Social Work Commons^™

Peran Gapoktan Karya Bersama Dalam Implementasi Program Peremajaan Sawit Rakyat (Psr) Di Bandar Durian, Aek Natas, Labuhan Batu Utara, Azizah Maharani, Bambang Shergi Laksmono

Jurnal Pembangunan Manusia

This research discusses the role of the oil palm joined farmer groups in the implementation of People’s Oil Palm Rejuvenation program (PSR). The PSR program is a program designed by the government to assist oil palm farmers in increasing the productivity of oil palm farmers and supporting Sustainable Rural Development which impacts on improving the welfare of oil palm farmers. In the PSR program, the role of oil palm farmer groups is very important, as they are the grant beneficiaries and managers, so that the success or failure of the program also depends on the farmer groups. In this study, …

Assessing Effectiveness Of Child And Family Teaming As A Prevention Strategy In Rural County Child Welfare Services, Rose Gennett Martin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project is an analysis of Child and Family Teaming (CFT) utilized in rural California child welfare departments as a prevention strategy to court intervention and children being placed in care. Currently, the mandates for CFT in the state of California only apply to children who have been removed from their homes. Within the rural counties of this study, CFT is viewed as best practice, and it is offered to families as an opportunity to engage with the agency and strategize to create safety in order to mitigate removal and/or the need for court intervention.

The research project followed …

Understanding How Recipients Of Means-Tested Government Assistance Make The Decision To Vote Or Not To Vote And How Social Workers Can Make A Difference?, Adelaide Sandler

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

When voter turnout of any one particular demographic or social group is significantly less than that of other groups, members of that group lose their power to protect their basic economic and social rights. Low voter turnout among recipients of means-tested government assistance is especially problematic because election outcomes impact the benefits on which they depend. This article presents results from a qualitative study to understand how recipients of means-tested government assistance decide to vote or not to vote. Four themes emerged related to the patterns of voting behaviors and described as: dedicated voter, voter, nonvoter, and dedicated nonvoter. Each …

Long-Term Impact Of Welfare Reform: Biopsychosocial Barriers To Successful Transition Away From Welfare Reliance Among Rural Women In Louisiana, Jake Jerome Guidry

LSU Master's Theses

The discussion regarding government benefits and reliance on welfare benefits is one that takes place in arenas of policymaking and academia alike. These discussions often focus on poverty that exists in densely populated metropolitan areas, resulting in a scarcity of research regarding unique characteristics of rural poverty. Eighty-four rural Louisiana women participated in a longitudinal study of the impacts of welfare reform in their lives. Twenty years later, two (N = 2) rural Louisiana women, each former welfare recipients, participated in an in-depth qualitative case study examining their transition away from welfare programs. Data show that neither woman was …

The Racist Impact Of Redistributive Public Policies: Handout Versus Hand-Up, Mittie Davis Jones

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

Federal government policies, while benefitting some urban areas, have historically been detrimental to African-American people. Years of welfare and housing policies have placed central city residents, especially African-Americans, at a disadvantage which they have not overcome. Policies that once denied benefits to Black people, such as public welfare and federally-insured mortgages, morphed into stigmatized policies which, when available to Blacks, became obstacles to their advancement. These same policies enabled the majority White population to do what they were initially designed to do – provide a toehold during a period of temporary economic decline after which personal advancement was possible.

The …

Strategies For Increasing Self-Efficacy In Long-Term Welfare Recipients, Crystal Mcclure

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the imposition of lifetime limitations on an individual's ability to receive cash assistance, there is a group of long-term Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients that have approached the lifetime limitation without becoming gainfully employed. Many long term TANF recipients report low levels of self-efficacy which inhibits their ability to successfully transition off welfare and into the workforce. However, most welfare-to-work programs do not address the emotional or psychological well-being of their clients, instead they focus on job placement and job readiness skills. The purpose of this sequential–exploratory mixed methods study is to identify the primary barriers to …

Myth Or Reality? Exploring Intergenerational Social Assistance Participation In Ontario, Canada, Tracy A. Smith-Carrier, Amber Gazso, Stephanie Baker Collins, Carrie Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Is there an intergenerational causal link in social assistance (SA) participation? There is a dearth of research addressing this question, yet the discourse of ‘welfare dependency’ is hegemonic. The limited research that does attempt to tease out a causal link in intergenerational SA participation remains equivocal. Qualitative research is largely absent in welfare scholarship; research that might provide a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics underlying SA receipt. We employ an inductive qualitative analysis, using procedures from grounded theory, to understand SA participants’ experiences and perspectives on intergenerational SA usage. We find that the two causal mechanisms underlying intergenerational SA …

