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The negative impacts of the Great Recession (GR) (2007 to 2009) on the lives of families with low incomes warrant social work concerns about how well antipoverty policy responded to meet economic needs over this period and since. Given America’s long-standing tension between welfare state adequacy and market-oriented policies, how well did the safety net respond to the economic downturn? Did GR-era changes reverse or accelerate trends in public assistance? This article examines key policy changes and indicators of caseloads, inclusion, and generosity for three antipoverty policies: the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program), and the Earned Income Tax Credit from 2007 to 2017. Authors’ analysis shows a continuation of market-oriented U.S. antipoverty policy. Authors argue that the reemphasis of conditioning benefits on employment undermines the countercyclical feature of the social safety net and perpetuates the inequitable redistribution of public resources between those inside and outside of the labor market. Authors discuss social workers’ role in strengthening antipoverty policies to improve the economic well-being of people with low incomes and the economic justice of the social safety net.

Despite extensive reports during the COVID-19 pandemic of the academic challenges facing students, and the effects of online learning on academic achievements, we have little information regarding the needs and difficulties of K–12 students and their families from a social work perspective. The present article shares findings from a nationwide survey of 1,275 school social workers (SSWs) reporting on their clients—schools, children, and families—during the spring 2020 COVID-19 school closures. SSWs indicated that the children and families they served had significant unmet basic needs, including for food, healthcare, and housing. Poverty and mental health compounded pandemic difficulties, which were associated with the sociodemographic makeup of schools. Student engagement in social work services during the closures was significantly lower than prepandemic levels, generally due to unmet material needs. Several policy and practice implications arise from these findings, including a need for additional services for students and families, a plan to address structural inequities in our schools and communities, coordinated outreach to reengage missing students, and recognition of the strong work being done by school staff coupled with a need for additional supports and resources to combat persistent inequality.

Gender equity is still a challenge for the world, especially in those regions where sociocultural practices permeated by machismo, that is, male chauvinism, intersect with poverty and institutionalized racial discrimination. The creation of safe and feminized spaces where women can express themselves freely is crucial in the process of cultivating their awareness of their own positions, and the first step toward individual and collective empowerment. In this article the authors point out the direct and positive relationship between feminine cooperativism and women’s empowerment, taking as a case study the Mujeres Pescadoras del Manglar cooperative in Oaxaca, Mexico, a group of women who, thanks to a social work program implemented by La Ventana civic association, has been able to gain empowerment and recognition at a personal and political level. Likewise, Mujeres Pescadoras del Manglar is an example of the national phenomenon of bolstering female employment in the fishing sector, which is on the rise thanks to the growing number of women’s cooperatives, through which they can access the labor market, feminize new spaces, and achieve full empowerment for themselves, their families, and the society in which they live. The fieldwork was carried out from November 2018 to February 2019 in the community of El Zapotalito, Oaxaca. The methodology used consists of semistructured interviews, life stories, field diaries, and participant observation. This article showcases a positive example of social work empowering low-income women on the Chica coast of Oaxaca.

Public libraries in the United States have begun to partner with social work to address the psychosocial needs observed in patrons that are beyond the training and education of most library staff. This is a new area of inquiry with limited research available. Of the few published studies, the majority focus on staff perceptions of patrons’ needs and surveys of patrons experiencing homelessness about their use of public libraries. The present study is the first to examine and compare staff perception of patrons’ needs, patrons’ self-expressed needs, and the actual use of social work services by patrons within one library system. Comparisons are explored between actual service usage alongside the perception of patrons’ needs as originally reported by both staff and patron groups. Implications for library-based social work practice are discussed.

Worldwide neoliberal policies are transforming the landscape of social work. Studies have shown that these policies increased social workers’ caseloads, regulated welfare expenditures, impaired public services’ capabilities to attend to the needs of growing demand, transformed social services delivery by implanting new public management methods, and often also worsened working conditions and deteriorated the professional status of social workers. Moreover, these policies have raised both poverty and inequality levels and left their negative marks on social work education, by prioritizing academic disciplines more attuned with the needs of neoliberal regimes. This article seeks to encourage schools of social work, social workers in the social services, and people living in poverty to challenge the harmful impact of this context by engaging in meaningful alliances focused on the fight against poverty and social exclusion. This article presents a long-term partnership project between a school of social work, local public social services, and groups of active clients, to tackle the issue of poverty in Israel. The article describes the project, introduces the theoretical and methodological principles, analyzes achievements and challenges, and finally discusses the potential contribution of such partnerships for the future of the profession.

As defined by the International Federation of Social Workers, social work is a human rights profession. This is explicitly stated in the professional codes of ethics in many nations. However, the most recent version of the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers continues to exclude any mention of human rights, fitting in with the history of U.S. exceptionalism on this subject. Social workers around the world have a long history of working for the achievement of human rights, including an explicit grounding of practice in human rights principles: human dignity, nondiscrimination, participation, transparency, and accountability. Utilizing these principles, U.S. social workers can move from the deficit model of the needs-based approach to competently contextualizing individual issues in their larger human rights framework. In this way, social work can address larger social problems and make way for the concurrent achievement of human rights. This article explains these principles and provides a case example of how to apply them in practice.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is a federal block grant to the states, with a required state contribution. Although often viewed as a cash assistance program with work requirements and services targeted at extremely low-income families with children, only about one-quarter of all state and federal TANF funds are now used for traditional cash aid. Uses of funds vary widely by state, and alternatives range from refundable tax credits to support of state child welfare systems. In this article, the author examines the relationship between state categorical TANF spending and key social, political, and economic characteristics using data from 2015 to 2017 and multilevel linear models. Racial and ethnic demographics of the cash assistance caseload are associated with differences in spending, with states with larger proportions of the caseload composed of people of color devoting a lower percentage of effort to traditional benefits and more to alternative cash transfers. Changes in unemployment rate within states are associated with greater spending on basic assistance and reduced spending on alternative transfers. These findings indicate that, although TANF cash benefits spending may be economically responsive within the program’s overall flexible structure, spending patterns raise issues of equity for disadvantaged families.

People are seen as resilient when they respond better than expected in the face of adversity. The aim of the article is to provide a description of the risks the unemployed day labourers waiting at a street corner in Cape Town experience daily and the resilience they display. An ethnographic approach was used to gather data. The results show that day labourers experience difficulties related to insufficient and irregular income to care for those dependent on them, friction between local and foreign day labourers, and uncertain working conditions. Hope of obtaining employment to look after their families and caring individuals and groups enhance their resilience.

Neoliberal political reasoning is remaking the state’s democratic character and its governing rules to reflect those of the market. The most prominent legislative example, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, dictates work requirements, time limits, and monitoring and sanctioning of clients. Through such policies, the primary aims of government assistance changed from aiding needy citizens to transforming individuals into paid workers, regardless of continued poverty or care obligations. Although scholarship of related policy and governance tools has grown, less study has centered on understanding the historic events and ways in which race-based, gendered, and poverty narratives facilitated adoption of such austere policies. This article compares circumstances of African American and White mothers in the United States from the Revolutionary War to the postwelfare era. It describes what neoliberalism is, discusses the role of ideological discourses in policy and governance, presents the history and historical racialized portrayals of White and African American motherhood during this period, and analyzes the differential impact of ideological discourses using a lens of intersectionality. The conclusion discusses how discriminatory discourses subvert a democratic ethos for all and suggests ways for social workers to contest the impacts of neoliberalism.

A lack of financial capability—financial opportunities and abilities—and poverty are highly interlinked. Over 65 percent of people in India are excluded from any financial services. This article explores income-poor Indians’ experiences with financial capability through a qualitative study. Purposive sampling was used to collect data from 658 individuals, through focus groups (n = 566) and face-to-face interviews (n = 92). Findings show that 97 percent of respondents had the opportunity to earn an income, and 55 percent earned through financial inclusion programs, but 87 percent of respondents earned less than U.S. $2 a day. Although almost all saved and needed to borrow, 46 percent were eligible for formal savings and only 23 percent for formal loans. Financial abilities or knowledge and skills related to income, savings, and loans were higher among the few who had a stable income or had medium and high income in relation to those who had unstable and low income. Respondents experienced many challenges with their financial capabilities, including borrowing to save, fearing formal loans, and lacking clarity about loan and interest rate; banks miscalculating interest rates; and political parties influencing access to loans. Implications for social policy and social work practice are discussed.

