Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Review Of Rethinking Citizenship: Welfare, Ideology And Change In Modern Society. Maurice Roche. Reviewed By James Midgley, Louisiana State University., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In a series of lectures in 1949, the British sociologist T. H. Marshall, used the concept of citizenship to formulate an engaging conceptual representation of the emergence of the Western welfare state. The welfare state, he suggested, personified the attainment of full citizenship rights. Civil (or human) rights which were first secured through political struggle in the 18th century, were augmented by the granting of political rights in the 19th. In the 20th century, the institutionalization of social rights in the welfare state guaranteed that basic human needs would be met.

Review Of Human Rights And Social Policy In The Twenty First Century. Joseph M. Wronka. Reviewed By Roland Meinert, Southwest Missouri State University., Roland Meinert

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The central purpose of this book is to compare the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights with the U.S. Constitution and those of the fifty states. The book is an elaboration of the author's doctoral dissertation at the Heller Graduate School at Brandies University. The book is logically divided into six sections.

Review Of Protecting Soldiers And Mothers: The Political Origins Of Social Policy In The United States. Theda Skocpol. Reviewed By James Midgley, Louisiana State University., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Over the last twenty years, sociological research into the emergence of the modern welfare state has increased rapidly. This research has generated competing theoretical accounts of the dynamics of social welfare. For example, while some studies attribute the emergence of national social policies to the social and economic changes brought about by industrialization, others stress the role of trade unions in successfully negotiating with reluctant governments for the introduction of social programs. Yet others contend that social programs are purposely introduced by the ruling class in an attempt to stifle the revolutionary potential of the proletariat.

Review Of Declining Fortunes: The Withering Of The American Dream. Katherine S. Newman. Reviewed By David Stoesz, San Diego State University., David Stoesz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Anthropology, arguably the most American of the social sciences, is also the most poignant. In Declining Fortunes, Katherine Newman adeptly applies her anthropological skills to a most American topic: the prospects of the baby boom generation. Drawing on interviews with residents of "Pleasanton," a prosperous suburban community in the Northeast, Newman traces the generational identity of what could be the most influential cohort in the nation's history. But fortune has eluded the baby boomers. In her exploration of the context, the consequences, and the rationalization of generational failure, Newman integrates demographic and economic evidence with her interviews producing an account …

The Welfare State Crisis And The Transformation Of Social Service Work. Michael B. Fabricant And Steve Burghardt.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Michael B. Fabricant and Steve Burghardt. The Welfare State Crisis and the Transformation of Social Service Work. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1992. $42.50 hardcover, $16.50 papercover.

The damaging impact of the Reagan era and its policies on the human services has been well documented. Numerous studies have shown how budget cuts, the increased privatization and commercialization of programs, and the greater use of purchase of services contracting have limited the ability of public agencies to serve those in need. Introduced ostensibly to promote greater efficiency and to enhance "value for money", there is little evidence that these changes have met …

Welfare System Reform: Coordinating Federal, State And Local Public Assistance Programs. Edward J. Jennings Jr. And Neal S. Zank (Eds).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Edward J. Jennings Jr. and Neal S. Zank (Eds). Welfare System Reform: Coordinating Federal, State and Local Public Assistance Programs. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993. $55.00 hardcover.

Human Services In Contemporary America. Paul Scmolling Jr., Merrill Youkeles And William R. Burger.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Paul Scmolling Jr., Merrill Youkeles and William R. Burger. Human Services in Contemporary America. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks-Cole Publishing Co., 1993. $42.75 hardcover.

Support For The American Welfare State. Fay Lomoax Cook And Edith J. Barrett.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Fay Lomoax Cook and Edith J. Barrett. Support for the American Welfare State. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992. $49.50 hardcover; $16.50 papercover.

During the 1980s, the rhetoric of crisis permeated academic debates about social policy. The welfare state was said to be struggling with a major fiscal crisis and, at the same time, to be facing a crisis of legitimacy. The legitimacy of the social services was being undermined as programs were becoming increasingly costly, inefficient and unable to meet expectations. Reagan's electoral victories appeared to confirm the view that popular support for the welfare state was rapidly evaporating. …

Juvenile Delinquency And The Transition To Monopoly Capitalism, Kevin I. Minor

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper identifies three macrosociological forces (i.e., the social position of youth, private market relations, and poverty and inequality) that are crucial for understanding delinquency and analyzes how these forces evolved together as part of the historical transformation in the United States to monopoly capitalism. The thesis is that these forces have contributed to delinquency by acting collectively to decrease the capacity of social institutions to maintain informal social control. Implications for policy are also considered.

