Shadow Welfare

Abstract

Corporate tax expenditures are a growing problem, although most contemporary analysts of traditional welfare programs ignore this policy area. The publicity surrounding Enron highlights this expanding segment of our welfare system. Corporate tax expenditures constitute a shadow welfare state that hides behind the complexities of our tax laws. This paper describes this often-neglected segment of the American welfare state.     

The Relationship Between the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and Innovative Welfare Practices on a Local Level

SUMMARY

Part of the intention of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) was to encourage the development of innovative welfare programs on a state and local level. The Act removed stringent federal regulations regarding the design and implementation of cash welfare programs. The freer programmatic environment was to assist local offices in addressing the unique needs of their particular clients as they moved from welfare to work within a time limited setting. In an attempt to examine if this intended piece of the policy was implemented, qualitative data were collected from a statewide sample of local Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) offices in Georgia. The findings indicate that a minority of local offices engaged in innovative behaviors that were significantly different from their pre-PRWORA behaviors. Implications for welfare policy implementation and program development are discussed.     

A Survey of Social Policy Placements in BSW Education

Abstract

CSWE-accredited U.S. BSW programs were surveyed regarding policy placements. The response rate was 39 percent. Thirty-three percent of the programs had policy placements and, of a total of 4,872 students, only 124 were in policy placements. Associated factors were: (1) the respondent believed that policy practice was compatible with generalist BSW practice; and (2) the respondent believed that BSW practitioners should spend a higher proportion of their time on policy practice. Distance from the state capital was significant for programs within 90 miles. The discussion includes identifying the need to increase the number of policy placements and suggestions for accomplishing this.     

A Comparative Study of Social Policy Transfer

Abstract

Both the United Kingdom and Australia engaged in social policy transfer of anti-discrimination policy for people with disabilities in the 1990s with the adoption of new legislation whose structure and approach originated in the United States a decade earlier. This paper focuses on the extent of the convergence of disability policies between each country and the USA, and the variables that affected social policy transfer in each nation. By using a comparative approach, this paper allows for a better understanding of the processes and constraints involved in transferring social policy across nations.     

Empowering Domestic Discretionary Spending in Federal Budget Deliberations

Abstract

Federal domestic discretionary spending (DDS) funds a large portion of human services in the American welfare state including mental health, child welfare, childcare, public health, job training, and education programs. Yet relatively little research has been conducted on this small but important part of the federal budget. This article examines a number of factors that have limited the size of DDS and that may imperil its existence in coming decades. The article suggests that policy theorists and researchers need to devote more attention to DDS and that policy advocates need to develop effective strategies for protecting DDS from unwarranted assaults in the budget-making process.     

The Policy Transfer Model

ABSTRACT

“New” social welfare policies are often actually policies borrowed from other states or nations. This paper reviews the recent theoretical developments in understanding the processes of policy transfer and presents a “policy transfer” model that can be a useful heuristic tool for social workers engaged in policy making. It discusses how the field of social work can benefit from understanding the factors underlying successful and unsuccessful policy transfer, and argues for the inclusion of the study of policy transfer in social welfare policy courses.     

A Cross-National Test of Propositions from the Neo-Pluralist Perspective on Social Security Expenditures

Abstract

Much of the existing literature on cross-national differences in retirement wage policy has focused on the inception of programs and the factors leading to their introduction. The explanations may be less adequate in accounting for post-war changes in social security programs. To interpret the evolution of programs in the postwar period, we stress the importance of divisions among workers themselves. We argue here that such divisions may occur along three fault lines: (1) ethnic, racial, and linguistic differentiation (2) the split between heavily urbanized and other segments of the working population and (3) fractionalization brought about by domination of a single industry. Using a longitudinal design to measure changes in social security expenditures in 34 nations between 1965 and 1983, we test hypotheses asserting that fragmentation among workers is inversely correlated with expanded investment in benefits for workers. We find general support for these hypotheses.     

A Review of Multicomponent Interventions to Prevent and Control Tobacco Use Among College Students

Abstract

Objective: Multicomponent tobacco control programs have been implemented at the state and community levels and have led to a reduction in tobacco use. The purpose was to review the public health research literature on tobacco prevention and control programs on college campuses and derive evidence-based implications for comprehensive program implementation. Methods: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ERIC, and PubMed databases were used to search the research literature concerning tobacco prevention and control programs conducted on college campuses published between 2000 and 2009. Results: No studies were found that implemented all 5 recommended components of a comprehensive program. Tobacco control programs containing policy and prevention education were used the most and promotion of tobacco-free environments and banning sales of tobacco products were used the least. Conclusion: The review suggests that despite the recommendation of comprehensive tobacco control programs to reduce tobacco use on college campuses, few institutions have implemented and evaluated programs consisting of multiple components.     

