Social services in the context of "Social policy"

Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited government and an overall more laissez-faire style of governance. While both are committed to personal freedoms, social liberalism places greater emphasis on the role of government in addressing social inequalities and ensuring public welfare.

Social liberal governments address economic and social issues such as poverty, welfare, infrastructure, healthcare, and education using government intervention, while emphasising individual rights and autonomy.

Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within society have equal rights, liberties, and status; possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and social services.

Social equality requires the absence of legally enforced social class or caste boundaries, along with an absence of discrimination motivated by an inalienable part of an individual's identity. Advocates of social equality believe in equality before the law for all individuals regardless of many aspects. These aspects include but are not limited to, sex, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, origin, caste or class, income or property, language, religion, convictions, opinions, health, disability,trade union membership, political views, parental status, mores, family or marital status, and any other grounds. These are some different types of social equality:

A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a name for community personnel who worked in the new community mental health agencies begun in the 1970s to assist individuals moving from state hospitals, to prevent admissions, and to provide support in homes, jobs, education, and community. These individuals (i.e., state office personnel, private sector personnel, and non-profit, now voluntary sector personnel) were the forefront brigade to develop the community programs, which today may be referred to by names such as supported housing, psychiatric rehabilitation, supported or transitional employment, sheltered workshops, supported education, daily living skills, affirmative industries, dual diagnosis treatment, individual and family psychoeducation, adult day care, foster care, family services and mental health counseling.

Psychiatrists - physicians who use the biomedical model to treat mental health problems - may prescribe medication. The term counselors often refers to office-based professionals who offer therapy sessions to their clients, operated by organizations such as pastoral counseling (which may or may not work with long-term services clients) and family counselors. Mental health counselors may refer to counselors working in residential services in the field of mental health in community programs.

In the United States, "defund the police" is a slogan advocating for reallocating funds from police departments to non-policing forms of public safety and community support initiatives, such as social services, youth programs, housing, education, healthcare, and other community resources. The goals of those using the slogan vary; some support modest budget reductions, while others advocate for full divestment as part of a broader effort to abolish contemporary policing systems.

Proponents of defunding police departments argue that investing in community-based programs can more effectively address the root causes of crime, such as poverty, homelessness, and mental health conditions, thereby serving as a better deterrent. Police abolitionists propose replacing traditional police forces with alternative public safety models, emphasizing housing, employment, community health, education, and other social support systems.

The suburbs of Johannesburg are officially demarcated areas within the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. As in other Commonwealth countries, the term suburb refers to a "neighbourhood", although in South Africa most (but not all) "suburbs" have legally recognised borders (see legal definition of township) and often (but not always) separate postal codes. The municipal functions for the area, such as municipal policing and social services, are still managed by the city government.

Johannesburg, like many other boom towns, grew rapidly and with little planning, and thus the city covers an extremely large area. The main differences between the city's suburbs tend to be socioeconomic: The north is often associated with wealth due to areas such as Houghton, which boasts large properties and contained the residence of former president Nelson Mandela, and Sandton which has become an alternative business district and is referred to as "Africa's richest square mile".

The wellbeing services counties (Finnish: hyvinvointialue, Swedish: välfärdsområde, Northern Sami: buresveadjinguovlu, Inari Sami: pyereestvaijeemkuávlu, Skolt Sami: pueʹrrvââjjamvuʹvdd) are responsible for organising health, social and emergency services in Finland. There are 21 wellbeing services counties and the county division is mainly based on the region division. The public authorities are separate from the municipalities and from the central government.

The wellbeing services counties are self-governing. They do not have the right to levy taxes and their funding is based on central government funding. The central government allocates different amounts of funding to the different wellbeing services counties, depending on the structure of their population.