Lower-income millennials make important financial decisions that may affect their future financial well-being. With limited resources, this population is at risk for acquiring too much debt or being unprepared for a financial emergency that can send them further into poverty and constrain their ability to leverage resources for future economic mobility. A financial capability approach, an intervention that combines financial education with financial inclusion through the use of a savings account, may correlate with millennials’ healthy financial behaviors. This study used data from the 2012 National Financial Capability Study to examine the relationship between financial capability and the financial behaviors of lower-income millennials between the ages of 18 and 34 years (N = 2,578). Compared with those lower-income millennials who were financially excluded, those who were financially capable were also 171 percent more likely to afford an unexpected expense, 182 percent more likely to save for emergencies, and 34 percent less likely to carry too much debt, relating to their greater overall financial satisfaction. The findings of this study indicate that interventions that develop lower-income millennials’ financial capability may be effective for promoting healthy financial behaviors.

Modern technology threatens to dramatically alter the U.S. labor economy, but the crumbling social safety net may be insufficient for affected workers. Some advocates propose to address these converging problems through universal basic income (UBI). Authors conducted a preliminary review of social work perspectives on the topic of UBI. They found very little relevant literature, especially among American scholars. Existent social work literature frames UBI as an alternative to the neoliberal welfare state and mass unemployment. Social workers also contribute a critical social justice orientation to UBI scholarship in other disciplines. Grounded in the NASW Code of Ethics, authors argue that it is imperative for American social workers to seriously consider UBI as an answer to growing inequality and the unique expertise that social workers offer as allies of marginalized populations.

This article describes an empowerment approach for working with diverse women who experience poverty, trauma, and multiple structural oppressions. The approach is the result of 20 years of experience developing, implementing, and evaluating this practice in a metropolitan community, and is grounded in women's empowerment theory and relational-cultural theory. The interventions combine social work's clinical interventions with community organizing strategies to promote personal and collective empowerment, supporting the "personal is political" tenet of feminist practice. The interventions, including nonclinical interviews, story circles, and leadership and advocacy education and training, can guide practitioners in providing services and programs that create a space for women to make changes in their personal lives and in their community. Program outcomes report successful changes for women in improving symptoms, increasing self-efficacy, and engaging in community advocacy. Women who participated also reported an increased sense of power, balancing commonality and difference among women, and a sense of hope for their future.

School social workers and other school personnel can find meeting the educational and social needs of immigrant children a challenge, particularly if these children are also experiencing poverty and other educational barriers, including limited English language proficiency. Quality after-school programming has been associated with a variety of positive effects such as increased educational attainment and positive social and emotional development and could, therefore, prove significant in the lives of immigrant children. Yet, immigrant children participate less. The purpose of this article is to discuss ways in which school social workers can increase enrollment in after-school programming among immigrant children, six to 12 years of age, by becoming both advocates for children and families and leaders in developing and maintaining these services. School social workers are poised to play a number of roles related to practice, administration, research, and policy. Because this particular age group of children begins to look beyond the family for guidance and support, middle childhood is an opportune time for school social workers to work toward involving children in positive after-school experiences.

Farmworkers experience pervasive economic insecurity in part because of the seasonal nature of agricultural work and limited employment protections. Yet little is known about the adequacy of the social safety net in responding to farmworker needs. Using data from the 2005-2009 National Agricultural Workers Survey (N = 10,469), the current study analyzed predictors of social welfare participation among Latinos, who represent approximately 80 percent of all farmworkers. Nearly 95 percent are immigrants, although almost half of them have lived in the United States for more than 10 years. Descriptive analyses showed that, even among farmworker households whose income fell below the poverty line or that were headed by legally documented individuals, social services use was very low. Logistic regression analyses revealed that degree of social integration influenced social welfare participation, controlling for education, poverty status, family composition, and employment characteristics. Latino farmworkers who were recent immigrants (that is, in the United States for less than five years) had significantly lower odds of access to social insurance and public assistance programs relative to their U.S.-born counterparts. Low self-reported English ability significantly decreased access to most social insurance programs but not public assistance receipt. The findings indicate the need for social workers to engage in outreach efforts and policy advocacy to improve farmworkers access to social welfare.

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), youths (23 years or younger)-who account for almost half the population-are particularly vulnerable to poverty and exclusion from financial markets and intermediaries. In addition, a significant factor in the financial instability of the region appears to be the economic functioning of its youths. In recent years, social work interventions throughout the region have focused on investing in the economic functioning of youths. This study looked at baseline data from one such intervention in Kenya (N = 3,965), using the financial capabilities framework to evaluate the factors related to youths' saving behaviors. Authors investigated the association between youths' financial literacy (that is, knowledge, socialization), financial access, and financial capabilities and savings behaviors. Results indicate that adolescents who rate themselves as financially literate and those living in close proximity to a bank are more likely to report higher capabilities. Furthermore, financial capabilities in turn partially mediate the relationship between financial literacy, access, and savings. Overall, the study's findings point to the positive effect of enhanced financial capabilities among youths and offer support for asset-based interventions targeting youths in SSA.

Using social justice as the conceptual foundation, the authors present the structural barriers to socially just intercountry adoptions (ICAs) that can exploit and oppress vulnerable children and families participating in ICAs. They argue that such practices threaten the integrity of social work practice in that arena and the survival of ICA as a placement option. Government structures, disparity of power between countries and families on both sides, perceptions regarding poverty, cultural incompetence, misconceptions about orphans and orphanages, lack of knowledge about the impact of institution-based care, and the profit motive are driving forces behind the growing shadow of unethical ICAs. The U.S. social work community has a large role and responsibility in addressing these concerns as the United States receives the most children adopted through ICAs of all receiving countries. In addition to the centrality of social justice as a core value of the profession, the responsibility to carry out ethical and socially just ICA has recently increased as a matter of law, under the implementation legislation to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. While acknowledging that these issues are complex, authors provide suggestions for corrective policy and practice measures.

Racial disproportionality in out-of-school suspensions is a persistent social justice issue in public schools. This article examines out-of-school suspensions of four black youths from the perspectives of the youths, their caregivers, and educators. The case involving David, a 14-year-old African American with a learning disability, illustrates the challenges of students experiencing the intersection of disability and race. The case involving George, a 14-year-old Liberian immigrant, illustrates how parents and teachers may form alliances around shared goals and values despite profound cultural differences in understanding of youths’ misbehavior. The case involving Nina, a 12-year-old African American, illustrates how educators’ failure to consider the context of her misbehaviors as responses to sexual harassment, along with their subsequent harsh punishment and failure to protect her, led to her disengagement from school. The case involving Craig, a 16-year-old African American, provides a glimpse into how the use of criminal justice language to refer to youths’ misbehaviors can support the development of a criminalized self- and social identity. These cases illustrate the diversity of black students—including ability, disability, culture, and gender—and how events surrounding suspensions are interpreted by students, caregivers, and educators. Understanding such diversity will undergird implementation of effective alternatives to suspensions.

The goal of the study reported in this article was to explore the conceptualizations of human rights and human rights practice among students and supervisors in social work field settings. Data were collected from 35 students and 48 supervisors through an online survey system that featured two open-ended questions regarding human rights issues in their agency and human rights practice tasks. Responses suggest that participants encountered human rights issues related to poverty, discrimination, participation/self-determination/autonomy, violence, dignity/respect, privacy, and freedom/liberty. They saw human rights practice as encompassing advocacy, service provision, assessment, awareness of threats to clients' rights, and the nature of the worker-client relationship. These results have implications for the social work profession, which has an opportunity to focus more intently on change efforts that support clients' rights. The study points to the possibilities of expanding the scope of the human rights competency within social work education and addressing the key human rights issues in field education.

Trends in social welfare policy and programs place increasing expectations on families to provide members with various forms of material and socioemotional support. The historic ability of kin networks of many African Americans to provide such support has been compromised by long-term community and family poverty. The potential mismatch between the expectations of social welfare systems for kin support and the actual functional capacities of kin networks places African Americans living in poverty at great risk of chronic poverty and its long-term multiple consequences. This article reviews historical and contemporary research on the structure and function of African American kin networks. On the basis of evidence of functional decline, the authors argue that social workers must re-examine the a priori assumption of viable kin networks as a reliable source of resilience among African Americans living in poverty. Social workers must focus assessment at all levels of practice on a variety of aspects of kin networks to make accurate judgments about not only the availability of resources, but also the perceived costs and benefits of participation in exchange for resources.

