Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 24, No. 4 (December 2000)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• A COMMUNITARIAN CRITIQUE OF THE CHILD PROTECTIVE SYSTEM - Toni Terling-Watt
• ESTIMATING POVERTY RATES IN A METROPOLIS: THE EXAMPLE OF LOS ANGELES/LONG BEACH - Robert G. Mogull
• JOB STABILITY AND WAGE PROGRESSION PATTERNS AMONG EARLY TANF LEAVERS - Steven G. Anderson, Anthony P. Halter, George Julnes, and Richard Schuldt
• WELFARE REFORM: A SOCIAL WORK PERSPECTIVE FOR ASSESSING SUCCESS - Dennis D. Long
• THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS [ESAPs] ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WELFARE IN ZIMBABWE - Saliwe M. Kawewe and Robert Dibie
• THE HIGHER EDUCATION OPTION FOR POOR WOMEN WITH CHILDREN - …

Kidnapped: Child Abduction In America. Paula S. Fass.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Paula S. Fass, Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999. $15.95 paperback.

Estimating Poverty Rates In A Metropolis: The Example Of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Robert G. Mogull

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study develops a technique to estimate and project annual rates of poverty for a large metropolitan area for various segments of its population. The annual estimates and projections are based upon the official rates compiled by the Bureau of the Census.

Using Los Angeles/Long Beach as the site of the experimental example, the evidence reveals a substantially increasing trend in the incidence of poverty for the overall metropolitan population. This increase is caused by the dramatic rise in poverty within the Hispanic and Children population groups. Trends in poverty are negative, however, for the Elderly, Blacks, Female Family Heads …

Job Stability And Wage Progression Patterns Among Early Tanf Leavers, Steven G. Anderson, Anthony P. Halter, George Julnes, Richard Schuldt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article reports on first-year employment experiences of a randomly selected sample of 213 Illinois TANF leavers. Aggregate employment levels were 70 percent at exit, and leavers typically generated earnings from a single full-time job. However, employment often was unstable, so that only about one-fourth of leavers had the same job both at exit and when interviewed 10-11 months later. Employment instability resulted from the marginal or temporary nature of many jobs, as well as employment barriers such as health problems and lack of day care. Average wage levels easily exceeded the minimum wage and grew during the first year …

A Communitarian Critique Of The Child Protective System, Toni Terling-Watt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Child Protective Services (CPS) has been defined as an ineffective system. Common criticisms are that the system is overburdened and that family preservation policy pressures CPS to reunite families that can't be repaired. However, empirical analyses that identify the deficiencies of this organization are limited. This study utilizes case files and in-depth interviews with interventionists within and outside of CPS to explore the issue. Results reveal that the most common criticisms of the system do have merit. However, it reveals additional system limitations. Results suggest that the child protective system is characterized by an individualistic approach and that this focus …

"Welfare Reform: A Social Work Perspective For Assessing Success", Dennis D. Long

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 has instituted major changes in providing for the poor in the United States. This article examines the importance of evaluating the impact of this legislation from a social work perspective. Using Mannheim as a theoretical orientation, welfare reform is examined in relation to dominant ideologies of the 90's. The salience of social work research, particularly qualitative research, in evaluating welfare reform outcomes is explored. Social workers are encouraged to challenge current ideology and utilize social work expertise to conduct research and disseminate information documenting the achievements and misfortunes of clients …

The Impact Of Economic Structural Adjustment Programs [Esaps] On Women And Children: Implications For Social Welfare In Zimbabwe, Saliwe M. Kawewe, Robert Dibie

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines the impact of structural adjustment policy (SAP) on the welfare of Zimbabweans, particularly women and children and draws some parallels with economic policy in the US and its effect on social welfare programs and the poor. The paper argues that economic structural adjustment programs (ESAPs), introduced by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as major international financial institutions in economic globalization, have been an inappropriate public policy for Zimbabwe. These economic reforms inflate poverty, decrease the country's capability to develop a strong diversified domestic economy, increase the exploitation of workers through deregulation accompanied by environmental …

The Higher Education Option For Poor Women With Children, Shanta Pandey, Min Zhan, Susan Neely-Barnes, Natasha Menon

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Postsecondary education is the key to exiting from poverty permanently. Yet, the PRWORA allows women only up to 12 months of vocational training while on welfare. This paper focuses on bringing back the importance of investing in the education of poor women, particularly the postsecondary education of poor women with children, to the forefront of the welfare debate. In this paper we review federal and state level welfare policies toward postsecondary education of poor women with children. Some states are interpreting federal welfare policy strictly and allowing only up to 12 months of vocational training while on welfare. Other states …