Professional Responses to Government-Endorsed Premarital Counseling

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary findings about the manner in which public policies that promote premarital counseling impact professionals who conduct premarital counseling. The purpose of this paper is to describe findings from a survey of premarital counseling providers in a state in which the government endorses premarital counseling. A total of 194 premarital counseling providers described their responses to their state government's endorsement of premarital counseling. Results indicated that a majority of providers held a favorable opinion of this policy, although a number of providers held either unfavorable opinions of the policy or were uncertain about the policy's effectiveness. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Addressing Barriers to University-Community Collaboration

Abstract

University-community partnerships, and COPC programs in particular, offer important opportunities for traditionally segregated groups to work together in collaborative relationships. The challenge of bringing people who possess distinct differences in background and social power together is a long-standing issue. Class, status, and organizational differences may impede collaboration. This article discusses the history of COPC as social policy and reviews an evaluation report of successful community-university partnerships. Drawing from the community organizing literature in sociology and social work, this article suggests community organizing methods that address structural obstacles to collaborative work. Especially in COPC programs characterized by multiple interactions, it is the community based organization (CBO) which has greatest facility to equalize the playing field between disparate groups. The role of community organizers in CBOs is to acknowledge and disrupt the structural inequalities inherent in these relationships. The community organizer must resist the role of expert or buffer between the community and university and instead strive toward authentic collaboration.     

Human rights at the heart of the social work curriculum

ABSTRACT

Social work policy and practice all over the world continue to face the impact of the neoliberal agenda. Similarly, social work education has been subject to the economic and political changes, with an increasing emphasis on a discourse of ‘evidence-based practice’. However, it is the core of social work programs in higher education to initiate students in the fundamental values of social work, as they are recognized in the global definition of social work. In order to prepare future social workers for their assignment, human rights should be given an explicit place in the social work curricula at Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences.

For human rights to gain more attention in social work programs in higher education, a Manifesto was written by lecturers’ social work in the Netherlands and Flanders, with a 5-point program to include human rights in the social work curricula. In this article, we elaborate on the five objectives that are presented in the Manifesto. Throughout the paper, we introduce small ‘case examples’ of how human rights can be integrated in education. These experiences show the importance of developing a particular social work perspective on human rights that is found in the idea of ‘human rights from below.’     

Recent Developments in Welfare to Work in Hong Kong

Summary

The Asian financial crisis (1997) has created a social care crisis resulting in rising unemployment, poverty, income inequalities and homelessness. Although faced with dwindling public finances, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government had been compelled to tackle these problems. However, it has been attracted to the neo-liberal recipe: changing the subvention system to a block grant, curbing social spending, and tightening eligibility for social assistance. Notably, the introduction of the Intensive Employment Assistance Projects (IEAPs), which are the first welfare to work programs in East Asia, has become a major policy tool. This paper reports on a study of the impact of the projects, one of the key pillars for welfare to work programs. The IEAPs were found to have brought about positive changes in welfare clients' motivation to work and sense of self-reliance. Social workers from both traditional and progressive NGOs have etched, in various ways, their place in the welfare to work programs and contributed to the debate on welfare reform in Hong Kong.     

The Community Development for Healthy Children Initiative

Abstract

An increasing interest in positive youth development has led to the creation and expansion of programs and initiatives related to youth involvement and engagement. This article focuses on the Community Development for Healthy Children initiative, which envisions making Kansas the best state in the nation in which to raise a child. The initiative includes three primary strategies: A multi-media campaign; technical assistance and support to local communities; and mini-grant opportunities. The paper provides examples of activities from across the state that promote youth involvement. Outcomes across four areas are examined, and the benefits and challenges of this initiative are also discussed.     

