Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Social Security: Strengthen Not Dismantle, Michael M. O. Seipel

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social Security has benefited more than 55 million people. It has lifted about 14 million seniors and 6 million more people out of poverty without adding a penny to the federal budget. Social Security is increasingly becoming an important source of income for many people. Despite the projected shortfall, the program will continue to meet its obligations for the next two decades, and with minor adjustments, it can be on solid footing for the next 75 years. Cutting the benefits or privatizing may not be the best approach. This paper discusses the structure and function of Social Security and what …

Trading The Picket Fence: Perceptions Of Childbirth, Marriage, And Career, Wanda Parham-Payne, Bette J. Dickerson, Tekisha Dwan Everette

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While there was a slightly lower rate of out-of-wedlock births in 2009, 41 percent of all births were to unmarried women. Although there has been an increase across the board among older age groups, Black women continue to have children out of wedlock at a disproportionately higher rate than White and Asian women. This is of particular interest, considering African-American women are increasingly attaining higher levels of education in comparison to previous generations of African-American women. As such, the perceptions of childbirth, child-rearing, and marriage among a sample of African-American women matriculating within a postsecondary setting are explored.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 40, No. 3 (September 2013)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND DISCONNECTION FROM WELFARE AND WORK: ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF PUBLIC HOUSING AND TENANT-BASED RENTAL SUBSIDIES - Andrea Hetling and Hilary Botein
• SUICIDE WITHIN UNITED STATES JAILS: A QUALITATIVE INTERPRETIVE META SYNTHESIS - Laura Frank and Regina T P. Aguirre
• WELFARE REFORM IN THE STATES: DOES THE PERCENTAGE OF FEMALE LEGISLATORS IN STATE LEGISLATURES AFFECT WELFARE REFORM POLICIES? - Lee W. Payne
• SOCIAL SECURITY: STRENGTHEN NOT DISMANTLE - Michael M. 0. Seipel
• TRADING THE PICKET FENCE: PERCEPTIONS OF CHILDBIRTH, MARRIAGE, AND CAREER - Wanda Parham-Payne, Bette J. Dickerson, and Tekisha Dwan Everette
• BEYOND PROFESSIONAL EMERGENCIES: …

Beyond Professional Emergencies: Patterns Of Mistakes In Social Work And Their Implications For Remediation, Keith Roberts Johnson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper analyzes the emerging field of government mandated child protection, the work's design, and the public crisis caused by public airing of its mistakes. The cycle of reacting to public revulsion at errors,followed by a return to "business as usual" persists despite official, government inquiries and the social work profession identified with the protection of children. The risk of working in a highly emotional area is discussed through the sociology of "mistakes at work," or professional emergencies. This work balances risks with advantages of evoking emotions. The risk comes from the negative emotions associated with official failures seen by …

Women's Work Attitudes, Aspirations, And Workforce Participation Before And After Relocation From Public Housing, Edith J. Barrett

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

For the past decade or so, public housing policies have focused on moving residents from concentrated housing developments into newly designed mixed-income developments or, through housing choice vouchers, into neighborhoods with lower concentrations of poor. These newer programs are driven by research that suggests public housing residents will have greater opportunity for financial self-sufficiency and, although not openly discussed, will better appreciate the importance of work when they live among higher income working residents. Using panel data collected from public housing residents relocated following the closure of a public housing development, this study explores the relationship between individual characteristics, neighborhood …

Between Stonewall And Aids: Initial Efforts To Establish Gay And Lesbian Social Services, Michael G. Lee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Little has been written about gay and lesbian communities' efforts to address health and human service concerns prior to the HIV/AIDS crisis. This article analyzes content from The Advocate along with organizational documents from the early 1970s to explore the health issues addressed by these fledgling providers. Major concerns identified include social adjustment to a gay or lesbian identity, chemical health, sexual health, and family supports. These findings depict a service context strained by funding instability, workplace turmoil, neighborhood hostility, and high levels of consumer needs that would later come to characterize the complex nature of AIDS service work.

