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Full-Text Articles in Social Work

A Decent Home For Every Family? Housing Policy Initiatives Since The 1980s, Sondra J. Fogel, Marc T. Smith, Anne R. Williamson Mar 2008

A Decent Home For Every Family? Housing Policy Initiatives Since The 1980s, Sondra J. Fogel, Marc T. Smith, Anne R. Williamson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A fundamental economic and social principle embedded in the American psyche remains the value of shelter. However, housing policy is the result of a complex exchange among economic, political, and social agendas competing for attention within the multiple levels of local, state, and federal governments. This article intends to capture what we consider afea of the significant initiatives since 1980 that reflect these tensions and comprise our current housing policies and directions. Furthermore, we suggest additional housing issues that may need to be addressed by the next presidential administration.


History Of Contemporary Social Policy: Introduction, Richard K. Caputo Mar 2008

History Of Contemporary Social Policy: Introduction, Richard K. Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

As the contributions to this special issue of ]SSW attest, much can be said about the nature of social welfare policies and programs over the past quarter century. Some changes are allegedly beneficial, some not, in regard to the welfare of the nation in general and to economically needy people in particular. The welfare program in the form of cash assistance primarily to lowincome mothers and their children as we had understood and implemented it since 1935 ended. Work effort became the sine qua non of cash assistance for all low-income families. Further, the very notion of the welfare state …


Globalization, Welfare Reform And The Social Economy: Developing An Alternative Approach To Analyzing Social Welfare Systems In The Post-Industrial Era, Vanna Gonzales Jun 2007

Globalization, Welfare Reform And The Social Economy: Developing An Alternative Approach To Analyzing Social Welfare Systems In The Post-Industrial Era, Vanna Gonzales

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Our understanding of the relationship between globalization and contemporary social welfare systems is heavily influenced by three conventional approaches to studying welfare reform: the political economy, moral economy, and mixed economy approaches. In addition to analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each of these approaches, a central aim of this article is to introduce the social economy approach as an emergent alternative. Drawing from a growing body of work on institutional innovation within the European third sector, I argue that the social economy approach makes a valuable contribution to understanding the role of welfare networks in reconfiguring globalizations' impact on …


Toward Global Welfare State Convergence?: Family Policy And Health Care In Sweden, Canada And The United States, Gregg M. Olsen Jun 2007

Toward Global Welfare State Convergence?: Family Policy And Health Care In Sweden, Canada And The United States, Gregg M. Olsen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Accounts of the welfare state and the dynamics governing its development have been pivotal and highly contentious in the social policy literature over the past few decades. Since the 1980s, research has suggested that, as a result of domestic pressures and strains and/or the impact of globalization, welfare states were declining in tandem. However, most of these studies were quantitativefocusing upon 18 or more advanced capitalist nations and, in their search to uncover broad cross-national trends, utilized narrow welfare state indicators. This study investigates the extent to which the social democratic welfare state in Sweden, the social liberal welfare state …


Foster Parents' Reasons For Fostering And Foster Family Utilization, Kathryn Rhodes, Mary Ellen Cox, John G. Orme, Tanya Coakley Dec 2006

Foster Parents' Reasons For Fostering And Foster Family Utilization, Kathryn Rhodes, Mary Ellen Cox, John G. Orme, Tanya Coakley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Better utilization of foster families might be linked to parents' reasons for fostering. This study used data from the National Survey of Current and Former Foster Parents to examine relationships between reasons for fostering and types of services and length of service foster parents provide. Top reasons for fostering were child-centered. The least endorsed reasons were self-oriented. Those who fostered to help children with special problems were more likely to have a child placed, had more children, and had fostered more types of special needs children. Parents who fostered because their children were grown were more likely to have a …


Job Satisfaction Among Tanf Leavers, Jeff Scott Sep 2006

Job Satisfaction Among Tanf Leavers, Jeff Scott

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using means tests, ANOVA, contingency methods and polytomous logistic regression techniques, I analyze job satisfaction survey data provided by former welfare recipients in Illinois. Mean job satisfaction in the sample is high. Wages, work hours, professional status, having employer sponsored health care and being in good health have sign ficant positive effects on job satisfaction. Contrary to popular assumptions regarding welfare dependency, time on welfare positively affects post- TANF job satisfaction. I discuss implications of these findings in the context of policy debates regarding TANF reauthorization.


