The distribution of a federal entitlement: The case of adoption assistance

Adoption assistance entitlements support children whose birth parents cannot care for them. The entitlements are meant to offset the extra cost to adoptive families of raising children whose early adverse experiences leave them with special needs. Unlike other Social Security Act programs, adoption assistance is not federally administered but is administered by states or localities. State-to-state variation in administration of this federal entitlement leads to unequal treatment of similar children. Moreover, although adoption assistance is an entitlement for children, payments made by many states are systematically correlated with the characteristics of adoptive families.     

Entitlements,the Deficit,and Spending Caps

This article investigates three common perceptions about entitlement spending-that it is the primary cause of growing budget deficits, that nonmeans-tested entitlements (such as Social Security and Medicare) have grown faster than other entitlement programs, and that nonmeans-tested benefit programs are skewed toward the affluent. Drawing on data from the vast 30 years of federal spending and tabulations from the Current Population Survey, the article concludes that these perceptions are inaccurate. The article then examines recently proposed spending caps, finding that they would have had little impact on entitlement spending other than Medicare and Medicaid, but would have required very large cuts in those two programs. It discusses the mechanics of spending caps, their effect on the nature of entitlement benefits; and the feasibility of placing caps on cash versus in-kind entitlement benefits. It concludes that, while direct spending caps would in effect change entitlements into discretionary programs, caps are more likely to take the form of requirements for Congress to consider legislative changes if spending exceeds the cap.     

Toward an epistemology of nano-technosciences

This paper aims to contribute to the attempts to clarify and classify the vague notion of "technosciences" from a historical perspective. A key question that is raised is as follows: Does Francis Bacon, one of the founding fathers of the modern age, provide a hitherto largely undiscovered programmatic position, which might facilitate a more profound understanding of technosciences? The paper argues that nearly everything we need today for an ontologically well-informed epistemology of technoscience can be found in the works of Bacon-this position will be called epistemological real-constructivism. Rather than realist or constructivist, empiricist or rationalist, Bacon's position can best be understood as real-constructivist since it challenges modern dichotomies. Reflection upon the contemporary relevance of Bacon could contribute to the expanding and critical discussion on technoscience. In the following I will reconstruct the term "technoscience". My finding is that at least four different understandings or types of the term "technoscience" co-exist. In a second step, I will analyze and elaborate on Bacon's epistemological position. I will identify central elements of the four different understandings in Bacon's work. Finally, I will conclude that the epistemology of technoscience is, indeed, very old-it is the epistemological position put forward by Bacon.     

Class and the Service Encounter: New Approaches to Inequality in the Service Work‐place

In recent decades, scholars of service work have generated many new insights about the organization of work, but in the process one of the traditional concerns of industrial sociology – class – became relatively marginal. However, recent studies of interactive service work have begun to reconceptualize the service encounter as an important site where class‐based entitlements and interactive expectations are created. These analyses attempt to make linkages between the “status” encounters in service interactions and the larger, socio‐economic inequalities associated with class. The renewed interest in class in the (service) workplace may be attributable in part to the growing influence of Bourdieu in North American sociology as well as a burgeoning literature on consumers and consumption, allowing for new approaches that consider service worker‐customer interactions as integral to the construction of classed cultures of consumption and entitlement.     

Fathers at work: explaining the gaps between entitlement to leave policies and uptake

ABSTRACT

Why are fathers in Scotland unlikely to use the full range of leave benefits available to them? Taking a capabilities approach allows us to explore the perspective that some fathers may experience an agency gap and thus not have the capabilities to utilise entitlements. This paper addresses the question empirically using a mixed-methods design which includes: analysis of data from the Growing up in Scotland study, 20 in-depth qualitative interviews with fathers of young children working in the public sector in dual-earner couples, as well as an audit of extra-statutory benefits offered to fathers by employers. We argue that the reliance on an extra-statutory leave system in the UK explains at least part of the gap between fathers’ entitlement to and uptake of statutory leave, as such benefits are not routinely available to all parents. The extra-statutory entitlement is more than just a ‘top-up’ to the statutory; it is rather a conversion factor for the take up of statutory entitlement, by fathers. Organisational cultural norms support many employed fathers in taking a couple of weeks leave post-birth, but longer leave duration for fathers is not yet a usual parenting practice in Scotland, particularly lower down the income distribution.     

THE IMPACT OF ENTITLEMENTS AND EQUITY ON COOPERATIVE BARGAINING: AN EXPERIMENT

In some bargaining situations—for example, collaborative policy making and compulsory arbitration—a third party imposes a backstop position that differs from the status quo. Axiomatic models of cooperative bargaining presume that the status quo in such cases will have no effect on the negotiated outcome, especially if it is Pareto inferior to the backstop. Recent literatures on equity and entitlement, however, suggest that the status quo may establish a focal point that acts as an “anchor” in current negotiations, affecting any ultimate agreement. In a two‐party, two‐attribute experiment, in which subjects jointly select from up to 200 options, we find evidence (1) that the status quo matters, perhaps because of “entitlement effects” and (2) that parties prefer egalitarian outcomes to the Nash bargain. (JEL C92, D74, H44, Q58)     

Evaluation research in social work

Evaluation research in social work is becoming more varied and is showing signs of greater sophistication. It is taking on new forms and functions in such innovations as single subject designs and developmental research. Field experiments have begun to look more like scientific undertakings aimed at advancing knowledge and less like bad marriages between tight designs and loose programs. Agencies have made a start toward making evaluation a part of routine operations through the introduction of accountability systems and other evaluation mechanisms. In so doing they may be turning away from occasional, splashy projects to a more humdrum, but probably more efficient and useful approach to evaluation.     

