Race and welfare: Racial disparities in treatments and outcomes among VIEW participants

This dissertation examines the racial implications of governmental initiatives designed to reduced welfare dependency. Recognizing the strong historical linkage between race and welfare, this research suggests that welfare policy is most harmful when it is developed and implemented in a decentralized context. The central research question addressed in this analysis is: Given a policy environment characterized by a high level of state and local discretion, are there disparities in the treatment and employment outcomes of white and black Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients? By using quantitative and qualitative data from Virginia\u27s newly implemented welfare program, VIEW (Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare), this analysis goes beyond traditional outcome measure to include process measures, such as interactions with caseworkers and employers. The primary findings indicate that among participants in a state-controlled welfare program, blacks have more negative employment status outcomes and receive more negative treatments than whites despite having higher levels of education. This research concludes that the current trend toward increased state and local discretion in the design and implementation of welfare programs has negative policy implications for black welfare clients. It concludes by offering specific policy recommendations to promote racial equality in the administration of welfare programs

WELFARE AS WE [DON'T] KNOW IT: A REVIEW AND FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF WELFARE REFORM RESEARCH IN THE UNITED STATES

Reform of the United States welfare system in 1996 drastically changed welfare receipt for low-income lone mothers. This paper explores the effects of these changes on lone mothers by summarizing empirical work on caseload reduction, labor force participation, income, poverty, material hardship, and family formation. While it appears that the economic status of many lone mothers improved during the economic expansion in the late 1990s, many lone mothers continued to experience poverty and material hardship. Building on the work of feminist scholars from both the US and other countries, this paper goes on to critique mainstream research on welfare reform. It identifies a particularly feminist approach to welfare reform research, stresses its advantages over mainstream research, and speculates about why there is comparatively less feminist research to date. The paper concludes by calling for more structural analyses of poverty and of lone motherhood itself.Welfare reform, lone mothers, feminist research, women's employment, poverty, race, class, gender,