Social Work Commons^™

Lone Mothers And Welfare-To-Work Policies In Japan And The United States: Towards An Alternative Perspective, Aya Ezawa, Chisa Fujiwara

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper compares recent efforts to reduce lone mothers' reliance on cash assistance and support their increased participation in the workforce and economic independence in Japan and the United States. Similar to reforms introduced in the U.S. in 1996, lone mother policies in Japan have been subject to a series of cuts leading to the introduction of time limits and work-related programs in 2002. In this paper, we examine the character of recent welfare reforms in both countries and their implications for lone mothers' welfare and economic independence. Based on Japan's experience and recent lessons from the U.S., we show …

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.

An Exploratory Study Of Neighborhood Choices Among Moving To Opportunity Participants In Baltimore, Maryland: The Influence Of Housing Search Assistance, James X. Bembry, Donald F. Norris

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examined the neighborhood choices of 150 families who participated in the Moving To Opportunity Program (MTO) in Baltimore, Maryland. The MTO program, utilizing an experimental design, provided intensive housing search and counseling services to the experimental subjects. This study found that the counseling services were instrumental in altering the subject's cognitive maps, and they were more likely to move to neighborhoods that were more racially integrated, safer, and, also, had higher levels of satisfaction with their new neighborhood. The authors conclude that the MTO program in Baltimore represents a clear case of public policy that, at least in …

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 …

Language Barriers & Perceptions Of Bias: Ethnic Differences In Immigrant Encounters With The Welfare System, Philip Kretsedemas

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article demonstrates why research on immigrant language barriers should account for local variations in the way these barriers are experienced by different immigrant groups. It makes the argument that variations in language barriers experienced by immigrant groups are often reflective of differences in the local migration histories and socio-economic status of these groups. These themes are illustrated by discussing the findings of a comparative survey of welfare service barriers experienced by Haitian and Hispanic welfare clients in Miami-Dade county. Secondary data on South Florida migration patterns is also used to explain disparities in the bilingual fluency of welfare caseworkers, …

Levels Of Consciousness, Archetypal Energies, And Earth Lessons: An Emerging Worldview, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

Worldviews emerge from our individual and collective Levels of Consciousness at given points in time and space and from what we come to “believe” is possible or not. In my own experience, my research on Consciousness, and my study of various cultures, societies, and Consciousness literature, I have identified at least seven Levels of Consciousness, twenty-five Archetypal Energies, and various Earth Lessons, which we seem to commonly experience as human beings, in our own unique personal, societal, and global life spaces.

Reforming Welfare Reform Postsecondary Education Policy: Two State Case Studies In Political Culture, Organizing, And Advocacy, Charles Price

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Welfare reform had the unforeseen effect of causing large numbers of public assistance recipients to drop out of college, discouraging their pursuit and acquisition of postsecondary education (PSE) credentials. There is a growing body of research that shows the value of postsecondary education in getting public assistance recipients onto a path toward occupational and social mobility. The restrictions of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families PSE policy, coupled with the recognition that college participation should be an option for qualified welfare recipients, influenced the emergence of many successful state and county-level movements focused on reforming welfare reform PSE policy. Their work …

Applying Rawlsian Social Justice To Welfare Reform: An Unexpected Finding For Social Work, Mahasweta M. Banerjee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper sketches social workers' understanding of social justice and reliance on Rawls (1971), highlights findings about "hard to employ" welfare recipients facing welfare reform, and articulates the parameters of Rawlsian justice (Rawls, 1999a; 2001) with particular emphasis on people who have been on welfare for long. The paper shows that social workers do not have any space to maneuver in Rawlsian justice to uphold justice for long-term welfare recipients, and welfare reform's "work first" stipulation does not violate Rawlsian justice. The paper raises some questions about social workers' continued reliance on Rawls. It suggests social workers update the literature …

Saving For Post-Secondary Education In Individual Development Accounts, Min Zhan, Mark Schreiner

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Low-income people have less access to opportunities for post-secondary education, and the welfare reform in 1996 further limited access for welfare recipients. Since welfare reform, there has been an increasing interest in strategies meant to enhance the well-being of low-income people through education and the development of human capital. In this study, we examine how low-income people saved for post-secondary education in Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) in a nationwide demonstration. IDAs provide matches for savings used primarily for home purchase, microenterprise, and post-secondary education. We examine how savings outcomes differed between participants who intended to use their savings for post-secondary …

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

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 …

Access To Housing For Persons With Disabilities: Lessons Learned From Three Demonstration Projects, Cutler, Disability And Aging, Eileen Griffin Jd

Disability & Aging

The Quality Choices for Maine project was conducted from 2001-2004. This report focuses on Access to Services, one part of the three-year RCSC Quality Grant. The specific housing related goal was “to improve access to community housing for people with disabilities of all types.” Project activities were overseen by the Access to Services Technical Assistance Group and a variety of stakeholders. Read the activity summaries, lessons learned and recommendations on how to sustain the work.