A Systematic Review Of The Primary Material Hardships Of Post-Welfare Reform Tanf Recipients, Matthew Schwer

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Through this research, I sought to better understand how TANF recipients in the post-welfare reform US experience the material hardships of housing instability, unemployment, and phone disconnection. I hypothesized that TANF under-serves its recipients, and needs strengthening to truly alleviate material hardships. I used a systematic review design to strengthen my understanding of these hardships. Systematic reviews seek to answer a specific question by gathering, analyzing, and synthesizing pre-existing research, across different types of studies, related to the question. This review incorporates research found on social work related search engines and research institutes, always involving the population of current and …

Who Defines Need?: Low-Income Individuals’ Interpretations Of Need And The Implications For Participation In Public Assistance Programs, Kerri Leyda Nicoll

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Existing research into participation and nonparticipation in U.S. public assistance programs is nearly all rooted in the assumption that people who meet a program’s eligibility criteria are in need of that program’s assistance. Based on in-depth interviews with members of 75 low-income households, this study argues that the failure to give low-income individuals a voice in defining their own need prevents researchers from understanding how and why these individuals choose to participate, or not participate, in public programs. The disconnect between individual interpretations of need and program eligibility standards pushes us to rethink the design of participation research and program …

Knowledge And Perceptions About Welfare And Welfare Recipients Among Minnesota Millennials, Kristine Ongstad

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This research sought to examine knowledge and perceptions about welfare and welfare recipients among Minnesota Millennials. Three questions were addressed: What is the Minnesotan Millennials’ level of knowledge of the MFIP system and perceptions of MFIP recipients?; Why do Minnesotan Millennials believe people are poor?; and What are the Minnesotan Millennials thoughts about the welfare system? An online survey was created with the survey software Qualtrics and the survey was posted on Facebook pages around the state of Minnesota. The survey had 84 respondents. Thirteen knowledge items were administered. Respondents who answered eight or more questions correctly were deemed knowledgeable; …

Working With Passion, Effecting Change In A Context Of Uncertainty, Sandra M. Moore

Center for Social Development Research

This CSD Perspective has been adapted from a commencement address given by Sandra M. Moore on May 14, 2015, before the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University.

“I Haven’T Been Able To Do It On My Own:” Experiences Of Teen Parents On The Minnesota Family Investment Program, Aryn Rae Karstens

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Teen pregnancy and welfare spending have been popular topics in the media in the recent years. The purpose of this study was to expand on previous research on the experiences of teen parents on the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) and allow the teen parents a chance to share their stories. Specifically, respondents were asked about their experiences leading up the decision to apply for MFIP, their current opinions of the program, and future plans. Professionals who work with teen parents were also interviewed and the responses were then compared and contrasted. Using a semi-structured interview format, four teen parents …

Between Retrenchment And Recalibration: The Impact Of Austerity On The Irish Social Protection System, Fiona Dukelow, Mairead Considine

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article analyzes the impact of austerity on the Irish social protection system. The analysis is situated in Ireland’s wider financial and economic crisis and its status as an ‘early adopter’ of an austerity response which has continued under European Union/International Monetary Fund intervention. We focus on how the crisis instigated a political narrative about the cost and design of the social protection system, leading to a programme of retrenchment and reform which has blended a politics of blame avoidance with credit claiming. Three core elements in this narrative— generosity, sustainability and suitability— are identified, and against this background, a …

Milking The System: Do Poor People Deserve Fresh Food?, Melanie M. Meisenheimer

SURGE

Poor Americans are all lazy, selfish people who must first prove their worth as human beings if they want to be able to feed their children.

It sounds harsh, stereotypical, and judgmental when you put it like that, and few people would feel comfortable saying that exact phrase. However, it’s a perception of poverty in America that I’ve found still has a strong grip on our way of thinking. [excerpt]

Paperwork First, Not Work First: How Caseworkers Use Paperwork To Feel Effective, Tifany Taylor

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A great deal of research has explored welfare agency caseworkers, especially how they use discretion. Paperwork in county welfare bureaucracies, however, is often taken-for-granted by caseworkers and researchers studying welfare. In this case study of a county welfare program in rural North Carolina, I focus on how caseworkers use paperwork through document analysis, interviews, and observation data. My findings illustrate caseworkers spend far more time on paperwork than they actually spend assisting program participants find employment. Finally, I show how caseworkers use paperwork to feel effective in a job that offers little to help clients move from welfare to work.

