Policy, Politics, and Ethics challenges readers to consider the complex social and political factors that influence policy development. Social workers and other professionals in the helping fields must critically engage with policy on both the large and small scale in order to achieve social change. While analyzing policy, professionals must always be aware of the political, organizational, and personal interests that underpin the development and implementation of any social policy. In this book, Thomas Meenaghan, Keith Kilty, Dennis Long, and John McNutt examine both the rational and the political aspects of social policy using scientific inquiry. The book focuses on the interaction between applied research methods and various social, scientific, and technological components behind policy processes.

The new edition of this text will be a valuable tool to teach your students to think critically about policy. Ethical and political forces are identified as they may relate to populations and groups at risk as well as to the steps taken to address problems. The book presents a variety of methodological approaches including program evaluation, needs assessment, and cost-benefit analysis. The authors have updated the text to address CSWE competencies, and have introduced thought boxes that will guide discussion about issues and ideas.