Going the distance: serving the needs of older youth at scale

Few communities have developed successful strategies for attracting large numbers of older youth to their out-of-school-time programs. In addition to meeting the unique developmental and programmatic needs of this population, communities have struggled with the challenge of creating communitywide integrated approaches to service delivery and resource development. Communities wanting to build a system of supports for older youth must do so in the context of a communitywide strategy as opposed to fragmented, individually operating programs and services. A communitywide strategy creates greater opportunity for strategic mobilization of resources, greater funding leverage, evaluation and assessment consistency, and more powerful input into creating a public voice and public will for supporting and serving older youth as they make the transition to adulthood.     

Gay and Lesbian Youth:

Social policy tends to reflect community standards regarding a population's individual rights, expected conduct, and entitlement to public services. Populations, therefore, must be defined and acknowledged by their communities and by their policy makers if they are to be included in these codified standards Lesbian and gay youth have yet to be clearly defined as a population. The origins and subsequent development of the current lesbian and gay movement offer a framework in which to consider future efforts to change social policy regarding lesbian and gay youth. The lesbian and gay community, despite the significant loss of leadership and experience as the result of AIDS, have continued its development as a force for social change. Organizations such as Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, and other groups focused on combating bigotry and expanding civil rights, are of crucial importance to the future of lesbian and gay youth and to the development of enlightened policy. The sooner enlightened policies are developed, the sooner these youngsters will be able to lead happier, healthier, and more productive lives.     

The use of evaluation models for decision making: Application to the community anti-crime program

Evaluations are typically designed to provide useful information, including measures of program effectiveness. Although this information is intended to be useful, the general literature on evaluations suggests that instances in which evaluations are explicitly used for decision making are rare. This article discusses the use of decision-theoretic evaluation models, and their applicability in practice as well as in principle. A case study is presented from the evaluation of LEAA's Community Anti-Crime Program, in which a decision analysis based on a decision-theoretic evaluation model influenced a programmatic decision which arose during the conduct of the evaluation.     

Participation in the city: where do women fit in?

Women's priorities have often been ignored in the design of human settlements, the location of housing, and the provision of urban services. New forms of urban partnership are needed to develop participatory processes which include women and men at all stages of urban development. Participation is most commonly associated with political participation or activity. The author gives an overview of the "gendered city", then looks at how men and women benefit and contribute to urban life, through examples of opportunities for making a living and for using urban resources and services. She then moves away from participation as entitlement to consider participation as empowerment, looking at some problems faced by women in public office and grassroots organizations. The paper concludes in arguing that a gender perspective will not inform urban policy and planning processes automatically. Sections discuss gender and poverty in the city, making a living in the city, urban planning as a gender issue, getting around the city, access to resources and services, violence in the city, women's participation in urban governance, women's representation in public office, community organization and advocacy, men and gender issues, and forging linkages through participation.     

Ten steps to making evaluation matter

This paper proposes ten steps to make evaluations matter. The ten steps are a combination of the usual recommended practice such as developing program theory and implementing rigorous evaluation designs with a stronger focus on more unconventional steps including developing learning frameworks, exploring pathways of evaluation influence, and assessing spread and sustainability. Consideration of these steps can lead to a focused dialogue between program planners and evaluators and can result in more rigorously planned programs. The ten steps can also help in developing and implementing evaluation designs that have greater potential for policy and programmatic influence. The paper argues that there is a need to go beyond a formulaic approach to program evaluation design that often does not address the complexity of the programs. The complexity of the program will need to inform the design of the evaluation. The ten steps that are described in this paper are heavily informed by a Realist approach to evaluation. The Realist approach attempts to understand what is it about a program that makes it work.     

The theory of change of the evaluation support program: Enhancing the role of community organizations in providing an ecology of care for neurological disorders

This paper discusses the Ontario Brain Institute’s theory of change for the Evaluation Support Program, a program designed to enhance the role of community organizations in providing care and services for people living with a brain disorder. This is done by helping community organizations build evaluation capacity and foster the use of evidence to inform their activities and services. Helping organizations to build capacities to track the ‘key ingredients’ of their successes will help ensure that successes are replicated and services can be improved to maximize the benefit that people receive from them. This paper describes the hypothesized outcomes and early impacts of the Evaluation Support Program, as well as how the program will contribute to the field of evaluation capacity building.     

