The Implementation of a “Work First” Welfare-to-Work Program in a Changing Environment

Msw, Kate Cooney; Weaver, Dale

doi:10.1300/j125v09n03_03

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Transitional jobs programs create a complicated dynamic where participants are clients and employees simultaneously (Cooney and Weaver 2001;Kissane 2008). On the one hand, staff members regard them as employees who are accountable to their employers, who must acceptably perform their duties, and who must adhere to the rules of the workplace like other workers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…States vary considerably in their welfare rules and policies (see Rowe and Giannarelli 2006). However, the majority, including Pennsylvania (the research site) has taken a "work first" approach, where the focus is on attaching welfare recipients to jobs as rapidly as possible (Cooney and Weaver 2001;Loomis et al 2003). Work-first supporters emphasize that welfare recipients should accept whatever jobs are available to them rather than wait for "good jobs" or pursue additional education.…”

Section: Welfare Reform and Welfare-to-work Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

“They Never Did Me Any Good”: Welfare-to-Work Programs from the Vantage Point of Poor Women

Kissane

2008

Humanity & Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with poor women living in Philadelphia, I explore welfare recipients' experiences with and assessments of welfare-to-work programs provided by labor market intermediaries. Overall, the women argued that the programs often failed to offer meaningful skills that could result in good paying jobs, complicated their already difficult lives, and forced them to interact with sometimes disrespectful, hypocritical, and indifferent staff. The women also felt they were under-compensated for the work that they did in transitional jobs programs. While the women had problems with many of the programs they entered, they especially disliked those that focused on soft skills training. These findings suggest that such programs act as mechanisms of social reproduction, as from the vantage point of poor women, they typically fail to enhance and may actually restrict their labor market opportunities. PERSONAL REFLEXIVE STATEMENTI developed a deep concern regarding issues of poverty after several years of volunteer work at a soup kitchen in Philadelphia. Through weekly contact with poor families and those trying to serve them, I was struck by the degree of inequality in our society and our nation's inadequate response to the plight of the poor. My experiences as a volunteer led not only to my academic commitment to understand how policy directives affect poor families and community-based institutions, but to my desire to give poor women and those that serve them the opportunity to voice their views and describe their experiences. Through listening to those that welfare reform directly impacts, I hope we can empower poor women and improve welfare policy and practice.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Welfare Reform and Welfare-to-work Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“They Never Did Me Any Good”: Welfare-to-Work Programs from the Vantage Point of Poor Women

Kissane

2008

Humanity & Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The literature on NPs' increased involvement in the welfare system more generally after PRWORA, however, indicates that worksites would likely encounter difficulties when they employ welfare interns. For example, studies of governmentsponsored welfare-to-work (WtW) programs (one key element of devolutionary welfare policies) demonstrate that the "bureaucratic face" of such neoliberal policies includes a host of implementation and operational challenges for those running them (Cooney and Weaver 2001;Hasenfeld and Powell 2004;Iversen 2000;Lockhart 2005;Monsma 2006;Mulroy and Tamburo 2004). Particularly problematic are interagency relations, as privatization and devolution of welfare systems result in fragmentation of responsibilities and authority across numerous public and private entities.…”

Section: Welfare Internships In An Era Of Neoliberal Reformmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Notably, such trials will have to be met by NP staffs that already feel increasingly burdened and stressed, as their responsibilities shifted and demand for certain services grew after welfare reform (Abramovitz 2005;Bischoff and Reisch 2000). They also will have to work within a "work first" system that many see as restricting how they can serve their clients and which "stands in conflict with their dominant service ideology" (Cooney and Weaver 2001;Hasenfeld and Powell 2004:106). The expectation (or perhaps hope) is that worksites will be willing and able to "help" these demanding workers resolve their obstacles to employment despite such issues.…”

Section: Welfare Internships In An Era Of Neoliberal Reformmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature on neoliberalism often references devolution and privatization without paying attention to its "bureaucratic face" (Campbell and Pedersen 2001;Fourcade and Healy 2007;Mudge 2008). Moreover, research on private sector entities implicated in implementing and supporting welfare-to-work policies frequently focuses on how (and whether) they move welfare recipients into employment (Cooney and Weaver 2001;Kissane 2008;Lockhart 2005;Monsma 2006;Solomon 2001), not as part of a package of contradictory policy logics intended to shift state control and demonstrate the power of markets.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Administrative Challenges Facing Nonprofit Worksites Providing Work or Work-like Experiences for Welfare Recipients

Kissane

2010

Sociological Perspectives

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over the last decade, neoliberal welfare policies expanded nonprofit organizations' role in the welfare state. This change resulted in the organizational emergence of numerous "welfare internships" (i.e., situations where welfare recipients engage in work experiences to fulfill work requirements for little or no pay), whose existence and impacts have been understudied. Using qualitative interviews with nonprofit directors, this article explores the bureaucratic face of neoliberal welfare policies through detailing how two types of welfare internships ("intermediary internships" and "client internships") develop, the motivations behind them, and the problems they present. This article examines the relevance of these impacts for the welfare-to-work and nonstandard employment literatures and describes potential implications for policymakers.

show abstract

Mixing and Phasing of Roles Among Volunteers, Staff, and Participants in Faith-Based Programs

Netting

O’Connor

Thomas

et al. 2005

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this grounded theory research project, face-to-face interviews were conducted with program participants, board members, administrators, coordinators, and collaborators in 15 faith-based programs. Findings concerning the roles played by participants, volunteers, and paid staff reveal the wearing of multiple hats, facilitated by a tendency toward cross-training, role diffusion, and doing what is needed. Boundaries created by roles appear to be less important than pragmatically responding to meet human needs. The moral imperative or faith-based nature of the work appears to be a recruiting tool for both paid staff and volunteers, as well as an expressed personal benefit for both. Challenges include turnover among paid staff and volunteers, heavy reliance on volunteers, and low pay. Psychological contracting with a faith-based community may be related to the ability to cope with fluid role expectations and associated ambiguities.

show abstract

The Implementation of a “Work First” Welfare-to-Work Program in a Changing Environment

Cited by 4 publications

References 5 publications

“They Never Did Me Any Good”: Welfare-to-Work Programs from the Vantage Point of Poor Women

“They Never Did Me Any Good”: Welfare-to-Work Programs from the Vantage Point of Poor Women

Administrative Challenges Facing Nonprofit Worksites Providing Work or Work-like Experiences for Welfare Recipients

Mixing and Phasing of Roles Among Volunteers, Staff, and Participants in Faith-Based Programs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About