Volume 10 – Issue 1 – 2006
Laura R. Peck and Elizabeth A. Segal
Lynn C. Holley and Russell K. VanVleet
Erin K. Anderson and Jerry Van Hoy
Sara Lichtenwalter, Gary Koeske, and Esther Sales
“The Latent and Sequential Costs of Being Poor: Exploration of a Potential Paradigm Shift”
Laura R. Peck
Arizona State University
and
Elizabeth A. Segal
Arizona State University
Abstract: This paper proposes a new framework for describing the well-being and hardship among low-income families. We describe previously unmeasured costs of being poor as latent, those costs that are hidden and not counted in other poverty measures, and sequential, those costs that are consequential and have subsequent cost implications. Using data from in-depth interviews with cash assistance recipients and working poor heads of household, we explore latent and sequential costs of poverty related to health. Families experience a wide variety of latent and sequential costs associated with their dental, vision, and general health needs.
“Low-Income, Rural Elders’ Perceptions of Financial Security and Health Care Costs”
Sandra S. Butler
University of Maine
Abstract: Despite Medicare coverage, health care expenses consume a significant proportion of older Americans’ incomes. These costs can be particularly difficult for low-income elders. Rural elders face some unique challenges including lower incomes and higher health care costs, on average. This study examines the perceptions of a sample of low-income rural elders (n=66) regarding their employment history, current income, financial security, health status, level of health insurance, and ability to meet basic needs and health care costs. In general, study participants were happy to be living rurally, although many had had restricted employment opportunities throughout their lives with resulting low retirement incomes. Health care expenses were burdensome for many. The article concludes with advice to policy makers from the study participants and by examining how the recent Medicare reform might help or hurt elders.
“Racism and Classism in the Youth Justice System: Perspectives of Youth and Staff”
Lynn C. Holley
Arizona State University
and
Russell K. VanVleet
University of Utah
Abstract: Although numerous quantitative studies have examined racial disparity in the youth justice system, studies have ignored the perspectives of youth about whether racism exists within the system. This study used focus groups with system staff and focus groups and individual interviews with system-involved youth of color to explore perceptions of race and class bias within one state’s youth justice system. Findings indicate that the majority of both staff and youth perceive that race and class bias are present, and that staff demonstrated apparently unintentional racism and classism during the focus groups. Implications for research and for addressing individual and institutional racism and classism are offered.
“Striving for Self-Sufficient Families: Urban and Rural Experiences for Women in Welfare-to-Work Programs”
Erin K. Anderson
Washington College
and
Jerry Van Hoy
University of Toledo
Abstract: The creation of welfare-to-work programs across the country has led to a number of questions about the effectiveness of this reform effort and the experiences of welfare recipients. This study of seventeen welfare recipients in the state of Oregon reports on what the welfare-to-work experience is like for women in two types of communities, one rural and one urban. Our findings suggest that women in both communities share similar frustrations, but overall assess the welfare-to-work program ideology positively. Women in the rural community do report more personal challenges in finding and keeping a job based on the lack of public transportation, limited job prospects in the rural area, and dissatisfaction with the education and job skill training available to them.
“Examining Transportation and Employment Outcomes: Evidence for Moving beyond the Bus Pass”
Sara Lichtenwalter
Gannon University
Gary Koeske
University of Pittsburgh
and
Esther Sales
University of Pittsburgh
Abstract: This study of 62 low-income, primarily black, single-mothers, in the Pittsburgh labor force, examined the relationship between transportation and employment outcomes through regression analyses. The study’s unique Transportation Advantage measure enabled the quantification of mobility disparities between auto owners and those utilizing other travel modes. Results indicated that women with private vehicles reported higher Transportation Advantage and better employment outcomes than those with even the best public transportation services, which questions the efficacy of bus passes as the predominant travel intervention. In addition, there was evidence of transportation’s mediating effect on the relationship between participants’ human capital and their employment outcomes. The mobility status of the single mothers in this study had a greater impact on their employment outcomes than either education or work experience.