"Caught in the Storm: Navigating Policy and Practice in the Welfare Reform Era"

“Caught in the Storm: Navigating Policy and Practice in the Welfare Reform Era,” a new book written by Dr. Miguel Ferguson, Heather Neuroth-Gatlin and Dr. Stacey Borasky, is a narrative about the staff and clients at Helping Hands, a small nonprofit social service agency set in the fictional community of River City. The issues about social welfare policy, program administration, and client practice that the authors choose to highlight emerge through action and dialogue among the book’s characters. The story’s protagonist, Martha, is the insightful and energetic executive director at Helping Hands. Martha and her staff reach out to other nonprofit and faith-based organizations to implement a welfare-to-work program that will make a difference in the lives of the low-income clients they serve. The story follows Martha and her staff through the entire process of applying for, implementing, revising, and evaluating the program, and also examines the impact of Hurricane Katrina, which hits during the middle of the welfare-to-work grant. Join the authors in a discussion of "Caught in the Storm" and the implications of what happened in the wake of Hurricane Katrina for the post-Haitian earthquake world.