Volume 9 – Issue 2 – 2005
Jessica W. Pardee and Kevin Fox Gotham
Ann E. MacEachron and Nora Gustavsson
Scottye J. Cash, Sherrill L. Sellers, and Matthew Claps
“HOPE VI, Section 8, and the Contradictions of Low-Income Housing Policy”
Jessica W. Pardee
Tulane University
and
Kevin Fox Gotham
Tulane University
Abstract: We examine the HOPE VI and Section 8 housing programs in New Orleans, LA to address whether they can be effective anti-poverty strategies. We conceptualize the housing system as a system of social stratification, arguing that recent policy shifts reinforce market dynamics, and do not increase access to affordable housing. Our analysis suggests market-centered programs, together with sizeable cuts in federal assistance, are shifting many low-income housing residents to the private market, resulting in economic distress for these families. We maintain that lack of access to affordable housing is fundamentally a public policy issue. We see the combination of lower levels of housing funding and increased private sector control as likely to reduce the long-standing federal commitment to housing, while exacerbating inequalities. Addressing the contradictions inherent in current housing policy could be the first step toward genuine anti-poverty policy reform and progressive change.
“Welfare Neighborhoods: Anatomy of a Concept”
Geoffrey DeVerteuil
University of Manitoba
Abstract: This paper conceptualizes welfare neighborhoods – places where welfare payments have deeply insinuated themselves into the local economy and survival strategies of the poor. Moving beyond Wilson’s concept of concentrated poverty, I recognize the diversity and heterogeneity of impoverished neighborhoods, as well as more fully develop the relationship between welfare and place. I propose three welfare neighborhood types – the jobless ghetto, immigrant enclave, and service-dependent ghetto – which are then explored using 2000 census data and a k-means cluster analysis. I identify and map the three sets of welfare neighborhoods in the two most populous urban jurisdictions in the United States, New York City, and Los Angeles County. In the conclusion, I emphasize the pressing issue of federal welfare reform, of how its most recent phase further thrusts welfare neighborhoods into the unfamiliar role of being catalysts for job creation and personal transformation.
“Contemporary Policy Challenges for Indian Child Welfare”
Ann E. MacEachron
Arizona State University
and
Nora Gustavsson
Arizona State University
Abstract: The federal policy context of the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) has changed over the last 25 years. We examine ways in which four recent federal policies may challenge or alter ICWA outcomes. Our discussion of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 highlights the re-emerging risk of poverty for more American Indian families. This may increase the removal rate of Indian children due to perceived child neglect. The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 and the Adoptions and Safe Families Act of 1997 present challenges to ICWA by ignoring both the rationale and protections of ICWA. In contrast, the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 explicitly exempts Indian children in recognition of ICWA goals and rationale. Yet non-compliance with this exemption may undermine the intent of ICWA.
“Transitions into and out of Poverty: A Comparison between Immigrant and Native Children”
Yoshimi Chitose
Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Tokyo
Abstract: How do the levels of children’s poverty transitions differ between native and immigrant children? What factors account for these differences? Using the 1996-2001 Current Population Survey, I estimate models of year-to-year poverty transitions for both upward and downward movements. I find that: (1) immigrant children are not particularly more likely to fall into poverty relative to native children, but immigrant children with non-citizen heads are significantly less likely to exit poverty than their native counterparts; and, (2) the length of residence of the family head plays a crucial role in the downward transition of immigrant children, while the citizenship status of the family head is more important in the upward transition of immigrant children.
“Money Equals Time: Influence of Poverty Status on Hours Spent Doing Housework”
Scottye J. Cash
Ohio State University
Sherrill L. Sellers
University of Wisconsin – Madison
and
Matthew Claps
Florida State University
Abstract: Using data drawn from the second wave of the National Study of Families and Households (n=3,263), this study examines relationships between poverty status and hours spent doing housework. The measure of housework time was computed by summing self-reported estimates of the number of hours spent performing core domestic tasks such as ironing, preparing meals, and washing dishes. Hierarchical regression analysis indicates that compared to their non-poor counterparts, women in poverty spend significantly more time performing household tasks. The effect of poverty on men’s housework time was unchanged. The findings from this study may be useful for both policy and practice in recognizing that poor women carry an extra burden of added household time that may deplete personal resources and further complicate efforts to move into paid employment.