Social Welfare Commons^™

Managing Landmine Casualty Data, Cisr Jmu

CISR Studies and Reports

The Mine Action Information Center (MAIC) at James Madison University implemented this project to develop a framework for the systematic collection and management of landmine casualty data. The project was premised on the lack of an adequate system for collecting and managing landmine casualty data on a global basis. Data on landmine and UXO casualties is being collected in a systematic manner in some countries, but worldwide, it is not being collected in a comprehensive or consistent manner that allows it to be compared cross-nationally and aggregated globally. The lack of an adequate system hampers the ability of mine action …

Community Foundations In West Virginia, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This report is part of an ongoing investigation of the support of neighborhood associations by community foundations in three states – Michigan, New Mexico and West Virginia. The findings are primarily negative: There is no evidence that the 22 community foundations of West Virginia have provided support for the development or continuation of neighborhood associations in the state.

The National Domestic Workers Union And The War On Poverty, Elizabeth Beck

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article explores values, strategies, and tensions found within the War on Poverty and examines a War on Poverty-supported initiative, the National Domestic Workers Union (NDWU). The article makes the argument that the NDWU is illustrative of the War on Poverty in that each held structurally based descriptions of poverty and individually based prescriptions. The article explores the relationship of domestic service to the institutions of racism, classism, and sexism and how the ND WU strategies of training, service, and, advocacy-like those of the War on Poverty-sought to address the needs of individual domestic workers while circumventing larger and more …

A Time Series Analysis Of The Effect Of Welfare Benefits On Earnings, Michael Anthony Lewis

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Policy analysts Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward have put forth a bargaining power model of earnings. More specifically, they have argued that the higher workers' bargaining power, the higher their earnings and the higher the level of welfare benefits, the higher workers' bargaining power. Thus, based on Piven and Cloward's model, one would predict a positive relationship between welfare benefit levels and earnings. Using time series data I test Piven and Cloward's model and find support for it. The policy implications of my findings are discussed.

Review Of The Gender Division Of Welfare: The Impact Of British And German Welfare States. Mary Daly. Reviewed By Rebecca A. Van Voorhis, Rebecca A. Van Voorhis

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Mary Daly, The Gender Division of Welfare: The Impact of British and German Welfare States. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. $64.95 hardcover, $23.95 papercover.

Review Of Care Work: Gender, Labour And The Welfare State. Madonna Harrington Meyer (Ed.). Reviewed By Diana M. Johnson, Diana M. Johnson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Madonna Harrington Meyer (Ed.), Care Work: Gender, Labor, and the Welfare State. New York: Routledge, 2000. $85.00 hardcover, $23.99 papercover.

Risk, Trust, And Welfare. Peter Taylor Gooby (Ed.)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Peter Taylor Gooby (Ed.), Risk, Trust and Welfare. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000. $69.95 hardcover.

Focal Point, Volume 15 Number 02, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

This issue of Focal Point begins from the idea that enrichments, far from being frivolous, are instead essential. The joy and meaningfulness which enrichments provide make a direct, positive contribution to quality of life. What is more, enriching experiences add to our reserves of strength and purpose, and these reserves in turn enable us to adapt, cope, recover and even thrive in the face of challenges and stresses. Specifically, this issue of Focal Point looks at research related to sources of enrichment, and at innovative programs that promote enrichment and achieve positive outcomes for children with emotional and behavioral challenges, …

Left Behind: The Persistence Of Poverty Through The 1990s, Randy Albelda, Donna H. Friedman

Economics Faculty Publication Series

The Commonwealth’s economic growth over the past decade has led to more jobs and an increasing median income, but the rising tide has not lifted the boats at the bottom. The bottom 20 percent of the Commonwealth’s families with children have not found relief. Growth in earnings has been almost completely offset by the loss of public support, which in turn has strained the private sector’s emergency support system. Poverty rates for families have dropped only slightly, child poverty rates and the percentage of families who are very poor have increased, and the need for emergency housing and food services …

Targeting Welfare-To-Work Services Using Statistical Tools, Randall W. Eberts

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Using Tanf Sanctions To Increase High School Graduation, Ronald Harris, Loring Jones, Daniel Finnegan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The School Attendance Demonstration Project (SADP) was aimed at encouraging AFDC teens to attend school and finish high school. The project used a combined approach of the financial incentive in the form of a penalty for non-attendance, and the provision of social services. SADP tracked the school attendance and graduation status of eligible teens (n=997) in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). The study utilized a control group with random assignment. Data indicated that SADP did not effect graduations. The findings seem to indicate that atrisk teens from families receiving public assistance have on-going problems with securing an education …

The Impact Of The Economy And Welfare Policy On Welfare Accessions: Implications For Future Reforms, Vicky N. Albert, William C. King

