Creating Sustainable, Cost-Effective, and Equitable Waste-Management Programs in Maine Communities

The authors present several perspectives on popular municipal solid waste (MSW) policies and programs that can help guide decision making to address the waste hierarchy as well as to extend thinking in regard to MSW

The Illusion of Change, The Politics of Illusion: Evolution of the Family Support Act of 1988

The enactment of the Family Support Act was the outcome of a six-year legislative and administrative review of, and debate about, welfare policy and programs. Heralded as the opportunity of the century, it did little, however, to alter existing policy. This article examines the evolution of the Family Support Act within the United States Congress, spotlighting two important time periods leading up to its enactment: 1981 to 1985 and 1986 to 1988. Original documentsfroin the files of the late Senator Moynihan, legislative sponsor of the Family Support Act, as well as a comprehensive investigation of Congressional records of hearings and debates, media editorials and commentaries, and extensive Congressional interviews form the basis for this analysis which vividly illustrates the politics of welfare policy-making in the United States. It concludes with observations about the policy implications of the Family Support Act and offers insight into how its passage paved the wayfor the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

Welfare Reform and Post-Secondary Education in Maine: A Supplemental Bibliography

In the September 2005 issue of the Journal, Charles Price authored an article entitled Reforming Welfare Reform Postsecondary Education Policy: Two State Case Studies in Political Culture, Organizing, and Advocacy (Volume XXXII, Number 3: 81-106). It is a timely article; the issue of access to postsecondary education for women on welfare is a crucial one. Not only did the 1996 welfare reform law heighten the already harsh and punitive attitudes toward poor women raising children on their own, newly incorporated restrictive elements severely hampered, and in some cases eliminated, these women\u27s ability to move off welfare and into stable, well-paying jobs and careers. And while higher education is clearly a key element in attaining those stable, well-paying jobs and careers, it is precisely this pathway, access to and participation in postsecondary education, which was drastically restricted by the 1996 law and subsequent modifications

Women\u27s Lives and Poverty: Developing a Framework of Real Reform for Welfare

The historic 1996 welfare reform is typically regarded as a successful public policy. Using the limited success metric of reducing welfare rolls, welfare evaluations and analysis have obscured the lived experiences of recipients, particularly among women, who are disproportionally represented among welfare recipients. While it is true that welfare numbers are down, those women who have been forced off or left behind are not doing well. In this paper we seek to explore and critically evaluate the lived experiences of women, to challenge mainstream understandings of women\u27s success post-welfare, and propose a theoretical and methodological framework, based on an intersectional analysis, that will create more effective policy

The Parents as Scholars Program: A Maine Success Story

Federal “welfare reform” enacted in 1996 strongly discouraged states from including post-secondary education in their welfare reform programs. As Sandra Butler and Luisa Deprez discuss here, Maine persevered through its Parent as Scholars (PaS) program to make college possible for low-income parents. In this article they report on their long-term follow-up of a cohort of PaS participants, all of them women, who have benefited greatly from participation in the program. Butler and Deprez note that Maine’s PaS improves welfare recipients’ chances of moving out of poverty. The program itself remains as a model for other states

The Miseducation of Welfare Reform: Denying the Promise of Postsecondary Education

When Congress enacted “welfare reform” in 1996, decades of progress in assisting low-income mothers obtain a college education in order to escape poverty was nearly eradicated. The federal welfare reform law strongly discouraged states from incorporating postsecondary education into their welfare reform programs and focused instead on “work-first” policies. As a direct result, hundreds of thousands of low-income mothers across the country were forced to drop out of college and find jobs in order to comply with strict “work-first” welfare rules. Despite the pressure imposed by the federal law, the State of Maine persevered in its effort to make college a reality for low-income mothers. Advocates in Maine were adamant that welfare reform policies focus on raising families out of poverty and endeavor to change the position of women in the labor market in order to relieve poverty for low-income single mothers. These farsighted views, embodied in the Maine Parents as Scholars program, have paid off for welfare recipients and for the state, with dividends. As the welfare reform law expires, Congress has the opportunity to reverse course and support states in providing access to postsecondary education for welfare recipients. In this paper, we will reveal how “work-first” ideology pushed the merits of postsecondary education for low-income women to the background despite the well-known, intimate relationship between higher education and women\u27s earnings, employment, and well-being. We will highlight the innovative approach taken in Maine to overcome the pressures of the federal welfare reform law and report on positive outcomes for Maine welfare recipients who were able to access higher education despite federal restrictions. Finally, we will explore the current Congressional proposals for renewing the welfare reform law in a manner more conducive to allowing low-income mothers access to education