Despite the lack of consensus about its I meaning, "empowerment" is a widely used term in social work and other human service professions. It is a key concept in social work and over the past few years has become an important concept in work with disadvantaged and disenfranchised populations. Some describe it as a process. For others it is an outcome or goal, and still others view it as a form of intervention (Dunst, Trivette, & LaPointe, 1992; Gutierrez, DeLois, & GlenMaye, 1995). Because empowerment takes place in different forms, on different levels, and within a variety of contexts and situations, Rappaport (1981) contended, "Empowerment [needs to be] viewed ... as a process of infinite variety" (p. 3). The Social Work Dictionary defines empowerment as "the process of helping individuals, families, groups, and communities increase their personal, interpersonal, socioeconomic, and political strength and develop influence toward improving their circumstances" (Barker, 2003, p. 142). The emphasis in most definitions of the concept is "directed at influencing a sense of control over important life events" (Dunst et al., p. 12). Although many in the social work profession have written about empowerment, few have offered a description of the empowerment process from the perspective of frontline workers in high-risk communities. How do frontline workers enact empowerment principles in their everyday work environments? What do these workers perceive to be the challenges in implementing empowerment interventions with disadvantaged populations? What strategies do they employ to overcome or address individual and situational challenges to the empowerment process? This article examines these questions on the basis of findings from a 2001-2004 qualitative study of the implementation of the Casey Family Resource Center Initiative in four of Casey Family Services divisions. FAMILY RESOURCE CENTERS Comer and Fraser (1998) suggested that family resource and support centers are distinguished from other programs by their consumer perspective. They tend to emphasize family participation based on joint decision making between families and service providers. Family resource centers embrace a prevention orientation and emphasize social support, empowerment, and skill development. Most family resource centers have an additional goal: improving the health, safety, and general well-being of children. Family resource centers, like those being developed by Casey Family Services, "are mandated to reach a wide spectrum of families representing a diverse set of needs and strengths" (O'Donnell & Giovannoni, 2000, p. 72). Effective family resource programs may also have systemic goals, such as helping to initiate, develop, or improve interagency cooperation, promoting joint service initiatives, enhancing social supports for families, and increasing family economic self-sufficiency--the latter two of which were prominent goals for the Casey Family Resource Centers. The Casey Family Services Family Resource Center Initiative used empowerment interventions to provide mental health services, child and recreational activities, parent services, educational programs, and other skill training. Casey's Family Resource Center (FRC) programming began in 1999 in four of its seven divisions. (Although all seven of its divisions embraced the FRC initiative, only four had begun implementing the model when this study was conducted.) The sites and program models of these four centers differed slightly. One was located in a school setting in rural New Hampshire, another in two public housing development sites in a small New England town, and another in a midsize urban mid-Atlantic city. Population size, racial composition of the community, and poverty levels among families differed. Although three of these centers were embedded in host settings and one was a freestanding center, frontline staff had similar experiences while engaging in empowerment practices. …

The disproportionate number of racial and ethnic minority children in the child welfare system concerns many child welfare professionals. Few studies have investigated how neighborhood processes may contribute to this disparity. This study examined how neighborhood characteristics are associated with rates of child maltreatment for black, Hispanic, and white children. Spatial regression procedures were used to analyze data from 940 census tracts in California. For black children, higher rates of poverty and higher densities of off-premise alcohol outlets were positively associated with maltreatment rates, but increases in population since 1990, a higher percentage of residents who had moved, and a higher percentage of black residents were associated with lower rates. Percentage of female-headed families, poverty, and unemployment were positively related to maltreatment rates among Hispanic children. For white children, the percentage of elderly people, percentage of poverty, ratio of children to adults, and percentage of Hispanic residents were positively associated with neighborhood rates. Reducing neighborhood poverty may reduce rates of child maltreatment for all children, but additional efforts to prevent maltreatment at the neighborhood level may need to be tailored to the specific demographic characteristics to be most effective. Language: en

Payday loans refer to small-dollar, high-interest, short-term loans usually extended to lower-income consumers. Despite much research to the contrary, the payday loan industry asserts that it primarily serves middle-class Americans. This article discusses the authors' investigation of the industry's claim, by analyzing data from a U.S. bankruptcy court serving a Southern district. Results of the multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that, controlling for various sociodemographic and economic variables, two middle-class indicators--home-ownership and annual income at or greater than the median income--are associated with a decreased likelihood of using payday loans. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for social work practice and advocacy in regard to financial capability, particularly asset development, income maintenance, and payday loan regulation.

In the new century, social work is confronted with a global system in which the world's people are bound together in a complex web of economic relationships. People's lives are now linked to lives of distant others through the clothes that they wear, the energy that warms them, and even the food that they eat. What are the institutions of this new global economy and are they just and equitable? We are compelled to once again consider the perennial themes of social justice, exploitation, and privilege, but this time as they relate to an economic system of unprecedented scope. With regard to social justice issues, the NASW Code of Ethics (2000) leaves no doubt about a global mandate. Whereas the term "global" was not used in earlier versions, the current code states "social workers should promote the general welfare of society, from local to global levels ... [including] social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that ate compatible with the realization of social justice" [italics added] (pp. 26-27). This explicit extension of ethical responsibility beyond national boundaries flows naturally from the core value of "human dignity and worth" that is at the heart of our professional identity. Moreover, such a worldwide orientation is consistent with the work of numerous and often prominent social workers who have worked on peace and global social justice issues throughout the history of the profession (Van Soest, 1995). What then are the structures of privilege, exploitation, and resource distribution inherent in the new global economy? This question is best approached by first noting critical antecedents. Colonialism--Precursor of the Current Global Economy Beginning in the late 1400s and continuing until the middle of the 20th century, European countries, most notably England, Spain, Portugal, France, and the Netherlands, exploited the peoples and resources in the areas of the world now commonly referred to as the "Global South." Colonies of both expansion and exploitation were established in places such as South and Central America, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and India, and in the 19th century, Africa. Much of the current geopolitical map is actually the product of this history of European colonialism. Whether Europeans migrated to particular colonies or simply maintained control by establishing puppet governments of a local military presence, colonialism generally aimed at one goal: the movement of local commodities and resources toward the Europeans and the exploitation of indigenous people for labor or, in other cases, social marginalization or elimination. In other words, colonialism established a historical context of severe class polarization as well as a precedent for the exploitation of indigenous people and their resources in the countries of the Global South (E. Goldsmith, 1996; Magdoff, 1978; Weaver, 2000). Colonial domination was often justified through a belief in the superiority of Europeans over the indigenous populations. At its worst, this rationale, which was racist as well as ethnocentric, was used to justify the slave trade and genocide. In less severe variations, Europeans envisioned themselves as "civilizing" their subjects, who, we should note, were virtually always not white. In general, colonialism involved a powerful belief in European entitlement and superiority as well as an unabashed racist orientation that was used to justify centuries of wholesale exploitation (Moussa, 2000). Although some colonies became independent of direct European control during the 19th century, the full scope of direct domination came to an end in the years after World War II. During that time, the remaining colonized countries of the Global South experienced the emergence of military coups, dictators, and other varieties of autocratic governments. With few and fleeting exceptions, the independent governments of the Global South were undemocratic in origin and patently corrupt. …

One of the most significant consequences of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 (P. L. 104-193) was its impact on the decades-old partnership between the state and the voluntary sector. It affected relationships among nonprofit organizations as well as those between nonprofit agencies and public welfare departments (Bloom, 1997; Burt, Pindus, & Gapizzano, 2000; Cnaan, Wineburg, & Boddie, 1999). Little research has assessed how the legislation affected the patterns of interorganizational relationships that have emerged among providers (Allen & Kirby, 2000; Besharov, Germanis, & Rossi, 1997; Hassett & Austin, 1997; Perlmutter, 1997). Most recent research on the organizational effects of PRWORA has focused on public agencies (Carnochan & Austin, 1999), with only a few studies examining its effects on private nonprofit organizations (Alexander, 2000; Withorn, 1999). Research on community well-being, however, has long established the importance of organizational infrastructure at the neighborhood level (Etzioni, 1996; Figueira-McDonough, 1995; Warren, 1970). Other research has revealed how changes in nonprofits' external environment produce new patterns of intraorganizational behavior and interorganizational relationships, including alternative resource development strategies and the creation or expansion of collaboratives and networks (Alexander; Bischoff, 2001; Bischoff & Reisch, 2000; Bielefeld & Scotch, 1998; Reitan, 1998). Frameworks for analyzing the degree of competition or cooperation among nonprofits often assume that alterations in the political-economic environment are reflected in the nature of their interorganizational ties (Bailey & Koney, 1996; Bardach, 1998; Withorn, 1999). Research on such relationships is critical at this juncture because of the unforeseen consequences of welfare devolution (Baker & Doorne-Huiskes, 1999; Bielefeld, 1996; Brown, 1997; Young, 1999). These consequences include an increase in the demand for nonprofits' services, particularly emergency services, even as welfare caseloads have declined since the mid-1990s (Brunner, 1996; DiPadova, 2000; Eisinger, 1999; Withorn). Building on this research-which appears to reflect a shift in responsibility for social support from the public to the nonprofit sector, we analyzed the effect of PRWORA on interorganizational relationships among 90 nonprofit human services organizations in two counties in southeast Michigan. We hypothesized that a policy change of this magnitude was likely to alter the pattern of interorganizational relationships among nonprofit human services agencies, particularly those that serve low-income populations (Abramovitz, 2002; Bischoff, 2001). Welfare and Welfare Reform in Michigan The state of Michigan passed several significant welfare reforms before the 1996 federal changes. To some extent Michigan's reforms served as one of the models for PRWORA. Beginning in 1992, four years before the passage of PRWORA, the state shifted the emphasis of its welfare policies from entitlement to personal responsibility. As a result nonprofits in Michigan have had more time than their counterparts in most other states to acclimate to the changes produced by welfare reform. The findings from this study may, therefore, underestimate the effect of PRWORA on nonprofits in other states, because the data collected used 1996 as the baseline year. The agencies in this study were drawn from two adjacent, yet very different, counties in southeastern Michigan. Wayne County (population about 2.1 million, dominated by the city of Detroit) is much more populous and demographically diverse than Washtenaw County (population about 323,000), which comprises smaller cities such as Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and some rural areas (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). The proportion of Wayne County's African American population is more than three times that of Washtenaw County (42 percent compared with 12 percent); Washtenaw County has considerably higher median household income ($51,286 compared with $35,357) and substantially lower rates of poverty (8. …