When Policy Meets Practice: The Untested Effects Of Permanency Reforms In Child Welfare, Amy D'Andrade, Jill Duerr Berrick Mar 2006

When Policy Meets Practice: The Untested Effects Of Permanency Reforms In Child Welfare, Amy D'Andrade, Jill Duerr Berrick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (P.L. 105-89; ASFA) passed into federal law in 1997. ASFA emphasized child protection over family preservation, and introduced reforms intended to increase the likelihood and the speed with which children in the child welfare system attain a permanent home. This article details two provisions of the law, concurrent planning and reunification exception, and explores challenges in their implementation. These provisions have the potential to shift the nature of how child welfare services are delivered, and which families zill receive them. An examination of implementation in the state of California suggests there is a need …


Review Of Home Ownership And Social Inequality In Comparative Perspective. Karen Kurtz And Hans-Peter Blossfeld (Eds.). Reviewed By James Lee., James Lee Mar 2006

Review Of Home Ownership And Social Inequality In Comparative Perspective. Karen Kurtz And Hans-Peter Blossfeld (Eds.). Reviewed By James Lee., James Lee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Karin Kurtz and Hans-Peter Blossfeld (Eds), Home Ownership and Social Inequality in Comparative Perspective. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2004. $70.00 hardcover.


Welfare To Web To Work: Internet Job Searching Among Former Welfare Clients In Florida, Steve Mcdonald, Robert E. Crew Jr. Mar 2006

Welfare To Web To Work: Internet Job Searching Among Former Welfare Clients In Florida, Steve Mcdonald, Robert E. Crew Jr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study provides the first empirical test of whether searching for jobs on the Internet can help people gain access to high quality jobs. Using new data from former welfare clients in Florida, we present results from a multivariate regression analysis of Internet job searching on wages and on a number of job benefits. On average, Internet job searchers receive better jobs than people who conducted more traditional job searches, net of numerous control variables. These findings suggest that welfare recipients have a great deal to gain from searching for their jobs on the Internet.


Review Of The Future Of The Welfare State: Crisis Myths And Crisis Realities. Francis G. Castels. Reviewed By Charles Guzetta., Charles Guzetta Mar 2006

Review Of The Future Of The Welfare State: Crisis Myths And Crisis Realities. Francis G. Castels. Reviewed By Charles Guzetta., Charles Guzetta

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Francis G. Castles, The Future of the Welfare State: Crisis Myths and Crisis Realities. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. $99.0 hardcover, $35.00 papercover.


Social Policy For Development. Anthony Hall And James Midgley., Joon-Yong Jo Mar 2006

Social Policy For Development. Anthony Hall And James Midgley., Joon-Yong Jo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Anthony Hall and James Midgley, Social Policy for Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004. $110.00 hardcover, $42.95 papercover.


Review Of Changing Welfare Services: Case Studies Of Local Welfare Reform Programs. Michael J. Austin (Ed.) And Welfare Reform In West Virginia. Robert Jay Dilger (Ed.). Reviewed By James Midgley., James Midgley Dec 2005

Review Of Changing Welfare Services: Case Studies Of Local Welfare Reform Programs. Michael J. Austin (Ed.) And Welfare Reform In West Virginia. Robert Jay Dilger (Ed.). Reviewed By James Midgley., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Michael J. Austin (Ed.), Changing Welfare Services: Case Studies of Local Welfare Reform Programs. New York: Haworth Press, 2004. $69.95 hardcover, $39.95 papercover Robert Jay Dilger et al, Welfare Reform in West Virginia. Mogantown, WV: University of West Virginia Press, 2004. $30.00 papercover.


