Social Welfare Commons^™

Characteristics Of Social Welfare Stasis And Change: A Comparison Of The Characteristics Of Two Child Welfare Agencies In The 1920s, Eve P. Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article describes and compares two child welfare agencies of the 1920's with regard to qualities that influenced or inhibited their ability to change. While one agency gave up its institution in favor of foster home care and mother's pensions; the other continued to provide only institutional care. Four characteristics may account for the difference. They are the organizations' networks; amount of "sunk costs" associated with change; ideologies and interests of organization leadership and the agencies' "boundary spanning" activities. If further studies confirm these, then we may encourage organizational changes so that contemporary agencies may meet emerging client needs.

From Welfare To Work: Does It Make Sense?, Ann E. Kerlin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A great deal of thought and energy currently is being focused on moving welfare recipients off welfare and into the job market. This article reports the results of a study of the work versus welfare choice of women who are limited to the minimum wage job market. Due to the level of the minimum wage, these women face poverty even when working full time. Working often brings them little financial benefit compared to being on welfare, and does not include important benefits such as health coverage for their children. one might ask, then, why women facing this choice would be …

International Migrants Or Welfare Clients: The Selection Of A Master Status For Indochinese Refugees By American Voluntary Agencies, Jeremy Hein

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Government funding of nonprofit organizations is a dominant trend in American social welfare and it has greatly influenced the voluntary agencies resettling Indochinese refugees. Some agencies identify their clients as international migrants from the Third World, but others view them primarily as welfare recipients. These distinctive master statuses lead agencies to provide different services, thus affecting the refugees' initial adaptation to American society. Religiosity, period of creation, links to the welfare state, and international activities shape the selection of a master status for Indochinese refugees.

The Welfare Reservation: A Worst Case Scenario For A Federal Role In Homeless Assistance, Joseph M. Conforti

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of the little-known Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 is stated as "... States, units of local government, and private voluntary organizations have been unable to meet the basic human needs of all the homeless and, in the absence of greater Federal Assistance, will be unable to protect the lives and safety of all the homeless in need of assistance: and the Federal Government has a clear responsibility and an existing capacity to fulfill a more effective and responsible role to meet the basic human needs and to engender respect for the human dignity of the …

Doing Justice By Doing Good: A Perspective For Australian Development Assistance, Laksiri Jayasuriya

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Homeless In Philadelphia: A Qualitative Study Of The Impact Of State Welfare Reform On Individuals, Anthony Halter

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Although homelessness is not a new problem, the faces of the homeless are changing. For many, the term "homeless person" conjures up the image of a skid row alcoholic. However, the homeless now include unskilled middle-aged males, the chronically mentally ill, and families (Chaiklin, 1985). The reasons for the amplification of homelessness include unemployment, insufficient low-cost housing, alcohol and/or drug addiction, mental health deinstitutionalization and the inadequacy of community-based services. In addition, advocates for the homeless including Mitch Snyder (1986) and Jan Hagen (1986) have argued that federal and state welfare policy changes have served to shift potentially at-risk populations …

The Older Population In Massachusetts, 1980-1990, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gerontology Institute Publications

Massachusetts and the nation are aging! People 65 and older are growing in numbers more rapidly than other younger segments of the population, and the unprecedented growth of this group has created new demands on and new opportunities for every major sector of American life. But if we are to make constructive plans for an aging society, we must have sound information on the major changes in the make-up of the population.

This report shows how the older populations in Massachusetts and in the United States have changed in the decade between 1980 and 1990. It is designed to serve …

Asset-Based Social Welfare Policy: Homeownership For The Poor, Alice K. Johnson, Michael Sherraden

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Asset-based social welfare policy is an emerging theme in public policy that focuses on accumulation of wealth rather than on levels of household consumption. In this paper, housing policy is used to illustrate asset-based policy for the poor. Rather than increasing income-based rent subsidies, asset-based housing policy would promote homeownership. Homeownership has played a critical role in the upward mobility of immigrant groups (Bauman, 1987) and the exiting of families from public housing (Fuerst & Williams, 1983). U.S. public policy promotes homeownership for the nonpoor, and we spend quite a lot of money on it. But for the poor, we …

Primary Prevention Of Child Abuse: Is It Really Possible?, Mary K. Rodwell, Donald E. Chambers

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite the growing interest in child abuse and its prevention, to date no systematic research has been conducted to determine the usefulness of instruments used to identify and predict abuse or neglect. The present study is a review and analysis of predictive instruments of abuse or neglect with the goal of identifying the predictive efficiency of the instruments. Analysis reveals a variety of problems with predictive efficiency, particularly as predicting individual risk of abuse or neglect relates to primary prevention. Implications of the findings and suggestions for practice are discussed.