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This longitudinal study analyzes the impact of labor market conditions and welfare policies accompanying the 1990s waivers granted by the federal government to California and the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWOA) on families entering welfare (accessions). A time series model was specified for analyzing the number of families entering welfare from January 1983 to December 1998. The findings suggest that in 1998 under PRWOA, all else constant, there were fewer case openings. Prior to the PRWOA, policy shifts of the 1990s did not have an impact on case openings. The findings also show that under economic recovery …

A New Perspective On Families That Receive Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (Tanf), Christopher R. Larrison, Larry Nackerud, Ed Risler

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A review of the scholarly literature shows that a number of analyses of welfare are mistakenly based upon the premise that the overwhelming majority of welfare recipients receive benefits because they are young single women who are undereducated and caring for a child either born out of wedlock or abandoned by divorce/separation. The term welfare can encompasses a number of social programs (e.g. Food Stamps, state general assistance programs, Medicaid), but in this paper it refers specifically to Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) or its contemporary Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). In an attempt to calibrate the …

The Ins And Outs Of Welfare-To-Work: Women As They Enter And Exit A Nursing Assistant Employment And Training Program, Brenda Solomon

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

By participant observation and follow up interviews (at three intervals post-graduation), this study explores the multiple work accountabilities arranging women's everyday lives as they enter and exit a welfare-to-work nursing assistant employment and training program. Work and family demands, and male partners' and children's reactions to the women's participation in labor arrangements outside the home are complicated by children's chronic illnesses and partners' disabilities and unemployment situations. From this consideration, the author argues that there is an incomplete gender shift in welfare policy. While it creates clear obligations to family and work for women trainees, the policy produces uncertain consequences …

The Transition From Afdc To Prwora In Florida; Perceptions Of The Role Of Case Manager In Welfare Reform, Adela Beckerman, Leonard Fontana

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Welfare reform was implemented in Florida with the passage of WAGES. WAGES' emphasis on support services in preparation for employment portends to be a radical transformation of the "eligibility compliance" organizational culture that had developed under AFDC. Interviews with welfare staff focused on whether WAGES' offices were able to develop the organizational culture and methods of frontline practice needed to implement the goals of welfare reform legislation. The interviews indicate an emerging organizational culture in which case managers readily identify with the mantra of welfare reform. The interviews also indicate a discrepancy between the importance of the case manager role …

Mental Health Needs Of Tanf Recipients, Layne K. Stromwall

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper reports findings of a study of female Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) and non-recipients ages 18-40, receiving behavioral health services in the rural Southwest in 1998-9. TANF recipients (N = 119) were more likely to be seriously mentally ill than non-recipients (N = 370), suggesting that a subgroup of TANF recipients may face significant barriers to employment given the new TANF regulations. The author argues that responsibility for recognizing the needs of TANF recipients for behavioral health services is shared by both the public welfare and behavioral health systems. Suggestions for meeting this challenge in both systems …

A Poverty Of Imagination: Bootstrap Capitalism, Sequel To Welfare Reform. David Stoesz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for David Stoesz, A Poverty of Imagination: Bootstrap Capitalism, Sequel to Welfare Reform. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2000. $19.95 papercover, $50.00 hardcover.

Low-Income Homeownership In Portland's Albina Community: A Comparative Analysis Of Housing Quality In Market-Rate And Subsidized Houses, Carolyn Emily Collopy

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to detem1ine which of these two options, market-rate or subsidized, offer higher quality affordable housing to low and moderate-level income households. Through field observation and GIS analysis, the study compared the structural, block, neighborhood amenity, crime, and proximity to CBD characteristics of affordable market-rate and subsidized houses in Portland's Albina Community. The study samples were approximately 100 houses per sample; market-rate houses consisted of houses that sold during 2000 for $125,000 or less, and subsidized houses were selected from housing created by three local non-profit development agencies.

General characteristics of the two samples revealed …

Celibacy, Sexual Exclusivity, And Illicit Drug Abstinence: Giving Up The Life As Taboo In Aids Prevention, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article highlights social cognitions that seem to impede cost-effective approaches to AIDS prevention.

