Social welfare and social services

The heartwarming and hilarious part-memoir, part-guide from comedian and father-of-six Ashley Blaker, on parenting, adoption and raising children with special needs. ‘A funny, irreverent and loving book’ Daily Express‘We had such a variety of experts...

Damian longs for home, but one man stands in his way … Damian is just seven when he is taken in by foster carer Cathy Glass. His mother, Rachel, loves her three young children dearly, but she is vulnerable, naive and unable to cope on her own.Cathy sets...

‘Beautiful, emotional and hopeful, but have tissues to hand.’ Liz FenwickWhen Stephanie is told she’s pregnant and that she is sick on the same day, she faces an impossible choice… After trying for a baby for so long, finding out I was pregnant was...

‘I was hooked from page one. Be prepared to laugh and cry throughout this book!’ Reader review, ‘A fabulous family drama…it kept me turning the pages from beginning to end’ – Kerry Fisher the bestselling author of The Silent WifeYou can run from a lie,...

A heartbreaking true story of a broken family and the foster carer who wants to keep them together… The Watsons are no strangers to sibling placements but when Casey takes the call from her supervising social worker one frosty January morning, she can...

The true story of a 6-year-old boy with a dreadful secret. Oskar’s school teacher raises the alarm. Oskar’s mother is abroad and he has been left in the care of ‘friends’, but has been arriving in school hungry, unkempt, and with bruises on his arms,...

In the first book on philanthropy written from a donor’s perspective, businesswoman and philanthropist Lisa Greer lifts the lid on our charitable sector, with an authentic account that describes exactly how outdated...

A 5-year-old boy, Ethan, is brought to Casey in the middle of the night after the sudden death of his young mother after a drug overdose. Estranged from her parents, Ethan’s mum had been abused by her ex-partner, and began taking drugs to cope. Ethan is...

"A true-crime masterpiece." —Don WinslowFrom the FBI’s former assistant director, a shocking journey to the dark side of America’s highways, revealing the FBI Highway Serial Killings Initiative’s hunt for the long-haul truckers behind an astonishing...

The 32nd fostering memoir from international bestseller Cathy Glass Struggling to cope with three young children, Janie turns to experienced foster carer Cathy Glass. Helping the family each morning, Cathy soon uncovers how dangerous their situation has...

We can’t choose who we love. We can choose who we fight for. ‘A powerful story that proves how love itself requires courage’ Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing ‘Storytelling at its best’ Sarah Winman ‘The perfect book club read’ AJ...

Finding Stevie is a dark and poignant true story that highlights the dangers lurking online. When Stevie’s social worker tells Cathy, an experienced foster carer, that Stevie, 14, is gender fluid she isn’t sure what that term means and looks it up...

Internationally bestselling author and foster carer Cathy Glass tells the story of one of the first children that she fostered. Little Beth, aged 7, had been brought up by her father after her mother left when she was a toddler. But when he’s suddenly...

Yarns and memories that capture the experience of policing in the bush, gathered by the inimitable Bill 'Swampy' Marsh, bestselling author of GREAT AUSTRALIAN FLYING DOCTOR STORIES and GREAT AUSTRALIAN CWA STORIES.  'I tell you, you meet some...

The fifteenth fostering memoir by Cathy Glass. Danny was petrified and clung to me in desperation as I carried him to my car. Trapped in his own dark world, he couldn't understand why his parents no longer loved or wanted him, and were sending him away...

‘I’m going to love my baby and give her lots of attention,’ Jade said. ‘I’ll show my mum she’s wrong.’Jade, 17, is pregnant, homeless and alone when she’s brought to live with Cathy. Jade is desperate to keep her baby, but little more than a child...

A new memoir from Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Cathy Glass.Eight-year-old Aimee was on the child protection register at birth. Her five older siblings were taken into care many years ago. So no one can understand why she was left at...

Charities play an outsize role in the social, cultural and economic life of the nation, delivering goods and services on which lives depend. To effectively serve their communities, charities also participate in politics: campaigning for changes to law...

This book tells the history of adoption in Australia from its beginnings in the nineteenth century to its decline at the beginning of the twenty-first. The authors find that a market in babies has long existed. In the early years supply outstripped...

Demand for childcare has soared over the past decade as Australian families seek to reconcile work and care responsibilities. But the cost of care keeps rising, waiting lists in many metropolitan centres are long, and high quality services are not always...

Buying and Selling the Poor ventures behind the scenes of the multibillion-dollar welfare-to-work system, offering new insights into how Australia responds to unemployment and disadvantage. As the authors tell the story of four local employment offices,...

As much as everyone groans from time to time about the humdrum and stresses of work, retirement is an unsettling prospect for most people. It's a major transition in anyone's life and change of this magnitude often arouses anxiety. This is much more so...

“An invaluable guide.” Noel Whittaker, International bestselling author and finance writerWinner of the Australasian Journal on Ageing (AJA) Book Award. Informative and insightful, this is the essential family guide to navigating elder care and...

What really goes on behind prison walls and in the hearts and minds of inmates?Few know better than Phyllis Taylor who, inspired by Oprah Winfrey's Toronto Lifeclass featuring six incarcerated women, left a comfortable and prestigious career teaching...

