Social Welfare Law Commons^™

Disability, Reciprocity, And 'Real Efficiency': A Unified Approach, Amy L. Wax

All Faculty Scholarship

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires private employers to offer reasonable accommodation to disabled persons capable of performing the core elements of a job. Some economists have attacked the statute as ill-advised and inefficient. In examining the efficiency of the ADA, this article analyzes its cost-effectiveness against the following social and legal background conditions: First, society will honor a minimum commitment to provide basic support to persons - including the medically disabled - who, through no fault of their own, cannot earn enough to maintain a minimally decent standard of living. Second, legal and pragmatic factors, including "sticky" or …

The Judicial Transformation Of Social Security Disability: The Case Of Mental Disorders And Childhood Disability, Jennifer L. Erkulwater

Political Science Faculty Publications

A full account of the judicial influence on Social Security disability programs would require a book-length, perhaps even encyclopedia-length, treatise and would take us far afield from our present concern. This article focuses narrowly on the activities of Legal Services attorneys, mental health reformers, and children's advocates. Although mental health reformer groups are only one of many antipoverty organizations involved in advocacy efforts on behalf of the disabled poor, they have been among the most persistent, the most active, and the most successful in using a litigation strategy to achieve their larger policy goals. According to one Social Security official, …

''Step On A Crack, Break Your Mother's Back'': Poor Moms, Myths Of Authority, And Drug-Related Evictions From Public Housing, Regina Austin

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Liberal Ideals And Political Feasibility: Guest-Worker Programs As Second-Best Policies, Howard F. Chang

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Welfare Reform And Families In The Child Welfare System, Morgan B. Ward Doran, Dorothy E. Roberts

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Public Benefits And Federal Authorization For Alienage Discrimination By The States, Howard F. Chang

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Behavioral Genetics And The Best Interests Of The Child Decision Rule, David J. Herring

Articles

This article proposes that modern child custody law should be reassessed in light of recent scientific findings. Judicial determinations of custody use the "best interests of the child" rule. The rule is justified to a large extent by the goal of maximizing child developmental outcomes. The assumption is that a child whose "best interests" are protected stands a better chance of becoming a socially well-adjusted, productive and prosperous citizen.

Recent child development studies have shown that so-called "shared environment," or home environment factors have little effect on child development so long as the shared environment is minimally adequate. Genetics and …