The Employed Homeless: A Crisis In Public Policy, Frederick A. Diblasio, John R. Belcher, Kathleen A. Connors

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Departing from the conventional wisdom of who constitutes the homeless, the "employed homeless" emerge as a subgroup of the homeless population in a state-wide Maryland Study (n= 178) at 25 shelter facilities. Twenty-four percent. of the homeless were found to work fulltime and eleven percent part-time. Gender disability, health, previous mental health hospitalization, military experience and education were significantly associated with employment status in the bivariate analysis. From these exploratory findings a theory of economic dislocation is hypothesized.

Book Notes

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

BOOK NOTES

• Pure and Applied Sociological Theory: Problems and Issues. Calvin J. Larson.
• Postmodernization: Change in Advanced Society. Stephen Crook, Jan Pakulski and Malcolm Waters.
• Introduction to Macrosociology. James W. Russell
• The Renascence of Sociological Theory. Henry Etzkowitz and Ronald M. Glassman
• Erving Goffman and Modern Sociology. Philip Manning
• Pragmatism and Social Theory. Hans Joas

African-American Males In Prison: Are They Doing Time Or Is The Time Doing Them?, Anthony E. O. King

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

African-American males comprise a disproportionate percentage of the individuals imprisoned in State correctional institutions across the United States. The purpose of this paper is to describe how incarceration affects African-American males. The author recommends more rigorous and systematic analysis of the prison experience, and how it affects the mental, physical, and social well-being of African-American males. Given this nation's commitment to using imprisonment as the principal means for punishing convicted felons, it is imperative that society ascertain the social, psychological, and economic effects of such confinement on millions of African-American males.

The Observer As An Instrument In Qualitative Community Studies, Pranab Chatterjee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A qualitative study of leadership in local black communities was done by an Asian Indian scholar in Cleveland during the nineteen sixties and seventies. This paper narrates the conditions under which and the methodology with which the study was done. Using participant observation, interviews, and reviews of published and unpublished documents, the author develops ten propositions about organizational and electoral leadership in black communities. Further, three additional propositions about the adequacy of qualitative research are also developed from this research experience. A short comparative review of trends in these communities is appended.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 20, No. 4 (December 1993)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• EDITORIAL: THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS - Robert D. Leighninger, Jr.
• AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES IN PRISON: ARE THEY DOING TIME OR IS THE TIME DOING THEM? - Anthony E. O. King, Ph.D.
• THE OBSERVER AS AN INSTRUMENT IN QUALITATIVE COMMUNITY STUDIES: A THIRD WORLD PERSPECTIVE - Pranab Chatterjee
• THE EMPLOYED HOMELESS: A CRISIS IN PUBLIC POLICY - Frederick A. DiBlasio, Ph.D., John R. Belcher, Ph.D., Kathleen A. Connors, Ph.D.
• JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND THE TRANSITION TO MONOPOLY CAPITALISM - Kevin I. Minor
• THE POLITICAL ACTIVITY OF SOCIAL WORKERS: A POST-REAGAN UPDATE - Mark Ezell, Ph.D.
• THE DUAL FACE OF EMPOWERMENT: …

The Political Activity Of Social Workers: A Post-Reagan Update, Mark Ezell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article reports the findings of a survey that examined the political activism of social workers and what changes may have occurred in their political participation during the Reagan years. Social workers are politically active largely by writing letters to public officials but also by discussing political issues with friends, by belonging to politically active organizations and by attending political meetings. In addition, a substantial proportion of social workers make campaign contributions and get involved in candidate elections. Among social workers, those with the highest educational degrees, those who are NASW members, those who are in macro type jobs, and …

The Dual Face Of Empowerment: A Model For Cooperative Resource Building, Eric C. Albers, Nancy Paolini

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Homelessness among families with children has become a nationwide problem. Although homelessness is difficult to document, it is estimated that approximately 250,000 to 3,000,000 people in the United States are homeless. Families, which comprise approximately one third of the homeless population, is its fastest growing segment (Mihaly, 1991; National Coalition for the Homeless, 1989; Van Vliet, 1989). This may be a conservative figure. Some of these families often go uncounted because they are part of the "invisible" homeless. They avoid agency contact for fear of losing their children or live in motels, cars, or campgrounds and thereby are not counted …