Review Of Free Time: The Forgotten American Dream. Benjamin Kline Hunnicutt. Reviewed By Anders Hayden., Anders Hayden

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Benjamin Kline Hunnicutt, Free Time: The Forgotten American Dream. Temple University Press (2013). $34.95 (paperback).

Review Of Social Welfare In East Asia And The Pacific. Sharlene B. C. L. Furuto (Ed.). Reviewed By James Midgley., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Sharlene B. C. L. Furuto (Ed). Social Welfare in East Asia and the Pacific. Columbia University Press (2013). $90 (hardcover); $30 (paperback).

Review Of Doing The Best I Can: Fatherhood In The Inner City. Kathryn Edin And Timothy J. Nelson. Reviewed By Helen Glikman., Helen Glikman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Kathryn Edin and Timothy J. Nelson, Doing the Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City. University of California Press (2013). $29.95 (hardcover).

Review Of Plutocrats: The Rise Of The New Super-Rich And The Fall Of Everyone Else. Chrystia Freeland. Reviewed By Edward U. Murphy., Edward U. Murphy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Chrystia Freeland, Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else. Penguin (2012). $27.95 (hardcover).

Welfare Reform In The States: Does The Percentage Of Female Legislators In State Legislatures Affect Welfare Reform Policies?, Lee W. Payne

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

My research tests the proposal that female legislators have issue specific political agendas and that female representation may affect these issues. Welfare is an issue that affects women and children to a larger degree than it does men. To test this hypothesis I use three measures of welfare sanctions and one measure of overall welfare environment as dependent variables. Results indicate that the level of female legislators does not have the expected impact on two of the three sanction policies, but it does have the expected impact on the overall welfare environment.

The Potential Of Youth Savings Accounts In Three East African Countries: Kenya, Tanzania, And Uganda, Njeri Kagotho, Proscovia Nabunya, Fred Ssewamala, Vilma Ilic

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper explores the potential of expanding a youth-focused asset-based intervention program for poor communities heavily affected by HIV and AIDS-currently underway in one East African country, Uganda-into similar communities in the other two East African countries: Kenya and Tanzania. This concept paper is informed by prior work on youth-focused asset-based programs first proposed in the United States of America and now successfully implemented in Uganda (Ssewamala, 2008; Ssewamala, Alicea, Bannon, & Ismayilova, 2008; Ssewamala & Ismayilova, 2008, 2009) and grounded in an asset-based development theoretical framework, which denotes an integrated approach to human, social, and economic capital development (Sherraden, …

The Masaryks Of Czechoslovakia: Contributions In Sociology, Social Welfare And Politics, Rebecca L. Hegar

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article profiles contributions to sociology, social welfare and politics by members of the Masaryk family of Czechoslovakia, with primary emphasis on the career of Alice G. Masaryk (or Masarykovd), an applied sociologist and founder of Czech social work. As the daughter of Tomdi G. Masaryk, an academic philosopher and early sociologist who became the first President of Czechoslovakia in 1918, her life and work are inextricably linked with the country's history and with one of the remarkable families of their era. Research for this articlei nvolved searchingl iteraturef rom several disciplines and reviewing historical publications and documents from relevant …

Review Of Making Care Count: A Century Of Gender, Race, And Paid Care Work. Mignon Duffy. Reviewed By Jennifer R. Zelnick., Jennifer R. Zelnick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Mignon Duffy, Making Care Count: A Century of Gender, Race, and Paid Care Work. Rutgers University Press (2011). 185 pages, $24.95 (paperback).

Review Of Stayin' Alive: The 1970s And The Last Days Of The Working Class. Jefferson Cowie. Reviewed By Robert Forrant., Robert Forrant

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Jefferson Cowie, Stayin' Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class. The New Press (2010). $21.95 (paperback).

