Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Revitalising Communities In A Globalising World. Lena Dominelli, Editor., Kristine Frerer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Lena Dominelli (Ed.), Revitalising Communities in a Globalising World. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2007. $114.95 hardcover.

Review Of Survival Of The Knitted: Immigrant Social Networks In A Stratified World. Vilna Francine Bashi. Reviewed By Qingwen Xu., Qingwen Xu

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Vilna Francine Bashi, Survival of the Knitted: Immigrant Social Networks in a Stratified World. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007. $21.95 papercover.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 35, No. 4 (December 2008)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• ESTABLISHING A BASIS FOR MULTI-SYSTEM COLLABORATION: SYSTEMIC TEAM DEVELOPMENT - Rosalyn M. Bertram
• AFRICAN AMERICAN GRANDMOTHERS PROVIDING EXTENSIVE CARE TO THEIR GRANDCHILDREN: SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH DETERMINANTS OF LIFE SATISFACTION - Dorothy Smith-Ruiz
• POLICY MANDATED COLLABORATION - Jan Ivery
• RETHINKING SOCIAL WORK'S ROLE IN PUBLIC ASSISTANCE - Julie Cooper Altman and Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg
• RACIAL/ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN RELIGIOUS CONGREGATION-BASED SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY EFFORTS - R. Khari Brown
• A BOILING POT OF ANIMOSITY OR AN ALLIANCE OF KINDRED SPIRITS? EXPLORING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN NATIVE AMERICANS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS - Hilary N. Weaver
• "I'M GLAD YOU ASKED": HOMELESS CLIENTS WITH SEVERE …

"I'M Glad You Asked": Homeless Clients With Severe Mental Illness Evaluate Their Residential Care, Katherine Tyson Mccrea, Lesa Spravka

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Homeless clients with severe mental illness can offer considerable insight about their residential care, but there are significant methodological challenges in eliciting their service evaluations: maximizing participation, facilitating self-expression, and preserving clients' natural meanings. This study addresses those challenges and presents qualitative data residential care staff obtained from 210 clients. While clients prioritized meeting their subsistence needs, they emphasized attaining inner well-being and mutually respectful relationships, and that group services needed to reduce confrontational interactions in order to be helpful. For after-care services, clients sought sustained relationships with staff grounded in client initiative, combining respect for their autonomy with psychosocial …

Review Of The Lost Promise Of Civil Rights. Risa L. Goluboff. Reviewed By Wilma Peebles-Wilkins., Wilma Peebles-Wilkins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Risa L. Goluboff, The Lost Promise of Civil Rights. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. $35.00 hardcover.

Review Of Citizen Lobbyists: Local Efforts To Influence Public Policy. Brian Adams. Reviewed By Michael Woodford., Michael Woodford

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Brian Adams, Citizen Lobbyists: Local Efforts to Influence Public Policy. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2007. $71.50 hardcover, $25.95 papercover.

Contested Lands: Israel-Palestine, Kashmir, Bosnia, Cyprus And Sri Lanka. Sumantra Bose., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Sumantra Bose, Contested Lands: Israel-Palestine,Kashmir, Bosnia, Cyprus and Sri Lanka. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. $27.95 hardcover.

Dynamics Of Social Welfare Policy: Right Versus Left. Gardenia Harris, Bernard Ivan Tamas, And Nancy S. Lind, James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Gardenia Harris, Bernard Ivan Tamas and Nancy S. Lind, Dynamics of Social Welfare Policy: Right versus Left. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2007. $80.00 hardcover; $39.95 papercover.

Racial Diversity And Social Capital: Equality And Community In America. Rodney E. Hero., Jaehee Yi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Rodney E. Hero, Racial Diversity and Social Capital: Equality and Community in America. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. $58.00 hardcover; $19.95 papercover.

Social Security In Ireland, 1939-1952: The Limits To Solidarity. Sophia Carey., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Sophia Carey, Social Security in Ireland, 1939-1952: The Limits to Solidarity. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 2007. $34.95 papercover.

Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers And Head Home. Pamela Stone., Cara Ellis Pohle

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Pamela Stone, Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007. $45.00 hardcover, $16.95 papercover.

