Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Women "Reading The World:" Challenging Welfare Reform In Wisconsin, Kristine B. Miranne, Alma H. Young

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The latest iteration of welfare reform, the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), endorses work requirements and time limits on benefits, while giving greater discretion to individual states in developing welfare programs. Linking personal responsibility with work indicates that policy makers believe that it only takes properg uidancea nd minimal trainingfo r welfare recipients( predominately women) to make the transition from welfare to work. We suggest, however, that focusing on incentive, sanction, or compulsion ignores the structural features of poverty, especially as they impact the multiplicities of poor women's lives. In order for the welfare system to …

Mental Health Policy And Practice Today. Ted R. Watkins And James W. Calicutt (Eds.).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Ted R. Watkins and James W. Calicutt (Eds.), Mental Health Policy and Practice Today. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications, 1997. $ 58.00 hardcover, $ 27.95 papercover.

Careers In Social Work. Leon H. Ginsberg.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Leon H. Ginsberg, Careers in Social Work. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1997. $ 16.50 papercover.

The Forgotten Many: A Study Of Poor Urban Whites, Reba L. Chaisson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Being White in America is thought to ensure social and economic stability, but the lives of Whites who are poor run contrary to these assumptions. Members of this group, the focus group of this study, receive food stamps, public aid and general assistance payments on a monthly basis. And they rely on public health clinics and food pantries to get by-programs and services that are viewed by the larger society as being tapped only by Blacks. This paper examines the differences and similarities between the poverty experiences of Blacks and Whites. The research for this analysis consisted of participant observation …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 25, No. 2 (June 1998)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• CONTESTED WORKPLACE: THE CASE OF THE STRIKE OF THE UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS UNION VERSUS MEIJER - Barbara Thomas Coventry and Marietta Morrissey
• EXPOSING AND REFRAMING WELFARE DEPENDENCY - Elizabeth Bartle
• THE FORGOTTEN MANY: A STUDY OF POOR URBAN WHITES - Reba L. Chaisson
• ATTITUDINAL PREDICTORS OF PREFERRED POLICY OPTIONS: CONTRASTING AFDC WITH WORK PROGRAMS - Jill Littrell and Sahna Diwan
• POOR CHILDREN "KNOW THEIR PLACE:" PERCEPTIONS OF POVERTY, CLASS, AND PUBLIC MESSAGES - Susan Weinger
• RETHINKING SELECTIVISM AND SELECTIVITY BY MEANS TEST - Chack-kie Wong
• ESTIMATING HOMELESS POPULATIONS THROUGH STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING - Christopher G. …

Attitudinal Predictors Of Preferred Policy Options: Contrasting Afdc With Work Programs, Jill Littrell, Sahna Diwan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Two studies were conducted in order to determine the attitudinal predictors of support for AFDC, work programs, and the option of the government playing no role in protecting the welfare of poor children whose families have no income. The first study evaluated this question in 362 students of Criminal Justice, Business, Urban Studies, and Public Administration at an urban university in Georgia. The second study evaluated the question in a telephone poll sample of 822 randomly sampled Georgians throughout the state. Majorities in both samples preferred work programs. In the student sample, all three choice groups were distinguishable on the …

Estimating Homeless Populations Through Structural Equation Modeling, Christopher G. Hudson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article overviews the results from a test of a model of homeless populations throughout the 3,141 counties of the United States. The data were extracted from the 1990 Census, a Census Bureau survey of its enumerators at completion of the census, and other governmental sources. The model was tested using the generally weighted least squares algorithm, as implemented under the Extended LISREL model. It was found that urbanization, servicetization, McKinney funding, and systematic error arising out of more vigilant enumeration efforts in urban areas, collectively explained 80% of the variation in rates of homelessness. The model was then used …

Review Of Adoption, Identity And Kinship: The Debate Over Sealed Birth Records. Katarina Wegar. Reviewed By Terri Combs-Orme, University Of Tennessee., Terri Combs-Orme