Book Review 5 Confidence: How Winning Streaks And Losing Streaks Begin And End By Rosabeth Moss Kanter, William C. Mcpeck

William C. McPeck

This is my personal review of Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End by Rosabeth Moss Kanter and published by Crown Business in 2004.

Focal Point, Volume 19 Number 01, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

This issue of Focal Point examines the concepts of resilience and recovery and what they mean in the context of mental health care for children and adolescents. A resilience-and-recovery perspective highlights new ideas and strategies for transforming mental health care for children and adolescents.

For The Children: Accounting For Careers In Child Protective Services, Joan M. Morris

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper analyzes autobiographical essays from women who work as social service workers in child-protection agencies. Working long hours in relatively low-paying jobs, these women have limited prestige and autonomy and increasingly, come under close scrutiny and public criticism. They are clearly exploited in terms of the emotional and "mothering" labor they are expected to perform and are held personally accountable for daily decisions that could have dire consequences for the children they serve to protect. This paper is an investigation of how their narratives explain and justify their willingness to continue working in these situations and how their professional …

Distribution Of The Federal Tax Burden, Share Of After-Tax Income, And After-Tax Income By Presidential Administration And Household Type, 1981-2000, Richard K. Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Findings of this study show that the lowest- and middle-income households overall and those with children had lower total effective Federal tax rates during the Clinton administration than during the Reagan and G.H. Bush administrations. Concomitantly, the top one percent and highest income quintile households overall, those with children, and those headed by an elderly person age 65 or older without children had higher total effective Federal tax rates during the Clinton administration. Nearly every category of household type and income level measured in this study had more after- Federal-tax income during the Clinton administration than either the Reagan or …

Theories Of Urban Poverty And Implications For Public Housing Policy, Alexandra M. Curley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Urban poverty has been the subject of sociological and political debate for more than a century. In this article I examine theories of urban poverty and their place in American housing policy. I first discuss theories that have arisen out of the sociological and policy discourse on urban poverty and the research that supports and challenges these theories. I then review current public housing initiatives and discuss the impact of these theories on current housing policy.

The Poverty Of Unattached Senior Women And The Canadian Retirement Income System: A Matter Of Blame Or Contradiction?, Amber Gazso

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Structural and financial inadequacy of Canada's retirement income system, especially with respect to income support benefits (i.e. Old Age Security), are often identified as one major reason unattached senior women experience poverty. While it may be compelling to blame low benefit levels and changing eligibility requirements, particularly because 'crisis' policy discourses have influenced questionable restructuring over time (i.e. the clawback), this paper argues that this is too simplistic of an account of the relationship between these women's poverty and the retirement income system. Other broad social-structural factors are at play in women's lives that have the potential to disentitle their …

Book Review 4 Leadership And Self Deception: Getting Out Of The Box, William C. Mcpeck

William C. McPeck

This is my personal review of Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box by the Arbinger Institute and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers in 2002.

An Exploration Of Self-Esteem And Racial Identity Among Children Placed In Transracial And Same-Race Foster Homes, Shanay Barrett-Hugan

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The number of children in foster care continues to grow. Unfortunately this increase in children is far greater than the number of foster families available. Children are being placed in homes in which the race of the foster parent is different from that of the foster child. Legislative policies have also been enacted to eliminate discrimination in foster care placement. This study is designed to explore the impact of transracial foster care on adolescent children’s racial identity and self-esteem. Three children ages 11-17, who were placed in transracial and same-race foster homes, were interviewed in order to explore whether children …

Partners In Prevention: Community-Wide Homelessness Prevention In Massachusetts And The United States, Donna H. Friedman, John Mcgah, Julia Tripp, Michelle Kahan, Nicole Witherbee, Amy Carlin

Center for Social Policy Publications

A central objective of the Homelessness Prevention Initiative (HPI) is to generate information for state policymakers on viable statewide approaches for investing in homelessness prevention. Therefore, to contextualize the policy relevance of HPI evaluation findings and to add to the strength of recommendations, the evaluation team has systematically explored examples of community-wide homelessness prevention efforts already underway in Massachusetts and in other parts of the country.

We selected communities that met the following criteria:

• The prevention network included an entire county, city, region or state.
• Cross-organizational resource-sharing, policies and interventions were in place.
• The collaboration engaged in primary prevention, that …

Book Review 3 What Is Lean Six Sigma By Michael L. George, William C. Mcpeck

William C. McPeck

This is my personal review of What is Lean Six Sigma by Michael L. George and published by McGraw-Hill in 2003.

The Challenge Of An Aging Population, Nicole Cauvin, Elaine B. Davis

Sociology Faculty Publications

In chapter seven of Public Policy in Connecticut, Nicole X. Cauvin and Elaine B. Davis discuss the policy challenges associated with an aging or "graying" state population. Demographic data clearly demonstrate that Connecticut's population, similar to the population of other states, is becoming older. The authors propose innovative public policies designed to accommodate the long-term health care and social service needs of the state's elderly.

The Community Dimension Of State Child Protection, Dorothy E. Roberts

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Black Club Women And Child Welfare: Lessons For Modern Reform, Dorothy E. Roberts

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.