Workfare In Toronto: More Of The Same?, Ernie Lightman, Andrew Mitchell, Dean Herd Dec 2005

Workfare In Toronto: More Of The Same?, Ernie Lightman, Andrew Mitchell, Dean Herd

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper uses a recent survey of welfare leavers in Toronto to examine Workfare, a uniquely American initiative introduced into Canada, with its different welfare state history and traditions. When classic American workfare was imported by an enthusiastic government in Ontario, its application led to employment outcomes remarkably similar to those in the US (reduced caseloads, insecure and contingent employment, high recidivism). Yet, Canada's earlier commitment to community and collective responsibility have not been entirely subsumed below the overarching American umbrella. Welfare programs in Canada-specifically, workfare-reflect both the difficulties of maintaining great difference, and also the possibilities of following an …


Implications Of Media Scrutiny For A Child Protection Agency, Lindsay D. Cooper Sep 2005

Implications Of Media Scrutiny For A Child Protection Agency, Lindsay D. Cooper

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines media impact on job efficacy in a child protection agency. The research uses inductive, holistic research methods to examine the effect of media scrutiny on changes in management dictates, worker duties and responsibilities, and agency services. Data were collected from media sources, interviews, archival materials, and participant observation, then analyzed via qualitative content analysis, providing a basis for rich ethnographic description of perceptions and behavior of diverse groups of people involved in child protection. The study reveals how contradictions in American national culture generate a need for increased communication, understanding, agreement, and support, between various groups of …


Welfare Recipients Attending College: The Interplay Of Oppression And Resistance, Karen Christopher Sep 2005

Welfare Recipients Attending College: The Interplay Of Oppression And Resistance, Karen Christopher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This qualitative study uses Patricia Hill Collins' "both/and" conceptual framework to explore experiences of both oppression and resistance among welfare recipients attending college. It examines how children, social networks, integration into campus life, and interactions with caseworkers affect welfare recipients' college attendance and college persistence. As is well established in the sociological literature, having children complicates college attendance and persistence. But this research shows that children also provide the predominant incentive for poor mothers to attain higher education. Moreover, this study reveals complexities in welfare recipients' experiences with their social networks, work-study jobs, and caseworkers that are often overlooked by …


Review Of Assessing Outcomes In Child And Family Services: Comparative Design And Policy Issues. Anthony N. Malucchio, Cinzia Canali And Tiziano Vecchiato (Eds.) Reviewed By Sherill Clark., Sherrill Clark Dec 2004

Review Of Assessing Outcomes In Child And Family Services: Comparative Design And Policy Issues. Anthony N. Malucchio, Cinzia Canali And Tiziano Vecchiato (Eds.) Reviewed By Sherill Clark., Sherrill Clark

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Anthony N. Maluccio, Cinzia Canali and Tiziano Vecchiato (Eds.) Assessing Outcomes in Child and Family Services: Comparative Design and Policy Issues. Hawthorne, NY: 2003. $49.95 hardcover, $24.95 papercover.


Social Work And Human Rights: A Foundation For Policy And Practice. Elizabeth Reichert. Reviewed By Mel Gray., Mel Gray Sep 2004

Social Work And Human Rights: A Foundation For Policy And Practice. Elizabeth Reichert. Reviewed By Mel Gray., Mel Gray

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Elisabeth Reichert, Social Work and Human Rights: A Foundation for Policy and Practice. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. $49.50 hardcover, $24.50 papercover.


