It's not like I'm poor: how working families make ends meet in a post-welfare world

illuminates the disparities that exist within racial groups. This investigation conveys the important message that not all Asians, for example, have the same experiences. This analysis of within-group differences, the authors suggest, is critical to improving cultural competency/cultural sensitivity among those working with racial minorities. Another of the book’s contributions to the disparity discourse is its cross-system approach to analyzing and addressing racial disparities. The authors acknowledge that the poor outcomes of racial minorities are not restricted to one system, such as education; therefore, their comprehensive analysis takes into account the child welfare, juvenile justice, education, mental health, and healthcare systems. Given the intersection of systems, approaches to bridging social and economic gaps must also be cross-system in nature. This approach is different from that of many other discussions of disparity, which focus their interventions on a single system. Rather than merely describing the problem of racial disproportionality and disparities, the book offers suggestions for improving practice for racial minorities in various systems. The suggestions for future direction are practical and provide a framework for practitioners and policy-makers to mitigate racial disproportionality and disparities in human services. One area of human services that is noticeably absent from the book’s analysis is the public cash-assistance program. It is well established that racial disproportionality and disparity exist in public welfare and that children whose parents receive welfare have poorer outcomes in many areas, such as education and child welfare. The inclusion of this system – a means-tested program – would have further illuminated the role of poverty in shaping outcomes for racial minorities across various systems. Further, it would have provided another point of intervention for improving the outcomes of racial minorities. Overall, Addressing Racial Disproportionality and Disparities in Human Services makes a strong contribution to the literature on this topic. An awareness of the disparities within social services should inspire social workers and policy-makers to improve the conditions of racial minorities. This move to action is a critical step in meeting what the authors call ‘needs of the changing demographics in the United States.’