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Katarina Wegar, Adoption, Identity and Kinship: The Debate over Sealed Birth Records. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997. $22.50

Review Of Children In The Urban Environment: Linking Social Policy And Clinical Practice. Norma K. Phillips And Shulamith L. A. Straussner. Reviewed By Dorinda Noble, Louisiana State University., Dorinda Noble

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Norma K. Phillips and Shulamith L.A. Straussner, Children in the Urban Environment: Linking Social Policy and Clinical Practice. Springfield, IL. $57.96 hardcover, $43.05 papercover.

Review Of Alternatives To Social Security: An International Inquiry. James Midgley And Michael Sherraden. Reviewed By Eric Kingson, Boston College., Eric Kingson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

James Midgley and Michael Sherraden (Eds.), Alternatives to Social Security: An International Inquiry. Westport, CT: Auburn House, 1997. $49.95 hardcover.

Review Of The Impact Of Managed Care On The Practice Of Psychotherapy: Innovation, Implementation And Controversy. Richard M. Alperin And David G. Phillips. Reviewed By Steven Segal, University Of California, Berkeley., Steven Segal

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Richard M. Alperin and David G. Phillips, The Impact of Managed Care on the Practice of Psychotherapy: Innovation, Implementation and Controversy. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1997. $31.95 hardcover.

An Historical Review Of Empirical Research Regarding Homophobia, Andrew Klopp

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study sought to explore empirical research which exists regarding homophobia. Only within the last thirty years has there been a serious attempt by researchers to critically examine and discuss homophobia in our society with regard to heterosexuals' attitudes toward gays and lesbians. Three themes emerged from the literature: 1) discussions of how homophobia may be quantifiably measured; 2) how the fear of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is equated with the fear of homosexuals; and 3) how direct practice with clients is affected by a practitioner's own homophobia. This researcher found varied social, medical and political schools of thought …

Attitudes Of Paternalism Among Social Workers Working With Involuntary Clients Who Are Adolescents, Karol J. Jensen-Schneider

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study identified how social workers in one metropolitan county view the use of paternalism when working with involuntary adolescents. The social workers interviewed state that paternalism is becoming more and more a part of the role of social workers. The study also discusses what attributes of involuntary adolescents and factors are important to social workers in their decision to allow adolescents to make choices about their case plans. There were nine important attributes and factors identified in the data: they are best interest of the adolescent, offering choices to the adolescent and choices made by the youth, relationships with …

Birth Parent Participation In Foster Care Placement Planning: Relationship To Discharge Outcomes, Karen A. Hulteen

Theses and Graduate Projects

Prior studies have found a positive relationship between contact of birth family and foster children and reunification, as well as with children's well-being, adjustment, and development during and after foster care. Law requires and research validates social work practice which places children in the least restrictive, most normative living situation possible to meet their needs. Examining records of 188 youth discharged from treatment foster care from Human Service Associates from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 1996, this investigation discovered that birth parent participation in placement planning meetings and quarterly reviews, one indicator of birth family involvement, was related to …

Attempting Preventing Reinventing The Wheel: Establishing Chicano/A-Latino/A Studies At A Midwest Urban University, Joseph A. Valades, Theresa Barron-Mckeagney, Michael Carroll, Lourdes Gouveia, Lucy Garza

Social Work Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

“This session will focus on the personal observations of three faculty who sought to establish a minor in Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies . . . Follow our graphic accounts as we wrestle with the decision of actually embarking on such a quest amidst our thencurrent demands of doctoral coursework, research, teaching and tenure.” In the fall semester of 1995, Chicano/a Studies was formally recognized as a "minor" at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Two years previously, three faculty members from the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at UNO diligently worked to gather student and faculty support and put the …

Factors That Contribute To Resiliency In Anishinabe/Ojibwe Children Overcoming Adversity, Jeffrey S. Rodin