Legislative Casework: Where Policy And Practice Intersect, Larry Ortiz, Cindy Wirz, Kelli Semion, Ciro Rodriguez Jun 2004

Legislative Casework: Where Policy And Practice Intersect, Larry Ortiz, Cindy Wirz, Kelli Semion, Ciro Rodriguez

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Legislative casework is an ongoing activity in many state and federal legislative offices. Although the activity carries the implication of being a social work activity, there is little evidence from the literature, or in the field, that social workers are more than marginally employed in these positions. Reasons for the lack of professionally educated social workers in this important area of practice and politics are not clear. This paper explores the field of practice known as legislative casework, its history and purpose, and presents generalist social work examples from a Congressional district office wherein which professional social workers are employed. …


Family Group Conferencing In Child Welfare: Responsive And Regulatory Interfaces, Joan Pennell Mar 2004

Family Group Conferencing In Child Welfare: Responsive And Regulatory Interfaces, Joan Pennell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A regulatory approach compels the child welfare worker to make decisions according to set procedures and prevents responding flexibly to families. Differential response is a way that child welfare is departing from legal formalism. One means is convening a family group conference (FGC) to develop a plan. John Braithwaite's regulatory pyramid assists in concep- tualizing differential response. This article reports a factor analysis of data on achievement of FGC objectives to elaborate three interfaces for fostering responsive regulation. Each interface keeps the family group at the center of planning while firmly maintaining their connections with community and government programs.


Review Of Controversial Issues In Social Policy. Howard Jacob Karger, James Midgley, & C Brene Brown (Eds.). Reviewed By Mizanur R. Miah., Mizanur R. Miah Mar 2004

Review Of Controversial Issues In Social Policy. Howard Jacob Karger, James Midgley, & C Brene Brown (Eds.). Reviewed By Mizanur R. Miah., Mizanur R. Miah

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Howard Jacob Karger, James Midgley and C. Brene Brown (Eds.), Controversial Issues in Social Policy. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2003. $ 24.67 papercover.


Review Of The Assault On Social Policy. William Roth. Reviewed By Larry Nackerud., Larry Nackerud Sep 2003

Review Of The Assault On Social Policy. William Roth. Reviewed By Larry Nackerud., Larry Nackerud

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of William Roth, The Assault on Social Policy. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002. $49.50 hardcover, $22.50 paper cover.


What's Need Got To Do With It? Barriers To Use Of Nonprofit Social Services, Rebecca Joyce Kissane Jun 2003

What's Need Got To Do With It? Barriers To Use Of Nonprofit Social Services, Rebecca Joyce Kissane

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In recent years, legislators have called upon private nonprofit and proprietary organizations to assume a larger role in provision of public benefits to poor persons. Little research, however, has examined poor people's willingness to use nonprofit agencies in lieu of public welfare. This analysis draws data from over 2 years of fieldwork and in-depth interviews with twenty poor women in Philadelphia. I demonstrate that decisions to use nonprofits are contingent upon stigma, information, practical predicaments (e.g., agency hours), and perceived need. I explore the implications of these impediments in a post-welfare reform landscape, while focusing on how decisions to use …


Linking Welfare Clients To Jobs: Discretionary Use Of Worker Social Capital, Michelle Livermore, Alison Neustrom Jun 2003

Linking Welfare Clients To Jobs: Discretionary Use Of Worker Social Capital, Michelle Livermore, Alison Neustrom

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The overarching theme of the 1996 welfare reform law was to move clients from dependency to self-sufficiency by facilitating their entry into the labor market. While numerous mechanisms were used to do this, this study explores discretionary actions taken by workers to help clients find jobs, namely, tapping into their own social capital. Respondents in one urban and one rural county in a southern state reported using their own social capital to get information regarding job openings and to exert influence to get clients hired. Notably, respondents at all levels of the bureaucracy expected this behavior to occur. Both the …


Head Start, Other Preschool Programs, & Life Success In A Youth Cohort, Richard K. Caputo Jun 2003

Head Start, Other Preschool Programs, & Life Success In A Youth Cohort, Richard K. Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study assesses the effects of Head Start and other preschool programs on five life success measures in a U.S. cohort of youth (N = 5,621). The life success indices are average annual income-to-poverty ratios, economic mobility, and number of years the youth lived in families whose incomes fell below official poverty thresholds, received Food Stamps, and received TANF/AFDC. Controlling for a variety of background and other factors in separate regression models for each life success measure, results show that youth who participated in preschool programs other than Head Start had higher average annual income-to-poverty ratios than nonpreschoolers. Bivariate findings …


