The impacts of welfare reform on federal assistance to persistently poor children

During the late twentieth century, the US social safety net was transformed to incentivize work by providing generous wage subsidies for low-income workers and reducing federal assistance to able-bodied unemployed adults. Following the transformation and during the economic boom of the 1990s, welfare rolls and annual poverty rates plummeted, especially for children. Despite the economic boom, there were still many persistently poor children living with parents who did not work, and little is known about how the reforms impacted these children's finances. In this paper we compare rates of persistent child poverty before and after the welfare reforms and examine how federal assistance received by persistently poor children changed as a result of the reforms. We find that federal assistance to persistently poor children declined following the reforms, but with divergent results depending on parental employment. While persistently poor children with employed parents benefited from increased income via the Earned Income Tax Credit, those with chronically unemployed parents did not and also experienced substantial reductions in cash welfare and food stamps. These findings demonstrate how persistently poor children fared financially in the years following the reforms and suggest possible implications for the current period of high unemployment.     

Theory,practice, and perspectives: Disability Studies and parenting children with disabilities

Abstract

In this process-oriented article, the authors weave short personal narratives with theoretical reflections to examine the relationship between Disability Studies scholarship and parenting children with disabilities. The authors present three findings: first, their position as parent-teacher-scholars informs their work in Disability Studies. Second, the work of Disability Studies scholars has the potential to positively influence parents’ understandings of disability; consequently, Disability Studies-informed parenting can influence parent advocacy for their children. Third, parent-scholars have the potential to create research that can positively impact parents, practitioners, and the field of Disability Studies. The authors conclude by arguing that there is a need for Disability Studies scholarship for and by parents. This work is significant because it challenges divisions between theory and practice, and articulates a need and responsibility for parents to grapple with alternative understandings of disability and alternative (collective) ways to create better social conditions for their children.     

Resource use of rural low-income families caring for children with disabilities

The Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, Pub.L. 104-193 (PRWORA) was passed creating the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. Since the passage of PRWORA, many families were able to leave the welfare rolls while those remaining on welfare were likely composed of families facing barriers to leaving, such as caring for children with disabilities. This project addresses the gaps in knowledge regarding low-income families caring for children with disabilities by conducting qualitative research investigating the resources used by these families to find and keep employment and child care. The study used a sample from a research project entitled ‘Rural Families Speak’ and examined the data of 26 families caring for children with disabilities. Analysis resulted in policy recommendations for increasing the efficacy of the programs designed to help these families.     

The final step: the issue of euthanasia of people with mental disabilities in Denmark

A number of Danish studies on the history of mental disability have been published in recent years, yet little attention has been devoted to the issue of euthanasia. It has been assumed that the Danes generally opposed radical German ideas about euthanasia of people with disabilities, especially after 1945. This article, however, will contend that a breeding ground for euthanasia was created during the early twentieth century and that many Danes were influenced by Nazi propaganda in the 1940s. Debates about euthanasia of people with mental disabilities continued way up to the 1970s. In fact, discussions about euthanasia or ‘mercy killing’ (medlidenhedsdrab) had their heyday in the years after World War II. Actual cases of ‘mercy killing’ of mentally disabled children appeared in this period. This article will argue that knowledge about the past is important in light of current debates in Europe about similar issues.     

Ambivalent subjectivities: experiences of mothers with disabilities in Russia

Women with disabilities are still rarely imagined in the role of a mother. Narratives about motherhood that promote traditional gender roles and the primary role of motherhood in women’s lives (pronatalism) in countries like Russia emphasize the value of non-disabled and heteronormative bodies and minds. The lived experiences and the lived citizenship of mothers with disabilities disrupt societal assumptions about motherhood. However, the structural environment of pronatalism inevitably influences the ways in which mothers with disabilities understand motherhood and construct their sense of selves (subjectivities). Drawing on the framework of citizenship and the feminist disability studies literature, this article analyzes how the personal and the political are intertwined. The analysis is based on empirical data obtained from qualitative interviews with 14 mothers with disabilities in a provincial city of Russia.     

Health Care innovation and children in poverty: lived experiences of caregivers of children with disabilities in a medicaid-serving ACO

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study of caregivers of children with disabilities enrolled in a Medicaid-serving accountable care organization (ACO). The state of Ohio mandated ACO enrollment for Medicaid-eligible children with disabilities in 34 of 88 counties effective July 2013. Research participants were queried in focus groups and individual interviews about their children’s care experiences and care coordination after enrollment. Most told researchers that they themselves are their children’s care coordinators, and many indicated that resource scarcity is a more pressing problem than fragmented care. Data analysis identified a theme of scarcity and four categories of insufficiency that made caregiver efforts on behalf of their children more difficult: a lack of health services under managed care, resource constraints on other agencies and programs for which families were eligible, a lack of financial support, and a lack of family support. A conceptual framework places ACO care coordination among more upstream factors and identifies ways in which ACOs serving Medicaid populations may wish to address the social determinants of the well-being of children with disabilities. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Mentoring for Educational Success: Advancing Foster Care Youth Incorporating the Core Competencies

