While reforms of welfare policies have been widely analysed, the reform of welfare administration has received little attention. Using empirical case studies, this book provides new insights into the way welfare administration is being internationally transformed. Particular attention is given to the effect on welfare clients, staff and agencies.

Introduction: Administering wefare reform ~ Menno Fenger and Paul Henman; Welfare reform as governance reform: the prospects of governmentality perspective ~ Paul Henman; Part One: Participants: reforming the agents of welfare delivery; State-third sector partnership frameworks: from administration to participation ~ Deena White; Shifts in welfare governance: the state, market and non-profit sector in four European countries ~ Menno Fenger; From charity to 'not for profit': changes in the role and structure of voluntary social service agencies ~ Jo Barnes; Part Two: Practices: the welfare governance of street-level practices; Ending welfare as we know it: welfare reform in the United States ~ Joel F. Handler; The new governance of Australian welfare: street-level contigencies ~ Cosmo Howard; The administration of transformation: a case study of implementing welfare reform in the UK ~ Sharon Wright; Part Three: Processes: the changing spaces of welfare governance; Administering global welfare: public management, governance and the new role of INGOs ~ Gaby Ramia; The fight against unemployment as a main concern of European social policy: the implications of a new, local-level approach ~ Carla Valadas; From government fragmentation to local governance: welfare reforms and lost opportunities in Italy ~ Yuri Kazepov and Angela Genova; Administering welfare reforms: reflections ~ Paul Henman and Menno Fenger.

"Presents a critical analysis of governance practices in welfare administration; examines shifts in participants, practices and processess of welfare administration; presents original empirical case studies that highlight the effects of reforming welfare governance on welfare subjects, staff and agencies; and provides an international and comparative perspective on changing welfare governance." International Social Security Review "a strong collection ... useful addition for libraries" Public Administration, Vol. 85 (4) 2007

"This book fills a crucial gap in the literature on welfare reform by analysing international transformations in welfare governance and administration. Anyone interested in understanding the practical side of welfare reform and its complex interconnections with the structure and outcomes of welfare policy will benefit from reading this book." Professor Neal Wallace, Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University, US