Social Welfare Commons^™

Hope: An Ethnography Of An Alternative Orphan Care System In Mgange Dawida- Taita; A Case Study Of The Isuwirio-Tumaini Self-Help Group, Malaika M. Dosremedios

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Factors Affecting Treatment Program Development In A Mental Health Facility Serving Prisoners, Ruby Miranda Meriweather

Dissertations

There is a paucity of literature on how treatment programs for mentally ill prisoners are developed. Federal mandates require that services to mentally ill prisoners be comparable to what is offered in the community. Planners, therefore, must find ways to provide treatment programs that produce that outcome.

This research identified the most important factors that affect treatment program development and implementation to aid planners in designing treatment programs for mentally ill prisoners. This qualitative study, based on grounded theory, used a structured interview with 61 mental health staff (psychiatrists, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and activity therapists) across three categories (Administrative, …

Access Choice And Control: A Comparative Analysis Of Maine's Personal Assistance Services Programs, Eileen Griffin Jd

Disability & Aging

The purpose of this analysis was to identify opportunities for eliminating unnecessary inconsistency and increasing consumer choice and control across Maine's personal assistance services (PAS) programs. Thirteen recommendations were made based on the findings which indicated that Maine PAS programs vary in the level of support they offer but the difference in support cannot necessarily be explained by differences in the level of need. Additionally, Maine PAS programs have been and are currently working toward increasing opportunities for expanding consumer choice and control over services.

The Challenge Of Ethnic Diversity, Gary L. Rose

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

As the census data reveals, the state of Connecticut will experience a sizeable increase in the percentage of Blacks and Hispanics by the year 2025. The projected increase in Blacks and Hispanics will most certainly have political and public policy ramifications in the years ahead.

Demographic trends in Connecticut pose distinct challenges for both political parties. The ability to understand the policy needs of the state's increasingly diverse population, an understanding of how policy needs translate into political behavior will be required among those who seek public office in Connecticut.

Living With Leave Part I: Intermittent Leave, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

No abstract provided.

Against “Individual Risk”: A Sympathetic Critique Of Risk Assessment, Matthew D. Adler

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Fairness Vs. Welfare, Matthew D. Adler

Faculty Scholarship

Reviewing Louis Kaplow & Steven Shavell, Fairness versus Welfare (2002)

The Social Foundations Of Law, Martha Albertson Fineman

Faculty Articles

There are several important questions to ask both our politicians and ourselves as we seek to refine and further define an otherwise abstract commitment to substantive equality with which to replace our current formal version. As with many concepts of historic magnitude, some of the most significant questions to pose about equality have to do with how we should respond to evolutions in understanding and changes in aspiration for the term: ls a mere commitment to formal equality sufficient for a humane and modem state? How should the state respond to the fact that our society is increasingly one in …

Loss, Heidi Li Feldman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Within Republican political circles, numerous state legislatures, and even the U.S. Congress, advocating caps on "noneconomic" damages in tort suits is in vogue, as part of the ongoing politics of "tort reform." Yet, the distinction between "economic" and "noneconomic" damages is nonsensical. It does not originate in the discipline of economics, but seems instead to be purely a rhetorical invention of those who wish to limit damages by any means politically possible. But law reform based on sheer rhetoric should be shunned; unprincipled rhetoric is no substitute for justificatory reasons, and to make laws without reasons exemplifies arbitrariness and injustice. …

Distribution Of The Federal Tax Burden, Share Of After-Tax Income, And After-Tax Income By Presidential Administration And Household Type, 1981-2000, Richard K. Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Findings of this study show that the lowest- and middle-income households overall and those with children had lower total effective Federal tax rates during the Clinton administration than during the Reagan and G.H. Bush administrations. Concomitantly, the top one percent and highest income quintile households overall, those with children, and those headed by an elderly person age 65 or older without children had higher total effective Federal tax rates during the Clinton administration. Nearly every category of household type and income level measured in this study had more after- Federal-tax income during the Clinton administration than either the Reagan or …

El Dif: Mexico's Social Services System, Gil Villagran

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Gil's presentation on child welfare services in Mexico, specifically the role and influence of El Sistema Nacional para el Desarollo Integral de la Familia or The National System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF).

