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Inequality and Stratification

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Articles 301 - 330 of 348

Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Review Of Through My Own Eyes: Single Mothers And The Cultures Of Poverty. Susan D. Holloway, Bruce Fuller, Marylee F. Rambaud And Constanza Eggers-Pierola. Reviewed By Jill Duerr-Berrick, University Of California At Berkeley., Jill Duerr-Berrick Mar 1999

Review Of Through My Own Eyes: Single Mothers And The Cultures Of Poverty. Susan D. Holloway, Bruce Fuller, Marylee F. Rambaud And Constanza Eggers-Pierola. Reviewed By Jill Duerr-Berrick, University Of California At Berkeley., Jill Duerr-Berrick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Susan D. Holloway, Bruce Fuller, Marylee E Rambaud and Constanza Eggers-Pierola, Through my own Eyes: Single Mothers and the Cultures of Poverty. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998. $35.00 hardcover.


Maine’S Homeless Families: An Interview With Helen Hemminger, Helen Hemminger Jan 1999

Maine’S Homeless Families: An Interview With Helen Hemminger, Helen Hemminger

Maine Policy Review

Since 1991 Helen Hemminger has been director of The Tedford Shelter, a homeless shelter serving adults and families in the Brunswick, Maine area. In this interview, Hemminger provides a first- hand account of Maine’s changing homeless population. The good news, she reports, is that the percentage of people with mental illnesses staying at the shelter has gone down. The bad news is that since 1994 the shelter has experienced a steady increase in the number of homeless families. As Hemminger notes, there are more Maine families today working very hard to make ends meet. Living on a precarious edge, one …


Adolescent Homelessness: A Roundtable Discussion Jan 1999

Adolescent Homelessness: A Roundtable Discussion

Maine Policy Review

Where do homeless adolescents come from? Are there more homeless youth today than ten years ago? How do we help these youth? What do they need? In December 1998, these questions formed the core of a Maine Policy Review roundtable discussion featuring: State Representative Michael Quint; Dana Totman, deputy director of the Maine State Housing Authority; Christine O’Leary, coordinator of Portland’s Preble Street Resource Teen Center; Bob Rowe, executive director of New Beginnings in Lewiston; and Brad Coffey, chair of the board of Bangor’s Shaw House from 1994-1998. In their wide-ranging discussion, the participants focused on the varied circumstances that …


Poverty, Race, And New Directions In Child Welfare Policy, Dorothy E. Roberts Jan 1999

Poverty, Race, And New Directions In Child Welfare Policy, Dorothy E. Roberts

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Poor Children "Know Their Place": Perceptions Of Poverty, Class, And Public Messages, Susan Weinger May 1998

Poor Children "Know Their Place": Perceptions Of Poverty, Class, And Public Messages, Susan Weinger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This qualitative study hears and clarifies some of the voices of children concerning how they feel their lives are circumscribed by living in poverty, by public messages about the poor, and by their views of their socioeconomic status. Twenty-four children between the ages of 5-12 years were interviewed using snapshots of different economic level homes in order to capture their uncensored responses. Findings reveal that the children view poverty as a deprivation, perceive societal messages as disparaging of the poor, and have some difficulty holding on to positive views of themselves. These children's thoughts about the realities of their lives …


Prevalent Low Income Status In Canadian And United States Metropolitan Areas, 1980 And 1990, Kevin M. Gorey Jan 1998

Prevalent Low Income Status In Canadian And United States Metropolitan Areas, 1980 And 1990, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

As compared to Toronto’s poor people, three to four-fold as many of upstate New York’s poor live in severely impoverished neighborhoods, areas where 40% or more of the residents have annual incomes below the federally established low income or poverty criterion. However, the prevalence of such extremely degraded living conditions increased similarly (two-fold) on both sides of the Canadian-US border during the 1980s. This urban problem, of the concentration of poor people, seems to predominantly be an inner-city problem in the US, whereas it was found to be nearly equivalently extant in the inner-city, mid-suburban and outlying suburban areas of …


Armut : Der Mensch Lebt Nicht Vom Brot Allein : Wege Zur Soziokulturellen Existenzsicherung, Isidor Wallimann, Susanne Schmid Jan 1998

Armut : Der Mensch Lebt Nicht Vom Brot Allein : Wege Zur Soziokulturellen Existenzsicherung, Isidor Wallimann, Susanne Schmid

Books

While the usual discussion about the poverty of the minimum financial security speaks, the authors ask what it could mean for to be living in a secure socio-cultural minimum. The fact is that poverty can be both "caused" by various forms of exclusion, as well as the socio-cultural exclusion promotes or "causes".


