EU member states have seen high levels of unemployment in recent years especially amongst young people. At the same time the fiscal crisis of welfare states has made it difficult for them to invest in new jobs and new economic growth. The EU, at least since the enactment of the Amsterdam treaty, has had a focus on how to support member states' development of an employment policy which aims for higher levels of participation, lower levels of unemployment and more gender equal approaches. Through exploring patterns in the recent development of financing and governance of social services and developments of social services and employment in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany and the UK, this volume provides readers with new knowledge and evidence of the options regarding social innovation in social services. Furthermore, it provides a comparative European perspective on how the interplay between a public and private mix of social service on the one hand might help in creating jobs, and, on the other, be a way of coping with the needs and expectations of higher level of services in the core areas of the welfare state.

Chapter 1 Introduction, TomáSSirovátka, BentGreve; Chapter 2 Social Services and the Public Sector, TomáSSirovátka, BentGreve; Chapter 3 Employment in the Health and Social Services, Ond?ejHora, TomáSSirovátka; Chapter 4 Financing the Welfare States - Changes and Challenges, BentGreve; Chapter 5 Social Innovation in Social Services, TomáSSirovátka, BentGreve; Chapter 6 Factors Shaping Employment in Social Services, TomáSSirovátka; Chapter 7 The Role of the EU on Welfare States - Focus on Social Services, BentGreve; Chapter 8 Governance, Financing and Employment in Social Services in the Czech Republic, PavelHorák, MarkétaHoráková, Ond?ejHora, TomáSSirovátka; Chapter 9 Governance, Financing and Employment in Social Services in Denmark, BentGreve, PavelHorák, MarkétaHoráková, Ond?ejHora; Chapter 10 Governance, Financing and Employment in Social Services in Germany, PavelHorák, MarkétaHoráková, Ond?ejHora, BentGreve; Chapter 11 Governance, Financing and Employment in Social Services in the United Kingdom, MarkétaHoráková, PavelHorák, Ond?ejHora, TomáSSirovátka; Chapter 12 Comparing the National Cases, TomáSSirovátka, BentGreve; Chapter 13 Conclusions, TomáSSirovátka, BentGreve;