Marginalized Youth. An Introduction.

The life conduct of marginalized groups has become subject to increasing levels of risk in advanced capitalist societies. In particular, children and young people are confronted with the harsh consequences of a “new poverty” in the contemporary era. The demographic complexion of today’s poverty is youthful, as a number of government reports have once again documented in recent years in Australia, Germany, France, Great Britain, the US or Scandinavian countries. Key youth studies have shown a growing fear of the future among young people – especially with regard to the threat of unemployment and poverty. However, these results have not yet produced any fundamental critical political reaction.

Comparative Analyses of Child and Youth Services in Europe

This paper contains a comparative evaluation of the reactions of welfare states to the isomorphic pressures emanating from the European Union based on two case studies taken from the Child and Youth Welfare System. In the European Community different concepts of welfare policy exist. In the unification process every member state has to find answers to the pressure of assimilation invoked by the legislation. The objective of this explorative study is to show that countries can learn from each other in order to improve their own system of social services.