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Fallacies of Welfare-to-Work Policies

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  • Randy Albelda

    (University of Massachusetts Boston)

Abstract

One main effort of welfare reform is to replace public assistance with earnings. To date, politicians and welfare reform advocates have applauded the efforts and claimed success. However, lurking at the surface of welfare-to-work policies are serious problems and structural impediments. Lack of jobs, low pay, job-readiness, and difficulties in securing ancillary supports like transportation and child care are obvious problems that are not easily resolved. However, a deeper and usually unaddressed problem is that the jobs low-income women take (or need) are not mother ready. Full-time low-wage work does not provide enough income to support families, nor does it accommodate the demands that full-time parents have. These problems plague welfare-to-work efforts and make life very difficult for poor, single-mother families. At the same time, they create an opportunity to consider the value of caregiving work and to reform the nature of low-wage work.

Suggested Citation

  • Randy Albelda, 2001. "Fallacies of Welfare-to-Work Policies," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 577(1), pages 66-78, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:577:y:2001:i:1:p:66-78
    DOI: 10.1177/000271620157700106
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sheldon Danziger, 2000. "Approaching the Limit: Early Lessons from Welfare Reform," JCPR Working Papers 195, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
    2. Timothy J. Bartik, 2000. "Displacement and Wage Effects of Welfare Reform," Book chapters authored by Upjohn Institute researchers, in: David E. Card & Rebecca M. Blank (ed.),Finding Jobs: Work and Welfare Reform, pages 72-122, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    3. David Marshall Smith & Stephen A. Woodbury, 2000. "Low-Wage Labor Markets: Changes over the Business Cycle and Differences across Region and Location," Book chapters authored by Upjohn Institute researchers, in: Kelleen Kaye & Demetra Smith Nightingale (ed.),The Low-Wage Labor Market: Challenges and Opportunities for Economic Self-Sufficiency, pages 41-61, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
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