The Principles Of Social Policy. Robert E Drake, And Welfare Theory: An Introduction. Tony Fitzpatrick. Dec 2002

The Principles Of Social Policy. Robert E Drake, And Welfare Theory: An Introduction. Tony Fitzpatrick.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Robert E Drake, The Principles of Social Policy. New York: Palgrave, 2001. $65.00 hardcover, $19.95 papercover. Tony Fitzpatrick, Welfare Theory: An Introduction. New York: Palgrave, $69.95 hardcover, $19.95 papercover.


Review Of Social Policy And Policymaking By The Branches Of Government And The Public-At-Large. Theodore J. Stein. Review By Diana M. Dinitto., Diana M. Dinitto Jun 2002

Review Of Social Policy And Policymaking By The Branches Of Government And The Public-At-Large. Theodore J. Stein. Review By Diana M. Dinitto., Diana M. Dinitto

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Theodore J. Stein, Social Policy and Policymaking by the Branches of Government and the Public-at-Large. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. $49.50 hardcover.


When Social Program Responsibilities Trickle Down: Impacts Of Devolution On Local Human Services Provision, Steven G. Anderson, Anthony Halter, Brian Gryzlak Jun 2002

When Social Program Responsibilities Trickle Down: Impacts Of Devolution On Local Human Services Provision, Steven G. Anderson, Anthony Halter, Brian Gryzlak

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) shifted responsibility for public assistance from the federal government to the states. This study examined early impacts of this devolution and related program reductions on local service authorities in Illinois. Based on surveys from 101 large townships responsible for administering General Assistance, medical assistance, and emergency needs programs, we found that 60 percent of these localities experienced increased service demands. These demands not only placed pressure on limited local programming funds, but also transformed local service populations in subtle and unintended ways. Reports of bureaucratic mistreatment and confusion also …


Review Of Social Security And Medicare: Individual Vs. Collective Risk And Responsibility. Sheila Burke, Eric Kingson And Uwe Reinhart (Eds.). Review By Rick Hoefer, Rick Hoefer Mar 2002

Review Of Social Security And Medicare: Individual Vs. Collective Risk And Responsibility. Sheila Burke, Eric Kingson And Uwe Reinhart (Eds.). Review By Rick Hoefer, Rick Hoefer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Sheila Burke, Eric Kingson and Uwe Reinhart (Eds.), Social Security and Medicare: Individual vs. Collective Risk and Responsibility. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press and National academy of Social Insurance, 2000. $20.95 papercover.


Review Of A Prelude To The Welfare State: The Origins Of Workers' Compensation. Price V. Fishback And Shawn Everett Kantor. Review By Christopher R. Larrison, Christopher R. Larrison Mar 2002

Review Of A Prelude To The Welfare State: The Origins Of Workers' Compensation. Price V. Fishback And Shawn Everett Kantor. Review By Christopher R. Larrison, Christopher R. Larrison

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Price V. Fishback and Shawn Everett Kantor, A Prelude to the Welfare State: The Origins of Workers' Compensation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. $37.50 hardcover


The Impact Of The Economy And Welfare Policy On Welfare Accessions: Implications For Future Reforms, Vicky N. Albert, William C. King Sep 2001

The Impact Of The Economy And Welfare Policy On Welfare Accessions: Implications For Future Reforms, Vicky N. Albert, William C. King

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This longitudinal study analyzes the impact of labor market conditions and welfare policies accompanying the 1990s waivers granted by the federal government to California and the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWOA) on families entering welfare (accessions). A time series model was specified for analyzing the number of families entering welfare from January 1983 to December 1998. The findings suggest that in 1998 under PRWOA, all else constant, there were fewer case openings. Prior to the PRWOA, policy shifts of the 1990s did not have an impact on case openings. The findings also show that under economic recovery …