Last Resorts

Emergency Assistance and Special Needs Programs in Public Welfare

1st Edition - January 28, 1983
Authors: Joel F. Handler, Michael Sosin
Language: English
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 6 0 7 8 - 5

Last Resorts: Emergency Assistance and Special Needs Programs in Public Welfare studies the implementation of emergencies and special needs programs in the United States welfare… Read more

Purchase options

LIMITED OFFER

Save 50% on book bundles

Immediately download your ebook while waiting for your print delivery. No promo code is needed.

Institutional subscription on ScienceDirect

Request a sales quote

Last Resorts: Emergency Assistance and Special Needs Programs in Public Welfare studies the implementation of emergencies and special needs programs in the United States welfare system. The book examines the balance that is reached between individualized and standardized treatment to meet emergencies and special needs, two simultaneously occurring countertrends in public welfare. The monograph discusses such topics as the balance between standardization and individualization in public welfare in the American context; the impact of standardization on basic welfare programs; relationship between emergency and special needs assistance and general welfare policies; and achieving adequate coverage of special needs and emergencies. Public administrators, social workers, lawyers, and policymakers will find the book interesting.

Contents

List of Tables

Foreword

Acknowledgments

1 Standardized Systems and Individual Needs

From Discretion to Standardization

The Countertrend: Emergency and Special Needs Programs

Factors Shaping the Balance

The Character of Specialized Aid

Methods of Study

2 The Impact of Standardization on Basic Welfare Programs

How the Major Consolidated Programs Deal with Emergencies and Special Needs

The Political Context of the Consolidated Grant

3 Reactions to Standardization: Attempts to Fill the Gap

Range of Programs Dealing with Emergency Assistance and Special Needs

Coverage in Emergency Assistance and Special Needs Programs

The Hodgepodge of State and County Programs

4 The Influence of State Public Welfare Policies on Specialized Programs

Conflicting Commitments and Pressures

Sorting Out the Influences: Measures of Welfare Commitments

The Relationship between Characteristics of the AFDC System and Specialized Assistance

The Relationship between the Goals of the System and Specialized Assistance

The Relationship between Community Pressures and Specialized Assistance

Regression Analyses

Three Types of States

5 Rules, Procedures, and Delegation in State Programs

State Rules and Procedures in Specialized Programs

Relating Rules and Procedures to Costs and Caseloads

Administrative Purposes of Rules and Procedures

Appendix: Rules and the Welfare Policy Context

6 County Administration of Specialized Programs

County Rules and Procedures in Specialized Programs

State and County Differences: Methodology or Substance?

County Administrative Characteristics and Program Size

Discrepancies between State and County Variables Predicting Program Size

The Administrative Relationship between States and Counties

7 Administrators' Perceptions of How Well the Specialized Programs Work

Character of Program Administration

Adequacy of the Specialized Programs

Administrative Response to Increased Pressure

The Toughest Problems

The Dilemma of the Administrators

8 Private Charity and Other Community Programs

Responses to Inadequate Public Programs

Availability of Community Resources and Private Charity

How Community Resources and Private Charity Work: Case-Study Data

The Mission of Private Charity

9 A Comparative Note: Meeting Individualized Need in the British Supplementary Benefits Scheme

The British Welfare System

The Operation of the Supplementary Benefits Scheme

Reform Proposals

The 1976 Reform and Subsequent Reforms

The Lesson of the British Experience

10 Striking the Balance

The System We Have

Achieving Adequate Coverage of Special Needs and Emergencies

Balancing Standardization and Individualization

References

Subject Index