This article examines the methods and dynamics of packaging multiple sources of wage and nonwage income as a means of making ends meet over a 10-year period among a sample of displaced steelworkers who lost jobs as a result of plant closings in the 1980s and then experienced extensive downward mobility. The study tracked changes in the respondents' income and employment over a decade, the dynamics of their use of social services, their pooling of a variety of income sources, and the use of social assistance to supplement low wages. The study found that among this sample income packaging was a universal economic strategy and that use of social services did not affect later employment and earnings.

Reported increases in demand at local food pantries and soup kitchens and the proliferation of additional sites to meet that demand have raised the issue of the adequacy of the response to hunger in this country (Second Harvest, 1998). This article examines this issue by presenting information on individuals who use emergency food relief (EFR) programs to supplement their food needs. The data are from an ongoing study of people receiving food assistance services from food pantries and soup kitchens in Virginia. The article presents descriptive demographic and employment information to assess why these people are seeking food assistance, what other economic risks they experience, and their potential for long-term dependence on emergency food assistance The article also examines these respondents' use of the food stamp program (FSP)--the major federal nutrition program that serves people who are poor. The FSP is intended to help households buy a nutritionally adequate diet; thus, it should serve as an ongoing s afety net for low-income house-holds. However, increases in emergency food assistance use suggest that the FSP may not be meeting the food needs of many households. The article concludes with suggestions for social work interventions to address issues of food security. Nutritional well-being for vulnerable individuals and families, although not directly the focus of social work practice, is an important component of healthy biopsychosocial functioning and results in challenges for practice and policy. Hunger and the U.S. Response Despite a strong economy, anecdotal evidence and ongoing studies reveal that hunger continues to be experienced by millions of people in the United States--a "food rich" country by all standards (Eisinger, 1996; "Hunger rising," 1998; Pugh, 1998; Rivera, 1997; Sarasohn, 1997). A recent study by Second Harvest (1998), one of the country's largest private hunger relief agencies, suggests that cutbacks in government welfare and FSPs, low-paying jobs, and rising medical and child care expenses contribute to an increase in food insecurity in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as limited or uncertain availability of nutritious and adequate food, whereas hunger is "the uneasy or painful sensation caused by a lack of food" (Hamilton et al., 1997, p. ii); people who are "food secure" are defined as "households with assured access to enough food for an active healthy life" (Hamilton et al., p. ii). Using these definitions, a USDA-sponsored survey using national data from the food security supplement of the Current Population Survey, estimated that 10.5 million households, or 10.2 percent of all U.S. households, were food insecure in 1998. About 36 million people lived in these households, of which 14 million were children under 18 years of age (Food Security Institute, 1999). The USDA operates 14 food assistance programs to address various aspects of food insecurity and hunger. (American Dietetic Association, 1998). The FSP, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the school lunch and breakfast programs are the cornerstones of food assistance programs. The FSP is the largest and best known of the federal nutrition programs. The Food Stamp Program The FSP was first born in the late 1930s during the wave of unemployment and poverty that swept the nation. It was conceived as a program to help farmers and to feed hungry people during the Depression era. It ended, however, in 1943 when surplus commodities were needed to feed soldiers (Galer-Unti, 1995; Ohls & Beebout, 1993). Although the Eisenhower administration initiated a surplus commodity program in 1957, hunger did not make the national agenda again until the 1960 presidential campaign. When he took office, President Kennedy doubled the surplus commodity program and revived the FSP (Maney, 1989). …

As a result of the recent implementation of work-oriented antipoverty programs, more welfare recipients can be expected to be working in low-wage jobs. With these jobs there is little hope that these workers' incomes will rise above the poverty level. One way to help support these low-wage workers is through tax reform. Although low-wage workers pay little or no federal tax, they still pay high payroll and local taxes. To help such workers keep more of their earnings, refundable taxes like earned income tax credit and child refund taxes should be expanded, and sales taxes on food should be eliminated. Key words: equity; poverty; tax reform; welfare reform; working poor people Welfare entitlement programs have lifted many people out of poverty and have opened the doors of economic opportunity for many, but these programs also have become increasingly unpopular. Consequently, welfare programs have come under serious attack, and the thrust of welfare programs subsequently has changed from entitlement transfer programs to work participation programs. On October 13, 1988, President Reagan signed into law the Family Support Act (P.L. 100-485). In essence, this law called for support of economic self-sufficiency activities among welfare recipients. To facilitate economic self-sufficiency, the act authorized the creation of the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program. Under the JOBS program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients were required to either work, look for work, or participate in the jobs training programs (Hagan & Lurie, 1995). Unlike the Work Incentive Programs of the 1970s, the JOBS program achieved a measure of success (Blank & Blum, 1997; Hagan & Lurie). States with innovative programs and administrative commitment to the JOBS program saw success, whereas others with significant constraints did not. On the whole, people who had limited child care services, health care provisions, and educational opportunities did not achieve the overall goals of the JOBS program ( Blank & Blum, 1997; Corbett, 1994-95; Hagan & Lurie). The effort to fight poverty through work was further strengthened by President Clinton's welfare reform measure. On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (P.L. 104-193), which replaced AFDC with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. The act focused on moving poor families from welfare to work. It required work in exchange for time-limited assistance and ultimately required people to be employed and become economically self-sufficient. The measure included the following features to achieve the central goal of the policy (Administration for Children and Families, 1996; Scholz, 1994-95): 1. Make work pay--To encourage people to work and continue working, this policy provides several economic incentives. Mainly, the administration proposed the expansion of earned income tax credit (EITC) and an increase of the minimum wage. 2. Job training and education--To facilitate the transition from welfare to work and to increase earning capability, the administration promised to provide training and education while recipients received welfare assistance. 3. Time-limited assistance--To prevent welfare recipients from staying on welfare indefinitely and to help them move toward employment, the new welfare mechanism provides only time-limited benefits. Once the time limit is reached, welfare recipients are expected to be employed. To facilitate this effort, recipients are assisted with child care, health care, and other support services during the time they seek employment. President Reagan's JOBS program, along with President Clinton's welfare reform and a number of state work initiatives, is a clear indication that traditional welfare entitlement programs are being replaced by work-oriented antipoverty programs. …

