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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 …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 32, No. 3 (September 2005)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• EDUCATION PROBLEMS WITH URBAN MIGRATORY CHILDREN IN CHINA - Fei Yan
• CULTURE AS DEFICIT: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL WORK DISCOURSE - Yoosun Park
• APPLYING RAWLSIAN SOCIAL JUSTICE TO WELFARE REFORM: AN UNEXPECTED FINDING FOR SOCIAL WORK - Mahasweta M. Banerjee
• ENGLISH NON-FLUENCY AND INCOME PENALTY FOR HISPANIC WORKERS - Song Yang
• REFORMING WELFARE REFORM POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION POLICY: TWO STATE CASE STUDIES IN POLITICAL CULTURE, ORGANIZING, AND ADVOCACY - Charles Price
• IMPLICATIONS OF MEDIA SCRUTINY FOR A CHILD PROTECTION AGENCY - Lindsay D. Cooper
• IS INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL COLLABORATION ALWAYS A GOOD …

English Non-Fluency And Income Penalty For Hispanic Workers, Song Yang

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using the 2001-2002 California Workforce Survey, this paper examines the income gap between Hispanic and Caucasian workers. I attribute the income gap between Hispanic and Caucasian workers to differentials in their human capital. However, data analyses indicate that classical human capital indicators such as education,job training, and work experiences are not sufficient to account for the observed income gap between Hispanics and Caucasians. Instead, English fluency is a highly valuable aspect of human capital for Hispanic workers. English non-fluency, along with less education, job training, and work experiences explain why Hispanic workers earn less than Caucasian workers. However, variations in …

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 …

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 Social Work: Theory And Practice For A Changing Profession. Lena Dominelli. Reviewed By Mel Gray., Mel Gray

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Lena Dominelli, Social Work: Theory and Practice for a Changing Profession. Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2004. $69.95 hardcover.

Review Of Voices From The Edge: Narratives About The Americans With Disabilities Act. Ruth O'Brien. Reviewed By Juliet C. Rothman., Juliet C. Rothman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Ruth O'Brien, Voices from the Edge: Narratives about the Americans with Disabilities Act. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. $55.00 hardcover, $16.95 papercover.

Review Of The Decline Of Life: Old Age In Eighteenth-Century England. Susannah R. Ottaway. Reviewed By John M. Herrick., John M. Herrick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Susannah R. Ottaway, The Decline of Life: Old Age in Eighteenth- Century England. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. $70.00 cloth

Review Of Technology And The African American Experience: Needs And Opportunities For Study. Bruce Sinclair (Ed.). Reviewed By John Mcnutt., John Mcnutt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Bruce Sinclair (Ed.), Technology and the African American Experience: Needs and Opportunities for Study. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2004. $35.00 hardcover.

Review Of An American Travesty: Legal Responsibility To Adolescent Sexual Offending. Franklin Zimring. Reviewed By Matthew T. Theriot., Matthew T. Theriot

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Franklin E. Zimring, An American Travesty: Legal Responses to Adolescent Sexual Offending. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. $29.00 hardcover.

Review Of Lessons From Abroad: Adapting International Social Welfare Innovations. M. C. Hokenstad And James Midgley (Eds.). Reviewed By Doreen Elliott., Doreen Elliott

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of M. C. Hokenstad and James Midgley (Eds.), Lessons from Abroad: Adapting International Social Welfare Innovations. Washington, DC: National Association of Social Workers Press, 2004. $44.99 papercover.

Migration And Immigration. Maura I. Toro-Morn., Clare Sheridan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Maura I. Toro-Morn, Migration and Immigration. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. $49.95 hardcover.

Shut Out: Low Income Mothers And Higher Education In Post-Welfare America. Valerie Polakow, Sandra Butler, Luisa Stormer Deprez And Peggy Kahn (Eds.)., Sarah Carnochan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Valerie Polakow, Sandra Butler, Luisa Stormer Deprez and Peggy Kahn (Eds.), Shut Out: Low Income Mothers and Higher Education in Post- Welfare America. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2004. $75.00 hardcover, $24.95 papercover.

Inheritance Law And The Evolving Family. Ralph C. Brashier., Karen Jones-Mason

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Ralph C. Brashier, Inheritance Law and the Evolving Family. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004. $69.50 hardcover, $24.95 papercover.

A Study Of Three Community And School-Based Models Of Child Welfare Service Delivery In Ontario: An Exploration Of Parents’, Service Providers’, And Community Experiences, Karen Frensch, Gary Cameron, Lirondel Hazineh

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

This report highlights results from our study of three innovative child welfare programs in Ontario attempting to modify front line child protection practice. These programs endeavor to deliver child welfare services in ways that promote greater accessibility and acceptability of services for families, provide increased levels of assistance to families, afford a better understanding of daily living circumstances of children and families, and engage the community in protecting children. Study results confirm that the three programs were successful in accomplishing these goals. Parents’, service providers’, and community members’ perceptions of these programs showcase the positive helping relationships and community partnerships …

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.