Theses and Graduate Projects

The object of this research is to examine the resilience of the Native Americans from the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. This group of people have faced many forms of adversity over the generations. These adversities include poverty, racism, and cultural separation just to name a few. From the perspective of ecological systems theory, family systems theory, and the strengths perspective, this study focuses on individuals that grew uP on the Mille Lacs reservation and have been recognized as being successful by their tribal community. Reflecting on their childhood, these individuals discussed three factors that contributed to their resiliency. These …

Maintaining Social Services After-Hours In A Hospital Emergency Department: Health Care Preferences With On-Call And In-House Programs, Michelle L. Nash

Theses and Graduate Projects

This research describes the satisfaction of emergency department staff in relation to the social service after-hours coverage at Fairview Southdale hospital. The participants of the study were physicians, nurses, health unit coordinators, and social workers of Fairview Southdale hospital working with the emergency department. The participants completed a 17-question mailed survey. The findings illustrated the desire of staff to expand the current after-hours coverage of the emergency department to more in-house availability. The information gathered and compiled for this study will be used to help support the increase of social work services role in the emergency department at Fairview Southdale …

Exploring The Differences In Autonomy For Residents With Alzheimer's Disease Between Those Living In A Special Care Unit And Those In A Residential Group Home: A Comparative Study, Michelle Mari Jensen

Theses and Graduate Projects

Dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) is a progressive, terminal disease marked by the loss of cognitive function. Due to cognitive impairments, residents with dementia exhibit behaviors that indicate disordered person in environment transactions. Due to the resulting disordered transactions, residents with dementia living in long-term care settings offen experience diminished opportunity to choose.

This paper is a comparative/descriptive study based on nursing assistant responses from an anonymous questionnaire in two long-term care facilities. Autonomy is defined by Callopy (1988) as freedom, independence and choice.

The results indicate that the residents at each respective facility seem to experience autonomy in …

A Policy Analysis Of The Minnesota Family Investment Program - Statewide: The Employment And Training Component, Rachel E. Friesen

Theses and Graduate Projects

Minnesota has just began one of its biggest welfare overhauls ever through the state's new policy: The Minnesota Family Investment-statewide (MFIP-S). The Federal welfare policy reform, Temporary Assistance for Needy families (TANF), initiated this revamp and has shifted focus to temporary assistance and mandatory work requirements for welfare participants. The employment and training component of the MFIP-S policy is currently being implemented and has proven to play an important role in this major effort that will affect thousands of people. This paper analyzes the employment and training component of MFIP-S, specifically concentrating on how it will affect single-mothers. The following …

When Dreams Wither And Resources Fail: The Social-Support Systems Of Poor Single Mothers, Susan Weinger

Social Work Faculty Publications

Recent political decisions to redesign the welfare system compels single mothers to work. With concern for the women and children so effected, this qualitative study explores the views of 42 poor single mothers regarding (1) their aspirations and dreams in relation to work and (2) the helpfulness of their social support networks in enabling them to make transitions to work or to study. Analysis was performed on both the sample as a whole and on subgroups of respondents who were divided by work category, e.g. employed fulltime, employed part-time, women who were students and full-time mothers. Developing meaningful subgroupings of …

Teen Mothers And The Revolving Welfare Door. Kathleen Mullan Harris

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Kathleen Mullan Harris, Teen Mothers and the Revolving Welfare Door. Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1997. $ 39.95 hardcover.

