Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Cost Of Free Assistance: Why Low-Income Individuals Do Not Access Food Pantries, Kelley Fong, Rachel Wright, Christopher Wimer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Non-governmental free food assistance is available to many lowincome Americans through food pantries. However, most do not use this assistance, even though it can be worth over $2,000 per year. Survey research suggests concrete barriers, such as lack of information, account for non-use. In contrast, qualitative studies focus on the role of cultural factors, such as stigma. Drawing on interviews with 53 low-income individuals in San Francisco who did not use food pantries, we reconcile these findings by illustrating how the two types of barriers are connected. Reasons for non-use such as need, information, long lines, and food quality were …

Is What's Best For Dads Best For Families? Paternity Leave Policies And Equity Across Forty-Four Nations, Karie Feldman, Brian K. Gran

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In a global economy, paternity leave policies represent one of the most significant expansions of the welfare state that seek to help fathers respond to socio-economic pressures on their work and families. Policy makers who strongly promote socio-economic equity may respond to these global changes with new policy formulae meant to encourage involvement of fathers in their families. Nevertheless, scholars have limited understanding of who benefits from paternity leave policies and what these benefits mean to families. The present study is a comparative analysis of paternity leave policies across forty-four countries. This paper first presents a typology of paternity leave …

Toward Housing Stability: Exiting Homelessness As An Emerging Adult, Jeff Karabanow, Sean A. Kidd, Tyler Frederick, Jean Hughes

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper explores the lives of formerly homeless young people as they transitioned towards housing stability. The study employed a longitudinal design involving 51 street youth in Halifax, N.S. (n = 21) and Toronto, ON (n = 30). This paper sheds light upon the pathways through which young people transitioned away from homelessness using the developmental lens of emerging adulthood: a stage involving numerous developmental struggles (identity, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between) but also an age filled with hope and possibilities. There are numerous interrelated factors at play that allow participants to regain a sense of citizenship with mainstream society. While …

Review Of Poverty And Shame: Global Expereinces. Elaine Chase & Grace Bantebya-Kyomuhendo (Eds.). Reviewed By Mary A. Caplan, Mary Caplan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Elaine Chase & Grace Bantebya-Kyomuhendo (Eds.). Poverty and Shame: Global Experiences. Oxford University Press (2015), 336 pages, $90.00, (hardcover).

Review Of Unsettled: Cambodian Refugees In The New York City Hyperghetto. Eric Tang. Reviewed By Robert Forrant, Robert Forrant

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Eric Tang, Unsettled: Cambodian Refugees in the New York City Hyperghetto. Temple University Press, (2015), 220 pages, $24.95 (paperback); $70 (hardcover).

Grand Challenges: Social Justice And The Need For Evidence-Based Sex Offender Registry Reform, Jill S. Levenson, Melissa Grady, George Leibowitz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Sex offender registries, though popular, bring with them enormous fiscal costs and unintended consequences for offenders and communities. Consistent with the Grand Challenges, social workers can play a role in advocating for sex offender management policies that are better informed by evidence and thus a better use of resources. Registry reform would also moderate the stigma resulting from the sex offender label, and reduce barriers to offender reintegration. First, a brief history of registration laws and the research around their effectiveness will be provided, followed by a rationale for needed improvements in sex offender management policy. Finally, evidence-based recommendations for …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 43, No. 2 (June 2016)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Table of Contents

GRAND CHALLENGES: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE NEED FOR EVIDENCE-BASED SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY REFORM - Jill S. Levenson, Melissa D. Grady, and George Leibowitz

FEAR AND MISINFORMATION AS PREDICTORS OF SUPPORT FOR SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT POLICIES - Erin Comartin, Poco Kernsmith, and Roger Kernsmith

GUARDIANS OF CHASTITY AND MORALITY: A CENTURY OF SILENCE IN SOCIAL WORK - Elizabeth A. O'Neill

VALUE DISCRETION IN A PEOPLE-CHANGING ENVIRONMENT: TAKING THE LONG VIEW - Stephanie Baker Collins

THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CLASS WITH A "SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT": A CASE STUDY ON POLITICAL RHETORIC AS SYMBOLIC VIOLENCE IN DENMARK - Klarissa Lueg …

Fear And Misinformation As Predictors Of Support For Sex Offender Management Policies, Poco Kernsmith, Erin Comartin, Roger Kernsmith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study investigated the public's agreement with sex offender management policies. Respondents (N = 703) were randomly sampled from the state of Michigan, using a CATI system. Two pathanalysis models were used to test if personal characteristics, level of fear of sex offenders, and misinformation regarding this population were predictive of agreement with: (a) sex offender registration and community notification policies; and (b) more severe sanctions (life in prison and chemical castration). The findings suggest that greater fear of sex offenders and acceptance of misinformation were predictive of more support of sex offender management policies. Research has found that these …

Guardians Of Chastity And Morality: A Century Of Silence In Social Work, Elizabeth O'Neill

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Reflecting the social norms of the late 1800s and early 1900s, much of social work practice aimed to promote moral sexual behavior and penalize deviance. Even following the widespread adoption of psychoanalytic theory in the United States, social work persisted in having a poorly defined role with regard to issues of sexuality. In the 21st century, the profession continues to largely limit its involvement in matters of sexuality to those practice situations where deviance and public health concerns predominate. Limited topical exposure in peer-reviewed publications and the lack of broad-based human sexuality education for social workers perpetuate the invisibility of …

Value Discretion In A People-Changing Environment: Taking The Long View, Stephanie Baker Collins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article explores the normative value judgements (called value discretion) made by Ontario Works income assistance case managers in their people-changing roles. The focus of case management under welfare reform has moved from determining eligibility for income assistance—people processing, to moving recipients from assistance to employment—people changing. The article outlines case managers’ pursuit of “the long view” in working with recipients over time moving from assessment to crisis work to meeting workfare requirements. In taking the long view case managers expose a basic contradiction in welfare reform that people changing does not result in the shortest route to a job.