One of the most significant and far-reaching issues in the social work profession has been the condition of poverty. Whether the discussion revolves around welfare use, racial inequalities, single-parent families, infant mortality, economic insecurity, or a host of other topics, poverty underlies each and every one of these subjects. Ultimately, it is one of the great challenges that the profession and society as a whole must face. Yet how we confront this challenge depends in part on an accurate assessment of the magnitude of the problem. Until recently, the longitudinal dynamics of poverty in America were largely unknown. Point-in-time estimates gathered from cross-sectional surveys such as the decennial census were the sole source of information available to researchers. However, with the advent of several large national panel studies, considerable insight has been gained over the past 20 years. Analyses of these data sets have revealed a number of important dimensions surrounding the longitudinal dynamics of poverty. Yet in spite of this growing body of knowledge, a pivotal question that remains unaddressed - the answer to which would significantly contribute to our research and policy understanding - is, What is the likelihood of an American's experiencing poverty at some point during his or her adult lifetime? This article represents the first attempt to answer this fundamental question. Literature Review With the advent of several national panel studies, including the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, and the Survey of Income and Program Participation, considerable light has been shed on understanding the longitudinal dynamics of poverty spells. These data sets have allowed researchers to observe and track the individual dynamics of poverty and income mobility. Several broad conclusions can be drawn from this body of work. First, most spells of poverty are fairly brief. The typical pattern is that households are impoverished for several years and then manage to rise above the poverty line (Bane & Ellwood, 1986; Blank, 1997; Duncan et al., 1995; U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996; Walker, 1994). They may stay there for a period of time, only to experience an additional fall into poverty at some point. Because their economic distance above the poverty threshold is often modest, a detrimental economic event such as the loss of a job or the breakup of a family can throw a family back below the poverty line. In contrast, a much smaller number of households experience chronic poverty for years at a time. These are the cases that we generally think of when the term "underclass" is used (Wilson, 1987, 1996). Typically they have characteristics that put them at a distinct disadvantage vis-a-vis the labor market (for example, individuals with serious work disabilities, female-headed families with large numbers of children, racial minority groups living in innercity areas). As a result their prospects for getting out of poverty for any significant time are severely diminished (Duncan, 1984). And of course some individuals and households fall between these two ends of the spectrum. As an example of these patterns, Blank (1997) relied on the PSID to calculate the occurrence of poverty over a 13-year period. During the years from 1979 to 1991, she found that one-third of Americans experienced a spell of poverty. However, of those who fell below the poverty line, one-half were poor for three years or less, one-third were in poverty between four and nine years, and 14.6 percent fell below the poverty line for 10 of 13 years (only 4.5 percent of poor people fell below the poverty line for each of the 13 years). Blank also found that the likelihood and duration of poverty varied sharply by race. One-quarter of white Americans experienced poverty at some point during the 13-year period compared with two-thirds of black Americans. …

The United States is currently struggling with how to best address persistent poverty and the high rates of social problems associated with its existence in urban centers (Hoechstetter, 1996; Jennings, 1994). Moore and Pinderhughes (1993) characterized the debate on the underclass as "who is responsible for the condition of the poor - the individual or society? Is persistent poverty caused by behavioral pathology or the economic structure?" (p. xii). The answers to these questions have profound implications for the development of strategies to eliminate persistent poverty. Unfortunately, the debate has taken a deficit perspective toward communities (Saleebey, 1992, 1996) and has ignored community assets in the search for revitalization strategies (Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993; McKnight & Kretzmann, 1991). A focus on community social problems has a long historical record in the United States (Halpern, 1995): The neighborhood has long been an important locus for efforts to address the causes and consequences of poverty in American society. Over the course of the past century neighborhood-based initiatives have been called on to reduce class conflict, counter feelings of anger and alienation, localize control of institutions, create jobs and reverse neighborhood decline, and address a variety of specific poverty-related problems. (p. 1) Thus, the revitalization of neighborhoods presents many challenges for social work and other professions in helping to promote policies and services that address the needs of communities in a manner that meaningfully involves their populations in the decision-making process. Much attention has been paid to the high-risk environment of inner-city children and their families (Kozol, 1995) and the need for government (local, state, and federal) and the private sector to collaborate to create positive change at the community level (Perez & Martinez, 1993). Any efforts to revitalize these communities must enhance local assets. This article examines the nature and extent of persistent poverty among one population of color - the Latino population. A case study of Latina-owned beauty parlors in a large New England city illustrates the multifaceted role Latino businesses can play in the social-economic network of the community. Implications for social work practice in Latino communities are presented. Literature Review Poverty There are an estimated 22 million Latinos in the United States (Castex, 1994). The median income for Latino families is $23,884, compared to $39,239 for non-Latino white families (Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 1993). All Latino groups have incomes below the national median (Holmes, 1996); Puerto Rican families have the lowest income of any group ($20,654), followed by Mexican families ($23,018). Cuban families have the highest median income of any Latino group ($30,095). Puerto Rican families have the highest percentage of people living below the poverty rate (39.4 percent), followed by Mexican families (29.5 percent), Central or South American families (24.6 percent), other Latino families (20.6 percent), and Cuban families (18.0 percent). These rates are in sharp contrast with the poverty rate of 9.4 percent for non-Latino white families (Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 1993). However, despite the high concentration of poverty among most Latino subgroups, they have not received sufficient national attention. Enchautegui (1994) identified five reasons for this inattention: (1) misperceived identity, (2) lack of widespread attention to the working-poor population, (3) geographical concentration, (4) lack of political participation, and (5) differences among Latino subgroups. The interplay among these factors has resulted in Latinos being considered "invisible" in national policy. The literature on Latino poverty can be categorized into three schools of thought (Borges-Mendez, 1993; Enchautegui, 1994; Hurtado, 1995; Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, 1996; Melendez, 1993; Moore & Pinderhughes, 1993; Morales & Bonilla, 1993; Perez & Cruz, 1994; Perez & Martinez, 1993; Segura, 1992; Torres, 1995): (1) Poverty is the result of an interplay between immigrant status and rapid demographic changes (high rates of female-headed households and fertility); (2) Latinos are an "underclass" (low formal educational achievement and lack of or inconsistent employment history); and (3) a lack of market-attractive skills exclude Latinos from high-wage jobs. …

Epigenesis is the biochemical process through which some genes are expressed and others remain silent, and it reinforces and explains the powerful impact that the environment has on human development. Epigenetic effects occur not only through diet, chemical exposure, and high levels of environmental stress, but also through chronic poverty and racism. Epigenesis provides a mandate for social workers to intervene at the policy level, both for today's children and for those in future generations.

In recent years a growing number of Americans have experienced the threat of job loss or unemployment. In 1992, the percentage of unemployed people seeking work rose to 7.4 percent from 5.5 percent in 1990 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1994). Although this rate has since declined, the economy seems far from robust. Within this uncertain job environment, discussions of government policies toward unemployed workers, particularly those relating to the length and coverage of unemployment benefits, take on great immediacy. Many believe that a major industrial transformation is under way involving the downsizing and restructuring of businesses bent on financial survival (Ferman & Gardner, 1979; Hansen, 1988). This change is most apparent in areas of the country with shrinking populations and dying industries. In these communities, being laid off or fired often triggers a downward economic spiral that may be irreversible because of structural changes in the workplace. Ferman and Gardner (1979) referred to this downward occupational pattern as "skidding" and viewed it as common among U.S. industrial workers. In contrast to more educated professionals who could, at least until recently, anticipate a return to their previous living standard once they obtained a new position, blue-collar workers experiencing structural unemployment often face a future of reduced economic circumstances and the need to find new occupational opportunities (Hansen, 1988). Between 1979 and 1984, one in four displaced workers were out of work for over a year (Biegel, Cunningham, Yamatani, & Martz, 1989). This article examines the economic resources used by a large group of displaced workers coping with job loss for varying lengths of time. It reports the extent of their reliance on a broad range of economic resources, including government assistance programs, private charities, and financial support from family and friends. Inasmuch as government support, especially unemployment benefits, may be viewed as crucial to economic survival, this article highlights the sources of public support used by workers unemployed for varying time periods. Resources Used by Unemployed Workers Wage earners feeling nagging anxiety about their own job fate hardly need social scientists to remind them that "financial hardship is one of the most severe stresses experienced by the unemployed and their families" (Borrero, 1980, p. 925) or that "the most noxious consequence of unemployment is the financial burden it causes" (Turner, Kessler, & House, 1991, pp. 538-539). Briar (1987) vividly described the economic ramifications of long-term job loss and the importance of economic resources, especially unemployment benefits, in buffering its effects: Depleted life savings, bankruptcy, poverty, and homelessness are but a few of the by-products of one or multiple spells of unemployment. Economic deprivation, in turn, may set in motion a chain of losses that compound the psychological and social stresses associated with joblessness. Fewer than one-half and at many times only one-third of jobless people receive unemployment benefits. And even if they receive such benefits, workers and their families with no other source of income are plunged below the poverty line. (p. 3) Although discussions of job loss in both the popular media and academic journals commonly highlight its economic impact, empirical literature on its economic reverberations is rather limited. Perhaps because social workers need no persuasion that economic factors are central to the well-being of unemployed workers, the few studies on resources have been contributed by social work researchers. Briar (1978) provided early documentation of the financial effects of long-term unemployment on 52 skilled workers and their families. In a later work, she concluded that "without an economic cushion, such as an employed spouse, benefits, or savings, workers and their families may plummet financially" (Briar, 1987, p. …