Intimate Partner Violence And Use Of Welfare Services Among California Women, Rachel Kimerling, Nikki Baumrind

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The current study is a population-based investigation of the association between past-year exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and current welfare use, while also accounting for the effects of other violence experienced in adulthood and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These data indicate that acute exposure to intimate partner violence is significantly over-represented among women currently on welfare. However, it appears to be a woman's cumulative exposure to interpersonal violence and associated symptoms of PTSD that are uniquely associated with welfare participation. These data highlight the prevalence of violence against women and its consequences for this population. Results suggest …

Review Of Assessing Outcomes In Child And Family Services: Comparative Design And Policy Issues. Anthony N. Malucchio, Cinzia Canali And Tiziano Vecchiato (Eds.) Reviewed By Sherill Clark., Sherrill Clark

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Anthony N. Maluccio, Cinzia Canali and Tiziano Vecchiato (Eds.) Assessing Outcomes in Child and Family Services: Comparative Design and Policy Issues. Hawthorne, NY: 2003. $49.95 hardcover, $24.95 papercover.

Legislating The Family: Heterosexist Bias In Social Welfare Policy Frameworks, Amy Lind

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article addresses the effects of heterosexist bias in social welfare policy frameworks on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and families in the United States. It discusses the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), federal definitions of family and household, and stereotypes about LGBT individuals. It argues that poor LGBT individuals and families lack full citizen rights and access to needed social services as a result of these explicit and implicit biases.

Cleavage In American Attitudes Toward Social Welfare, William M. Epstein

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Opinion polls probing both the narrow and broad senses of social welfare among Americans indicate hardly any substantial differences over crucial social sentiments among a variety of groups with at least theoretically divergent interests: rich and poor, men and women, blacks and whites, a variety of ethnic groups, union and nonunion households. The items mainly concern the provision of welfare to the poor through AFDC, now TANF, and Food Stamps but also cover OASDHI. Consistently over more than sixty five years of systematic opinion polling, there is an astonishing consensus, so large in fact that it may undermine any effort …

The Differences In Performance Between Large And Small Organizations In Mental Health Settings, Randy Parker

Dissertations

The quantitative part of this study examined the relationship between organizational size and staff performance in mental health group home settings.The data from two hundred and sixty-two group homes from small, medium, and large umbrella organizations were examined. The results of independent third party evaluations were compared across these umbrella organizations. Evaluations measured compliance and performance mandated by federal health and safety regulations.

The qualitative part of this study involved on-site interviews with group home staff from various organizations at various professional levels which scored either a low or a high number of errors. A qualitative analysis was conducted to …

The Relationship Between Locus Of Control And Nutrition Health Status Among Adult Wic Participants, Damita Jo Zweiback

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between locus of control orientation and the nutrition health status of adult WIC participants in Michigan. The locus of control variable is defined as the degree to which an individual perceives reinforcement or outcomes as contingent upon his or her own behavior. It ranges from internal to external. Internal locus of control is the individual's belief that s/he is an actor and can determine one's fate within limits. External locus of control is the person's belief that s/he is controlled by forces outside of one's self (Lefcourt, 1976; Koger, 1999). …

The Practice Of The Commons, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper

This paper lays out some of the basics of a language-based, person-centered, or agentic model of practice for nonprofit organizations, voluntary action and philanthropy within the emerging domain of commons theory. Six principles are identified for the practice of commons. Two threats to the production of common goods - bureaucratization and colonization of the life world - are discussed and evaluated as limitations of the practice of commons.

What's In A Name? Keeping The Va In Arnova, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

As the name suggests, Voluntary Action (VA) was one of the constituent interests in the formation of ARNOVA. The popularity of nonprofit organizations (NO) among researchers, scholars and students threatens to overwhelm the scholarly interest in voluntary action. Yet, this latter topic is both more interesting theoretically and more important to larger questions of democracy and local and national community and therefore needs to be preserved and protected.