Neighborhood-Based Initiative To Address Poverty: Lessons From Experience, Robert Halpern

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The neighborhood has long been an important locus for efforts to address the causes and consequences of poverty in American society. Over the course of the past century neighborhood- based initiatives have been called on to reduce class conflict, counter feelings of alienation, localize control of social institutions, create jobs and reverse neighborhood economic decline, improve human services, and address a variety of specific poverty-related problems, ranging from infant mortality to juvenile delinquency. In this essay I draw on the historical experience with neighborhood initiative to illuminate its strengths and limitations as a strategy for addressing poverty and its correlates. …

Access To Prenatal Care And County Size: Implications For Service Delivery, Ellen E. Whipple

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The impact of population size across twenty-three west Michigan counties was examined to determine access to prenatal care, low birth weight, and infant mortality. Surveys were completed by forty-five managers of hospitals and county health departments. Service availability, sociodemographic, system-related and lifestyle factors were examined as contributors to perinatal support utilization. Low birth weight and infant mortality were highest in the small- and large-sized counties. Positive birth outcomes in medium-sized counties may have been due to greater availability of infant and child health services through health departments, and the targeting of resources to specific problem areas, such as smoking cessation. …

Resources For Friendship Intervention, Rebecca G. Adams, Rosemary Blieszner

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Programs affecting friendship patterns can be implemented at the individual, dyadic, network, immediate environment, community, or societal level. Literature specifically focused on friendship intervention is scarce. The relevance of other resources for the design and assessment of friendship interventions at each of these levels is described.

Practitioners who design social interaction interventions are prompted to familiarize themselves with the friendship literature and to apply the findings. Even if the goal is not to manipulate friendship patterns specifically, interventions should at least be designed not to undermine existing relationships.

Book Reviews

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

BOOK REVIEWS

• Encyclopedia of Sociology. Edgar F. Borgatta and Marie L. Borgatta (Ed). Reviewed by James Midgley, Louisiana State University
• Constructing a Social Science for a Postwar America: The Cybernetics Group, 1946-1954. Steve Jashua Heims. Reviewed by William E. Buffum,University of Houston
• Researching Social Life. Nigel Gilbert (Ed); Approaches to Social Research. Royce A. Singleton, Jr., Bruce C. Straits and Margaret Miller Straits. Reviewed by John G. Orme, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• The Underclass Question. Bill E. Lawson. Reviewed by Paula L. Dressel, Georgia State University
• Population Estimation. Raymondo. Reviewed by Michael D. Irwin, Louisiana State University
• Nationalism: Five Roads …

The Fifty Percent Divorce Rate: Deconstructing A Myth, Dennis L. Peck

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

An overview of competing perceptions about divorce in the United States establishes the basis for a discussion of the incidence of divorce, divorce rates, and the public myth of a 50 percent divorce rate. A partial explanation for the acceptance of this myth is offered through a discussion of the salience of attitude as well as other public issues.

Book Reviews

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

BOOK REVIEWS

• Profiles in International Social Work. Merl C. Hokenstad, S. K. Khinduka and James Midgley (Eds.) Reviewed by Fredrick L. Ahearn, Jr. Catholic University of America.
• Internationalizing Social Work Education. Richard Estes. Reviewed by Charles Guzzetta, Hunter College.
• The Welfare State in Israel. Abraham Doron and Ralph Kramer, Reviewed by Howard Jacob Karger, Louisianna State University.
• The Radical Right and the Welfare State: An International Assessment. Howard Glennerster and James Midgley (Eds.). Reviewed by Michael Sherraden, Washington University.
• The New Eastern Europe: Social Policy Past, Present and Future. Bob Deacon. Social Policy, Social Justice and Citizenship in Eastern Europe. …

Family Preservation: A Professional Reform Movement, Marc Mannes

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Family Preservation is examined as a manifestation of collective professional activity intent on reforming various aspects of the social welfare system. George Smelser's theoretical framework is used to analyze and interpret the emergence and development of the Family Preservation Movement. The article identifies societal problems which spawned the movement, the formation of a shared belief system, and the confirmation and sanctioning of those beliefs. Factors which mobilized increasing numbers of professionals to the cause, efforts which reflect collective action, and the conventionalization and standardization of the movement are discussed.