The War on Poverty was never won. If a victor had to be named, it would be the elderly population. Children have been the losers. The decline in poverty from 22 percent to 13 percent of the population during the 1960s and 1970s can be attributed to increases in social insurance spending for elderly people (Storey, 1982). The effects of the War on Poverty reduced poverty among elderly people by 38 percent, whereas poverty rates for female-headed households with children declined by 11 percent (Storey, 1982). The most current data indicate that 21.8 percent of all children were poor in 1991 (Sawhill, 1992). In 1969, 15.6 percent of all children were poor (Danziger & Danziger, 1993). This change represents an increase in poverty rates of 40 percent since the late 1960s when the War on Poverty was being waged (Figure 1). Of particular concern is the high rate of poverty for children raised in single-parent families. The risk of poverty for these children is great. It is estimated that 61 percent of all children in this group will be poor throughout most of the early years of their childhood, and only 7 percent will escape poverty altogether (U.S. House of Representatives, 1992). Furthermore, the number of single-parent families is rising ("Single-Parent Families," 1992). Single-parent families made up 27 percent of families with related children in 1992, up from 22 percent in 1982. Eight million households are headed by single women, and 1.5 million are headed by single men. Causes of Poverty among Children What has caused the increase in poverty rates among children since 1969? Most policy analysts have focused on three factors: changes in demographics, changes in economic conditions, and changes in government spending on social welfare programs. Changes in Demographics The increase in the number of single-parent families has contributed to high poverty rates among children. There has been little change in poverty rates for children living in two-parent families (Figure 2). It is estimated that almost two-thirds of the net increase in the number of poor families between 1990 and 1991 consisted of single-mother families (Sawhill, 1992). Several demographic trends have occurred that help to explain this change. Since 1950 the number of marriages that end in divorce has increased significantly. Between 1950 and 1981, the number of divorces per year jumped from 385,000 to 1.2 million a year (U.S. House of Representatives, 1992). In addition, the number of children born out of wedlock has increased. For example, in 1989 more than one in four births in the United States were to unmarried mothers, up from one in 20 in 1960 (U.S. House of Representatives, 1992). This figure is even higher for people of color. Almost two of every three black children are born to unmarried mothers (U.S. House of Representatives, 1992). These trends have resulted in a 20 percent increase between 1980 and 1990 in the number of children living in female-headed households. Because there are fewer adult wage earners and women earn less than men, female-headed families have a lower earning potential than two-parent families (Danziger & Danziger, 1993). Despite these trends, data indicate that between 1960 and 1990, the number of children remained relatively constant at about 64 million, yet the number of adults grew significantly (Fuchs & Reklis, 1992). So even though there are more adults to care for these children, the children are worse off. In addition, the mothers of these children are better educated today than they were in 1960. The proportion of children living with mothers who had not completed high school was 50 percent in 1960 and declined to 21 percent in 1988; the proportion with mothers who had four or more years of college rose from 5 percent to 15 percent (Fuchs & Reklis, 1992). Both of these demographic trends should have reduced child poverty rates, yet they have not. …

Although substantial numbers of women seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) report domestic violence, few receive mandated services through the Family Violence Option (FVO). This study used transcripts ofinterviews between welfare caseworkers and their clients to identify and classify the responses made by workers to client disclosures of abuse and to assess the match or mismatch of these responses with FVO policy requirements. Only 22 of 782 client interviews involved the disclosure of abuse to the welfare caseworker. A typology of worker responses was created, from least to most engaged. This typology shows that only half of those who disclosed abuse received assistance from the welfare worker, despite policy mandates that clients receive information on TANF waivers and community resources. This study suggests that problems with implementation of the FVO reflect a systemic reluctance to address issues of violence with women rather than problems of individual workers.

This 3-year longitudinal study investigated whether low-wage employment was associated with improved psychological and parenting outcomes in a sample of 178 single mothers who were employed and nonemployed current and former welfare recipients both before and subsequent to the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Participation in employment predicted fewer depressive symptoms and less negative parenting style over time. Employment at time 1 was associated with a reduced likelihood of receiving welfare in the interim between Time 1 and Time 2, less financial strain at Time 2, and (through these) a decrease in mothers’ depressive symptoms at Time 2. Fewer depressive symptoms at Time 2, in turn, predicted less negative parenting style, net of the mothers’ earlier demographic, mental health, and parenting characteristics. Mothers with higher educational attainment were more likely to be employed (and to earn more) at both time points. Implications of these findings for welfare policies are discussed.

This article considers issues of educational inequality in the U.S. South from a social work/ social justice perspective. After a review of existing literature and discussion of cultural versus structural explanations for race and socioeconomic status gaps in academic achievement, findings are presented from a study examining child-, classroom-, and school-level factors that influence academic achievement among public school children in the South. Although a sizeable minority of southern children attend schools that are segregated along racial and socioeconomic lines, and although these schools are different in various aspects of educational environment, once family structure, parental characteristics, the use of ability grouping, and rural school location were taken into account, no influence of race on achievement remained. Implications for social work policy and practice are discussed.

Increasingly, antipoverty interventions have focused their efforts at the community or neighborhood level. Intervening at a community level allows initiatives to target neighborhood market conditions driving the availability of jobs and affordable housing and community-level social processes connected to poverty. Operating at the community or neighborhood level also increases an initiative's ability to leverage resources from within the community and to customize the intervention to account for contextual variables unique to the neighborhood. The term community initiative refers to any intervention targeted at the community or neighborhood level, including Community Development Corporations (CDCs), Comprehensive Community Initiatives (CCIs), Empowerment Zones (EZs), and Enterprise Communities (ECs). These initiatives vary widely in their structure, function, and size, but they also have much in common (see Halpern, 1995, and Naparstek & Dooley, 1997, for discussions of the various types of community initiatives). The activities of community initiatives generally center around two tasks: producing outputs and building capacity. Common outputs include new or rehabilitated affordable housing units, new or rehabilitated commercial space, new businesses, job placements, and improved social services. Capacity building refers to attempts to increase a community's ability to act on its own behalf to address its needs. Capacity-building efforts may be focused on residents, a community organization, a network of community organizations, or some combination of these. Although the utility of producing outputs is obvious, the need to build capacity within distressed communities is perhaps less obvious but equally crucial in improving neighborhood conditions. Capacity-building efforts are designed to increase awareness of existing assets, strengthen leadership, increase collaboration, and enhance skills through technical assistance. Increasing a community's capacity is important because it activates resources available in the community to address the problems. This improves the sustainability of programs because over the long haul, external resources typically diminish. Activities that build community capacity are also important because they are often instrumental to gaining and maintaining community support--another important factor in sustainability. Community initiatives often garner great clout and legitimacy from the perception that the people stand behind the initiatives, and the initiatives exist to carry out a mandate from the community (Mayer, 1984; Sullivan, 1993). This perception broadens the initiatives' sphere of influence and imparts political power that they might not otherwise enjoy, and enhances their access to local politicians and policymakers. Capacity building is also the primary strategy for addressing social and cultural factors that perpetuate poverty. Prolonged community-wide deprivation results in widespread joblessness and increases in crime, delinquency, and instability within family households, which subsequently undermine the perceived self-efficacy of residents and the social cohesion of the community (Wilson, 1995). Capacity-building activities bring neighbors together to address community problems and help restore a sense of community and hope that is often lacking in poor and low-income neighborhoods. PRODUCT-PROCESS TENSION The need for community antipoverty interventions to both produce outputs and build capacity often results in what has been termed "product--process tension" (Roundtable on Comprehensive Community Initiatives for Children and Families, 1997). Initiative stakeholders wish to bring about immediate, tangible changes in poor communities through what they produce. People want to see homes being built, businesses opening up, better health care, and improved public safety, for example. On the other hand, stakeholders also wish to build capacity of residents and local institutions to address problems themselves over the long term by leading them through a step-by-step process of change. …

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, changed the philosophical ground and rules and regulations that apply to low-income families with children who seek federal income support. TANF recipients have less flexibility in charting their life courses than AFDC recipients had. This article presents the findings of a study that investigated how TANF leavers, in comparison with AFDC leavers, fared economically after they left the cash assistance rolls. The major finding is that the income status of AFDC leavers increased considerably, but that of TANF leavers declined. The authors argue that TANF leavers fared less well economically because their decisions about whether to work, to engage in work-related activities, and to leave cash assistance rolls were under stricter control. The data sources for this study were the 1993 and 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation.

Welfare reform has placed the lives of clients, the jobs of social workers, and the mission of agencies in jeopardy. Based on interviews with senior staff at 107 nonprofit human services agencies, this article documents the largely untold story of how nonprofit agencies' workers responded to the impact of welfare reform on their clients, their jobs, and the delivery of services. Workers reported less time for social services because of welfare-related regulations, penalties, work mandates, crises, and paper work. They also reported more service dilemmas including less control of the job, more ethical conflicts, less efficacy, and increased burn-out. Even so, workers felt that they were making a difference, and agencies indicated increased advocacy. Relying heavily on the voice of social workers, the article illuminates the experiences and feelings of agency staff as they try to do their best for clients in difficult times.