Investing in Human Capital in Difficult Times: Maine’s Competitive Skills Scholarship Program

The authors describe how the Competitive Skills Scholarship Program, administered by the Maine Department of Labor, aims both to meet the needs of Maine employers through improved access to a skilled labor force and to improve job prospects for low-income Mainers by providing access to educa­tion, training, and support. They note that many currently unemployed workers do not have the skills or experience to take advantage of the new job opportunities that are likely to arise, and that there is a demonstrated correlation between higher levels of education and training and both higher income and reduced unemployment. Preliminary data suggest a high level of satisfaction by program participants and that graduates are finding positions in high-growth, high-wage occupations

Universal Basic Income Roundtable

The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center invited local, regional, and international experts on universal basic income (UBI) to participate in a new feature: Maine Policy Perspectives. In total, the perspectives of seven individuals are included in this roundtable regarding UBI.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mcspc_perspectives/1000/thumbnail.jp

The Miseducation of Welfare Reform: Denying the Promise of Postsecondary Education

When Congress enacted “welfare reform” in 1996, decades of progress in assisting low-income mothers obtain a college education in order to escape poverty was nearly eradicated. The federal welfare reform law strongly discouraged states from incorporating postsecondary education into their welfare reform programs and focused instead on “work-first” policies. As a direct result, hundreds of thousands of low-income mothers across the country were forced to drop out of college and find jobs in order to comply with strict “work-first” welfare rules. Despite the pressure imposed by the federal law, the State of Maine persevered in its effort to make college a reality for low-income mothers. Advocates in Maine were adamant that welfare reform policies focus on raising families out of poverty and endeavor to change the position of women in the labor market in order to relieve poverty for low-income single mothers. These farsighted views, embodied in the Maine Parents as Scholars program, have paid off for welfare recipients and for the state, with dividends. As the welfare reform law expires, Congress has the opportunity to reverse course and support states in providing access to postsecondary education for welfare recipients. In this paper, we will reveal how “work-first” ideology pushed the merits of postsecondary education for low-income women to the background despite the well-known, intimate relationship between higher education and women\u27s earnings, employment, and well-being. We will highlight the innovative approach taken in Maine to overcome the pressures of the federal welfare reform law and report on positive outcomes for Maine welfare recipients who were able to access higher education despite federal restrictions. Finally, we will explore the current Congressional proposals for renewing the welfare reform law in a manner more conducive to allowing low-income mothers access to education

Shut Out: Low Income Mothers and Higher Education in Post-welfare America

Documents the economic, educational, and existential struggles that single mothers in poverty confront in the current welfare climate. Shut Out portrays in vivid detail the economic, educational, and existential struggles that single mothers confront as they fight back against a welfare-to-work regime that denies them access to higher education and obstructs their aspirations as autonomous women, determined to exit poverty and attain family self-sufficiency. The book is a unique blend of policy analysis and lived realities. The voices of student mothers fighting to stay in school, and organizing for a different future, are embedded in an analysis grounded in the educational experiences of women in poverty across the states. Harsh and punitive public policies that are designed to keep poor women trapped in low wage work are juxtaposed against the actions of those who, together with their allies, have resisted—inspired by a vision of a different world made possible by higher education.Contributing authors discuss the provisions of the 1996 welfare reform (PRWORA) Act and the myriad of statewide responses to educational options within the framework of national legislation. In documenting the multiple obstacles and policy restrictions that low income women face, the book also highlights successful state programs, institutional practices, and community-based programs that afford low income women educational opportunities. The afterword summarizes recent legislative developments and makes policy and advocacy recommendations for the future.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/fac_monographs/1171/thumbnail.jp