Health Inequalities And The Welfare State In European Families, Simone Sarti, Marco Alberio, Marco Terraneo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using EU-Silc data from 2005, our aim in this article is to estimate how self-assessed health and the gradient between education and health vary among individuals in different European countries, considering their contextual socioeconomic vulnerability. In order to do this, we use a hierarchical model with individuals nested in households at the second level, and in various European countries at the third level. Our main research interest is on the modelling variables associated with better health conditions and their improvement or worsening according not only to micro/ individual and macro/national levels but also to the household: a level on which …

Snap Use Among Older Adults, Jennifer R. Geiger

LSU Master's Theses

Older adults participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at much lower rates than the general population. Possible explanations for this disparity include stigma, lack of information, and lack of transportation. However, past research focusing on SNAP use among older adults is limited and utilizes age cohorts in their analyses that may not accurately reflect actual age differences in SNAP participation. This study explored four different models of age categorizations as they relate to SNAP participation rates among older adults over 55. Using a sample of 10,116 from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the research used …

The Role Of Managers Within The Welfare System: How Race And Negative Stereotypes About Clients Affect Managers' Tolerance Of Caseworker Discretion, Alethia Marie Picciola

LSU Master's Theses

Previous research studies found differences in social welfare policy implementation based on the racial and ethnical differences of clients, workers, and managers. The public perception of welfare recipients being content with living on government money and unmotivated to become self-sufficient is a central theme throughout American culture. The current study examined whether parish-level managers’ personal beliefs about their clients are associated with their tolerance of frontline staff’s discretionary practices. Additionally, the author examined the role that the race of managers plays in the personal beliefs they hold about their clients as well as their tolerance of frontline discretion. This study …

Food Stamps And Dependency: Disentangling The Short-Term And Long-Term Economic Effects Of Food Stamp Receipt And Low Income For Young Mothers, Thomas P. Vartanian, Linda Houser, Joseph Harkness

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Food Stamp Program (FSP) remains one of the most widely used of all U.S. social "safety net" programs. While a substantial body of research has developed around the primary goals of the program- improving food access, nutrition, and health among lowincome families-less attention has been paid to the broader goals of hardship and poverty reduction. Using 38 years of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we examine several immediate and longer-term economic outcomes of early adult FSP participation for a sample of3,848 young mothers. While FSP participation is associated with some negative outcomes in the immediate future …

Child Support As Labor Regulation, Yiyoon Chung

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The development of child support policy over the past three decades provides an emblematic case study of the ways in which a new policy that reflects the rise of moral arguments about individual and family responsibility, once established, produces significant consequences for both the economic sphere and political dialogues. I use social control theory to examine a rarely appreciated consequence of child support policies: labor regulation. Particularly, I demonstrate the ways in which the discourse embedded in child support has exalted the importance of work even under the lowest terms, and has deflected public attention away from labor market issues.

An Exploration Of The Paradigm Of Kinship Caregiving And Caregivers' Experiences With Child Welfare And Public Welfare Systems Using Critical Theory Analysis, Tara Valinchus Dejohn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Kinship caregiving as a paradigm in the United States (US) is historically linked to slavery subcultural practices. Over time, dominant US systems have vacillated in demonstrating formal acknowledgement of kinship as an acceptable family unit and in availing resources to support kinship caregiving. The patterns and practices of these variations pertaining to kinship caregiving as a paradigm has received little attention despite documentation of its increased utilization in public child welfare and welfare systems. This exploratory case study responds to the paucity of knowledge regarding the systemic shifts towards the kinship caregiving paradigm and the perspectives of kinship caregivers who …

Self-Reported Family Income And Expenditure Patterns For A Cohort Of Tanf-Reliant African American Women: Outcomes From A Longitudinal Study In Miami-Dade County, Florida, Stacia Michelle West

Masters Theses

This mixed-method study was designed to analyze the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 on a cohort of welfare-reliant African American women in Miami-Dade County. A snowball sampling technique was utilized to identify and conduct in-person interviews with women who were receiving welfare benefits from January 1997 to March 2000. The study intended to determine the participant characteristics, employment and wage histories, annualized income, and annualized expenditures over the time span. The results indicate that the average age of recipients was 34.5 years old with four children. The average educational attainment for the cohort …