Escaping Poverty & Becoming Self-Sufficient, Richard K. Caputo Sep 1997

Escaping Poverty & Becoming Self-Sufficient, Richard K. Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using logistic regression analysis on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study found that sociodemographic factors were far more influential in determining escape from poverty and becoming self sufficient than social psychological factors. The number of years respondents lived in poverty was the best predictor of escaping poverty, while the number of years respondents made use of public assistance programs was the best predictor of becoming self-sufficient. Marital status and change in the number of hours worked influenced the prospect for escaping poverty, though not becoming self-sufficient. Implications regarding the changing philosophy of social welfare from income …


Poverty Among Asian Americans: Theories And Approaches, Surjit Singh Dhooper Mar 1997

Poverty Among Asian Americans: Theories And Approaches, Surjit Singh Dhooper

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Asian Americans are not immune to poverty and its consequences. This paper has reviewed several poverty-related concepts and theories and examined their relevance for understanding and dealing with poverty among Asian Americans. Social work interventions are proposed at both macro and micro levels together with the professional skills necessary for those interventions.


Is The "Underclass" Really A Class?, E. Walton Zelly Jr Mar 1995

Is The "Underclass" Really A Class?, E. Walton Zelly Jr

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The concept of an "underclass" departs from previous determinations of social class based on criteria of education, occupation, and income in favor of the more subjective and less quantifiable criteria of the degree of social dislocation and the departure of a population from middle class norms and values. A study reviews current definitions of "the underclass"; contrasts this class description with "the poor" in the 60's and before; and suggests that "the underclass" is a pejorative label which has the effect of "blaming the victim", and has negative implications for the formulation of public policy directed toward the population thus …


Lives On The Edge: Single Mothers And Their Children In The Other America. Valerie Polakow. Mar 1995

Lives On The Edge: Single Mothers And Their Children In The Other America. Valerie Polakow.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Valerie Polakow: Lives on the Edge: Single Mothers and their Children in the Other America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. $22.50 hardcover.


How To Help The Working Poor Develop Assets, John R. Belcher Dec 1994

How To Help The Working Poor Develop Assets, John R. Belcher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article explores the inability of the working poor to withstand income shocks. Because they often lack assets, the working poor are increasingly vulnerable to increasing deprivation. Interestingly, the welfare state enables the middle-class to develop and maintain assets through institutional arrangements. It is argued that solutions to the problem of poverty must include ways for the working poor also to develop and maintain assets.


Assets And Financial Management Among Poor Households In Extreme Poverty Neighborhoods, Cathleen M. Finn, Paz M-B. Zorita, Claudia Coulton Dec 1994

Assets And Financial Management Among Poor Households In Extreme Poverty Neighborhoods, Cathleen M. Finn, Paz M-B. Zorita, Claudia Coulton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Proposals supporting the accumulation of assets in poor households are hopeful of creating upward mobility. The experiences of poor families in managing assets and other elements of daily economic life were explored through interviews with low-income Hispanic and Anglo families. All families exhibited planning and management skills needed for assets accumulation, but were unable to escape the effects of unrewarding neighborhood environments. Assets did not provide clear avenues out of poverty. If assets-based programs are to raise the economic status of poor families in extreme poverty neighborhoods they must include mechanisms to protect value and reduce uncertainty.


Neighborhood-Based Initiative To Address Poverty: Lessons From Experience, Robert Halpern Dec 1993

Neighborhood-Based Initiative To Address Poverty: Lessons From Experience, Robert Halpern

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The neighborhood has long been an important locus for efforts to address the causes and consequences of poverty in American society. Over the course of the past century neighborhood- based initiatives have been called on to reduce class conflict, counter feelings of alienation, localize control of social institutions, create jobs and reverse neighborhood economic decline, improve human services, and address a variety of specific poverty-related problems, ranging from infant mortality to juvenile delinquency. In this essay I draw on the historical experience with neighborhood initiative to illuminate its strengths and limitations as a strategy for addressing poverty and its correlates. …


Doubling Up: Low Income Households Sheltering The Hidden Homeless, Edward F. Vacha, Marguerite V. Marin Sep 1993

Doubling Up: Low Income Households Sheltering The Hidden Homeless, Edward F. Vacha, Marguerite V. Marin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The costs and benefits of sheltering the homeless experienced by "informal shelter providers "-people who shelter their homeless friends and relatives-are investigated. The benefits of informal sheltering to the community are also examined. Informal shelter providers are among the most destitute in the community, and they are at great risk of becoming homeless themselves. The community receives considerable benefit from informal sheltering. The dependency of the community on the fragile system of informal shelter providers for prevention of homelessness indicates the inadequacy of present housing programs and the failure of our housing policies. Recommendations for preserving and nurturing the invisible …


Poverty, Homelessness, And Racial Exclusion, John R. Belcher Dec 1992

Poverty, Homelessness, And Racial Exclusion, John R. Belcher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article reviews the societal forces that have made homelessness the end result of racial exclusion and inner city isolation. It is argued that significant societal change is necessary to reduce racial exclusion and prevent homelessness.