This article reports findings from a cross-national comparative study that examined the commonalities and differences in professional ideology among social work graduates in 10 countries by studying their attitudes toward poverty and the goals of social work. The major finding is the substantial similarity in the students’ professional ideology despite the different contexts of their professional socialization process. Students in all the countries attributed poverty to structural causes and supported the extension of state social welfare as a way of dealing with poverty. They expressed a large degree of support for individual well-being and social justice as major goals of social work. Differences were also identified. The similarities and differences reflect the interplay of centrifugal and centripetal forces that fashion the characteristics of global social work.

As state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs have implemented five-year time limits and other restrictions on welfare use, the importance of fostering sustainable welfare exits has grown. This task is most daunting in large inner cities, in which the debilitating effects of concentrated poverty often militate against economic mobility (Jargowsky, 1997; Wilson, 1996). Although most states have initiated program evaluations to ascertain basic outcomes for people who leave TANF, less is known about the experiences of inner-city leavers in post-TANF welfare environments. Also, research has not focused on the reasons why one-fifth to one-third of TANF leavers return to welfare within one year (Acs & Loprest, 2001; Loprest, 1999). Based on focus groups conducted in five high-poverty neighborhoods in Chicago, this article explores the problems faced and strengths used by women who are poor as they attempted to achieve self-sufficiency after leaving TANF. Because our sample included primarily women who left but then returned to TANF, study findings provide unique perspectives on why TANF exits often fail in poor inner-city areas. Such unsuccessful results often have been overlooked, because early studies have focused on average outcomes (Moffitt & Roff, 2000). Study participants' observations about their experiences with public bureaucracies also provide valuable information about how program implementation issues can powerfully affect success after leaving TANF. Early TANF Results, Welfare Exits, and Inner-City Poverty Welfare caseloads have declined dramatically since the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) (P.L. 104-193) established TANF programs. Early state studies have found that about 50 percent to 70 percent of TANF leavers are employed immediately after exiting (Acs & Loprest, 2001; Tweedie, Reichert, & O'Connor, 2000). However, average earnings are usually below the poverty level (Acs & Loprest; Parrot, 1998). Furthermore, job instability is common, because leavers typically are employed in temporary or low-skilled jobs (Anderson, Halter, Julnes, & Schuldt, 2000). Studies also have shown that public supports like the earned income tax credit (EITC), transitional Medicaid, and child care are underused (Anderson, Halter, & Schuldt, 2001). There is little information available concerning the principal reasons that those who leave TANF often return. However, pre-TANF studies found that welfare returns resulted largely from structural employment problems (Harris, 1996; Pavetti, 1993). Edin and Lein (1997) reported that those who left welfare often concluded they were worse off after leaving, because of both work disincentives and the tenuous employment available to poor women with limited education. The problems faced by those who leave TANF may be especially difficult in large cities, because of the high concentrations of recipients, limited job opportunities, and city fiscal constraints (Kahn & Kamerman, 1998; Quint et al., 1999). Wilson (1996) argued that the decline of manufacturing jobs in large cities, when coupled with the "out migration" of middle-class members of ethnic minority groups and the related disintegration of community institutions, has resulted in dense poverty areas characterized by lack of businesses, few successful role models, and limited job networks. Therefore, Wilson contended that welfare reform must combine education and training, income support, and job creation strategies if it is to improve the well-being of the inner-city poor population. Others researchers have suggested that long-term poverty results primarily from the dysfunctional behaviors of people who are poor. Welfare recipients are seen as being mired in a "culture of poverty," reinforced by welfare policies that make not working relatively attractive (Mead, 1992). This perspective is reflected in TANF policies such as time limits and forced work searches, which assume people will choose welfare over work unless precluded from doing so. …

The practice of international adoption of children is critiqued, using Rawls' egalitarian concept of a distributive method of social justice. From this perspective, international adoption may be perceived as contradictory to principles of social justice by ignoring the social context within which it occurs. Social contexts that frequently surround international adoption are severe poverty and the disenfranchisement of the adopted child's biological family; the disenfranchisement of certain children because of their lower social status; gender oppression and discrimination against female children; risk to children's rights to the knowledge of their birth history and parentage; risk to children's rights to identification with their ethnic, cultural, and national group; and practices that may involve abduction, deceit, and trafficking in children. The article presents alternate views, including libertarian and utilitarian perspectives. Solutions from two international conventions are critiqued and implications are discussed for social work policy advocacy, practice, and research.

Few behaviors are as stigmatized in American society as that of welfare use. Survey research has repeatedly documented the public's considerable animosity regarding means-tested welfare programs and their participants (Gilens, 1999; Horan & Austin, 1974; Kluegel & Smith, 1986; MacLeod, Montero, & Speer, 1999; Tropman, 1998). At the heart of this opposition is the belief that welfare recipients are largely undeserving of such assistance. For example, regarding cash assistance programs for the working age poor people, Gilens wrote (1999): While no one factor can fully account for the public's opposition to welfare, the most important single component is this widespread belief that most welfare recipients would rather sit home and collect benefits than work hard themselves. In large measure Americans hate welfare because they view it as a program that rewards the undeserving poor. (pp. 2-3) Accentuating this belief is the pervasive image that those who use welfare are predominately ethnic minority populations, ofter plagued by alcohol or drug problems, have large numbers of children, and remain on the dole for years at a time (Gans, 1995; Quadagno, 1994). For the most part, Americans perceive the use of welfare as something that happens to someone else and atypical of the American experience. In this article we empirically analyze this assumption through two straightforward research questions--How likely is it that Americans will at some point during their adulthood turn to welfare assistance? In addition, what is the extent of time that Americans use the social safety net? The application of a life table methodology allows us to answer each of these questions. Such questions appear particularly relevant for social work. The profession has had a long and noteworthy association with government programs for the needy--from daily casework, to administering public assistance programs, to advocating the importance of a safety net in contemporary society. Yet this involvement has often been devalued and marginalized, partially as a result of the perception that welfare and its recipients are simply not a part of the mainstream American experience. An empirical understanding of the fact that most Americans will at some point in their adult lives use a means-tested program is a vital component in breaking this mind-set. As we discuss in the last section, such an understanding can lead to a greater appreciation regarding the wider relevancy of a social safety net, as well as the role of social workers in assisting individuals and families through periods of economic vulnerability. Current Knowledge of Welfare Participation and Dynamics To qualify for various means-tested welfare programs, households must fall below certain income levels (for example, to receive food stamps, families must generally be at or below 130 percent of the official poverty line). In addition, public assistance programs do not allow households to hold assets beyond a certain monetary level. In general, these are set quite low. The result is that to receive benefits from a social safety net program, individuals and families must be either below or not far removed from the poverty line, with a minimum accumulation of assets. Income and asset guidelines vary from program to program and, in some cases, from state to state within the jurisdiction of a program. Welfare in the United States consists of either in-kind assistance or cash. In-kind programs provide specific resources such as food, housing, and medical assistance. Major in-kind programs include food stamps, Medicaid, and housing assistance. Cash programs provide the recipient with a monthly check. These include Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), which replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in 1996; Supplemental Security Income (SSI); and general assistance. …

Research on designing incentives to make low-wage work a more viable alternative to public assistance has played an important role in the development of state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs (Bane & Ellwood, 1994; Edin & Lein, 1997; Jencks, 1992). This article considers a related issue that generally has been overlooked--whether welfare recipients clearly understand the incentives that have been developed to encourage work. Respondent knowledge about work incentives has become increasingly important under TANF. With the imposition of five-year time limits and stricter sanctions for not fulfilling work requirements, failure to use available work supports can have serious effects on families. To explore how well recipients understand work-related benefits, I interviewed welfare recipients about a wide range of work incentives and support services in a pre-TANF waiver program in Michigan. The findings demonstrate that most respondents lacked knowledge about these incentives and thus often underestimated the benefits available from working. Furthermore, misunderstandings about incentives negatively influenced respondent perceptions about the welfare system, which may undercut future responsiveness to incentives. This article discusses the implications of these findings for the structuring and implementation of TANF work incentive policies and makes the argument that benefit simplification could improve the effectiveness of work incentives and strategies for improving the dissemination of information about work incentives. Also recommended are the development of post-employment service strategies to increase access to public supports for those who leave TANF. Literature Review No research has analyzed welfare recipients' knowledge about the full range of work-related economic incentives available to them. However, studies have shown that welfare recipients lack knowledge about both transitional Medicaid and child care benefits (Hardina & Carley, 1997; Rofuth & Weiss 1991). In addition, Hardina and Carley and Sarri and colleagues (1984) found that recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) generally did not understand basic AFDC eligibility requirements. Other studies have shown low-income people more generally underuse and lack relevant information about the earned income tax credit (EITC), food stamps, state tax incentives, and other programs (Coe, 1983; Katz, Gutek, Kahn, & Barton 1975; Olson & Davis, 1994; Swanson, 1975). Studies of the welfare system and bureaucratic relations offer possible reasons for knowledge deficits. Researchers have argued that the complexity and fragmentation of the welfare system confuses welfare recipients (Bane & Ellwood, 1994; Ellwood & Adams, 1990; Nightingale, 1989). Frequent program changes may exacerbate this complexity, as both recipients and social services personnel may not learn about relevant changes (Anderson, 1998; Bane & Ellwood). Furthermore, different programs may offer conflicting incentives and have varying eligibility rules, benefit determination criteria, and work requirements (Anderson). Variations in interactions between caseworkers and clients also may lead to differential service access and knowledge about incentives (Brodkin, 1986, 1997; Lipsky, 1980). Such inconsistencies may have grown in recent years, as staffing cutbacks, caseworker deprofessionalization, and increasingly complex regulations have made thorough information dissemination difficult (Fabricant & Burghardt, 1992). Consequently, recipients often attribute their lack of knowledge about benefits to caseworker shortcomings in providing information (Coalition on Human Needs, 1988; Southport Institute for Policy Analysis, 1992). Study Methods To test how well welfare recipients understood work incentives, I conducted personal interviews with AFDC recipients in Lansing, Michigan, between September 1995 and April 1996. …