Institutional Structures Of Opportunity In Refugee Resettlement: Gender, Race/Ethnicity, And Refugee Ngos, Stephanie J. Nawyn

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Previous research suggests that social welfare assistance can further subordinate already disadvantaged recipients. Refugee resettlement, essentially a social welfare program, offers a diferent perspective on how welfare assistance might exert social control. Using data gathered from 60 in-depth interviews with people working in resettlement and observations at refugee non-governmental organizations (NGOs), this paper argues that refugee NGOs provide a complex institutional opportunity structure that has the potential to reproduce the gender and racial/ethnic subordination embedded in refugee welfare policy while also providing opportunities for refugees to counteract subordinating gender and racial/ethnic relations through advocacy and cultural activities. These findings refine …

Moving Beyond Anecdote : An Impact Evaluation Of A Popular New York State Work Supports Program, Rebecca J. Wood

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study used New York State administrative data on its welfare population and publicly available data to evaluate the impact of a popular work supports program, the Transitional Opportunities Program (TOP), in a sample of ten counties that operated the program compared to eight counties that did not between January 2006 and December 2008. Secondary administrative data on case characteristics, case activity, and employment were matched with data on unemployment from the New York State Department of Labor and mean travel time to work from U.S. Census 2000.

Policy Brief: Pursuing 529 College Savings Plan Exclusion From Oklahoma Asset Limit Tests, Lisa Reyes Mason, Soda Lo, Margaret M. Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

Pursuing 529 College Savings Plan Exclusion from Oklahoma Asset Limit Tests

Excluding 529 College Savings Plan Accounts From Oklahoma Public Assistance Asset Limit Tests, Lisa Reyes Mason, Margaret M. Clancy, Soda Lo

Center for Social Development Research

Excluding 529 College Savings Plan Accounts From Oklahoma Public Assistance Asset Limit Tests

Leveling The Playing Field: Epitomizing Devolution Through Faith-Based Organizations, Robert J. Wineburg, Brian L. Coleman, Stephanie C. Boddie, Ram A. Cnaan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The original New-Federalism agenda that emerged with the Reagan administration weakened federal programs and transferred power to states and localities. While Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush's years were characterized by block grants and dismantling public assistance, the Clinton years will be remembered for the dismantling of AFDC. Recruiting faith-based organizations to provide social services epitomized the second Bush presidency. In this article, we demonstrate how the seeds for recruiting faith-based groups were planted before and during the Reagan years, and how two waves of devolution chipped away at our national commitment to welfare. These first two waves provided …

Effects Of Participating In An Asset-Building Intervention On Social Inclusion, Margaret Lombe, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The United States is arguably one of the richest countries in the world. However, poverty is still an issue of great concern. This observation suggests the need for more innovative interventions to reduce severe need and create terms for meaningful participation of vulnerable individuals in economic, political, and social exchange. Using a sample of IDA program participants (N=840), who were randomly assigned to a control and experimental group, this study explores the relationship between an asset-building intervention and social inclusion from the human capabilities perspective. Results reveal a significant relationship between participating in an IDA program and social inclusion. Although …

Economic Well-Being And Intimate Partner Violence: New Findings About The Informal Economy, Loretta Pyles

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between intimatep artnerv iolence (IPV) and women's participationin the informal economy (both legal and illegal) and their impact on economic well-being. This research was part of a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) study that was concerned with women's survival of childhood and adult abuse. For the 285 women that were in this sample, there were positive, medium correlations between IPV and various types of informal economic activity. Illegal informal economic activity, institutionalized informal economic activity, incarceration and physical abuse negatively impacted women's economic well-being.

Social Assistance And The Challenges Of Poverty And Inequality In Azerbaijan, A Low-Income Country In Transition Special Issue With Coping With Poverty, Nazim N. Habibov, Lida Fan

Social Work Publications

Although low-income countries in transition are facing the challenges of poverty and inequality, evidence on the performance of safety nets in these countries is scarce. This article uses micro-file data from a nationally representative household budget survey to analyze the existing social assistance programs in Azerbaijan, a low income country in transition, from the perspectives of poverty and inequality reduction. The empirical evidence presented in this paper indicates that the poverty and inequality reduction effectiveness of social assistance programs is inadequate. First, the benefits are very modest and the poor receive only a small proportion of them. Second, some programs …