David Stoesz

David Stoesz
Occupations	academic, policy analyst, social entrepreneur, author
Awards	Fulbright Distinguished Chair awards, UK (2014), Australia (2017)
Academic background
Education	Master of Social Work (1976), Ph.D. (1980)
Alma mater	University of Maryland (1980)
Academic work
Discipline	Social policy
Sub-discipline	Child welfare, national politics
Institutions	San Diego State University, Virginia Commonwealth University
Main interests	Social policy, child welfare, international development, and national politics
Notable works	American Social Welfare Policy, 9th ed. (2022), Welfare State 3.0: Social Policy After the Pandemic (2021)

David Stoesz (/steɪs/) is an American academic, policy analyst, author, and social entrepreneur. Stoesz worked as a welfare caseworker and welfare department director and has published about social policy, child welfare, international development, and national politics. He earned his PhD at the University of Maryland-Baltimore in 1980, subsequently teaching at San Diego State University^[1] and Virginia Commonwealth University where he served as Samuel Wurtzel Professor of Social Work.^[2] He is a professor emeritus in the Virginia Commonwealth School of Social Work,^[3] and a founder of Up$tart, a company whose products assist US college students in applying for federal benefits.^[4]

Stoesz's book, Quixote’s Ghost: The Right, the Liberati, and the Future of Social Policy received the Prohumanitate Literary Award.^[5]

In 2010 Stoesz was inducted into the National Academy of Social Insurance.^[6]

Bibliography

Books

• Meritocracy, Populism, and the Future of Democracy (2022)^[7]
• Welfare State 3.0: Social Policy After the Pandemic (2021)^[8]
• Building Better Social Programs: How Evidence is Transforming Public Policy (2020)
• The Investment State (2018)
• The Dynamic Welfare State (2017)
• Quixote's Ghost: The Right, the Liberati, and the Future of Social Policy (2005) ISBN 9780195181203^[9]
• A poverty of imagination: Bootstrap capitalism, sequel to welfare reform (2000)^[10]
• The Politics of Child Abuse in America (with Lela B. Costin and Howard Jacob Karger, Oxford University Press, 1996)^[11]
• Reconstructing the American Welfare State (with Howard Jacob Karger, Rowman & Littlefield, 1992)^[12]

As an editor or co-author

• American Social Welfare Policy, 9th ed. (2022) co-authored with Howard Karger ISBN 9780137472246
• Stoesz, David, Howard Jacob Karger, and Terry E. Carrillo. "A dream deferred: How social work education lost its way and what can be done." (2011).
• Karger, Howard Jacob, and David Stoesz. American social welfare policy. Allyn and Bacon, 2009.

Articles

• Stoesz, David. "Evidence-based policy: Reorganizing social services through accountable care organizations and social impact bonds." Research on Social Work Practice 24, no. 2 (2014): 181–185.
• Karger, Howard Jacob, and David Stoesz. "The growth of social work education programs, 1985-1999: Its impact on economic and educational factors related to the profession of social work." Journal of Social Work Education 39, no. 2 (2003): 279–295.
• Stoesz, David, and Howard Jacob Karger. "Deconstructing welfare: The Reagan legacy and the welfare state." Social Work 38, no. 5 (1993): 619–628.

Awards

Stoesz has received two Fulbright Distinguished Chair awards: in 2014 to the UK, in 2017 to Australia.^[13]

References

1. Gottlieb, Martin (June 20, 1993). "Ideas & Trends: In a 90's War On Poverty, Who Hands Out Money?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
2. "David Stoesz". Contributors. University of Wisconsin Press. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
3. "Emeriti and retired faculty". Virginia Commonwealth School of Social Work. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
4. "David Stoesz". Founders. Up$tart. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
5. CSD (2016-04-12). "The Dynamic Welfare State". Center for Social Development. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
6. https://www.nasi.org/about/our-experts/Archived 2024-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
7. Review of Meritocracy, Populism, and the Future of Democracy: Ali Sarihan (2023), Democratization, doi:10.1080/13510347.2023.2227860
8. Pechdin, Watchara (28 December 2023). "Book Review: Welfare State 3.0: Social Policy After the Pandemic". Journal of Social Work. 31 (2): 362–368.
9. Reviews of Quixote's Ghost:
   • Lawrence M. Mead (2007), The Journal of Politics, doi:10.1111/j.1468-2508.2007.00526.x, JSTOR 10.1111/j.1468-2508.2007.00526.x
   • Jake Rosenfeld (2006), Contemporary Sociology, JSTOR 30045895
10. Review of A Poverty of Imagination: Sandra S. Smith (2001), American Journal of Sociology, doi:10.1086/343170, JSTOR 10.1086/343170
11. Reviews of The Politics of Child Abuse in America:
    • LeRoy Ashby (1996), History of Education Quarterly, JSTOR 369787
    • Douglas J. Besharov and Jacob W. Dembosky (1997), The American Political Science Review, JSTOR 2952287
    • Malcolm Bush (1997), Social Service Review, JSTOR 30013026
    • Robert E. Cosner (1998), Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, JSTOR 1049364
    • Anthony N. Maluccio (1997), "Time for an Ideological Shift in Child Welfare? An Essay Review", Social Service Review, JSTOR 30012610
    • Kathleen McInnis-Dittrich (1997), Social Work, JSTOR 23718458
    • Steven Mintz (1997), Journal of Social History, JSTOR 3789960
12. Reviews of Reconstructing the American Welfare State:
    • Loretta Muller (1994), "A New Mission in Social Policy", Public Administration Review, JSTOR 976535
    • Stewart Tolnay (1993), Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, JSTOR 1047823
13. "David Stoesz | Fulbright Scholar Program". fulbrightscholars.org. Retrieved 2024-01-05.