Anne E. Brodsky and Pamela Caudill Ovwigho
Robert Bickel, Cynthia Smith, and Teresa Eagle
“Declaring Welfare ‘Reform’ a Success: The Role of Applied Social Science”
Margaret K. Nelson
Middlebury College
Abstract: This paper considers how applied social science has simultaneously helped to create the social change known as welfare “reform” and actively participated in the positive evaluation of its effects. It takes as its specific case study Vermont’s welfare restructuring project and the evaluation of that project as completed by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. The analysis covers the goals of welfare restructuring, the ethics of experimental design, the consequences of reporting that focus narrowly on experimental effects, and issues of presentation in MDRC reports.
“The New Ethnic Politics of Welfare: Struggles over Legal Immigrants’ Rights to Welfare in California”
Ellene Reese
University of California, Riverside
and
Elvia Ramirez
University of California, Riverside
Abstract: This paper examines how contemporary welfare politics is shaped by race and ethnicity through a case study of the campaign to restore legal immigrants’ rights to welfare in California. In response to the recent resurgence of nativism, mainly directed towards immigrants of color, the federal government restricted legal immigrants’ rights to welfare in 1996. These cutbacks were highly contested, however, especially in California. There, a vibrant multi-racial and multi-ethnic movement mobilized and persuaded the state to restore legal immigrants’ rights to welfare. Drawing insights from resource mobilization theory, we argue that activists’ ability to mobilize popular support was facilitated by the “ecological concentration” of ethnic minorities and immigrants, the prior organization of these communities and other welfare advocates, and elite sponsorship. We argue that this campaign’s success was due to a combination of the high level of mobilization among advocates and favorable political conditions. Consistent with “framing” and “political opportunity” perspectives, activists’ success was facilitated by their strategic framing of the issue and the availability of allies within the state. Local officials and Democratic politicians, who dominated the state legislature, were key allies. In particular, we emphasize the role of Latino legislators, who acted as “institutional activists,” by tirelessly lobbying for benefit restorations.
“Swimming against the Tide: Connecting Low-Income Women to Living Wage Jobs”
Anne E. Brodsky
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
and
Pamela Caudill Ovwigho
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Abstract: Survival analysis and qualitative data are used to explore outcomes for 399 women in a job training and educational program geared to help women replace welfare or poverty-rate jobs with living wage jobs. While prior research has focused on aggregate findings and limited outcomes, this study looks at the program context and the participant characteristics, which relate to incremental as well as ultimate employment goals. The paper shows why a focus on multiple, sequential outcomes is necessary to accurately evaluate Human Capital Development (HCD) model effectiveness, the long-term effectiveness of welfare reform, and the ultimate goal of helping families escape poverty.
“Poor, Rural Neighborhoods and Early School Achievement”
Robert Bickel
Marshall University,
Cynthia Smith
Marshall University,
and
Teresa Eagle
Marshall University
Abstract: School consolidation and the search for economies of scale are threatening to render the neighborhood school obsolete. Nevertheless, students and their families do live in neighborhoods. Consequently, education researchers have asked if there are neighborhood-based advantages and disadvantages which influence student achievement. Research has yielded conflicting results. This may be due to failure to properly define and measure neighborhood, acknowledging variation in its nature from place to place. We use ethnographic material to help operationalize the concept neighborhood for use in quantitative research in two very poor, rural counties in West Virginia. We then do a contextual analysis to gauge neighborhood effects among kindergarten children in twelve randomly selected elementary schools. Poor, rural West Virginia neighborhoods turn out not to be the uniformly disorganized, culturally pernicious contexts which gave rise to the dubious concept culture of poverty. Instead, they can be sources of safety and stability, where extended families endure, like-minded neighbors are socially accessible and supportive, and early school achievement is enhanced.
“Mental Health Barriers to Employment for TANF Recipients”
Layne K. Stromwall
Arizona State University
Abstract: TANF’s main outcome goal of caseload reduction has resulted
in a blanket attempt to reduce caseloads across all populations of TANF recipients,
even though it is widely acknowledged that many TANF recipients may have significant
barriers to employment. This study examined the mental health-related quality
of life and related characteristics of female TANF recipients and nonrecipients,
aged 18-40, receiving publicly funded mental health services (N = 487) to identify
potential barriers to employment among TANF recipients in this group. TANF
recipients reported significantly more distress and functional limitations related
to their mental health than non-recipients. This subgroup of TANF recipients
is in need of specific attention from both the public welfare and mental health
systems. The barriers to employment and the public policy goals of welfare
reform related to this population are discussed.