Using A Structural Equation Model To Examine Child Maltreatment Potential Across Ecological Systems In A Population Of Families In Poverty, Cynthia Lorraine Juby

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

This study was a secondary analysis designed to examine the ecological system indicators of child maltreatment potential. A total of 263 families living within 200% of the poverty level were included in the sample. Results of the study revealed the exosystem indicator of social support had the greatest impact on child maltreatment while maltreatment of the parent as a child (history of maltreatment), an ontogenic system indicator, was the second highest predictor. Additionally, these two indicators were highly correlated within the structural model. The microsystem indicator of parental educational attainment and the macrosystem indicator of belief in corporal punishment had …

An Evaluation Of Religion And Spirituality In Social Work Education, Sharina Nicole Branum

Social Work Theses - Archive

This study evaluated how BSW students at two Texas universities, one publicly funded and one privately funded, perceive their level of preparedness, comfort and the importance of addressing / using religion and spirituality in social work. In this study 41 students nearing the completion of their baccalaureate degree and enrolled in a field placement, were invited to complete a multi-faceted questionnaire consisting of 92 very specific questions. Of the 41 students invited to participate in the study, all subjects chose to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire used gathered some information regarding the students' personal religious and spiritual affiliation however, the …

Diffusion Of Policy Innovation: The Case Of Individual Development Accounts (Idas) As An Asset-Building Policy, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Kristen Wagner, Karen Edwards

Center for Social Development Research

Diffusion of a policy innovation from one state to another is an important component of social change. Several theories and models have been developed to explain how and under what circumstances policy innovation and diffusion occurs. This paper examines the policy diffusion process through the case of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), a policy innovation designed to provide matched saving opportunities for low-income people to accumulate assets. While our examination supports several of the prominent theories of policy diffusion, we suggest that a fusion of policy theories may better guide policy makers in more adequately predicting and executing the diffusion of …

Exploration And Use Of Individual Development Accounts By Three American Indian Tribes In Oregon, Christina Finsel, Jennifer Russ

Center for Social Development Research

Exploration and Use of Individual Development Accounts by Three American Indian Tribes in Oregon

Participants In Seed: A Report From Account Monitoring Research, Vernon Loke, Margaret Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

Participants in SEED: A Report From Account Monitoring Research

Saving And Asset Accumulation Among Low-Income Families With Children In Idas, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Kristen Wagner, Fred M. Ssewamala

Center for Social Development Research

Research indicates that low-income families with children have many motives to save, however, the costs of raising children, low wage employment, means tested programs, and the need for child care make it difficult for them to save. Using data from the American Dream Demonstration (n=1,801), this study examines saving performances of low-income families with children in a matched savings program – Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). The results indicate that households with children in IDAs can save when they are provided structured opportunities. In addition, this study finds that institutional factors, not merely individual characteristics, are highly associated with IDA saving …

Saving In Add: Measures From Mis Ida, Mark Schreiner, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Saving in Add: Measures From MIS IDA

Saving In Low-Income Households: Evidence From Interviews With Participants In The American Dream Demonstration, Michael Sherraden, Amanda Moore Mcbride, Elizabeth Johnson, Stacie Hanson, Fred M. Ssewamala, Trina R. Shanks

Center for Social Development Research

Saving in Low-Income Households: Evidence From Interviews With Participants in the American Dream Demonstration

Section 529 Savings Plans, Access To Post-Secondary Education, And Universal Asset Building, Margaret Clancy, Reid Cramer, Leslie Parrish

Center for Social Development Research

Section 529 Savings Plans, Access to Post-Secondary Education, and Universal Asset Building

Seed Universal Policy Model And Research Request For Proposal, Michael Sherraden, Margaret M. Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

SEED Universal Policy Model and Research Request for Proposal

Status Of State Supported Ida Programs In 2005, Naomi Warren, Karen Edwards

Center for Social Development Research

Status of State Supported IDA Programs in 2005

Mishlavim Project - The Inclusion Of Youth With Special Needs Into National Youth Service In Israel: Program Evaluation Research (2003-2004), Karin Amit, Nicole Fleischer

Center for Social Development Research

Mishlavim Project - the Inclusion of Youth With Special Needs Into National Youth Service in Israel: Program Evaluation Research (2003-2004)

K-12 Service Learning In Argentina, Maria Nieves Tapia, Alba González, Pablo Elicgeui

Center for Social Development Research

K-12 Service Learning in Argentina

Service-Learning And Civic Outcomes: From Suggestive Research To Program Models, Suzanne Pritzker, Amanda Moore Mcbride

Center for Social Development Research

Service-learning has been identified as an intervention that may address low levels of youth civic engagement. Service-learning is compared to two other interventions that have been associated with civic outcomes: community service and civic education curricula. Studies of these three types of interventions are systematically reviewed and compared, taking into account rigor of designs and methods. Across a range of civic indicators, no clear pattern was found regarding the impact of each intervention. This review highlights the need for increased rigor and sensitivity of measurement in future research on civic development among school-age students.