The Politics, Economics, And Culture Of Mexican-Us Migration: Both Sides Of The Border. Edward Ashbee, Helene Balsev Clausen, And Carl Pedersen, Editors., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Edward Ashbee, Helene Balsev Clausen and Carl Pedersen (Eds.), The Politics, Economics, and Culture of Mexican-US Migration: Both Sides of the Border. New York: Palgrave, 2007. $79.95.

The Untold Story Of Welfare Fraud, Richelle S. Swan, Linda L. Shaw, Sharon Cullity, Joni Halpern, Juliana Humphrey, Wendy M. Limbert, Mary Roche

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The experiences of women who have been charged with welfare fraud in the years following the passage of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act cast a shadow over the claim that welfare reform has been an unequivocal success. This article addresses this under-explored issue by considering the face of welfare fraud in San Diego, California after the change to federal welfare law. After a brief discussion of the socio-historical context of welfare fraud prosecution and a summary of the scholarly findings related to welfare fraud post-PRWORA, the aiticle details a new "poverty knowledge" about welfare fraud drawn …

Long-Term Tanf Participants And Barriers To Employment: A Qualitative Study In Maine, Sandra S. Butler, Janine Corbett, Crystal Bond, Chris Hastedt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Although welfare rolls have declined dramatically since the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996, many of those parents still receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) face multiple barriers to employment. In response to a proposed state bill increasing work requirements and imposing stricter time limits, the authors conducted focus groups and interviews in order to learn about the experiences of long-term recipients of TANF in Maine. Domestic violence, children's disabilities, and health issues for the mother emerged as key obstacles to meeting TANF work requirements for the 28 women participating in the …

Busier Than Ever: Why American Families Can't Slow Down. Charles N. Darrah, James M. Freeman And J. A. English-Leuck.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Charles N. Darrah, James M. Freeman & J. A. English-Leuck. Busier Than Ever: Why American Families Can't Slow Down. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007. $19.95 papercover.

Dropped From The Rolls: Mexican Immigrants, Race, And Rights In The Era Of Welfare Reform, Alejandra Marchevsky, Jeanne Theoharis

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Welfare reform transferred considerable discretion over eligibility standards and benefits to individual caseworkers, contributing to a highly diffuse, yet system-wide, practice of discrimination against nonwhite and foreign-born families within the new TANF program. Based on a two-year ethnographic study of welfare reform's impact on Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles County, this article documents a pattern of heightened anti-immigrant sentiment and disentitlement within L.A. County's welfare system following the passage of PRWORA. The vast majority of eligible immigrant families in our study lost some or all of their cash and food stamp benefits, and were systematically denied access to the work …

Review Of Civic Engagement: Social Science And Progressive Era Reform In New York City. John Louis Recchiuti. Reviewed By John M. Herrick., John M. Herrick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review for John Louis Recchiuti. Civic Engagement: Social Science and Progressive Era Reform in New York City. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007. $59.95 hardcover.

America Transformed: Globalization, Inequality And Power. Gary Hytrek And Kristine M. Zentgraf.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Gary Hytrek & Kristine M. Zentgraf. America Transformed: Globalization, Inequality and Power. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. $29.95 papercover.

Introduction To The Special Issue, Mary Gatta, Luisa S. Deprez

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare has hosted a number of special editions since President Clinton "ended welfare as we know it." Special topics such as Evaluation of TANF in 2001, Coping with Poverty in 2006, Globalization and Social Justice in 2007 and Contemporary Social Welfare History earlier this year brought attention to issues of critical concern within the field. All have focused on human well-being in the wake of a society that appears less caring for those who are most vulnerable: the poor, immigrants, people of color, and single mothers on welfare. Additionally, each special edition framed the …

Women's Lives And Poverty: Developing A Framework Of Real Reform For Welfare, Mary Gatta, Luisa S. Deprez

The Journal of Sociology & Social 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's "success" post-welfare, and propose a theoretical and methodological framework, based on an intersectional …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 35, No. 3 (September 2008)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

SPECIAL ISSUE: BEYOND THE NUMBERS: HOW THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN CHALLENGE THE "SUCCESS" OF WELFARE REFORM