A Descriptive Analysis Of Skin Color Bias In Puerto Rico: Ecological Applications To Practice, Ronald E. Hall

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Travel brochures to the island of Puerto Rico aptly profess the rich variation in skin color and other phenotypes among its people. Following acts of domination vis-a-vis the island's cultural mores, invading colonizers evolved a social hierarchy to discourage any notions of merit attributable to racial diversity. According to the data herewith, the presumption of a relationship between skin color and selected values for skin color ideals is plausible. Social work practitionersa re then challenged to decipher the maze of racial traditions as pertains to discrimination. Doing so will enable an environment for knowledge based purely upon merit in order …

Is Welfare Reform Working? A Study Of The Effects Of Sanctions On Families Receiving Temporary Assistance To Needy Families, Taryn Lindhorst, Ronald J. Mancoske, Alice Abel Kemp

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This research provides a preliminary descriptive analysis of the impact of new welfare sanctions on recipients living in a southern metropolitan region. The data from this phone survey indicate that many families report considerable hardship no matter why they exited from welfare. Compared to those who left voluntarily, those who were sanctioned off welfare were significantly different in terms of having unmet medical needs, going without food, and having their utilities turned off. Given the high number of problems reported and the low income reported by these respondents, it is not surprising to find that only 10 percent of former …

Review Of Group Work With Children And Adolescents: Prevention And Intervention In School And Community Systems. Steven R. Rose. Reviewed By Bart Grossman., Bart Grossman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Steven R. Rose, Group Work with Children and Adolescents: Prevention and Intervention in School and Community Systems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1999. $29.95 papercover.

Review Of The Social Edges Of Psychoanalysis. Neil J. Smelser. Reviewed By Daniel Coleman., Daniel Coleman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Neil J. Smelser, The Social Edges of Psychoanalysis. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. $35.00 hardcover, $24.00 papercover.

Review Of Reading Foucalt For Social Work. Adrienne Chambon, Allan Irving And Laura Epstein (Eds.). Reviewed By Emilia E. Martinez-Brawely., Emilia E. Martinez-Brawely

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Adrienne Chambon, Allan Irving and Laura Epstein (Eds.), Reading Foucalt for Social Work. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. $49.50 hardcover, $19.50 papercover.

Review Of Social Work With Lesbians, Gays And Bisexuals: A Strengths Perspective. Katherine Van Wormer, Joel Wells And Mary Boes. Reviewed By Ronald J. Mancoske., Ronald J. Mancoske

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Katherine van Wormer, Joel Wells and Mary Boes, Social Work with Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals: A Strengths Perspective. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1999. $26.76 papercover. [December 1, 1999].

Adoption And Financial Assistance: Tools For Navigating The Bureaucracy. Rita Laws And Tim O'Hanlon.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Rita Laws and Tim O'Hanlon, Adoption and Financial Assistance: Tools for Navigating the Bureaucracy. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 1999. $35.00 hardcover.

Review Of Counseling And The Therapeutic State. James J. Chriss (Ed.). Reviewed By Daniel Harkness., Daniel Harkness

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of James J. Chriss (Ed.), Counseling and the Therapeutic State. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter, 1999. $48.95 hardcover, $24.95 papercover.

Taking Stock: American Government In The Twentieth Century. Morton Keller And R. Shep Melnick (Eds.).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Morton Keller and R. Shep Melnick (Eds.), Taking Stock: American Government in the Twentieth Century. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999. $54.95 hardcover, $17.95 papercover.

Policing Urban Poverty. Chris Crowther.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Chris Crowther, Policing Urban Poverty. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000. $65.00 hardcover.

True Security: Rethinking American Social Insurance. Michael J. Graetz And Jerry L. Mashaw.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Michael J. Graetz and Jerry L. Mashaw, True Security: Rethinking American Social Insurance. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999. $40.00 hardcover, $16.95 papercover.

The Potential Impact Of Gender Role Socialization On Welfare Policy Formation, Magalene Harris Taylor

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper addresses a five year welfare reform pilot project conducted at the state level. The outcome of research findings for this project indicate that factors other than the obvious are barriers to women choosing work over welfare. Gender role socialization may play an active and very significant role in this process. The reality of which may inhibit welfare reform efforts at the state and national levels.

Second-Generation Parenthood: A Panel Study Of Grandmother And Grandchild Coresidency Among Low-Income Families, 1967-1992, Richard K. Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper reports findings of a national study of low-income coresident grandmothers and grandchildren between 1967 and 1992. A small increasing minority of women was found to reside with their grandchildren in low-income families over the study period, although the proportion of those who did declined as they reached retirement age. More than half of ever coresident low-income grandmothers (N = 776) were second-generation parents for three or more years. The majority (64 percent) was Black.

