentatorDraws on detailed, long-range research, backing up its findingsWill connect strongly with current public debates across a range of issues eg NDIS and attract considerable media attentionWill attract interest from policy makers and thought leadersStrong marketing push from MUP Details ISBN0522879012 Author Mark Considine Short Title The Careless State Pages 256 Language English Year 2022 ISBN-10 0522879012 ISBN-13 9780522879018 Subtitle Reforming Australias Social Services Publisher Melbourne University Press Format Paperback Imprint Melbourne University Press Place of Publication Carlton Country of Publication Australia Publication Date 2022-10-05 UK Release Date 2022-10-05 Narrator Nicola Bryant Translator Stuart Kendall Edited by Martin A. Coleman Birth 1927 Death 1966 Affiliation Clark University Position journalist Qualifications J.D. DEWEY 361.994 Audience General NZ Release Date 2022-10-04 AU Release Date 2022-10-04 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:138211851;

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