An invaluable resource for everyone concerned for the vulnerable people in their lives.Estimates suggest almost half of the adult population will someday be a caregiver, whether for an aging parent, an ailing partner, or a disabled family member. It is a...

Awards and HonorsReader Views Literary Awards Program Gold Award Independent Press Distinguished Favorite Award Book Excellence Awards Finalist

Homer Hudelson spent 30 years in the San Francisco Police Department and experienced some extraordinary events firsthand, such as the Dan White Riots, the SF State Civil Rights Demonstrations, and the search for the Zodiac killer. In addition to his role...

This book consists of a series of anecdotal experiences of a police officer in a small, but growing, police department in the suburban Denver area. Although set in the 1960's and 70's, it is easily translatable to today's law enforcement experience. It's...

"The Adoption: An Angels Way" is a compelling true story about an unlikely couple's struggle to adopt a Thai baby. This is a story about chance, divine intervention, and some wonderful blessings. This book is the perfect companion for all families...

A compelling new picture of one of the most important, complex, and misunderstood figures of our time.The name George Soros is recognized around the world. Universally known for his decades of philanthropy, progressive politics, and investment success,...

After being named Assistant Director of Intelligence for the Capitol Police just days before the 2020 election, Julie Farnam warned its leadership of the upcoming insurrection, sharing that "Congress itself is the target on the 6th." Tragically, her...

Why most Americans' finances improved during the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression-and the policy choices that made this possibleIn March 2020, economic and social life across the United States came to an abrupt halt as the country...

The moment in the sun for special operations sometimes appears to have passed, seemingly eclipsed by preparations for potential conflict under the guise of 'great power' competition, combined with failure in Afghanistan. Yet the war in Ukraine serves as...

How institutional and interpersonal policing have been central to worldmakingPolicing is constitutive of colonial modernity: normalizing, internalizing, and legalizing anti-Black violence as the ongoing condition for white life and freedom. The result,...

"A master class in how to be a person." --Joanna Rakoff, bestselling author of My Salinger Year"Astonishing...one of the most moving memoirs I've read." --Caroline Leavitt, best-selling author of With or Without You and Days of Wonder. In Breath Taking:...

Exposes Arabella Advisors as a major "dark money" operation that channels billions into progressive causes through opaque networks and deceptive grassroots groups, revealing its significant influence on U.S. politics and its far-reaching impact on issues...

"Jae Oh's Maximize Your Medicare is the best book I've read on understanding all of the Medicare options and how Medicare intersects with other health insurance options." -Wade Pfau, Professor of Retirement Income at The American CollegeIncludes the Most...

Told with unflinching honesty and a touch of gallows humor,Clay and Bonesis the personal memoir of the first female forensic sculptor in the FBI.Lisa Bailey never considered a career working in death until she saw the FBI job posting for a forensic...

Fill the void. Lift your voice. Say Her Name.Breonna Taylor, Alberta Spruill, Rekia Boyd, Shantel Davis, Shelly Frey, Kayla Moore, Kyam Livingston, Miriam Carey, Michelle Cusseaux, and Tanisha Anderson are among the many lives that should have been...

Established in the wake of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-8 by the Australian army officer Major-General Walter Cawthorne, then Deputy Chief of Staff in the Pakistan Army, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for years remained an...

With a foreword by Bruce WesternNamed one of the Best Books of the Year by NPRShortlisted, 2024 Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social JusticeThe most comprehensive critique of probation and parole-and a provocative and compelling argument for abolishing...

How our reliance on Child Protective Services makes motherhood precarious for those already marginalizedIt's the knock on the door that many mothers fear: a visit from Child Protective Services (CPS), the state agency with the power to take their...

Beyond an adrenaline ride or a chronicle of bravura heroics, this unflinching view of a Minneapolis firefighter reveals the significant toll of emergency responseIn this remarkable memoir, Jeremy Norton marshals twenty-two years of professional...

Up-Rooted: Climbing Through Family Chaos details the conflict in T.J. Kyri's life, from marriage to adoption to divorce, despite being a conflict resolution professional. It describes her harrowing mission to adopt her older daughters from Ukraine and...

When the Bough Breaks, True Stories of Hope and Encouragement of Mothers Who Have Had to Reinvent Their Relationships with Their Children, seeks to shed light on that moment when Mom has to reach into the well of courage and ask for outside help.

**AS SEEN IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, BITCH MAGAZINE, THE LA REVIEW OF BOOKS, LIT HUB, AND MORE** In this groundbreaking collection of essays, poems, and creative nonfiction, more than twenty-nine writers offer witty and incisive insight into the unique...

Joseph Di Prisco's anticipated memoir brings the hustler, gambler, criminal, bookmaker, and confidential informer-Joe's father-back to life, and reveals the fascinating and unsettling truths that simultaneously bound and separated father and son. On the...

Day-to-Day Living With Dementia offers essential caregiving guidance, including practical tips and resources, techniques for working through difficult emotions, and strategies for managing common dementia-related challenges.Caring for someone with...