"Welfare Mothers" Welcome Reform, Urge Compassion

The Multiple Meanings of Work for Welfare-Reliant Women

“…Like welfare-reliant women in other studies, many of the welfare to work participants I spoke with in CCC saw work as a way to improve their self esteem and self-confidence, or to "better themselves" as one participant told me Lein 1997, Sandfort et al 1999;Seccombe et al 1999). While women and instructors often talked rhetorically about work as a means to build one's self-esteem, the reactions many women had to Job Club and Job Search classes best illustrate the potential work has for increasing self-worth, and women's belief that work would do this.…”

“…However the importance of work beyond economic survival has often been ignored or sidelined. Several scholars have suggested that welfare-reliant women believe work will increase their personal self-esteem Lein 1997, Sandfort et al 1999;Seccombe et al 1999) or help them set a good example for their children (Sandfort et al 1999;Seccombe et al 1999; See also Iverson and Farber 1996). Yet rarely have these factors been fully explored or given central importance.…”

“… See Iverson & Farber 1996;Sandfort et al 1999;Seccombe et al 1999;Scott et al 2000;Scott et al 2001. For a more general discussion about welfare-reliant women's mainstream values, seeHays (2003).…”

Welfare programs and the state economy

“…Principal among these are the impacts of welfare on work incentives and the effects of increased taxation. The effects of incentives are threefold: relaxation of job search efforts (Haskins, 2006), increase in reservation wages (Grogger & Karoly, 2005;Seccombe, et al, 1999), and imposition of costs on workers (B. L. Wolfe, 2002). Lichter and Jayakody (2002) posited that while welfare expenditures have helped to reduce poverty, expenditures and programs have not been able to successfully transition recipients to stable employment and financial independence.…”

“…In response, both Republicans and Democrats have frequently cited the economic return of investment in welfare programs as a means of overcoming controversy and sparking reform (Browning, 1986;Chelf, 1992;Martin, 1990;Teslik, 2009). However, support is often drawn along party lines (Seccombe, Walters, & James, 1999) and reform has remained relatively stagnant.…”