Reemployment Of Claimants For Unemployment Insurance, Christopher J. O'Leary

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Leaving Welfare: Challenges In A New Economy, Gregory Acs, Pamela Loprest

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

When They Need Help The Most: Public Services For Immigrants, Miren Uriarte, Phillip Granberry

New England Journal of Public Policy

Ending unauthorized immigration is at the heart of current federal initiatives in both immigration and social policy. The intertwining of these two areas of policy is nowhere clearer than in the 1996 passage of both the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), better known as Welfare Reform, and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). Immigration status became a key point of differentiation in access to public benefits as cutbacks were instituted with the stated goal of curtailing undocumented immigration. The denial of public benefits to limit unauthorized immigration has a disproportionate impact on those groups …

Masscap And The Caa Role In Advocating For Change, Joseph Diamond

New England Journal of Public Policy

Cites the efforts of the Massachusetts Association for Community Action Inc. and community action agencies (CCA) to alleviate poverty in the state. Programs offered by CCAs that aim to improve the quality of life of low income people; Efforts of the organization to call for changes in federal and state policies directed to the poor; Details of several initiatives assisted by the organization; Support for the adoption of the Massachusetts Self-Sufficiency Standard.

Challenges To Multiculturalism, Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

New England Journal of Public Policy

An anti-bilingual education referendum was offered to citizens of Massachusetts in November of 2002. The referendum read, in part, “The current state law providing for transitional bilingual education in public schools will be replaced with a law requiring that, with limited exceptions, all public school children must be taught English by being taught all subjects in English and being placed in English language classrooms.” The University of Massachusetts Gaston Institute analyzed the results of that referendum, here reported on by Jorge Capetillo-Ponce.

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

In this issue, special guest editors, Elaine Werby and Donna Haig Friedman, assemble an array of distinguished scholars, policymakers, community activists and political advocates to examine the interaction of the economic, political, and social “flows,” the undercurrents of history that stymied the war on poverty. Their articles and essays chart the beachheads that must be secured before the war can be successfully resumed; No war, they collectively remind us, is won without some battles being lost. You do not secure the future of the country if you abandon the principles of equity and equality for all, the bedrock of the …

The Road To Universal Health Coverage In Massachusetts: A Story In Three Parts, John E. Mcdonough

New England Journal of Public Policy

In 1988, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a new law, a “play or pay” employer mandate, requiring all employers with six or more workers to provide health insurance coverage for their employees. A few years later, with Medicaid identified as a “Budget Buster,” the Weld administration sought deregulation as the way to cut costs and expand access by establishing MassHealth, which dropped the employer mandate and expanded Medicaid, and eventually distinguished Massachusetts as the state with the greatest percent of covered citizens. But MassHealth enrollment has declined as premium costs have risen, and the Uncompensated Care Pool is once again faced …

Shelter Poverty: The Chronic Crisis Of Housing Affordability, Michael E. Stone

New England Journal of Public Policy

This paper examines housing affordability in the United States over the past three decades using the author’s concept of “shelter poverty.” The major findings are as follows: The number of shelter-poor households has been over 30 million since the early 1990s, an increase of more than 70 percent since 1970. Among families with children, rates of shelter poverty are much higher, and over the past several decades have risen faster, than among households with just one or two persons. Nearly half of all renter households are shelter-poor, victims of low incomes and rising rents; most low-income renters are headed by …

When Half The Neighborhood Is Missing, Gus Newport

New England Journal of Public Policy

Local nonprofits too often compete with each other for power, turf, and funds. The author, formerly director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, advocates for a collaborative process that engages the local community in defining and executing new initiatives. Governance for the good of the people must rely on sound research, sound principles and values, and the understanding and support of the community.

What Kind Of Labor Market Awaits Low-Income Workers?, Françoise Carré

New England Journal of Public Policy

This essay highlights changes in the context of the labor market for low-income people, particularly mothers. It briefly reviews labor market trends and policies. It then highlights the challenges faced by such workers. The essay argues for a shift in thinking and policy advocacy to encompass the world of work, and its domination by business imperatives and language, and thus better represent poor people’s concerns in the policy world.

The Empty Promise, Elaine Werby

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article reviews the federal role in providing rental housing for low-income households. It suggests that reliance on the private market has characterized the variety of programs designed to meet the housing needs of this population group. Despite some progress, millions of low-income households still lack stable, secure housing that they can afford, and the major current program of rent subsidies is under attack.