Suchergebnisse

This article puts the policy goal of the Urban Minimum Living Standard Guarantee (UMLSG) in China into question and it aims to expose the assertion 'covering whoever is eligible' as a myth. An exploratory study of the implementation of the UMLSG eligibility criteria was launched in Guangzhou. Interviews were conducted with twenty-five poor people and local bureaucrats. In addition to people's meeting the income requirement, it was discovered that there were three unwritten principles flexibly used by local bureaucrats in assessment: the ability to work, the family unit and clientelism. The prevalence of street-level bureaucracy in the UMLSG administration not only hampered state resources from reaching the families living in urban poverty, but also seriously contradicted the reformulated ideologies and undermined the party's legitimacy. The findings of this study suggest that variations in UMLSG eligibility, which are causing a serious problem of under-coverage, should attract immediate attention from both officials and academics.

From 1988 the Chinese Government pursued a policy of 'small government, big society'. The policy was determined at the highest level and, after a pilot study in Hainan Province, was implemented vigorously in a series of political reforms. It was the chief political dimension of the economic restructuring which led from state ownership of enterprises to the so-called socialist market. Like its economic counterpart, it reflected China's adoption of neo-liberal ideology. The aims were to encourage both civil society and the private market to provide social welfare and, thereby, to restrict demands on public expenditure. However, it failed to realise these goals and was recently replaced by a more state oriented approach. The article discusses the Chinese big society project and, specifically, examines why it was introduced, what it consisted of, its impact on social welfare, the criticisms it attracted and its recent changes in nature. The article concludes by considering some possible lessons for the UK Coalition Governments' big society project and any similar initiatives attempted in other countries.

Introduction: contracting out social services in China / Chak Kwan Chan -- Community building in Beijing / Yean Wang , Huan Zhang and Ziyu Liu -- Integrated family service in Guangzhou / Wei Lu and Tian Cai -- Drug rehabilitation service in Shenzhen / Xiaofeng Li and Jiapeng Lin -- Medical social work in Foshan / Agnes Koon-Chui Law -- Elderly service in Wuhan / Yu Cheung Wong and Ren Wang -- Service for migrant workers in Jinhua / Xiao Li -- Probation service in Shanghai / Fang Zhao -- Service for disabled people in Xiamen / Yiping Ke -- Conclusion: regional and service differences and contracting services in Chinese cities / Jie Lei and Tian Cai

"The Chinese government has recently adopted a radical welfare approach by contracting out social services to non-governmental organisations. This is a big departure from its traditional welfare model, whereby all public services were directly delivered by government agencies. This book examines this new welfare approach. It analyses the implementation of various types of services for individuals, families and communities including medical social services, care of the elderly, probation services and much more. It discusses important issues arising from contracting out, considers the nature of the contracted NGOs and their services, and explores major problems encountered by both government agencies and NGOs. This book also compares the similarities and differences of contracting policies in different cities. Overall, the book provides an overview of one of the most important welfare policy changes in contemporary China."--Provided by publisher.

This study examines the myth of whether China's public assistance scheme is creating welfare dependency. It first analyses the benefit levels of the Urban Minimum Living Standard Guarantee (UMLSG) according to the international poverty measurements. Then it employs in-depth interviews to reveal the life experiences of 15 UMLSG beneficiaries and the views of 8 welfare officials in Guangzhou city. It concludes that the UMLSG assistance is actually too low to reduce the work motivation of beneficiaries. Instead, supplementary welfare associated with the UMLSG contributes to the staying of beneficiaries, to facilitate access to basic housing, health and educational services.

This article uses the Integrated Family Services Centres (IFSCs) as an example to illustrate the contractual relationship between the state and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the capacities of government officials to implement the contracting-out of services in China. The data from 12 focus groups in 2015 indicated that local governments treated IFSCs as foot soldiers by asking them to fulfil duties beyond their service contracts. Moreover, Guangzhou government's fragmented service evaluation arrangements and workload-oriented criteria were unable to effectively assess the impact of social work practices. The study concludes that appropriate legislation is required to safeguard the rights of NGOs.

Abstract
The Chinese government has made increasing use of the strategy of contracting out social services to non-governmental social work organisations (SWOs) to improve its capacity for social governance. This institutional arrangement provides a space where SWOs are not only involved in the provision of welfare services but also have opportunities to influence policy-making. Based on a qualitative study conducted in Shenzhen and Nanjing, this article shows how SWOs in China engage in depoliticised policy practice, characterised by SWOs' compliance with the state's agenda, adoption of nonconfrontational tactics and exertion of professional influence based on expertise. As a result, SWOs have been repoliticised as an arm of the state rather than independent and autonomous policy advocates.

Summary The social work profession has developed at an unprecedented rate in the past decade in China. This article addresses the much-debated question of whether the international standards of social work can be applied in the Chinese context. Employing Weiss-Gal and Welbourne's conceptual framework of the professionalisation of social work, this study aimed to identify validated indicators to define social work professionalisation in China. A questionnaire with 11 indicators was designed, and responses were received from 748 social workers in Guangzhou. Formative measurement was adopted as an analytic strategy. Findings Five of the 11 indicators were validated: perception of public recognition, perceived adequacy of the knowledge base, involvement in professional organisations, congruence with ethical standards, and perception of professional autonomy. Contrarily, six indicators had no significant impact on social work professionalisation in China: public recognition in terms of qualification levels, professional education, satisfaction with professional organisations, monopoly (self-perception and entrance criteria) and prestige and remuneration. Applications This study extends the application of Weiss-Gal and Welbourne's conceptual framework to China. Utilisation of this framework suggests that social work professionalisation in China may diverge from international standards in social work, while the professionalisation measures for social work implemented by the Chinese governments may be ineffective. In particular, this study highlights the continuing challenges for the development of social work in China and provides evidence of the need to strengthen the professional power of Chinese social work.