Changes In Poverty, Income Inequality And The Standard Of Living During The Reagan Years, Robert D. Plotnick Mar 1992

Changes In Poverty, Income Inequality And The Standard Of Living During The Reagan Years, Robert D. Plotnick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The record of economic well-being in the 1980s belied Reagan's claim that Americans would be better off if they scaled back the welfare state and cut tax rates. Though the standard of living rose, its growth was no faster than during 1950-1980. Income inequality increased. The rate of poverty at the end qf Reagan's term was the same as in 1980. Cutbacks in income transfers during the Reagan years helped increase both poverty and inequality. Changes in tax policy helped increase inequality but reduced poverty. These policy shifts are not the only reasons for the lack of progress against poverty …


Testing The Underclass Concept By Surveying Attitudes And Behavior, Kathleen J. Pottick Dec 1990

Testing The Underclass Concept By Surveying Attitudes And Behavior, Kathleen J. Pottick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Recent interest in the problems of an underclass has highlighted deficiencies in the conceptual understanding of the term and empirical investigation into its dynamics. This research note describes the current definition of the concept and presents recent empirical tests of it. By presenting available survey data sets that can identify underclass attitudes, values and behavior, the note refines the deliberations on measurement. Two underclass groups, welfare recipients and criminals, are used to illustrate the methodology


The Truly Disadvantaged: Structuring An Agenda For Change, James A. Geschwender Dec 1989

The Truly Disadvantaged: Structuring An Agenda For Change, James A. Geschwender

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This manuscript addresses the question as to how we may best structure an agenda for change aimed at improving the economic situation for the "truly disadvantaged." I have chosen to address this question within the limits set by existing political circumstances. Policy proposals are presented because they are believed to be achievable and would be effective if implemented. It is impossible to think about this question without considering the proposals presented by William J. Wilson in his pathbreaking book, The Truly Disadvantaged (1987). Consequently, I briefly describe the intellectual context within which Wilson wrote his book and analyze the basic …


Comments On William Wilson's The Truly Disadvantaged: A Limited Proposal For Social Reform, Bonnie Thornton Dill Dec 1989

Comments On William Wilson's The Truly Disadvantaged: A Limited Proposal For Social Reform, Bonnie Thornton Dill

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This is an important book which has already had a major impact on discussions of poverty, race and public policy in the United States. Wilson is to be commended for his willingness to step boldly into the arena of public discourse in an effort to blaze a new trail between the "rock" of conservative thinking on the underclass and the "hard place" of contemporary liberal perspectives. His project-the refocusing of the liberal perspective and the definition of a bold new public policy agenda is inherently controversial. Wilson is quite correct in his assertion that the conservative perspective captured public attention …


Poverty And Electoral Power, Richard A. Cloward, Frances Fox Piven Dec 1989

Poverty And Electoral Power, Richard A. Cloward, Frances Fox Piven

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The poverty of the American underclass cannot be overcome by any single strategy. But surely it will not be reduced without new government interventions in education, training, employment, housing, and social welfae. That raises the question of how the electoral power-especially electoral power exercised by the underclass itself-can be mobilized to win new public policies.


Mainstreaming The Underclass, David Stoesz, John Poole, Martha Joseph Sep 1989

Mainstreaming The Underclass, David Stoesz, John Poole, Martha Joseph

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The underclass has become a prominent issue in American social welfare, yet welfare professionals have focused on maintenance as opposed to mainstreaming strategies in working with this population. A mainstreaming strategy would emphasize individual incentives, community reconstruction, and program reorganization, focusing on the social disorganization of underclass communities. The essay details specific programs in each of these areas: transitional benefits, Community Enterprise Zones, and Integrated Service Agencies, among others. Welfare professionals must find ways to stretch existing public resources and identify new private resources if they are to pose plausible programs for the underclass. The public image of welfare professionals …


Unemployment And Social Integration: A Review, Loring Jones Dec 1988

Unemployment And Social Integration: A Review, Loring Jones

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A review of the literature identifies the loss of work as a stressful life event that has been linked to a number of psychosocial ills. The paper examines the loss of social relationships, a major noneconomic cost of unemployment, as a major contributor to the development of those ills. Practice implications of this finding are identified.