The study discussed in this article examined the perspectives of front-line welfare workers on issues related to the implementation of TANF: domestic violence, work requirements, time limits for cash benefits, and functions of workers. Based on focus groups held in upstate New York, findings suggest a lack of criteria for the granting of exemptions from TANF requirements, worker resistance to serving those caught in the cycle of violence, and congruence between the legislation's "work first" strategy and worker preference. However, participants identified limitations to employment-focused welfare programs, including restrictions on education and job preparation. Further research is needed on the implementation of TANF, including use of the Family Violence Option, and on the use of administrative discretion by front-line workers.

This article describes the process of developing an empowerment approach in a comprehensive child development program that defined its mission as empowerment of families living in poverty. This description is derived from a seven-year organizational ethnographic research project that included data from participant observation, agency documents, individual interviews of staff and family participants, and focus group interviews with staff. Findings concerning empowerment are presented in two areas: (1) resolution of contrasts and dichotomies related to the nature of services, understanding staff roles, and working with the federal government; and (2) lessons learned forprogram effectiveness. Implications for empowerment-oriented social work practice and policy are offered.

It has been 101 years since the first White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children. Advocates were admonished to refrain from disrupting families simply because the families were poor. This basic instruction has proved difficult to implement. Public child welfare has become a system that primarily serves poor children and their families (Pelton, 1994). How well these families are served is open to debate. POVERTY AND CHILD WELFARE A review of families served by child welfare reveals that many of the families are poor. Most of the referrals to Child Protective Services allege neglect, which is strongly associated with poverty (Sedlak & Broadhurst, 1996; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). The overrepresentation of African Americans in the child welfare system suggests that race may serve to exacerbate the role of socioeconomic status (Harris & Hackett, 2008). Poverty is a threat to the well-being of children (Maluccio, Pine, & Tracy, 2002). However, policies and services to ameliorate poverty are much harder to find. The disadvantages of poverty are cumulative. Poor families come to the attention of child welfare for poverty-related issues. Children can be hungry, be living in substandard housing or be homeless, be unsupervised while a parent works or is meeting other responsibilities, be truant from failing schools, lack medical care, or have a caretaker with untreated mental illness or substance abuse. Each of these issues can be a pathway to placement. Locating accessible and effective community services for these issues can be a daunting task for child welfare staff. Compounding the challenges are pressing workforce issues. High turnover rates among child welfare staff are costly for agencies struggling to recruit, train, and retain staff and are expensive for families as service plans are delayed, not evaluated, or not even implemented (Graef & Hill, 2000). Housing and residing in low-income neighborhoods are especially troubling areas for families involved in the child welfare system. Housing problems can result in both the disruption of families and the inability to restore children to their families (Pelton, 2008). A condition for reunification often involves requiring the parent to secure safe and stable housing. This can be a substantial barrier for poor parents. There is a clear association of housing problems with child welfare involvement (Courtney, McMurtry, & Zinn, 2004; Freisther, Merritt, & LaScalla, 2006). The link between neighborhood characteristics and reported child maltreatment rates suggests that economically distressed areas have higher maltreatment rates, although the mechanisms by which this happens remain to be explored (Coulton, Crampton, Irwin, Spilsbury, & Korbin, 2007). CHILD WELFARE SERVICES FOR POOR FAMILIES There is little disagreement about the association of poverty with child welfare involvement. Disagreements develop when casual relationships are advanced. For example, does living in poverty increase the risks of other adverse events such as stress, substance abuse, mental illness, and domestic violence? These factors are also associated with higher rates of child welfare involvement. Research continues to advance the understanding of the etiology of child maltreatment. However, child welfare agencies cannot wait for the definitive explication of the micro, macro, and mezzo complexities of maltreatment. Thus, service plans are often based on the best available data. When parents have substance abuse issues, the service plan is likely to require parenting classes and substance abuse treatment. If there is conflict in the family, then counseling is likely to be required. Poor parents may be ordered to get job training or to find a job. These typical service plans represent a step in an attempt to benefit the family. Unfortunately, they can ignore the pressing realities of poverty and inadequate services that are a part of the experience of families. …

The growth of female-headed households and the concurrent likelihood of poverty in such families have increased interest by the public and policymakers in examining policies affecting this group. Particularly since 1975, policymakers have focused on the child support system as a way to reduce high poverty rates among children in single-parent families and the public cost of supporting those families (Seavey, 1996; Wong, 1993). As a result of this focus, child support collections reached $12.0 billion in fiscal year 1996, an 11 percent increase over fiscal year 1995. Aid to Families of Dependent Children (AFDC) collections amounted to $2.9 billion of that total with AFDC families receiving over $480 million in pass-through payments (Office of Child Support Enforcement, 1998). Although there has been steady improvement in the amount of child support collected--that is, money paid by the absent parent to the custodial parent for the support of their children--the amount that is due continues to be much greater than the amount received. It is estimated that nationwide, parents are owed $35.4 billion in overdue child support (Meckler, 1997). However, if full payment had been made to the 1.26 million families who were living in poverty in 1991 and were scheduled to receive child support payments, only 140,000 of them would have received enough income from these payments to put them above the poverty level (U.S. House of Representatives, 1998). Although it may not bring a single-parent family out of poverty, child support is a significant source of income for these families, because single mothers, even if they work, are likely to be in poverty (Edin & Lein, 1997; Garfinkel, McLanahan, & Robins, 1994; Seavey, 1996). In 1995, 41.5 percent of the nearly 8.8 million families headed by mot hers with children under 18 had incomes below the poverty level. Slightly more than 13 percent of these families were poor even though the mother worked year round, full time. At the same time, child support collections resulted in 294,000 families being removed from AFDC (U.S. House of Representatives). Most child support legislation has focused on fostering responsible behavior toward children by parents, contributing to the well-being of families, and reducing welfare costs. This latter goal, reduction of the costs of the Title IV-A program, has taken precedence. By requiring that most of the child support collected for welfare families be given back to the state rather than going directly to the families and by strengthening the penalties for parents who do not pay child support, unintended effects may have resulted. About one-third of the 4.6 million custodial mothers without awards chose not to pursue a child support award (U.S. House of Representatives, 1998). The question remains whether increasing punitive policies results in some mothers' reluctance to participate in the formal system, particularly because applicants for child support do not have the right to select what enforcement actions are taken. Rather than improving compliance and enforcement, as these policies intend, they may have an oppos ite result of reducing the number of child support awards made. Although it is clear that current policies have increased the amount of child support collected, it is unclear what effect the emphasis on debt collection and penalties for nonpayment has had on parents' decisions regarding child support. Debt Collection or Best Interest of the Child Until recently, federal law required that payments from the absent parent be used to increase the income of families on welfare by only $50 a month, with the balance going back to the state. In fiscal year 1996 this policy resulted in the recovery of 15.5 percent of AFDC payments (U.S. House of Representatives, 1998). Not only does this policy put debt collection above the wellbeing of families, there is increasing evidence that it sabotages the goal of increasing paternity establishment and collection of child support. …

During the past two decades, most states have allowed welfare benefit levels to erode with inflation. Very little attention has been paid by academics and policy makers to the potential effects of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 on welfare benefit levels. This article provides a number of explanations for likely reductions in states' welfare benefit levels. Consequences of reducing welfare benefit levels are examined. The article shows how small changes in benefit levels can alter profoundly eligibility for welfare. Social workers need to advocate for increases in welfare benefit levels which, at the very least, keep up with inflation.