The Welfare Workforce
The Welfare Workforce is a thought-provoking exploration of mental health care in the United States and beyond. Although all the affluent democracies pursued deinstitutionalization, some failed to provide adequate services, while others overcame challenges of stigma and limited resources and successfully expanded care. Isabel M. Perera examines the role of the “welfare workforce” in providing social services to those who cannot demand them. Drawing on extensive research in four countries – the United States, France, Norway, and Sweden – Perera sheds light on postindustrial politics and the critical part played by those who work for the welfare state. A must-read for anyone interested in mental health care, social services, and the politics of welfare, The Welfare Workforce challenges conventional wisdom and offers new insights into the complex factors that contribute to the success or failure of mental health care systems. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Isabel M. Perera is an assistant professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. Perera has held visiting positions at the European University Institute, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Oxford, and Sciences Po Paris. This book is based on her award-winning dissertation in political science written at the University of Pennsylvania. Her academic training also includes a postdoctoral fellowship in health policy and medical ethics.
Open access