NLA Discussion: Welfare Policy

[Heide Wrigley]

Alan and Hal and others,

Below are references to a couple of publications that deal with the
welfare to work issue from an anthropological perspective. The notice
appeared on a list serve for anthropologists and was sent to me by a
colleague in D.C., Roger Rasnake.  Dr. Schneider (see address below)
might be someone who could contribute to the discussion on welfare to
work, by helping to focus on the people whose lives are affected by the
new policies. 

Having said that, I must say that I find the four kinds of welfare
recipients identified in one of the publications somewhat problematic,
since "refugees and immigrants" are not a discrete group, separate from
the others.  They clearly could fall into any of the other categories
(limited work experience; moving in and out of jobs; displaced workers)
. (I haven't read the full article yet)

So here's one more link for Janet Isserlis' web site - 

Happy browsing  

Heide Spruck Wrigley
Aguirre International
San Mateo 


Original Message-----
From:	Jo Anne Schneider [SMTP:joanne.schneider at uwp.edu] <mailto:>
Sent:	Thursday, February 05, 1998 7:13 PM
To:	anthap
Subject:	reports on welfare reform

Those of you interested in welfare reform or related issues might be
interested in several recently released reports. Three reports are now
available:
WORKING AND WELFARE: A BRIEF LOOK AT THE WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE PUBLIC
ASSISTANCE POPULATION IN PHILADELPHIA is available from the 21st century
league at
www.libertynet.org:80/~21stcent 
or by calling 215-557-2662.
This report is designed for a the general public and policy makers.  It
includes results from seven studies conducted from 1992-1996 on people
in employment and training programs in Philadelphia.  It describes
general types of welfare recipients, their work and training experience,
and the role of race and culture in this process.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK STUDY TECHNICAL REPORT can be downloaded from my
website:
www.uwp.edu/academic/sociology/joanne/joanne.htm.  
Paper copies are only available on a very limited basis.
This report is designed for researchers and sophisticated policymakers.
The social network study traced the career and training paths for 338
people enrolled in adult basic education, vocational education programs,
community college, and mandatory community service and job search
programs in Philadelphia in 1995-1996.  The study concentrated on the
resources that people used to find jobs and training as well as their
experience before entering their current program.  The report also looks
at the placement and job paths for graduates of government funded versus
tuition funded programs.  
People interested in discussion of social networks may also want to look
at Welfare to Network, which appears in a special issue of Demos
Quarterly called The Wealth and Poverty of networks. That issue can be
ordered from Demos at www.demos.co.uk.  I can send reprints of my
article.
The research identifies four types of welfare recipients:  
	1)	people with limited work experience
	2)	low skill workers who move between work and welfare
	3)	displaced workers
	4)	immigrants and refugees

Each group has very different experiences with work and welfare.  Each
group also accesses training differently and uses training in different
ways.  Generally, the research shows that neither training nor work
alone move people out of poverty.  Training helps some people, but many
others either never find work after training or do not complete
programs.  Generally, a combination of work and training provides the
best results for most people.  Finally, social networks play a powerful
role in both employment and training.  Use of government or non-profit
resources differs across race and class, playing yet another role in
work, training and welfare experience. 
Jo Anne Schneider        
-- 
Jo Anne Schneider				joanne.schneider at uwp.edu
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
University of Wisconsin-Parkside
900 Woods Road, P.O. Box 2000
Kenosha, WI  53141-2000     
Phone: 414-595-3418
Fax: 414-595-2183


Heide Spruck Wrigley

Heide Spruck Wrigley, 
Aguirre International




> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Waugh, Alan [SMTP:AWaugh at sccd.ctc.edu]
> Sent:	Wednesday, February 04, 1998 9:01 AM
> To:	nla at world.std.com
> Subject:	NLA Discussion:  Welfare Policy
> 
> I've liked much of the work done out of the Center for Literacy
> Studies
> in Tennessee - I would hope there would be someone there who could
> develop a paper on what teachers are thinking and doing to adapt one
> way
> or another within the system.
> 
> * Alan Waugh
> * ABLE Network
> * 2102 S. Jackson Street, Seattle  98144
> * (206) 587-3882  * FAX (206) 587-4900
> 
> > ----------
> > From: 	Hal Beder
> > Reply To: 	nla at world.std.com
> > Sent: 	Monday, February 2, 1998 6:08 AM
> > To: 	nla at world.std.com
> > Subject: 	NLA Discussion:  Welfare Policy
> > 
> > 
> > This discussion is very timely.  NCSALL and Rutgers University are
> > planning
> > a national invitation conference on the Impact of Welfare Reform on
> > Adult
> > Literacy Education for the end of June.  The conference will feature
> > four
> > invited papers, and policy-oriented discussion seminars. A
> publication
> > will
> > result. At this stage we are trying to identify people to author the
> > four
> > papers.  If you know people who are knowledgeable and write well, we
> > would
> > much appreciate adding them to our list of potential authors.
> > Self-nominations are fine.  Please respond directly to
> > hbeder at rci.rutgers.edu
> > 
> > Many, many thanks.
> > 
> > 
> > Potential author's name ______________________________
> > 
> > Potential author's address
> > _______________________________________________
> > 
> > 
> >                             zip
> > 
> > Potential authors' email ___________  Phone _____________  Fax
> > _______________
> > 
> > Comments:
> > Hal Beder
> > Rutgers University
> > Graduate School of Education
> > 10 Seminary Pl.
> > New Brunswick, NJ 08903
> > Phone:  (732) 932-7496 ext 213
> > 
> >