Employment Services

The Explosive Nature of the Culture of Poverty

Vu, C.
Austin, M.J.
2008

This teaching case describes the contentious nature of discussions about the culture of poverty as reflected in a diversity training session in a social service organization. Due to the complex nature of poverty, the training session led to intense conflict between the trainer and a diverse group of participants. The fallout from the training session was so significant that special focus groups were formed to debrief the experience. The case concludes with a set of discussion questions.

Sociological Theories of Poverty in Urban America

Price-Wolf, J.
2008

Since the 1950s, American sociologists have developed a substantial literature on poverty in urban American communities. This literature review examines some of these sociological theories of poverty and identifies four major explanations of urban poverty: social stratification, (including segregation and racism); lack of access to social capital; cultural and value norms; and social policies. The literature review concludes with a conceptual framework that focuses on multiple relationships that link theory to practice related to the reduction of poverty in inner-city communities.

The Economics of Poverty

Jung, S.Y.
Smith, R.
2008

Blank (2003) identifies six perspectives that economists and policymakers use to understand the causes of poverty. They include issues of economic underdevelopment, human capital, contradictions in capitalism, structural causes, characteristics of the poor, and the incentive effect of welfare programs. This analysis uses Blank's framework to identify major economic theories and related recent research (1990-2005) to explain poverty. While each of the six perspectives provides explanations about the nature of poverty, the strongest factor relates to race. The analysis concludes with...

Social Work Students' Perceptions of Poverty

Clark, S.
2008

Over a period of 14 years (1991-2004), graduate social work students (n = 2,213) in ten California schools were surveyed about their perceptions of poverty as they entered and exited their graduate programs. Entering students expressed preferences for societal/institutional change methods to address poverty, as opposed to methods of individual adaptation and were even more inclined upon graduation. Implications for social work education and practice are identified.

Social Capital and Neighborhood Poverty

Osterling, K.L.
2008

Research indicates that concentrated neighborhood poverty has numerous detrimental effects on the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. The term “neighborhood effects” has been used to describe the interaction between socioeconomic disadvantage and social problems at the neighborhood level. Social capital theory, defined broadly as social networks characterized by trust and reciprocity represents one prominent explanation for the phenomenon of neighborhood effects. Within poor neighborhoods, it is theorized that socioeconomic characteristics of the neighborhood...

Psychological Theories of Poverty

Turner, K.
Lehning, A.J.
2008

Social work education, practice, and research are heavily influenced by theories developed by psychologists. A review of the literature was conducted to identify theories of poverty emerging from the field of psychology. In general, until 1980, psychological theories of poverty emphasized the role of the individual or group to explain the causes and impact of poverty. Between 1980 and 2000, psychologists began to consider the structural and societal factors that contribute to poverty and moved beyond the explanations of individual pathology. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, an...

Political Science Perspectives on Poverty

Lehning, A.J.
2008

The social science discipline of political science focuses on the study of political systems and political behavior. While political science has not developed a comprehensive theory of poverty, this article reviews political science perspectives related to the causes of poverty (culture of poverty and neo-Marxist theories of class), the role of government in addressing poverty (theories of distributive justice and public support for antipoverty policies), and political participation. The article concludes with recommendations for future research and implications for Human Behavior and the...

Making the Transition from Welfare to Work: Employment Experiences of CalWORKs Participants in the San Francisco Bay Area

De Marco, A.
Austin, M.J.
Chow, J.C.
2008

This study describes welfare-to-work participants in the San Francisco Bay Area, support services, experiences with the CalWORKs program, and predictors of employment status in the wake of welfare reform. Findings indicate that many are working and more Stayers and Recidivists than Leavers are using food stamps and Medi-Cal. Multivariate analysis reveals that race and financial supports were the significant factors contributing to employability, defined as the ability to secure employment despite the need to supplement earned income with welfare payments. To help people stay off of welfare...

An Anthropological View of Poverty

Frerer, K.
Vu, C.
2008

The anthropological view of poverty incorporates various social science disciplines as it seeks to explain the relationship between human behavior and the social environment as well as the relationships between human beings. The anthropological views are rooted in comparative perspectives across cultures as well as in the analysis of local cultures. This literature review of poverty from an anthropological perspective includes theoretical perspective utilized contemporary anthropologists. It concludes with a discussion of the major challenges inherent in the anthropological study of...

The Status of Low-Income Neighborhoods in the Post-Welfare Reform Environment

Chow, J.C.
Johnson, M.A.
Austin, M.J.
2008

It has long been recognized that children and adults living in poverty are at risk for a number of negative outcomes. As inequality in the distribution of wealth, income and opportunity has grown in the U.S. during the post-welfare reform era, impoverished children and their families have tended to become increasingly concentrated in urban low-income neighborhoods. Research evidence demonstrates that living in these neighborhoods affects family well-being in several key areas: economic and employment opportunity, health and mental health condition, crime and safety, and children's...