The Rise And Decline Of Mental Health Hospitals In The State Of Michigan, Gerald H. Smith

Dissertations

The State of Michigan has been partially responsible for the treatment of the mentally ill population since 1832, when Wayne County General Hospital opened its doors. The state government made a commitment to care for the afflicted, and at the same time provide an opportunity for other individuals to participate in their treatment. Eventually this commitment led to the establishment of employment for many citizens, and gradually, over the decades, a mental health bureaucracy emerged. It was necessary to hire not only professional staff, but also support staff such as food services, housekeeping, maintenance, and the like. Mental health facilities …

Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers: The Transition From Home Care To Formal Care, Marie Theresa Duncan

Dissertations and Theses

Elderly people with irreversible cognitive declines such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) make many demands on those who must care for them, whether those caregivers are family members or the paid staff of nursing homes. When family members no longer have the capacity to meet these demands, a move to a nursing home or other formal care facility becomes the only solution. Such a shift does not, however, mean the end of family caregiving. Instead, the family's caregiving activities must be integrated with the ongoing efforts of the formal care staff. Currently, relatively little is known about 1) what families experience …

Congressional Testimony On Helping The Long-Term Unemployed Before The House Committee On Ways And Means, Human Resources Subcommittee, Louis S. Jacobson

Testimonies

No abstract provided.

Special Events And Community Elites: An Exploratory Study, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Special events are an important phenomenon in the American voluntary sector, both as a form of fundraising activity and as celebrations of the efforts of volunteers and recognition of the importance of causes and problems. This unpublished paper reports on a study of a national sample of elite special events publicized in a national circulation magazine which at the time published a regular feature in each issue highlighting charitable events. Findings profile the kinds of events and beneficiaries identified as special events during the 1980s, before an extensive amount of fundraising research had been done.

Reagan-Bush Drug Crusades: An Historical Perspective And Critique, Martin Randall Hill

Masters Theses

This study is a sociological analysis of anti-drug legislation during the last one hundred years within the United States. Anti-drug legislation is explored with regard to specific substances, as well as in general, and compared to anti-drug legislation of today. The conflict perspective was employed as an aid in understanding the occurrence of such phenomena as anti-drug legislation and drug wars. It becomes apparent that social problems or deviance, related to drug use, are more than simply a matter of someone transgressing. The laws are created in an effort to perpetuate the existence of groups with access to power and …

The Global Economy And The American Welfare State, Howard Jacob Karger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The American social welfare state is approaching a crisis because of the global economy. Survival in a new world economy requires corporations to become more efficient, a strategy which leads to a rapidly changing technology, plant shutdowns, and industrial reorganization. To aid corporations, government often curbs taxes to make capital available for investment. These policies can lead to governmental debt, reduced welfare services, a deterioration in the infrastructure, and myriad social problems. This article investigates the effects of the global economy on the American welfare state.

Focal Point, Volume 05 Number 02, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

In this issue of Focal Point we address the special needs of lesbian and gay youth and their families. The United States Department of Health and Human Services' 1989 Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide defines gay and lesbian youth as those who have a primary attraction to members of the same sex for intimate and sexual relationships (4). A variety of explanations have been offered to describe the origins of individual sexual orientation. While homosexuality may involve both elements of nature and nurture, the origins of sexual orientation are generally believed to be established during early …

Norfolk Resource Mothers Program Evaluation, Margaret Moore Konefal

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

This study uses the post-test only design to assess the preliminary effects of a community-based policy initiative, the Norfolk State University Resource Mothers Program (RMP), on the gestational ages, birth weights, and survival rates of infants born to participating adolescent mothers.

The RMP uses experienced mothers or paraprofessionals similar in race and socio-economic status to the participating teenagers. These persons are trained to assist pregnant adolescents and teen parents with nonmedical dimensions of pregnancy and child care. They recruit teens into the RMP, encouraging them to get early prenatal care. Resource Mothers provide teen mothers and their families with practical …

Social Planning And The Problems Of Old Age, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper includes a review of the evolution of social planning in the context of human services. It also includes an elaboration of nine approaches to social planning for aging services: community planning councils, the aging network, Title XX planning, state health planning, service reorganization initiatives, the national network of policy institutes, long-term care planning and housing planning. The paper concludes with a consideration of social planning technology, including needs assessment, resource analysis, comparison of alternatives, determination of priorities, implementation and evaluation. It concludes that social planning has been a primary tool in the long-term development of new institutions and …

Effects Of A Reemployment Bonus Under Differing Benefit Entitlements, Or, Why The Illinois Experiment Worked, Carl Davidson, Stephen A. Woodbury

Conference Papers

Fifty-eight percent of the workers enrolled in the Illinois Claimant Bonus experiment were eligible for 38 weeks of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits--26 weeks of state-regular benefits plus 12 weeks of Federal Supplemental Compensation (FSC). The other 42 percent were eligible for only 26 weeks of state-regular UI benefits. We find that the Claimant Bonus treatment--an offer of $500 in cash for rapid reemployment--reduced the duration of insured unemployment by about 1.8 weeks for workers who were eligible for 38 weeks of UI benefits, but by only about 0.75 week for the workers who were eligible for 26 weeks of UI. …

An Examination Of Research Explaining Public Welfare Spending At The State Level, Robert G. Mogull

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A large body of research has examined the determinants of welfare spending at various jurisdictional levels. This paper takes stock of the accomplishments of these studies within a limited framework. Primary socioeconomic and political factors are surveyed and reviewed with respect to their explanatory association with appropriations for public welfare at the level of states.