Among ever coresident low-income grandmothers in 1992 (N = 521), being Black and being single increased the likelihood of being a secondgeneration parent. Previous …

Making A Difference: Human Service Interest Group Influence On Social Welfare Program Regulations, Richard Hoefer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social workers increasingly understand the importance of political action to affect legislative policy-making. This paper sheds light onto the unexplored subject of interest group influence on the executive branch, specifically on the writing of program regulations for social welfare programs. It describes groups active in the process and what they do in their quest for influence. It also presents a preliminary model of interest group influence on regulation writing. Results show that having greater access, articulating a liberal policy position, choosing a "better" strategy and devoting more resources to influence efforts are all significant predictors of a group's influence level …

The Discourse Of Denigration And The Creation Of "Other", Joshua Miller, Gerald Schamess

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper attempts to reduce the distance between intellectual frameworks that inform different fields of social work practice by exploring the relationships between intrapsychic mechanisms, family dynamics, small group processes and such society wide phenomena as public denigration, scapegoating, and the systematic oppression of politically targeted population subgroups. Clinical theories are used to explore disturbing social trends such as the redistribution of wealth while cutting services to the needy, the growth of prisons and disproportionaten umbers of incarcerated people of color, societal retreat from social obligation and commitment and divisive political rhetoric. Suggestions are made about how clinical social workers …

Grandma's Babies: The Problem Of Welfare Eligibility For Children Raised By Relatives, Rebecca L. Hegar, Maria Scannapieco

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article provides a brief history of children raised by relatives and examines the welfare eligibility of these families, emphasizing changes under the Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (PR&WOA). The revolution in public welfare places many care-giving relatives atfinancial risk. Depending on their states' plans for implementing the PR& WOA, children and their relative caregivers may lose state support. The article presents the social welfare policy responses of a number of states to the problems of kinship care-giving, formal kinship foster care, the PR&WOA, and other social welfare provisions. Unintended consequences of welfare reform are highlighted.

Review Of World's Apart: Why Poverty Persists In Rural America. Cynthia Duncan. Reviewed By William Rainford, University Of California, Berkely., William Rainford

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Cynthia Duncan, World's Apart: Why Poverty Persists in Rural America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999. $27.50 hardcover.

Review Of Disposable People: New Slavery In The Global Economy. Kevin Bales. Reviewed By Jo Beall,London School Of Economics., Jo Beall

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Kevin Bales, Disposable people: New Slavery in the Global Economy. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. $24.95 hardcover.

Lives On The Line: American Families And The Struggle To Make Ends Meet. Martha Shirk, Neil G. Bennett And J. Lawrence Aber.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Martha Shirk, Neil G. Bennett and J. Lawrence Aber, Lives on the Line: American Families and the Struggle to Make Ends Meet, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999. $24.00 hardcover.

Social Policy In A Changing Society. Maurice Mullard And Paul Spicker.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Maurice Mullard and Paul Spicker, Social Policy in a Changing Society. New York: Routledge, 1999. $80.00 hardcover, $24.88 papercover.

Pathways To Prison: Life Histories Of Former Clients Of The Child Welfare And Juvenile Justice Systems, Stephen A. Kapp

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines the relationship between child maltreatment and future offending from the viewpoint of former clients. Imprisoned adults describe their experiences in child welfare and juvenile justice system services. Specifically, those placed out of the home originally into the child welfare system have a different perspective on their path to prison than those placed into the juvenile justice system as delinquents. The study contributes to the literature by examining the relationship between the services children receive in the child welfare system as well as the juvenile justice system and their imprisonment as adults from a former service recipient's point …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 27, No. 3 (September 2000)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• SECOND-GENERATION PARENTHOOD: A PANEL STUDY OF GRANDMOTHER AND GRANDCHILD CORESIDENCY AMONG LOW-INCOME FAMILIES, 1967-1992 - Richard K. Caputo
• MAKING A DIFFERENCE: HUMAN SERVICE INTEREST GROUP INFLUENCE ON SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAM REGULATIONS - Richard Hoefer
• THE DISCOURSE OF DENIGRATION AND THE CREATION OF OTHER - Joshua Miller & Gerald Schamess
• PATHWAYS TO PRISON: LIFE HISTORIES OF FORMER CLIENTS OF THE CHILD WELFARE AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS - Stephen A. Kapp
• RACE, CLASS, AND SUPPORT FOR EGALITARIAN STATISM AMONG THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS - George Wilson
• URBAN VIOLENCE AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES: INTEGRATING FAMILY, NEIGHBORHOOD, AND PEER PERSPECTIVES …