• INTRODUCTION - Mary Gatta and Luisa S. Deprez
• WOMEN'S LIVES AND POVERTY: DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK OF REAL REFORM FOR WELFARE - Mary Gatta and Luisa S. Deprez
• LONG-TERM TANF PARTICIPANTS AND BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT: A QUALITATIVE STUDY IN MAINE - Sandra S. Butler, Janine Corbett, Crystal Bond and Chris Hastedt
• DROPPED FROM THE ROLLS: MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS, RACE, AND RIGHTS IN THE ERA OF WELFARE REFORM - Alejandra Marchevsky and Jeanne Theoharis
• WELFARE AND FAMILY ECONOMIC SECURITY: TOWARD A PLACE-BASED POVERTY KNOWLEDGE - Deborah …

Lost In Appalachia: The Unexpected Impact Of Welfare Reform On Older Women In Rural Communities, Debra A. Henderson, Ann R. Tickamyer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A primary goal of welfare reform was to overcome welfare dependency through the promotion of work and the setting of lifetime limits. While atf irst blush thisg oal may have appearedr easonablef or young recipients, it does not address the needs of older recipients, particularly women. Based on in-depth interviews with welfare recipients in four impoverished rural Appalachian counties over a four year time span (1999-2001; 2004), this paper evaluates the experiences of older women as they confront the changes brought on by welfare reform legislation. Findings suggest that impoverished older women in isolated rural communities experience multiple crises as …

"It's All One Big Circle": Welfare Discourse And The Everyday Lives Of Urban Adolescents, Staci T. Lowe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Welfare reform succeeded, in part, because of discourse that characterized the poverty problem as one of long-term dependency and personal irresponsibility. Adolescent pregnancy was targeted as both cause and manifestation of a welfare crisis. This study examined how welfare reform was perceived and experienced by lowincome, urban adolescents. Findings from interviews revealed that adolescents agreed with many of the basic tenets of welfare reform, largely because they had appropriated much of the discourse prevalent in wider society. However, their complex life stories contained a powerful subtext concerning structural determinants of poverty that ran counter to prevailing notions of "personal responsibility."

Review Of Gangs In The Global City: Alternatives To Traditional Criminology. John M. Hagedorn, Editor. Reviewed By Matthew T. Theriot., Matthew T. Theriot

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of John M. Hagedorn (Ed.). Gangs in the Global City: Alternatives to Traditional Criminology. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2007. $65.00 hardcover, $25.00 papercover.

Review Of Sociology In America: A History. Craig Calhoun, Editor. Reviewed By Richard Caputo., Richard Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Craig Calhoun (Ed.). Sociology in America: A History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. $85.00 hardcover, $30.00 papercover.

Review Of Civic Service Worldwide: Impacts And Inquiry. Amanda Moore Mcbride & Michael W. Sherraden, Editors. Reviewed By Barbara J. Robles., Barbara J. Robles

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Amanda Moore McBride & Michael W. Sherraden, (Eds.). Civic Service Worldwide: Impacts and Inquiry. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2007. $49.95 hardcover.

Understanding Social Inequality. Tim Butler And Paul Watt.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Tim Butler & Paul Watt. Understanding Social Inequality. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2007. $39.95 papercover.

The Europeanization Of Social Protection. Jon Kvist And Juho Saari, Editors.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Jon Kvist & Juho Saari (Eds.). The Europeanization of Social Protection. Bristol: Policy Press, 2007. $39.95 papercover, $99.00 cloth.

Welfare And Family Economic Security: Toward A Place-Based Poverty Knowledge, Deborah A. Harris, Domenico Parisi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 is viewed by many as a resounding success. Its success, however, is predicated primarily on caseload reduction rather than improvement of family well-being. In addition, provisions in the act ignore the importance of place in shaping one's life chances. Using Alice O'Connor's influential book, Poverty Knowledge, as a framework, we discuss findings from a qualitative study that examines how low-income families plan for a life without welfare in places with different opportunities and structural constraints. We find that returns to TANF are common among welfare leavers and that place …

Tracking The Transition From Welfare To Work, Cynthia Needles Fletcher, Mary Winter, An-Ti Shih

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

One of the primary goals of the 1996 federal welfare reform legislation was to reduce dependency on cash transfers and to promote self-sufficiency through employment in the paid labor force. This paper draws upon a qualitative study of 18 Iowa welfare recipients and tracks changes that occur over a three-year, post-reform period. Thick descriptions highlight the internal family dynamics of the choices made over time. The purposes of the study are twofold:first, to document changes in family composition, employment, housing, and program participation, and second, to report how recipients experience such changes. Findings reveal that the 11 families who left …