Foreword: Managing Contracted Services In The Nonprofit Agency, By Susan Bernstein, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Susan Bernstein's qualitative research of the New York City system of social service contracting between public and nonprofit organizations offers a unique and troubling look at the system of social service contracting.

Human Service: A Framework For Education And Practice, Hyung Shik Kim, Roderic Underwood

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper sets out to deal with two main themes. The first theme considers the historical, political and social forces in human service delivery which were instrumental in the gradual recognition of human service as a field of academic study and practice. The paper firmly locates human services in organisational and administrative settings, in contrast to therapeutic or clinical orientations of the established helping professions.

The second theme deals with the domain of human services by incorporating the value commitment to meeting human needs. The normative position identifies human service as a field of study and practice which cuts across …

The Executive Director As Keeper Of The Past, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper outlines a rationale for the materials which ought to be preserved by executives of local agencies, identifies some of the legal issues involved in record keeping for historical issues and resources available at local and state levels and discusses access issues.

Permanency Planning And The Child Abuse Prevention And Treatment Act: The Paradox Of Child Welfare Policy, Mary Ann Jimenez

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 and the Adoptions Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 have imposed conflicting mandates on the public child welfare system. CAPTA places the moral weight of the federal government behind professional intervention with troubled families, while the Adoptions Assistance Act was designed to protect the autonomy of families. As these policies currently stand, the goal of protection of vulnerable children is seriously undermined.

The Repertory Of Social Care Of The Elderly, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper is an analysis of aspects of the emergence of a repertory of social care services for the elderly from the vantage point of the common theory of voluntary action. One facet of that theory, labeled here as endowment theory, is an emerging rational choice model of the praxeological implications of voluntary action within the pragmatic problem-solving tradition. Three terms – endowment, repertory and commons – are presented in the paper as terms whose conventional meanings contain previously undisclosed connotations relevant to a fuller understanding of voluntary action.

An Evaluation Of Columbia Villa/Tamaracks Community Service Intervention Project, Gerald F. Blake, Martin L. Abbott, Debra Lynn Lindberg

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The Community Service Intervention Program (CSlP) is a unique public agency response to a multifaceted set of problems confronting low income residents living in Oregon 's largest public housing project. The primary goals of the CSIP are to reduce crime, reduce the fear of crime among residents, and to improve the quality of life of the families living in Columbia Villa/Tamaracks.

The evaluation of the CSIP combined a number of different research methods, on different analytical levels, to provide a summary assessment. Data were collected from individuals, from agencies, and from police records in a post facto analysis of the …

Discipline And Pacification In The Modern Administrative State: The Case Of Social Welfare Fraud, Alec Pemberton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Foucault and Giddins emphasise the power of the modern "Administrative State", arguing that we now have at our disposal an enormous bureaucratic machinery for processing and controlling various problematical human behaviours. Australian data on fraud of the social welfare system are examined to throw light on Foucault's and Giddens' views. Figures relating to prosecution for fraud of both the Unemployment and Supporting Parents Benefits system in the last six years throw some doubt on the concept of a vastly powerful "Administrative State apparatus.'" Certainly a massive state bureaucracy has been established to apprehend cheats, yet the data show consistently that …

Focal Point, Volume 04 Number 02, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Children Grow Better in Families. This was the slogan on a 1984 poster developed by the Children's Bureau to emphasize the benefits of adoption -- not only to a waiting child, but to the adoptive home itself through the enrichment the new member brings to the existing family system. The slogan rings true for all types of families -- not only those restructured through adoption or remarriage, but those that are formed in more conventional ways. The child welfare system today is heavily invested in family preservation and the philosophy of permanency for children who have been placed outside their …

Long-Term Care Policy: Where Are We Going?, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Omb Watch

Gerontology Institute Publications

Millions of Americans suffer from physical or mental conditions that make it difficult for them to live fully independent lives. These are the frail elderly, disabled and chronically ill persons of all ages, and many mentally ill or mentally retarded persons. They need help to manage daily activities, whether they live in their own homes or in nursing homes.

Such care can be extremely expensive, since it often must be provided for many years, even a lifetime. Today, those costs are met largely by the individuals themselves or by their families and by public programs for low-income persons.

For many …

Employment Leave: Foundation For Family Policy, Mary Jane Gibson

New England Journal of Public Policy

Women and men in the workforce face difficult dilemmas during family crises. Can one be a responsible family member and a responsible employee when an elderly parent is ill, a spouse is disabled, a baby is born or adopted, a child is sick? Employment leave with insurance for wage replacement is a cornerstone of family policy proposed in a workable format in H. 2191 now before the Massachusetts legislature. It can be a model for other states and, someday, the nation.