Sweden's Parental Leave Insurance: A Policy Analysis Of Strategies To Increase Gender Equality, Juliana Carlson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Sweden's parental leave insurance is recognized internationally as the premiere parental leave policy addressing gender equality. Since 1974, when the policy changed from maternal to parental leave, policy makers have employed a variety ofstrategies including inducements, rules, and rights, to increase more gender-equal leave taking. Using Stone's (2006) strategy conceptualization, together with the gender systems approach (Crompton, 1999) which frames the gendered and socially constructed nature of earner/caregiver, this analysis examines how each of Sweden's incremental reforms in parental leave policy moved toward the goal of gender equality, with particular attention to father participation in caregiving.

A Half-Century Of California Poverty, Robert G. Mogull

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this article, poverty statistics are examined over the past 50 years for insights on trends. Data were tabulated by Decennial Censuses for the state of California and categorized by demographic group. Trends are revealed by evidence from unique calculations of Poverty Indexes, that is, of 'fair shares" of poverty. By examining 5 decades of evidence, it is found that some groups have clearly progressed-specifically Asians & Pacific Islanders, Blacks, and Hispanics, while others have found their recent poverty status deteriorate- especially the elderly, Native Americans, and Whites.

Remarital Chances, Choices, And Economic Consequences: Issues Of Social And Personal Welfare, Kevin Shafer, Todd M. Jensen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Many divorced women experience a significant decline in financial, social, physical, and psychological well-being following a divorce. Using data from the NLSY79 (n= 2,520) we compare welfare recipients, mothers, and impoverished women to less marginalized divorcees on remarriage chances. Furthermore, we look at the kinds of men these women marry by focusing on the employment and education of new spouses. Finally, we address how remarriage and spousal quality (as defined by education and employment) impact economic well-being after divorce. Our results show that remarriage has positive economic effects, but that is dependent upon spousal quality. However, such matches are rare …

Black Women In The "Black Metropolis" Of The Early Twentieth Century: The Case Of Professional Occupations, Robert L. Boyd

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Little research has examined the employment of Black women as teachers, nurses, and librarians in the urban Black communities of the early twentieth century. The present study fills this void, analyzing Census data on the largest urban Black communities at the start of the Great Migration to cities. The results show that, in spite of the supposed advantages of the northern "Black Metropolis," Black communities in the urban North were relatively limited in their potential to offer opportunities for Black women to enter pursuits that were, at the time, mainstays of a nascent class of Black professional women.

Specialists, Generalists, And Policy Advocacy By Charitable Nonprofit Organizations, Heather Macindoe, Ryan Whalen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Previous research finds modest levels of engagement in policy advocacy by charitable nonprofits, despite legal regulations permitting nonprofit advocacy and the significance of public policy to nonprofit constituencies. This paper examines nonprofit involvement in policy advocacy using survey data from Boston, Massachusetts. Nonprofit participation in policy advocacy is associated with professionalization, resource dependence, features of the institutional environment, and organizational characteristics such as size and mission. Drawing from population ecology theory, we examine an additional aspect of organizational mission: whether a nonprofit serves a specialized or general population. We find that nonprofits serving specialized populations are more likely to participate …

The "L" Word: Nonprofits, Language, And Lobbying, Jocelyn D. Taliaferro, Nicole Ruggiano

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite the many benefits associated with policy advocacy, many nonprofit organizations do not lobby. Recently, scholars have called attention to the possibility that the vagueness and ambiguity of the term lobbying may hinder policy advocacy activities, though few studies have systematically explored the relationship between nonprofit professionals' perception of this term and political activity. This study explored the social construction of the term "lobbying" by examining nonprofit leaders' beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding lobbying activities. Participants reported having a strong aversion to the term "lobbying" and preferred alternative language to describe their political activities. Implications for practice and research are …

Review Of For Love And Money: Care Provision In The United States. Nancy Folbre (Ed.). Reviewed By Jill B. Jones., Jill B. Jones

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Nancy Folbre (Ed.), For Love and Money: Care Provision in the United States. Russell Sage Foundation (2012). $35.00 (paperback).