A collaborative relationship among three organizations developed a mentoring project using social work students (mentors) and independent living program (ILP) foster youths (mentees). The goal was to increase the mentees' awareness of educational possibilities beyond high school graduation while analyzing the mentors' learning as defined by the Council on Social Work Education core competencies. This pilot project paired mentors with ILP youths in this experiential opportunity conducted on a university campus. The students, acting as positive role models applying social work skills, engaged in an effort to improve the mentees' educational outcome, which would ultimately lead to self-sufficiency.     

The connections between disability and child abuse: A review of the research evidence

Two possible connections between disability and abuse are explored: that disability can be the outcome of abuse, and that children with disabilities are differentially vulnerable to abuse. Evidence supporting both propositions is presented and assessed. Major problems in research and research methods are highlighted: the differing definitions of disability and abuse, the reliance on data drawn from clinical samples and case files, and failure to develop innovative methods which would enable direct participation of children and adults with a range of disabilities. The paper concludes that our current knowledge base is inadequate to either distinguish between the two connections or provide clear guidance on a range of concerns within the child protection field.     

Exposing the protected: Ghana’s disability laws and the rights of disabled people

Disabled people in Ghana continue to experience various forms of discrimination and social exclusion. These occur despite the fact that there are several anti-discriminatory laws that are meant to protect the rights of disabled people and facilitate their participation in mainstream social, political and economic activities. As it is, the laws have not completely eroded the discrimination and in some instances appear to even institutionalise the discrimination that disabled people experience. It is important that the state pays more attention to amending aspects of these laws and putting them into practice.     

An evaluation of the Kids are Kids disability awareness program: increasing social inclusion among children with physical disabilities

Despite the intent of integration to promote positive social interactions between children with and without disabilities, there is growing concern that many children with special needs who are in inclusive settings feel socially isolated. The evaluation of interventions designed to promote disability awareness is critical if we are to increase opportunities for social success for these children. This research study was designed to determine whether the Kids Are Kids (KAK) program can positively impact the attitudes of children toward their peers with physical disabilities, as well as increase the social inclusion of these children. Results suggest that the KAK program had a positive impact on the attitudes of children toward their peers with disabilities, immediately following the program. Where social skill building was provided to 1 target child, attitude scores for that class remained elevated 1 month after the program. Two of the 3 target children reported increased social inclusion 1 month after the program.     

Cultural sensitivity in the delivery of disability services to children: A case study of Japanese education and socialization

This ethnographic study examined beliefs about disability and related socialization and educational practices at a Japanese elementary school. Disability is a universal issue affecting child welfare and educational systems around the world. Yet, relatively little sociocultural research has focused on non-Western children with disabilities. This limitation restricts our understanding of the extent to which and how cultures vary in their responses to disability, and the impact of these variations on children's development. Public schools in Japan recently implemented formal special education services for children with “developmental disabilities,” a new category used by educators to refer to “milder” difficulties in children's acquisition of social and academic skills, for example, learning disabilities, ADHD and Asperger's syndrome. This transition created a dilemma for educators: blending new requirements of providing individualized support with traditional Japanese socialization and educational practices of raising and educating children within peer groups. Participant observation, in-depth interviews, and longitudinal case studies of children with developmental disabilities addressed culturally- and developmentally-sensitive practices employed by educators. Educators were sensitive to stigma, involved peers in supporting one another, created home-like classrooms, guided children towards voluntary cooperation, and provided support and guidance to parents. Broad implications for the design of culturally-sensitive disability services are discussed.     

Dementia,disability rights and disablism: understanding the social position of people living with dementia

This article considers the recent history and consequences of positioning people living with dementia in the realms of disability, disablism and disability rights. The geo-political focus is the United Kingdom and neighbouring resource-rich nations in the Global North. The first section examines the growing trend of identifying ‘dementia’ with ‘disability’, a trend fuelled by the expansion of dementia-related activism and research. The second section focuses on how researchers who have published in Disability & Society and other journals have applied the social model of disability to individuals living with dementia. The third section discusses three conceptual challenges that lie ahead for those who choose to research and theorise the dementia/disability connection. These challenges concern: theorising dementia as disability; understanding intersectionality in dementia contexts; and understanding ‘abuse’ in dementia contexts.     