Protecting Older Americans: A History of Federal Action on Elder Abuse,Neglect, and Exploitation

ABSTRACT

Congressional hearings on elder abuse began over a quarter century ago. However, federal legislative and departmental activity for addressing the problem has been slow and lacks coordination and comprehensiveness. In addition, federal funding to combat elder abuse represents only a small percentage of that spent on such other abused populations as children and women. The barriers and challenges to addressing elder abuse are identified along with existing programs at the federal level. The article concludes with a discussion of state and local initiatives which show promise for effectively preventing or treating this problem.     

Welfare and Welfare to Work in the United States

Summary

Despite social work's historic ambivalence toward income support programs, the policy changes introduced by the TANF welfare to work program demand the profession's attention. Although social workers are not directly responsible for the administration or implementation of the program, many serve TANF clients whose lives have been affected by these changes. Tracing social work's historic but reluctant involvement with income support, this paper urges the profession to respond to the challenges posed by the TANF program in a more systematic way and to contribute more effectively to the wider task of poverty eradication.     

Health international non-governmental organizations,democracy, and tuberculosis mortality in developing nations: A longitudinal analysis

ABSTRACT

Using data from 1985 to 2005 for 74 developing nations, we conduct a longitudinal cross-national analysis examining the contentions of world polity theorists that health-related international non-governmental organizations (HINGOs) are effective at reducing tuberculosis mortality. We find support for this hypothesis in our models, yet we re-specify our models from a social movements perspective to examine any effects democracy may have on TB mortality. We do this by constructing an interaction term between HINGO concentration and level of democracy. As a result, we find that democracy moderates the effect of HINGOs on TB. Higher concentrations of HINGOs within developing nations are correlated with a larger beneficial effect on tuberculosis mortality in nations with high levels of democracy versus more repressive nations. This suggests that the effectiveness of HINGO programs in fighting TB mortality is contingent on the political opportunity structure within the countries where they operate.     

Self,other and world: Discourses of nationalism and cosmopolitanism 1

Abstract

Cosmopolitanism has been understood as a postnational identity. This conflates the distinction between nation and nationalism. Most accounts of cosmopolitanism emphasise its legal form (e.g. Habermas’ constitutional patriotism) or its cultural dimension (transnational communities) or its political (e.g. democratic cosmopolitanism). This paper argues for a civic dimension to cosmopolitanism, conceived of in terms of discourses of self, other and world. This is tied to a notion of nations without nationalism.     

Welfare Reform and Its Impact on the Employment Prospects of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities

ABSTRACT

Welfare policy in Australia has undergone a marked shift in direction since the election of the Liberal Coalition (Conservative) Government in 1996. This paper examines welfare policy and, in particular, the disability support pension, in the light of the vocational needs of those with psychiatric disabilities who seek to gain employment. Empirical data is presented concerning a case study of 65 clients participating in a vocational program. These participants had all been diagnosed with psychiatric disabilities, and were assisted to obtain open employment. The paper demonstrates that welfare policy, in conjunction with the recently privatized employment services network, not only fails to address the barriers faced by individuals with psychiatric disabilities, but undermines their efforts to gain employment and recover from the illness.     

Policy diffusion as empowerment: domestic agency and the institutional dynamics of monetary policy diffusion in China

ABSTRACT

The policy diffusion literature has often focused on external pressures on domestic policy. However, by analysing the evolution of China’s monetary policy regime, we demonstrate a pattern of highly selective diffusion that is largely shaped by domestic political and institutional dynamics. We use an historical institutionalist approach to probe how the most relevant institutionally embedded agents, in this case, those within the Chinese central bank, have strategically engaged with this process. We show how selective diffusion has been shaped by epistemic policy learning through international engagement by China’s central bankers, and, in particular, how they have strategically used imported policy ideas as an institutional empowerment strategy, furthering the interests and agenda of the People’s Bank of China.     

Public Policies and Father Involvement

SUMMARY

The last two decades have been marked by a series of social and policy developments that are changing both how men see themselves as fathers and how policies conceptualize and encourage their involvement in the lives of children and families. This paper focuses on several areas of intersection between research on fathers and policy. The paper first summarizes the research that led to the current political and social interest in fathers. The paper then describes the Fatherhood Initiative, a set of activities that stemmed from a 1995 memorandum from President Clinton. This Initiative led to coordinated efforts by U.S. Federal Statistical agencies to collect better data about fathers. The paper concludes with a discussion of what we know about the effects on father involvement of policies such as welfare reform, child support, work place policies, responsible fatherhood programs, and other fatherhood interventions. Examples of new programs and initiatives on father involvement are also given.