Rhetoric and Reality of Work-Based Welfare Reform

Maria Cancian

47 citations0/0 files storedSocial Work

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Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics Social Policy and Reform Studies Social Sciences and Policies

Abstract

The argument presented in this article is that although work is one path toward improved well-being for poor families, a successful and humane social welfare policy must recognize and respond to its limitations. The prowork rhetoric surrounding current efforts to move women from welfare to work rests on at least three propositions: Work is the norm, work is good for families, and work leads to self-sufficiency. The article reviews empirical evidence on each of these propositions and concludes that many former welfare participants will earn low wages in unstable employment and will require a broad range of supports to move from welfare to self-sufficiency and improved family well-being.

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References

1997What Employers Want: Job Prospects for Less-Educated Workers.1999Welfare Reform, the Business Cycle, and the Decline in AFDC Caseloads 1998One Year after Federal Welfare Reform: A Description of State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Decisions as of October 1997 1997When Low-Income Mothers Go to Work: Implications for Children 1997Effects of Low-Wage Employment on Family Well-Being 1997Arranging Child Care 1995The Proximate Contexts of Workfare and Work: A Framework for Studying Poor Women's Economic Choices

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