Profits, Welfare, And Class Position: 1965-1984, Marcus D. Pohlmann Sep 1988

Profits, Welfare, And Class Position: 1965-1984, Marcus D. Pohlmann

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The study utilizes an extended version of a Charles V Hamilton paradigm in order to estimate yearly income transfers between classes in America's system of "welfare state capitalism." Analyzing the period from 1965 to 1984, what becomes most obvious is the substantial annual transfer from the middle/working class to the owning class. The transfer rose to more than $150 billion by 1984-a full 10% of middle/ working class income. Yet when looking at the implications, an interesting paradox emerges. Although the amount of transfer has increased some over the period, it has not grown nearly as fast as the after-tax …


Deprofessionalization, Proletarianization, And Social Welfare Work, Paula Dressel, Michelle Waters, Mike Sweat, Obie Clayton Jr., Amy Chandler-Clayton May 1988

Deprofessionalization, Proletarianization, And Social Welfare Work, Paula Dressel, Michelle Waters, Mike Sweat, Obie Clayton Jr., Amy Chandler-Clayton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this paper we explore the personnel transformations which have occurred in social welfare work. Specifically, we examine the tensions between the dynamics of professionalization and deprofessionalization and how these trends have impacted upon those who work in the social welfare enterprise. Another concern of the paper is the effect of the proletarianization of social welfare work in the face of increasing efforts of some to create professional standards and to solidify the position of professionals in agencies. These struggles are examined in terms of their ability to affect the likelihood of both worker unionization and worker-client political coalitions.


Reaganism And The Poor Family: Life On Afdc After The Budget Cuts, Norman L. Wyers, Robert C. Holloway Mar 1983

Reaganism And The Poor Family: Life On Afdc After The Budget Cuts, Norman L. Wyers, Robert C. Holloway

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Recent changes in federal and state welfare policies have had negative consequences for public welfare recipients. This paper summarizes a study which focused on the impact of these policy changes on the AFDC population in the most populous region of Oregon. Of particular importance are the changes in income levels, employment, and social service utilization of recipients. Personal reactions of recipients are also reviewed, as are expectations for the future. The differential economic impact of the policy changes on various categories of recipients is stressed.


Will A Private War On Poverty Succeed? The Case Of The St. Louis Provident Association, Robert H. Lauer, Jeanette C. Lauer Mar 1983

Will A Private War On Poverty Succeed? The Case Of The St. Louis Provident Association, Robert H. Lauer, Jeanette C. Lauer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In view of the current emphasis on private approaches to social problem resolution, it is instructive to look at private efforts of the past. The St. Louis Provident Association was a private effort to deal with poverty. It was organized in 1860 to provide relief for the "needy and distressed." Data on the volunteer leaders of the association and on the people who were actually helped show a number of things about the 19th-century effort to deal with poverty. First, the volunteers were upwardly- mobile business and professional men who were concerned about the stability of their society. Second, the …


Social Action Organization Participation And Personal Change In The Poor: Part I, Robert D. Herman Dec 1982

Social Action Organization Participation And Personal Change In The Poor: Part I, Robert D. Herman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Evidence bearing on the hypothesis that participation by the poor in social action organizations results in personal change is inconsistent and open to diverse interpretations. This paper first reviews that evidence and then takes the first step toward a substantive reconciliation of the apparently inconsistent evidence - the development of a typology of social action organization forms. The typology, which is derived from the literature on poverty and organizational analysis, incorporates the elements of (1) inclusion of the poor, (2) resource base of organizational sponsors, and (3) output goal orientation. The typology will be used in Part I I to …


The Hyde Amendment: Its Impact On Low Income Women With Unwanted Pregnancies, Marjorie R. Sable Sep 1982

The Hyde Amendment: Its Impact On Low Income Women With Unwanted Pregnancies, Marjorie R. Sable

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Hyde amendment, which has been in effect since 1977, restricts federal funding of abortions for Medicaid-eligible women "except where the life of the mother would be endangered if a fetus were carried to term." It has virtually eliminated federally financed abortions and the undue hardships it places on poor women foreshadow contemporary developments in abortion politics today for all women.


Social-Emotional Keys To The Division Of Power, Philip Lichtenberg, Carol Roman Reimert, Susan S. Levine Sep 1982

Social-Emotional Keys To The Division Of Power, Philip Lichtenberg, Carol Roman Reimert, Susan S. Levine

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social organizers concerned with facilitating the reallocation of power must not overlook psychological issues. Within groups, power hierarchies are a function of individual methods of coping with social-emotional interactions. Clinical insights suggest that both empowered and disempowered people participate in the process of establishing and maintaining this hierarchial structure.