"‘Manpower Placement’ and ‘Comprehensive Training’:
The IMPACT of Indiana’s ‘Work First’ Model"
C. Ditmar Coffield
Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne
Abstract: This paper revisits theories of the welfare state as they center on the
family ethic and the work ethic, juxtaposing these cultural belief systems with
prevailing discourses of welfare reform: "welfare dependency," "self-sufficiency,"
and "personal responsibility." These three discursive frameworks are interrogated
in terms of their articulation through the Indiana Manpower Placement and Comprehensive
Training Program (IMPACT)--Indiana’s "work first" response to women’s
growing experience of poverty.
"Putting Flesh on the WORD: Churches and Welfare Reform"
Kristine B. Miranne
Skillman Center for Children
and
Katherine Amato-Von Hemert
Lexington Theological Seminary
Abstract: By specifically including religious-based nonprofits and congregations
in Title 1, Section 104 of federal welfare legislation passed in 1996, policy makers
signaled that they expected these organizations would play an increased role as
providers of social services while also being on the frontlines of the development
and implementation of anti-poverty and community development strategies. Churches,
however, are primarily interested in the concept of welfare dependency and reform
as it is relevant to the suffering poverty causes families and its impacts on the
vitality of their communities. For this reason, churches argue that they "stand
in the gap" between what the government provides and the needs of individuals
requiring assistance. This paper presents an ethnographic study of two culturally
dissimilar Protestant churches located in impoverished urban and rural communities:
First African Methodist Episcopal in south-central Los Angeles and St James in the
Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky. We suggest that documenting how congregations
view issues central to welfare policy decision-making and service provision contributes
to our knowledge of the role of faith-based non-profit organizations in social welfare.
"Welfare Dependency in Delaware: A Study of the State’s
Program Reform and Advocacy for Change"
Karen A. Curtis
University of Delaware
Abstract: This article contrasts the views of two advocacy groups, Action for Families
and Children and the Statewide Association of Tenants (SWAT), composed of social
service providers and current and former welfare recipients who are residents of
assisted housing, respectively, with those framing Delaware’s welfare reform
program, "A Better Chance" (ABD). Since the mid-1980s, the focus of welfare
reform in the state has been on reducing welfare dependency, not addressing poverty,
low-wage jobs, growing income inequality, or lack of access to affordable food and
housing, as the problems are defined by Action and SWAT. The state claims that "welfare
mothers ought to work" and invokes an image of an irresponsible, "dependent"
single-parent. Delaware advocates argue that welfare reform is no substitute for
anti-poverty policy and confusing the two only promotes excessive welfare bashing
such as led to the 1996 welfare law. Focusing on the welfare dependence of single
parents as the centerpiece of welfare reform perpetuates a model of individual and
family deficit and entirely misses major systemic factors that contribute to poverty
and the need for public assistance.
"Teenaged Mothers on Welfare: Views on Reform and Necessary
Supports"
Gail Johnson
Old Dominion University
Abstract: Teenaged mothers have been the target of some welfare reforms, many of
which are based on the assumption that the availability of welfare encourages teenagers
to have babies. This study of 75 teenaged mothers found that welfare was not a motivator
to become pregnant. However, the participants generally supported reform proposals
with some modifications. Time limits with additional time for teenaged mothers to
complete school; requiring teenagers to continue their education or training, with
provisions for child care and transportation; and flexible residency requirements
with assistance to families as needed and residential programs for teenaged mothers
who cannot live at home because of abusive families. They identified a wide range
of necessary supports: education and/or training opportunities, access to safe and
affordable child care; transportation; parenting classes; medical insurance for
their children; and good paying jobs.
"Urban Economic Development: What’s Welfare-To-Work Got
To Do with It?"
Louise Simmons
University of Connecticut
Marcia Bok
University of Connecticut
Nancy Churchill
Autonomous University of Puebla
and
Alice Pritchard
Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund
Abstract: Connecticut’s welfare system under TANF is among the nation’s
harshest with 21 month lifetime limits for cash assistance, a strict work-first
policy, and few training options. Various ideological perspectives suggest different
policies to address poverty: orthodox economic theory emphasizes human capital enhancement
such as training and education; an institutionalist approach emphasizes reducing
labor market barriers to equality and provision of decent, stable public service
employment; the radical or Marxist lens posits that labor, including those transitioning
from welfare, needs to organize for economic and political power. Recent welfare
reform embodies a fourth, neo-liberal perspective that stresses "labor force
attachment" strategies. Regardless of ideology, Connecticut’s welfare
policy fails both the imperatives of the state economy for better trained workers,
and also the needs of those transitioning from welfare. The authors argue for more
training and education options, supportive services, economic development policy
that incorporates former welfare recipients, unionization of low wage workers, and
strong welfare rights organizations.