Work status, benefits, and financial resources among people with HIV/AIDS

With the advent of more advanced treatments and therapies, people with HIV/AIDS are experiencing significant improvements in their health, making many of their ongoing employment and career goals more realistic. However, people with HIV/AIDS continue to have major concerns regarding the impact of working on their benefits and entitlements, including apprehensions about potential economic hardships related to loss of financial supports and health insurance coverage. This article focuses on factors related to employment status, sources of health benefits, and entitlements among people with HIV/AIDS. In addition, results of the study demonstrate differences in employment status, benefit types, and the amount of financial support individuals receive based on gender.     

Briefly Noted

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has expanded Medicare beneficiaries' access to telehealth, allowing payment for individual psychotherapy, patient education and group psychotherapy that are delivered in “temporary expansion locations, including patients' homes.” In addition, it will consider adding more services if providers show they are interested in doing this. The April 30 decision will temporarily allow Community Mental Health Centers to offer partial hospitalization and other mental health services to clients in their homes. The CMS previously announced that Medicare would pay for certain services conducted by audio‐only telephone between beneficiaries and their doctors, but has broadened that list to include many behavioral health and patient education services. The payments for telephone visits now match payments for similar office and outpatient visits, retroactive to March 1, 2020. Instead of using a rulemaking process to add Medicare services that may be furnished via telehealth, the CMS will continue to add these during the COVID‐19 emergency on a subregulatory basis, taking into consideration “requests by practitioners now learning to use telehealth as broadly as possible.” And the CMS is waiving the video requirement for certain “evaluation and management services” — the office visits with the doctor — and now these can be provided by telephone only. Some beneficiaries don't have access to the technology for video, or don't want to use it. For more information, go to https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press‐releases/trump‐administration‐issues‐second‐round‐sweeping‐changes‐support‐us‐healthcare‐system‐during‐covid .     

Non-formal educator use of evaluation results

Increasing demands for accountability in educational programming have resulted in increasing calls for program evaluation in educational organizations. Many organizations include conducting program evaluations as part of the job responsibilities of program staff. Cooperative Extension is a complex organization offering non-formal educational programs through land grant universities. Many Extension services require non-formal educational program evaluations be conducted by field-based Extension educators. Evaluation research has focused primarily on the efforts of professional, external evaluators. The work of program staff with many responsibilities including program evaluation has received little attention. This study examined how field based Extension educators (i.e. program staff) in four Extension services use the results of evaluations of programs that they have conducted themselves. Four types of evaluation use are measured and explored; instrumental use, conceptual use, persuasive use and process use.Results indicate that there are few programmatic changes as a result of evaluation findings among the non-formal educators surveyed in this study. Extension educators tend to use evaluation results to persuade others about the value of their programs and learn from the evaluation process. Evaluation use is driven by accountability measures with very little program improvement use as measured in this study.Practical implications include delineating accountability and program improvement tasks within complex organizations in order to align evaluation efforts and to improve the results of both. There is some evidence that evaluation capacity building efforts may be increasing instrumental use by educators evaluating their own programs.     

Consumer evaluation of community treatment

Development of community programs for offenders requires innovation in program design and evaluation. The Complex Offender Project (COP) provided intensive community treatment, and its clients' opinions were used as a component of its evaluation. Treated clients perceived the same needs for services as did other offenders, but more of them reported receiving the services. Compared to probation, COP was perceived to be more helpful in resolving problems, more continuously helpful, and of helping more to learn useful skills and achieve meaningful goals. The Complex Offender Project provides a model for program development, and the techniques of consumer evaluation are recommended as a means of evaluating such programs.     

A case of restricted entitlement

Recent psychoanalytic writings expand the concept of entitlement as a psychological construct. In general an individual's attitude of entitlement falls into one of three global categories: 1) excessive entitlement; 2) normal or healthy entitlement; and 3) restricted entitlement. A woman with symptoms of restricted entitlement is presented. Underlying dynamics and treatment interventions are explored.     

Pension norms and pension reforms in Europe – the effects on gender pension gaps

Pension levels in the EU15 are significantly gendered. Various reforms to pension systems explicitly aim at improving women's opportunities to build up pension entitlements. These reforms differ from country to country. We see so-called work–life balance policies to increase women's labour market participation by facilitating part-time employment in particular as well as pension entitlements for care periods outside the labour market. At the same time, however, other seemingly gender neutral reforms generally tend to have the opposite effect. These measures include changes in pension calculation norms and pension composition, increasing the importance of non-public pensions. Therefore, future female pensioners will not be significantly better off. However, for women to be better off is necessary in times of pension retrenchments and individualization.

Based on recent life-course theories and studies, this article analyses the multiplicity of reasons for gender differentiated pension levels. It shows that the numerous direct and indirect pension determining factors related to life courses and welfare arrangements are interlinked on many fronts. Their cumulative effects finally result in (continued) significant gender gaps. It is argued that there are no quick fixes for reducing the gender gaps in pensions but that this will require attention to the degendering of labour market and the reformulation of life course norms.