Doubling Up: Low Income Households Sheltering The Hidden Homeless, Edward F. Vacha, Marguerite V. Marin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The costs and benefits of sheltering the homeless experienced by "informal shelter providers "-people who shelter their homeless friends and relatives-are investigated. The benefits of informal sheltering to the community are also examined. Informal shelter providers are among the most destitute in the community, and they are at great risk of becoming homeless themselves. The community receives considerable benefit from informal sheltering. The dependency of the community on the fragile system of informal shelter providers for prevention of homelessness indicates the inadequacy of present housing programs and the failure of our housing policies. Recommendations for preserving and nurturing the invisible …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 20, No. 3 (September 1993)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

SPECIAL ISSUE: FOCUS ON FAMILY ISSUES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• FAMILY PRESERVATION: A PROFESSIONAL REFORM MOVEMENT - Marc Mannes
• DOUBLING UP: LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS SHELTERING THE HIDDEN HOMELESS - Edward F. Vacha and Marguerite V. Marin
• HOMELESSNESS: THE SERVICE PROVIDERS’ PERSPECTIVE ON BLAMING THE VICTIM - Elizabeth Tracy and Randy Stoecker
• WOMEN OFFENDERS INCARCERATED AT THE OHIO PENITENTIARY FOR MEN AND THE OHIO REFORMATORY FOR WOMEN FROM 1913-1923 - Rudolph Alexander, Jr., Lola Butler, and Patricia Sias
• UPPER MIDDLE CLASS SUPPORT FOR THE IDEA OF FAMILY ALLOWANCES - Beth Spenciner Rosenthal
• PUBLIC POLICY AND THE ENERGY NEEDS OF LOW INCOME FAMILIES …

Women Offenders Incarcerated At The Ohio Penitentiary For Men And The Ohio Reformatory For Women From 1913-1923, Rudolph Alexander, Jr., Lola Butler, Patricia Sias

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Unquestionably, women offenders have been subjected to discrimination by the criminal justice system. However, the quality and extent of the discrimination have been the subject of debate. Early male scholars wrote that women offenders were treated chivalrously and leniently. Later female scholars have disagreed and contended that under so-called chivalry women offenders were punished more severely, especially for sex crimes. World War I had a national influence on women imprisoned in reformatories for prostitution, as federal legislation was passed to suppress prostitution and related behaviors. This paper examines qualitative and quantitative data from 1913 to 1923, especially data on the …

Public Policy And The Energy Needs Of Low Income Families, W.M. Theisen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Iowa legislature debated whether to change its utility disconnection policy. The debate centered around three questions: 1) whether family size or income influences energy consumption; 2) whether elderly people consume more energy than families; and 3) whether energy subsidies foster increased energy use and energy waste. This paper reports energy consumption patterns for a sample of low income people. Economic demand theory predicts that energy consumption will increase as income increases. This hypothesis was statistically rejected. Second, legislators assumptions about energy consumption were formulated into hypotheses. These hypotheses were statistically rejected.

Home Care Allowances For The Frail Elderly: For And Against, Jorma Sipila

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Arguments that have been presented for and against HCAs are considered below. The focus is on debates around traditionalist and feminist standpoints. Another central concern is to draw attention to the contextual boundaries of these debates; therefore we shall consider arguments both from the U.S. and Europe. Finland is presented as a special case, because this Scandinavian welfare state has an exceptionally extensive HCA programme.

Homelessness: The Service Providers' Perspective On Blaming The Victim, Elizabeth Tracy, Randy Stoecker

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Service providers who work with the homeless are frequently characterized as victim blamers. Eighteen service providers who work with homeless people were interviewed. The victim-blaming typification oversimplifies service providers' views on homelessness and of the individuals their programs serve. Service providers have a wholistic analysis of homelessness which encompasses both individual and systemic components.

Upper Middle Class Support For The Idea Of Family Allowances, Beth Spenciner Rosenthal

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

There is a newly arisen opportunity for reassessment and redirection of children's policy using non-ideological, pragmatic solutions. Middle class attitudes toward family allowances are crucial to the implementation of the proposed solutions. This paper presents preliminary data indicating that current middle class attitudes are favorable toward the idea of family allowances. Potential explanations of this phenomenon are presented along with policy implications.