Focuses on values and the historical impact of socio-economic structures. Understanding Social Welfare: A Search for Social Justice is presented in an organized, comprehensive, and scholarly manner, including social policy concepts. It is accessible to students and helps them acquire the basic tools for understanding, analyzing, and evaluating social welfare policies and programs. This text focuses on the impact of social structure on people’s lives, emphasizing the current concerns of diverse client populations and the search for social justice. It places U.S. welfare in philosophical, political, economic, and international contexts, and includes the latest discussion of policy issues related to gay men and lesbians.