Welfare Reform and “Welfare to Work” as Non-Sequitur

A Case Study of the Experiences of Latina Women in Massachusetts

Bibliographic Data

ID12455232
AuthorsJames Jennings (Tufts University, corresponding author), Jorge Santiago (0009-0009-5020-0194, Northern Essex Community College)
Year2004
Volume8
Issue1
Pages23-42
Publication date2004-03-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Poverty (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1087-5549 • E-ISSN: 1540-7608
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1300/j134v08n01_02
OpenAlexW2091280009
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited3

Welfare reform emerged as a public policy response to a presumed “dependency” on the part of impoverished individuals and families. This behavioral view of poor people is ensconced in the adoption of welfare reform nationally, and many states including Massachusetts, where “work-first” frenzy fed the political momentum for moving families off welfare as quickly as possible, regardless of the consequences for children and families. A study of the experiences of 100 Latina women in Massachusetts during the fall of 1999 and the spring of 2000 shows that welfare reform presents major obstacles for poor women seeking employment as a way out of poverty. These obstacles include three key problems: the lack of information about potential employment and training programs and services; unaccountable discretion on the part of caseworkers; and biased perceptions about Latina women on public assistance

Discretion · Economic growth · Economics · Political science · Politics · Poverty · Public assistance · Sociology · Welfare · Welfare dependency · Welfare reform · Work (physics · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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