Hybrid Organizations And The Alignment Of Interests: The Case Of Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac, Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

This article explores the political influence of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Using Congress's overhaul of the regulatory infrastructure for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a case study, the article presents two principal findings: (1) The characteristics that distinguish government-sponsored enterprises from traditional government agencies and private companies endow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with unique political resources; and (2) the alignment of interest groups around Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is subject to strategic manipulation by the GSEs. A triangular model of this alignment is proposed and employed to analyze the legislative outcome. The case has implications for students of …

Fighting Poverty With Labor Demand Policies, Timothy J. Bartik

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Child Welfare, Domestic Violence And Substance Abuse: A Review Of The Literature, Promising Practices And Strategies, Michael Brennan, Erin Oldham, Anita St. Onge, Phyllis Farr, Andrew Ferguson, Linda Rota, Gail Sweat

Children, Youth, & Families

The purpose of this second and final report by the Project is to provide a synopsis of trends, promising practices and programs from across the nation and in Maine related to child abuse/neglect, domestic violence and substance abuse. The report illustrates that Maine is not alone in grappling with these problems. The report is intended, however, to offer several examples of what has been tried and what has been learned by other states and professionals over the past several years. A special emphasis has been placed on services and strategies that have utilized collaborative models of training and program development/delivery.

Welfare Reform Sanctions And Financial Strain In A Food-Pantry Sample, Jean Oggins, Amy Fleming

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Survey and interview data about life after welfare reform were collected from food pantry clients in upstate New York in 1997 and 1999. By 1999, respondents were increasingly likely to have no work or benefits. Having no work or benefits was also associated with having been penalized (sanctioned) for not working or for noncompliance with welfare rules. Sanctions for not working averaged 89 days. Clients sanctioned for job loss tended to report problems with health (including children's health). Sanctioned individuals reported relatively high levels of financial strain, unstable housing, children's changing schools, and lack of a phone. Implications for policy …

Boys To Men: A Conference Report, Michael Brennan, Al Barthelman, Penny Jordan-Barthelman, Layne Gregory, Phil Hoose, David Vaughan

Children, Youth, & Families

Nearly 350 middle and high school aged boys, fathers and male mentors attended. It was the first such conference to be held in Maine. “Boys to Men” was intended to launch a community dialogue about how schools, families and other institutions can better understand, celebrate and support boys in their journey to manhood. There was a special emphasis on the pressures exerted by popular culture in shaping the behavior of adolescent boys.

Focal Point, Volume 15 Number 01, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Transitions are difficult for all of us, but for children and youth with emotional and behavioral challenges, transitions are often both more difficult and more frequent than for their peers. Even “normal”, age-defined transitions such as the transition to kindergarten or the transition to independent living are often extremely difficult for children and youth with emotional and behavioral challenges, and for their families or other caregivers. Transitions—accompanied by the disruption of routine and the need to interact with unfamiliar people—are precisely the types of situations that are often most unsettling and stressful for these children.

Brief 6: The Merit Aid Question: How Can We Attract Promising Students While Preserving Educational Opportunity For All?, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

NERCHE’s think tank members recently participated in a discussion of the competitive forces driving change in higher education. The discussion, facilitated by The Futures Project: Policy for Higher Education in a Changing World (www.futuresproject.org), revealed tremendous concern among faculty and administrators in New England about safeguarding the principles of equal access and equal educational opportunity during a time of accelerating competition for students. This is a crucial time for a reevaluation of barriers to full educational opportunity in this country. We need policies both at the institutional level and the state and federal levels to reverse the widening educational and …

Review Of Social Security For The Excluded Majority. Wouter Van Ginneken (Ed.). Reviewed By Mizanur Miah, Southern Illinois University At Carbondale., Mizanur R. Miah

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Wouter Van Ginneken (Ed.), Social Security for the Excluded Majority. Geneva: International Labour Office, 1999. $19.95 papercover.

Review Of Medicare Reform: Issues And Answers. Andrew J. Rettenmaier And Thomas R. Saving (Eds.). Reviewed By Deborah Schild Wilkinson, University Of Michigan., Deborah Schild Wilkinson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review for Andrew J. Rettenmaier and Thomas R. Saving (Eds.), Medicare Reform: Issues and Answers. Chicago, IL.: University of Chicago Press, 2000. $25.00 hardcover, $17.00 papercover.

The Effect Of Child Care Costs On The Labor Force Participation And Welfare Recipiency Of Single Mothers: Implications For Welfare Reform, Rachel Connelly, Jean Kimmel

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper considers the effect of child care costs on two labor market outcomes for single mothers - whether to participate in the labor market and whether to receive welfare. Hourly child care expenditures are estimated for all women in the sample (using data drawn from the 1992 and 1993 panels of the SIPP), whether or not they are currently using nonmaternal child care. These expenditures are then included as an independent variable predicting the probability of welfare recipiency and the probability of labor force participation. Results show a substantial positive effect of child care costs on welfare recipiency, with …

Social Welfare Policy And The Crisis Of Hunger, Karen Bolesworth, Susan Tufts

Theses Digitization Project

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 has lead to reduced welfare assistance to the needy. This thesis analyzes how families have become increasingly homeless and hungry during the welfare reform years.