Intellectual disabilities,violent conflict and humanitarian assistance: advocacy of the forgotten

This article examines the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities in violent conflict who have been neglected in practice and academia. Such invisibility, combined with the disabling impact of society, their low priority, and the nature of their impairments, results in a disproportionately negative impact of conflict on people with intellectual disabilities. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including humanitarian workers, this article examines their experiences and analyses how much consideration has been given to people with intellectual disabilities in humanitarian assistance policy and practice in light of their increased need and vulnerability. Lack of awareness and recognition of their diverse experiences can result in their needs failing to be adequately met, which compounds their disproportionately negative experience of conflict. It is important to finally start paying attention in order to ensure their inclusion in humanitarian responses.     

Between art therapy and disability aesthetics: a sociological approach for understanding the intersection between art practice and disability discourse

What emerges as art and how it is categorised are parts of a collective process taking place in art worlds and involving a wide array of social actors. In this article, the relation between four ways of framing the intersection of disability and art is discussed. These frames are art therapy, outsider art, disability art, and disability aesthetics. The article suggests the frames and the way they relate to each other as important discourses in organising the relation between disability and art. The discourses’ relevance is demonstrated by discussing three cases of art practice among disabled people. The discussion of the cases demonstrates the importance of including more than one of the four identified discourses when analysing art practice involving disability. The concluding part discusses how the intersections of disability and art can be more closely linked to the mainstream art world through the concept of social practice art.     

An African-American woman with disabilities: the intersection of gender, race and disability

This qualitative study explores the educational experiences of an African‐American adult woman with disabilities. The intersections of gender, race and disability are theorized through the lenses of disability, feminist and critical theory. Specifically, I address the following three questions. What are the experiences of an African‐American woman with disabilities in schools? How might these experiences be theorized? Do these experiences offer new ways of understanding oppression that may contribute to empowering individuals labeled with multiple, intersecting identities?     

Interpretative accounts of work capacity assessment policy for young adults with disabilities

Young adults with disabilities are a specific target of the welfare-to-work policy introduced by many OECD countries over the past decade. The implementation of these policies is a significant concern for service delivery organisations and advocates in Australia and internationally due to complex intersecting structural barriers that persist for many young adults with disabilities. A particular focus of this article is work capacity assessments. Drawing on socio-political theories and interpretive policy analysis, the 22 in-depth interviews with personnel from service delivery organisations and advocacy organisations reveal how the deemed capacity to work process is not only interpreted as flawed, but the current policy approach disables young adults, perpetuates stigma, and creates division between service users and service providers. The accounts reinforce the need to contest such assessments and instead turn towards a rights-based capability approach permitting young adults with disability self-determination over their education-to-employment pathway.     

Bridging the gap: Investigating the abuse of children with multiple disabilities

This is a summary of a series of practical papers written to help bridge the ‘gap’ between the fields of child protection and childhood disability, with a view to improving practice in child protection work with severely disabled children. Particular attention is paid to the needs of children using alternative communication systems. The theme of the paper is that disabled children are in most senses just like other children, but may have particular needs in relation to the investigation of abuse, as well as being particularly vulnerable to abuse. Issues around the assessment of suspicion, preparation for interviewing and the interview process are presented. The needs of the child, the accompanying adult and the child protection worker are considered. Guidelines and recommendations for practice at different stages of the investigation are given. The need to adapt the investigation to the particular needs of the child is emphasized throughout.     

Political and economic determinants of expenditure on day services for persons with intellectual disabilities or autism

This study investigates whether the Swedish national entitlement legislation, which is known to be one of the most developed in Europe for persons with intellectual disabilities or autism, accomplishes its aim to provide equal quality of day services independent of location. We estimated a reduced-form model of demand and supply-side determinants of a latent quality variable for day-service programmes using panel data on expenditure per attendee for the 290 Swedish municipalities 2004–2012. We found that expenditure per attendee is among others affected by changes of the local tax base and outcome in elections to the local assemblies. These results imply that rights of persons with intellectual disabilities with regard to equal quality of day services independent of where they live are not fully honoured in budget allocation decisions made by local governments.     

Community orientation of services for persons with a psychiatric disability. Comparison between Estonia,Hungary and the Netherlands

This article explores the way mental health services and social services are orientated on assisting people with a psychiatric disability to participate in different areas of community life. A large research project about community participation in three different countries (Estonia, Hungary and the Netherlands) confirms the findings of other studies that – regardless of geographical location – people with a psychiatric disability have difficulty fulfilling social roles in the community. They are often faced with fewer opportunities than other citizens, due to their health problems, stigma, discrimination and poverty [World Health Organisation. (2011). World report on disability. Geneva: WHO]. An important objective of social work is to help people find their way in society. Surprisingly enough, in all three countries, most social workers are mainly focused on solving individual problems, and not on community participation. Shifting the focus starts by having a clear awareness of the notion of community participation. Social workers have to work both on supporting individuals to find their way in the community (individual support), and on supporting social networks in the community to accommodate persons with a disability on the basis of equal and valued citizenship (community support).