ABSTRACT
The Future focuses on strategies for dealing with future policy dilemmas. The policy basics covered in earlier chapters provide the foundation for thinking about how we may begin to address future challenges. This edition has expanded content on the biases that can interfere with accurate forecasting. There are examples that illustrate how such predictions can go astray, and students are helped to develop the critical thinking necessary to become informed consumers and crafters of future forecasts. Students are encouraged to synthesize what they have learned and chart their own strategies to apply policy practice content in a rapidly changing political, physical, social, and economic environment. Information on how students can be involved in shaping the future of social policy has been included to assist with this synthesis. For this edition, this chapter was substantially revised, with expanded emphasis on environmental justice, particularly within the context of climate change; emerging technologies that are transforming social work practice and individuals’ lives; and the evolving nature of work and what new labor market realities will likely mean for social workers and their clients. The text closes with a challenge to students to help develop a vision of the future that will energize their efforts and those of the profession to improve policies and, ultimately, future outcomes for our clients.