Review Of Striving To Save: Creating Policies For Financial Security Of Low-Income Families. Margaret Sherrard Sherraden & Amanda Moor Mcbride, With Sondra G. Beverly. Reviewed By Carol B. Stack., Carol B. Stack

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Margaret Sherrard Sherraden & Amanda Moor McBride, with Sondra G. Beverly, Striving to Save: Creating Policies for Financial Security of Low-Income Families. University of Michigan Press (2010). 340 pages, $65.00 (hardcover).

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 40, No. 2 (June 2013)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• A HALF-CENTURY OF CALIFORNIA POVERTY - Robert G. Mogull
• THE POTENTIAL OF YOUTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS IN THREE EAST AFRICAN COUNTRIES: KENYA, TANZANIA, AND UGANDA - Njeri Kagotho, Proscovia Nabunya, Fred Ssewamala, and Vilma Ilic
• THE MASARYKS OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA: CONTRIBUTIONS IN SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL WELFARE AND POLITICS - Rebecca L. Hegar
• SWEDEN'S PARENTAL LEAVE INSURANCE: A POLICY ANALYSIS OF STRATEGIES TO INCREASE GENDER EQUALITY - Juliana Carlson
• REMARITAL CHANCES, CHOICES, AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES: ISSUES OF SOCIAL AND PERSONAL WELFARE - Kevin Shafer and Todd M. Jensen
• BLACK WOMEN IN THE "BLACK METROPOLIS" OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY: THE CASE …

Review Of The Future Of The Welfare State: Social Policy Attitudes And Social Capital In Europe. Heikki Ervasti, Jorgen Goul Andersen, Torben Fridberg And Kristen Ringdal (Eds.). Reviewed By Larry Nackerud., Larry Nackerud

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Heikki Ervasti, Jorgen Goul Andersen, Torben Fridberg and Kristen Ringdal (Eds.). The Future of the Welfare State: Social Policy Attitudes and Social Capital in Europe. Edgar Elgar Publishing Limited (2012). $110.00 (hardcover).

Review Of Shattering Culture: American Medicine Responds To Cultural Diversity. Mary-Jo Delvecchio Good, Sarah S. Willen, Seth Donal Hannah, Ken Vickery, & Lawrence Taeseng Park (Eds.). Reviewed By Kenny Kwong., Kenny Kwong

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Mary-Jo DelVecchio Good, Sarah S. Willen, Seth Donal Hannah, Ken Vickery, & Lawrence Taeseng Park (Eds.). Shattering Culture: American Medicine Responds to Cultural Diversity. New York: Russell Sage Foundation (2011). $34.62 (paperback).

Influences Of Environmental Factors On The Physical Functioning Of Older Adults In Urban China, Fei Sun, Chuntian Lu, Jordan I. Kosberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examined the influence of municipal-level environmental factors (i.e., economy, pollution, health care) on the physical functioning of the elder population in urban China using a two level hierarchical linear model (HLM) method. Data came from the 2005 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, including 3,830 older adults (Ma, - 86.4) randomly selected from 152 cities across China. Municipal-level data retrieved from the Chinese Statistical Yearbook 2005 include indictors of economic development, pollution, and health service availability. Higher gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and more doctors were associated with fewer functioning limitations. The effect of selfrated …

Review Of The Price Of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future. Joseph E. Stiglitz. Reviewed By Mary Huff Stevenson., Mary Huff Stevenson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Joseph E. Stiglitz, The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future. New York: W.W. Norton & Company (2012). $27.95 (hardcover).

Review Of To Promote The General Welfare: The Case For Big Government. Steven Conn (Ed.). Reviewed By Sheila D. Collins, Sheila D. Collins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Steven Conn, (Ed.), To Promote the General Welfare: The Case for Big Government. Oxford University Press (2012). $19.95. (paperback).

Review Of Taking It Big: C. Wright Mills And The Making Of Political Intellectuals. Stanley Aronowitz. Reviewed By Gordon Fellman., Gordon Fellman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Stanley Aronowitz, Taking It Big: C. Wright Mills and the Making of Political Intellectuals. Columbia University Press, (2012) $32.50 (hardcover).