Interfacing African American Churches With Agencies And Institutions: An Expanding Continuum Of Care With Partial Answers To Welfare Reform, Barbara W. Rogers, Douglas Ronsheim

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

It is unrealistic to presume that churches and other private charities can fill the void resulting from welfare reform (Sider,1995; Conniff, 1997); yet there are ways to structure an effective church- and community-based continuum of care that will help to do so. In this article African-American churches are viewed as major players. An explanation of the systems theory of isomorphic replication provides a key to understanding the success of this collaborative model, which addresses issues facing communities while building on their strengths and assets and reckoning with the challenges of working collaboratively. Recurring issues of race, culture, trust, and control …

Improving The Quality Of Child Care In The Rural South, Margaret E. Griffin, R. Dwight Hare, Patrica A. Baggerly, Melinda M. Leftwich, Sue Standifer, Susan A. Elkins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A collaborative of six social service agencies and a state university determined that the single most pressing need of families in a 14-county, rural area was child care. The Training Resource Center, developed through a W K. Kellogg Foundation grant, worked with day care licensing and early childhood professional groups to develop a plan to address the systemic nature of the problem of how to improve the quality of child care. Programs developed included training, mentoring, NAEYC accreditation, and a resource library. After 15 months, some programs show the possibility of sustainability.

Review Of Modern Housing For America: Policy Struggles In The New Deal Era. Gail Radford. Reviewed By Robert Leighninger, Louisiana State University., Robert Leighninger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Gail Radford, Modern Housing for America: Policy Struggles in the New Deal Era. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. $ 45.00 hardcover, $ 17.95 papercover

Review Of Letters To Christina: Reflections On My Life And Work. Paulo Freire. Reviewed By Arline Prigoff, California State University, Sacramento., Arline Prigoff

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Paolo Freire, Letters to Christina: Reflections on my Life and Work. London: Routledge, 1996. $ 16.95 paperback.

Social Policy In Britain: Themes And Issues. Pete Alcock.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Pete Alock, Social Policy in Britain: Themes and Issues. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. $ 49.95 hardcover.

Why Foster Parents Continue And Cease To Foster, Nolan Rindfleisch, Gerald Bean, Ramona Denby

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study addressed the following question: What factors thought likely to influence the license status of foster family homes predict to continuing and what predict to ceasing to foster? This study was conducted in eight urban counties in a large Midwestern state. Using logistic regression, a 13 variable model was developed. The factors with odds ratios that predicted greater likelihood of closed license status were: when the foster mother is white, respondent wanting to adopt but being unable to do so, concern about agency red tape, disagreement with the statement that social workers reached out to foster parentsand respondents not …

Clientilism And Clientification: Impediments To Strengths Based Social Work Practice, Charles D. Cowger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A strengths-based practice perspective is, at best, weak and, perhaps, irrelevant in social service structures that are powered by social control values, driven by the market economy, and protected by professional self interests. This paper proposes that the relationship between the patron and the client, as expressed by the metaphor "clientelism" in the development literature, and "clientification", as described by Habermas, are informative as significant obstacles to the implementation of strengthsbased social work practice and social service delivery. The paper argues that for strengths-based practice to be viable, it and its advocates must confront more fundamental change by becoming more …

When Do Single Mothers Work? An Analysis Of The 1990 Census Data, Marta Elliott, John F. Packham

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study analyzes the relative effect of the amount of public assistance income received one year on the probability that a single mother is employed the following year compared to a variety of other determinants of employment status. The analysis is based on a national sample which was drawn from the Public Use Micro data 5 percent Sample (PUMS) of the 1990 U.S. Census. It consists of the 275,744female householders who were divorced, separated, widowed or never married, and living with their own children age 18 and under. Logistic regression was utilized to calculate the probability of being employed in …

Partnerships For Vitalizing Communities And Neighborhoods: Celebrating A "Return"!, Linwood H. Cousins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In 1994, ten community and university partnerships joined the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to develop training strategies that would improve social systems and better serve families and neighborhoods. The partnerships and training strategies were to be based on what the Foundation refers to as the "assets model"- or seeing the strengths and assets of families and neighborhoods, rather than their deficits, as the primary building block for social systems (Parsons, 1997). Called the "W. K. Kellogg Foundation Families and Neighborhoods Initiative, Community/ University Partnerships," according to Beverly Parsons, a program evaluator, "Funding is provided for sites to demonstrate that partnerships …